Registration and Continental Breakfast

Introduction, Objectives, Agenda
Tim Cornitius, editor, SYNGAS Refiner

History of Gasification / New Database
Professor Anthony Stranges, associate professor of History, Texas A&M
Prof. Stranges will discuss the history of Fisher Tropsch and the rebirth of interest in FT technology. He will also provide an update on the FT database at Texas A&M, which will include companies involved, requirements and how it will impact the industry.

Substitute Natural Gas: Scrubbing the Carbon in Coal and Petcoke
Cliff Keeler, senior project director, gasification, ConocoPhillips
Substitute natural gas (SNG) from the gasification of coal has the potential to augment North American natural gas supplies and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports. The SNG production process can also reduce the carbon penalty associated with coal because scrubbing carbon from coal puts the fuel source on a comparable footing with natural gas. This presentation will address the drivers for SNG production, and present process and economic results from a recent SNG study on various feed stocks including bituminous and sub-bituminous coals as well as petroleum coke. Based on the study results, the enablers are discussed that can facilitate the significant deployment of SNG projects in the United States.

The Growing Demand for Gasification
David Eichinger, CFO & senior VP of corporate development, Synthesis Energy
Global demand for gasification is growing rapidly as low-value fuels such as coal and petroleum coke replace high-cost energy and chemical products that can turn waste coal products into high-value syngas. SES, based in Shanghai, China and an office in Houston, develop and own various technologies for the production of hydrogen, power and utilities. The company holds a license for its proprietary U-Gas coal gasification technology that was developed by the Gas Technology Institute. David A. Eichinger, CFO and SVP of corporate development, SES, will discuss the joint venture between SES and Hai Hua Coal and Chemical Co. that will build, own and operate a 223-million- cubic-meter U-GAS-based syngas production plant that will sell clean syngas to Hai Hua.

Small to Medium Size Gasifiers
Bill Douglas, senior VP of business development, Econo-Power
Large-scale coal-gasification applications to generate power and to produce syngas as feedstock for liquid fuels and chemical products has been the focus of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. These applications typically are oxygen-blown gasification that requires an air separation unit (ASU) in the overall plant design. Recent developments in two-stage, fixed-bed, air-blown gasification systems make this approach very attractive for smaller-industrial scale applications where the inclusion of an ASU would drive operating costs to uneconomic levels. These air-blown systems can now be used by small and medium-sized industrials that have been dealing with the high natural gas prices and electricity used in their facilities. Bill Douglas, senior VP of business development (EPIC) will be discussing the company's goal to make on-site, air-blown, coal-based gasification the alternative environmentally acceptable fuel of choice in the North American industrial energy market.

Reception