Offshore Methane Plant

I had previously proposed a wind-based hydrogen generation plant where each unit is composed of two vertical offshore wind turbines working in tandem. The first is purely mechanical, and the second is a classical wind turbine generating DC power. This concept can be further enhanced to generate methane (synthetic natural gas) by integrating the generated hydrogen with a coal-feed system. This allows for a direct feed of methane into existing natural gas pipelines.

The objective is to bombard fine coal particles with ionized hydrogen atoms to form methane.

The vertical shaft of the wind turbine is connected directly to a vertical processing assembly. At the base, raw coal is stored and pushed toward an upper inverted conical storage by an Archimedes screw. A second Archimedes screw in the upper section carries the coal to a centrifugal dispenser. This dispenser accelerates coal particles laterally toward the edges of the container, where they are struck by pressurized hydrogen jets. The hydrogen is pressurized to 2–3 bar by a centrifugal compressor. Consequently, the Archimedes screws, the centrifugal dispenser, and the compressor are all powered directly by the vertical turbine shaft, simplifying the mechanical design and minimizing conversion losses.

An inverted V-shaped solid filter is positioned above the centrifugal dispenser. It utilizes inertial separation to deflect heavy solids downward while allowing gaseous products to flow upward into proximal membrane arrays. The close proximity of these membranes increases gas retrieval efficiency. As the hydrogen jets release trapped gases and moisture from the coal, the membrane arrays sort these molecules into separate recovery streams. Collected water vapor is fed back to the adjacent electrolysis plant to sustain the hydrogen supply, while retrieved oxygen is combined with the oxygen generated from electrolysis. The primary product, methane, is filtered and extracted through this same array.

Methane cannot be synthesized by bombarding coal with molecular hydrogen gas alone; the hydrogen must be ionized to facilitate carbon-hydrogen bonding. After the initial degassing phase, field emission ionization nozzles—utilizing carbon nanotubes (CNT) to lower the required voltage—ionize the hydrogen as it is jettisoned. Any intermediate hydrocarbons produced during the process are recirculated through the ionization field until they are fully saturated into methane, ensuring a 100% carbon conversion rate.

To maintain continuous operation, non-reactive heavy particles—including silica, alumina, pure iron, calcium, and sulfur—are removed continuously from the bottom of the conical dispenser.

Total System Work Efficiency (TSWE): ~92%. (Achieved via direct-drive kinetic grinding).

Electrical Parasitic Load: 10%. (Used only for field ionization and control logic).

Carbon Capture Rating: 100%. (Carbon is fully sequestered into the methane molecule; no CO₂ is produced).

Water Autonomy: Neutral. (Moisture extracted from the coal provides the hydrogen feedstock for the next cycle).

By shifting energy application from "Brute Heat" to "Kinetic and Ionic Precision," the plant achieves results considered thermodynamically impossible for standard facilities. Economically poor coal, such as lignite, is processed into fine particles and transformed into a high-value industrial asset.