Internationally leading in various technologies for the clean use of coal

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Author/Source: China Nitrogen Fertilizer and Methanol Technology Network. According to the China Electric Power News, since the * era, the coal industry has focused on transforming its mode of development, advancing structural adjustments, and deepening reforms within the sector, as a result of which the overall level of the coal industry has improved significantly. Among these, the clean and efficient use of coal is particularly noteworthy. Clean coal utilization is enhanced through the entire life cycle of coal and the entire industrial chain; clean coal-fired power generation is advanced on a comprehensive basis, with new technologies continuously being developed. Significant breakthroughs have been achieved in clean coal conversion technologies, enabling coal to be transformed into various forms and thus given a new life; many of these technologies and indicators are at the international leading level. Promoting the clean use of coal across the entire industry chain: On September 3, 2014, six ministries and commissions including the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the Ministry of Commerce officially issued the Interim Measures for the Quality Management of Commercial Coal (hereinafter referred to as the “Measures”). This is the first time in our country that mandatory requirements have been set for coal quality, with the main aim of implementing the Action Plan for Air Pollution Prevention and Control and promoting the efficient and clean use of coal. The power industry has achieved significant improvements in energy conservation and emission reduction in recent years, but the quality of coal used for power generation has been declining year by year and showing considerable fluctuations, which affects the efficiency, safe and stable operation of power generation systems, as well as pollutant emissions. The Measures strengthen the quality management of commercial coal throughout its entire production process, aiming to improve the quality of coal used at the end-user level. Clear limits are set for indicators such as the ash content and calorific value of commercial coal, thereby addressing the source of pollution. On December 26, 2014, the **Energy Administration, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the \"Opinions on Promoting the Safe, Green Development and Clean, Efficient Utilization of Coal\" (hereinafter referred to as the \"Opinions\"), with the aim of accelerating the transformation in the way coal is developed and improving the level of comprehensive utilization of coal resources. The Guidelines explicitly call for the vigorous development of clean and efficient coal-fired power generation, with such technology and coal consumption per unit of electricity generated reaching world-class levels; the share of coal used for power generation in total coal consumption is to be increased to over 60%. It also stipulates that by 2020, the proportion of raw coal that meets the required standards should be over 80%, ensuring that all eligible coal is utilized. On April 27, 2015, the **Energy Bureau issued the \"Action Plan for the Clean and Efficient Utilization of Coal (2015–2020)\") once again, emphasizing the need to accelerate research and development as well as the industrial application of coal-fired power generation technologies. It also called for steady progress in upgrading related industries through demonstration projects, and for establishing a promotion mechanism that combines policy guidance with market forces, in order to create a modern system for the clean, efficient, low-carbon, safe, and sustainable utilization of coal. A series of policy documents address the clean utilization of coal in seven areas, including coal product quality, coal-fired power generation, coal chemical industry, coal-fired boilers, the graded and differentiated use of coal, the management of domestic bulk coal, and the resource utilization of waste, thereby continuing to drive changes in the ways coal is produced and used. Clean coal-fired power generation has reached a new level. It is widely recognized worldwide that for every 10 grams per kilowatt-hour reduction in the coal consumption required for power generation in the thermal power sector, there is a technological advancement equivalent to one generation. Since the Party’s * policy was introduced, Shanghai Waigaoqiao Third Power Generation Co., Ltd. (referred to as “Waigaoqiao No. 3 Power Plant”) has managed to reduce its average coal consumption per unit of electricity generated to 276 grams of standard coal per kilowatt-hour, a figure that places it at the leading level internationally. The clean and efficient use of coal for power generation is of paramount importance in the context of clean and efficient coal utilization, and reducing coal consumption represents a tangible contribution in this regard. In 2010, the average coal consumption per kilowatt-hour for thermal power units with a capacity of 6,000 kilowatts and above across the country was as high as 333 grams of standard coal per kilowatt-hour. Since the * of the Party, the average coal consumption per unit of electricity generated by thermal power units in our country has dropped to 321 grams of standard coal per kilowatt-hour; for super-supercritical generators with a capacity of 660,000 to 1,000,000 kilowatts, this figure has fallen to 290 grams of standard coal per kilowatt-hour. Since the Party’s * policy, the significant reduction in coal consumption is largely attributed to the improved parameters of coal-fired power units. To date, the total installed capacity of ultra-supercritical power generation units in China with a capacity of 660,000 to 1 million kilowatts has reached 100 million kilowatts, ranking first in the world. On December 1, 2012, the world’s first 600-megawatt supercritical circulating fluidized bed coal-fired boiler unit was successfully put into operation in Baima, Sichuan, marking China’s leadership in the field of large-capacity, high-parameter circulating fluidized bed clean coal combustion