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(:) J) ,,<:"': . . ..: -', BRIEFING PAPER* BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT IMPLICATIONS OF THE AQUATRAIN PROJECT BY DAVID WILLIAMS, JR. _.",,J . . ,.) AQUATRAIN is a commodity transport system having a shared purpose in controlling the salinity of the Colorado River. The pipeline system from southwest Wyoming to southern California (AQUATRAIN I) is described elsewhere. A similar commodity transport system which we have called AQUATRAIN II would extend the network into the Houston, Texas area and Gulf Coast for accessing other markets. It is hoped the Department of the Interior will work cooperatively with us on the later undertaking as well. The AQUATRAIN Project was given new impetus last year by favorable developments in a parallel research program for deep cleaning of coal by a solvent method that also removes the sulfur content. This holds promise for the first time of a "compliance" coal as a direct oil substitute, with little modification of user equipment, and without need of scrubbers. Prior to this development, there was only a limited outlook for AQUATRAIN to achieve deliveries into the California market, or to achieve exports to the Pacific Rim and Japan. The result of a successful AQUATRAIN program would be the displacement of foreign oil imports by a compliance coal in much of the Pacific Coast and Gulf Coast markets, together with a solution to the salinity problem of the Colorado River Basin. Our reason for being here today is to 1) explain to you why industry is involved in AQUATRAIN, 2) describe what we perceive to be the business and government implications of this project, and 3) seek a strategy for coordinating related activities with the Administration, the Congress, and the affected States. Reason for Involvement with AQUATRAIN Over the past few years, T.P. Clark, Inc.; Williams Technologies, Inc.; and others have been developing a process to dissolve carbon out of coal to produce a product which would be a compliance fuel in sensitive air- quality areas such as California. Our research has progressed to the pOint of a pilot plant producing tonnage quantities of a compliance fuel ca 11 ed ChemCoa 1. . :me product is a so 1 i d at ord i nary temperatures, but upon heating to 150 C, becomes a liquid that can be burned in existing oil and gas fired boilers as well as diesel engines and combustion turbines. Test burns are now being conducted and indications are that the air emissions will be less adverse than oil currently being burned. ChemCoa1 is vitreous in appearance, virtually free of ash and sulfur, non-pyrophoric, non-hydroscopic, and should permit great savings in the cost of transport in slurry pipelines. * Prepared as a basis for briefing of Mr. William Clark, Secretary of the Interior, January 17, 1984.