Regal Resources, via its 50% owned entity UCTL Pty, has retained Stanford University in California, one of the world’s leading research universities, to conduct Phase Two Proof of Concept Testing of its UCTL technology. UCTL is a novel patent pending technology which aims to convert low rank brown coal/lignite in-situ into liquid hydrocarbons (synthetic crude or ‘syncrude’) that can be refined into marketable oil products using a tailored combination of commercially proven refining processes. If proven, UCTL holds the promise of lower capex and opex and more rapid deployment than existing liquefaction processes.

UCTL consists of a combination of innovative applications of existing technologies. The key conversion step is the technically proven hydrogenation of coal with super-critical water to produce liquid (oil and gas) hydrocarbons.Stanford University was assessed to have the greatest capability to conduct laboratory bench testing for UCTL.

The working team will be led by Professor Reginald Mitchell, who is one of the leading research scientists in the field of coal technology, concerned with characterizing the physical and chemical processes that occur in the reaction of coal and biomass.

Following two detailed technical reports by the engineering consulting company, C&C Engineering (Phase One) assessing the UCTL technology, UCTL Pty received submissions from eminent scientific research institutions and chose Stanford University to conduct the Phase Two work. Phase Two consists of a six month regime of laboratory bench testing to investigate the reaction of coal with supercritical water to form liquid and gaseous fuels, at the anticipated UCTL temperatures and pressures.

“We are delighted that Stanford and Professor Mitchell will be working with us to test the UCTL concept,” said Teresa Cheung, of C&C Engineering, who is acting as UCTL’s technology development manager in the US. “We received several proposals from leading research institutions, such as MIT, General Atomics, and SRI International, and we judged Stanford to be the most suitable for the current needs of UCTL. We believe Prof Mitchell’s apparatus to be one of the leading supercritical water testing systems in the world.”

Samples of USA and Australian coals, including samples from Regal’s Oak Park test site, will be trialed during Phase Two.