The report gives results of an examination of water-related effects that can be expected from siting conversion plants in the major U.S. coal and oil shale bearing regions. Ninety plant-site combinations were studied: 48 in the Central and Eastern U.S. and 42 in the Western. Synthetic fuel technologies examined include: coal gasification to convert coal to pipeline gas; coal liquefaction to convert coal to low sulfur fuel oil; coal refining to produce a de-ashed, low-sulfur solvent refined (clean) coal; and oil shale retorting to produce synthetic crude. Results presented include the range of water requirements, conditions for narrowing the range and optimizing the use of water, ranges of residual solid wastes, and cost and energy requirements for waste water treatment. A comparison of water requirements with those of two recently published studies shows widely varying estimates and emphasizes the need for both site- and design-specific calculations. A review of various combinations of cooling requirements indicates a factor of 4 difference in water consumption across all processes studied. Where water costs < 25 cents/1000 gal., a high degree of wet cooling appears best. If > $1.50/1000 gal., a minimum of wet cooling should be considered. Between these, a more balanced mix needs to be reviewed. All water requirements of this study are based on complete water re-use; i.e., no direct water discharge to streams or rivers.

Contract no. 68-03-2207, program element no. EHE623A. V. 1, Oct. 1978. Includes bibliographical references.

v. 1. Summary.