Can pulverised coal mixed into a slurry be transported safely through normal oil pipelines?

If possible (with existing pipeline network) could this relieve some demand for crude oil?Can pulverised coal mixed into a slurry be transported safely through normal oil pipelines?
Why in the world would you make easily transported coal into difficult to transport?


Coal is composed of some hard stuff (carbon) but also a lot of volatine fossil fuels - including methane, which is hte principal issue with mine safety, outside of collapse. The slurry you make would have to be mixed with an organic liquid, not water. And, you would experience incredible fouling in the pipes.


The reason coal is not used instead of crude oil is b/c of the sulfur content of coal. When coal is burned, the sulfur forms an acid anhydride - which means that when it is mixed with atmospheric moisture, it becomes battery acid, falls in canada, and kills everything. The federal regulations on ue of coal sets thresholds for permissible pollution from coal burning plants. Pollution control equipment is expensive, and adds to the cost of the energy, so the crude is more in demand. And, companies have to repair the land from which they get the coal, adding another cost to its use.


However, coal would never be able to replace gasoline, and never be usable for producing plastics and polymers that come from crude oil - and demand for those will remain high even if coal were substituted.


Go look up ethanol usage in South America, and you will realize how little our government has done to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. And remember how much money the government spends on getting rid of a raw material for ethanol (corn, though S. America uses a lot of sugar) by givng it to other countries or paying people not to grow it.Can pulverised coal mixed into a slurry be transported safely through normal oil pipelines?
There would initially be the factor of abrasion to consider; oil is smooth, but even a fine coal powder would have a destructive effect on inner pipe walls.





Then there is its mass. Oil is less dense than water, while coal is heavier, thus the slurry would require more energy to pump from A to B.





The CURRENT retail value of coal is negligable compared to that of oil, but its transportation costs would in effect be greater.





Perhaps increased interest alternative energies will greatly reduce our dependence on fossil fuels before they run out, but this would depend on, amongst other reasons, AFFORDABILITY and Public Awareness ( ie people start to take the problem seriously.





In conclusion, i think it is possible if not feasible.





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