Bergius process
Coal hydrogenation process for synthetic fuel production.
The Bergius process is a method of producing liquid hydrocarbons for use as synthetic fuel by hydrogenation of high-volatile bituminous coal at high temperature and pressure. It was first developed by Friedrich Bergius in 1913, and Bergius was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1931 for his development of high-pressure chemistry. The process was extensively used during World War II to supply Germany with fuel and lubricants, but is not really used commercially in any greater capacity today.
- Developed by
- Friedrich Bergius
- Year developed
- 1913
- Field
- High-pressure chemistry, synthetic fuel production
- Known for
- Hydrogenation of coal to produce synthetic fuel
- Nobel prize
- 1931 (Chemistry)
Lore & Background
Friedrich Bergius developed the process during his habilitation, yielding a patent in 1913 for high-pressure and high-temperature chemistry of carbon-containing substrates. Karl Goldschmidt invited him to build an industrial plant at Th. Goldschmidt AG in 1914, but production began only in 1919 after World War I ended, when the need for fuel was already declining. Technical problems, inflation, and constant criticism from Franz Joseph Emil Fischer—which changed to support after a personal demonstration—slowed progress, and Bergius sold his patent to BASF, where Carl Bosch worked on it. Before World War II, several plants were built with an annual capacity of 4 million tons of synthetic fuel, and these were extensively used during the war.
Reader's Guide
The Bergius process represents a significant early achievement in synthetic fuel technology, converting coal into liquid hydrocarbons via hydrogenation at high temperature and pressure. Its development by Friedrich Bergius, recognized with a Nobel Prize, laid groundwork for later coal-to-liquid methods. The process was industrially important in Nazi Germany, where it supplied fuel and lubricants during World War II, and plants were targeted in the Oil Campaign. After the war, the United States built a plant in Louisiana, Missouri, producing gasoline commercially by 1948 at a price slightly higher than petroleum-based gasoline but of higher quality; it was shut down in 1953. Today, the alternative Fischer–Tropsch process is most often used industrially, and no plants operate the Bergius process or its derivatives commercially. The largest demonstration plant, a 200 ton per day facility at Bottrop, Germany, ceased operation in 1993. The process's legacy includes influencing later two-stage hydroliquefaction designs, such as the plant at Wilsonville, Alabama, which operated from 1981 to 1985.
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