【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】Progress has been made in the industrial pilot-scale technology for producing low-carbon mixed alcohols from syngas on a thousand-ton scale, 1859–2015

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Safety first. Prevention first – let’s give praise and support to the achievements in China’s chemical engineering technology and equipment. **********************【Ten Years of Great Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】A continuously updated summary post is available; feel free to join the discussions at https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Engineering Forum) ***************** In November 2015, with the support of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ coal-related projects and the Ministry of Science and Technology’s 863 program, the Shanxi Institute of Coal Chemistry collaborated with China Shenhua Coal-to-Oil Chemical Co., Ltd. to carry out an industrial-scale pilot test for producing low-carbon alcohols from coal-based syngas on a scale of one thousand tons. The side-line facility is located at Shenhua Group Baotou Coal Chemical Co., Ltd. Building on the establishment of the process flow in 2014, and through subsequent optimizations of the process steps as well as modifications to the catalyst preparation, a 1,000-hour high-load stability operation test was completed in late October. The CO conversion rate exceeded 85%, while the selectivity for low-carbon alcohols was above 60%; 15 tons of low-carbon alcohols were produced per day. Further separation yielded industrial-grade C1-C3 chemical alcohols and C4+ alcohol fuel additives, with results that are superior to those reported in domestic and international studies. 　　Through more than two decades of relentless research, the relevant research team at the Shanxi Coal Chemistry Institute has focused on the technology for producing low-carbon alcohols from syngas, carrying out work on reaction mechanisms, catalyst development, and process optimization. As a result, they have developed new catalysts for producing high-value chemical alcohols and fuel additives from coal-based syngas, along with optimized process routes that facilitate milder reaction conditions. The long-term stable operation of China’s first industrial side-line plant capable of producing low-carbon alcohols from thousand-ton quantities of syngas has further advanced the industrialization of this technology, opening up a diverse range of production pathways that utilize coal-based syngas as a raw material to manufacture oxygen-containing liquid fuels, oil additives, and high-value alcoholic chemicals. 　　This research was initially funded and technically supported by Royal Dutch Shell, Henan Coal Industry Group, and Shanxi Lu’an Mining Group, as well as assisted by the Shanghai Institute of Advanced Study of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.