technology. Compared to conventional coal-fired power generation technologies, IGCC can be regarded as an important technical approach to overcoming the bottlenecks in the development of coal power. On November 6, 2012, China’s first IGCC power plant demonstration project – the Huaneng (Tianjin) 1×250,000-kilowatt integrated gasification combined cycle power unit – successfully entered the trial production phase, making China the fourth country in the world to have a large-scale IGCC power plant that was designed, constructed, and operated independently. Over the past 5 years, the unit has gradually resolved the problems affecting stable operation, achieving stable operation. Since the * of the Party, China’s power generation enterprises have gained a certain competitive advantage in terms of technologies for controlling conventional pollutants generated by coal combustion. Dust removal, desulfurization, and denitrification technologies are now widely used; flue gas desulfurization devices, low-nitrogen combustion systems, and flue gas denitrification equipment have become common. Some of these key technologies have reached international advanced levels, particularly the low-nitrogen combustion technology for coal with medium and low volatile content, which is at the international leading level. In August 2012, China’s first full-process coal-based carbon dioxide capture demonstration project sequestered more than 40,000 tons of carbon dioxide in total, achieving a breakthrough in the field of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. It is reported that this demonstration project is China’s first geological sequestration experiment in deep salt/saline water layers; the amount of carbon dioxide emissions reduced each year is equivalent to the total amount of carbon dioxide absorbed and stored by 274 hectares of broad-leaved forests. Significant breakthroughs have been achieved in the clean conversion of coal. Since the *th National Congress of the Party, significant progress has been made in technologies for the clean conversion of coal into clean gas, liquid fuels, and chemical products; technologies such as advanced coal gasification and direct liquefaction have reached international leading levels. On July 9, 2014, the entire system of Yankuang Group’s Ordos Energy and Chemical Rongxin Chemical Project was connected, enabling the production of methanol with a purity of 99.99%. The plant operated safely and stably, marking the official commissioning of a super-large coal gasification technology featuring independent intellectual property rights and the capability to process 3,000 tons of coal per day per furnace. This represented an important breakthrough in China’s self-developed super-large coal gasification technology. Large-scale coal gasification is the core technology for the clean and efficient conversion of coal, and it serves as the foundation for developing process industries such as coal-based liquid fuels, coal-based chemicals, IGCC power generation, and hydrogen production. At the beginning of 2012, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology decided to select around 19 large and medium-sized coal-based synthetic ammonia chemical enterprises over a period of 5 years (2011–2015) to undergo transformation using advanced coal gasification technology, thereby creating a group of enterprises equipped with such advanced technology. The multi-nozzle opposed ultra-large-scale coal gasification technology, capable of processing 3,000 tons of coal per day per furnace, can be regarded as a leap forward in the development of coal gasification technology. On December 28, 2016, the world’s largest coal-to-oil project – the 4 million tons per year coal indirect liquefaction demonstration project operated by Shenhua Ningmei Group – was completed and put into operation. This project represents another breakthrough by Shenhua Group in coal indirect liquefaction technology, following its million-ton coal direct liquefaction project in Ordos; it marks Shenhua Group as the only company in the world that possesses both million-ton coal direct liquefaction and indirect liquefaction technologies for coal-to-oil production. At present, the project has entered a stable oil production phase, with an annual oil output exceeding 800,000 tons. Unlike the dominance of coal-to-oil projects, China’s coal-to-gas projects have achieved more significant results. As China’s first large-scale coal-to-natural gas demonstration project, the Datang Keqi Coal-to-Natural Gas Project has broken the foreign monopoly on the core technologies for coal-to-natural gas production since all process steps were operationalized in the project facility in 2012. To date, China has put into operation three coal-to-gas (SNG) projects: Datang Keqi Phase 1, Qinghua Yili Phase 1, and HuiNeng Ordos Phase 1, with a total production capacity of 3.1 billion cubic meters per year. Coal-to-olefins is an area that is explicitly designated for advancement in the 13th Five-Year Plan for Energy Development. Shenhua Baotou’s 600,000-ton coal-to-olefins project is the world’s first large-scale coal chemical complex that uses coal as raw material to produce polyolefin plastics through a process involving coal gasification to produce methanol, conversion of methanol into olefins, and subsequent polymerization of those olefins. It began commercial operation in January 2011, producing 500,000 tons of polyolefins per year and generating sales revenue of over 5 billion yuan. Since then, coal-based olefins have seen further development. In May 2015, the **Development and Reform Commission identified 9 demonstration projects for the upgrading of olefin production. Among them, the 1.4 million-ton coal-to-olefins project operated by Zhongtian Hechuang is capable of producing 670,000 tons of polyethylene and 700,000 tons of polypropylene per year; it is currently the largest and most technologically advanced coal-to-olefins project in operation in China. To date, China has built and put into operation 11 coal-to-olefins plants, with a total production capacity of around 7.27 million tons, and an annual output of approximately 6.17 million tons.