Projects would be positioned where Peabody has large coal reserves and would be designed using Rentech's proprietary Fischer-Tropsch CTL process, which produces ultra-low sulfur fuels.
Peabody president and CEO Gregory H Boyce said the company had identified an overwhelming need for coal-to-liquids developments in the US to offset reliance on expensive imported oil.
“Because of Peabody's leading reserves, we are uniquely positioned to capitalise on this significant emerging market for coal. We're pleased to partner with Rentech, one of the world's leading developers of Fischer-Tropsch technologies,” Boyce said.
The plants could range in size from producing 10,000 to 30,000 barrels of fuel per day. A 10,000bpd plant would use 2-3 million tons of coal annually, and a 30,000bpd plant would use 6-9Mt of coal annually, based on the quality of coal.
