Development Trends of Gasification Technology in 2017

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Trends in coal gasification technology in 2017: Larger scale, higher energy efficiency, and compatibility with a wide range of coal types — Part 4 of Yaha Consulting’s series on coal gasification technology and market trends. Author/Source: Date: 2017-12-04. Clicks: 10. The 2017 China Coal Gasification Technology, Operational Experience, and Equipment Forum will be held in Zhuhai from December 21–22. Leading companies in the coal gasification industry such as Yuanke, Ningmei, Huaneng, and Yingde Qingda will give presentations on the trends in coal gasification technology: larger scale, higher energy efficiency, and compatibility with a wide range of coal types. China holds the largest coal gasification market in the world. As of the end of November 2017, the coal chemical industry in China had over 20 gasification units equipped with patents for gasification technology in operation, resulting in a total syngas production capacity of more than 30 million cubic meters per hour. Driven by large-scale modern coal chemical projects, gasification technology is evolving toward higher energy efficiency, larger scale, and greater adaptability to various types of coal. http://img.yf116.cn/image/img/20171204/98233290384.jpg Scaling up: By the end of 2017, the maximum coal feeding rate for water-coal slurry gasification technologies in use in China was 3,000 tons per day, while the maximum coal feeding rate for dry powder coal gasification technologies was 2,800 tons per day. The coal-water slurry and dry powder gasification furnaces under development have a maximum coal feeding capacity of 3,500–4,000 tons per day. Taking the multi-nozzle opposed water-coal slurry gasification technology as an example, the first large-scale industrial demonstration unit of this type with a capacity of 3,000 tons of coal processed per day operates in a 2-in-service-1-backup mode. It is used in Yankuang Group’s Rongxin Chemical’s 900,000 tons per year coal-to-methanol project, which is located in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia. The industrial plant was put into trial operation for the first time in June 2014, and passed the 72-hour continuous operation test organized by the Petrochemical Federation in September 2015. On November 16, 2017, the **Key R&D Program for the Development and Demonstration of Large-Scale Water-Coal Slurry Gasification Technology was officially launched. The project is led by Yankuang Group, with the participation of 15 organizations including East China University of Science and Technology, the Shanxi Clean Energy Research Institute at Tsinghua University, Coal Science and Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd., and Shanxi Yangmei Fengxi Quanji Energy Co., Ltd. The project will build two demonstration units: a multi-nozzle opposed water-coal slurry gasification system capable of processing 4,000 tons of coal per day per furnace, and a waste boiler-cooling type high-efficiency water-coal slurry gasification system capable of processing 2,000 tons of coal per day per furnace. Among them, a multi-nozzle opposed water-coal slurry gasifier capable of processing 4,000 tons of coal per day is set to be used in Rongxin Chemical’s second-phase project for producing 400,000 tons per year of ethylene glycol from coal. High energy efficiency: Taking GE’s radiation waste boiler gasification technology as an example, this technology employs a semi-waste boiler process, eliminates the convective waste boiler, adds a quenching chamber, and removes the step of heat exchange between the crude syngas and the purified gas. The reaction heat of the syngas is recovered through a waste heat boiler, thereby achieving the purpose of cooling the syngas. According to the data, a GE radiant waste-heat gasifier with a coal feeding rate of 3,000 tons per day per furnace can produce 230–290 tons per hour of high-pressure saturated steam. By using a radiation waste boiler, it is possible to achieve a steam balance across the entire plant; there is almost no need for separate boilers to generate additional steam or power, which results in significant savings in coal consumption. Taking the 1.8 million tons per year coal-to-methanol project as an example, the use of radiant waste heat recovery technology allows for the savings of approximately 35 tons of standard coal per hour in terms of fuel consumption, with a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of around 100 tons, sulfur dioxide emissions of about 100 kg, and nitrogen oxide emissions of approximately 100 kg. Taking the Jinhua furnace, which was developed independently in China, as an example, in order to recover the heat from high-temperature syngas and simultaneously produce high-quality steam, the Shanxi Institute of Clean Energy at Tsinghua University, Yangmei Chemical Machinery, and Yangmei Fengxi Fertilizer Industry have successfully developed a coal slurry gasification furnace equipped with internal waste boiler water-cooling walls, which was named the Jinhua furnace. According to the data, Yangmei Fengxi Linyi branch has built a gasification furnace with a coal feeding capacity of 600 tons per day and a pressure of 4.0 Mpa; it generates 0.5–1.0 tons of saturated steam per 1,000 Nm3 of syngas. The 300,000-ton-per-year ammonia and alcohol production facility can recover an additional 300,000 tons of steam each year. The installation began to be designed and constructed in June 2015, successful commissioning took place in April 2016, and it has been operating continuously and stably since then. From November 11 to 14, 2017, the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation organized experts to conduct a 72-hour on-site evaluation of the \"Syngas/Steam Co-generation Water-Coal Slurry Water-Cooled Wall Gasification Furnace\" (water-coal slurry water-cooled wall directly-connected radiant waste heat boiler gasification furnace, Jinhua Furnace 3.0). All technical parameters met or exceeded those specified in the design, and the evaluation team unanimously agreed that the furnace passed the continuous 72-hour on-site test. Adaptability to a wide range of coal types: Developing gasification technologies that can adapt to various types of coal helps companies use locally available coal resources, thereby enabling the effective utilization of lower-quality coal assets. With continuous technological advancements, the range of coal types suitable for dry powder gasification has been expanded to include lignite, bituminous coal, anthracite, and low-quality coals with high ash, sulfur, and calorific value content; whereas the coal types suitable for water-coal slurry gasification include bituminous coal, anthracite, and mixtures of bituminous coals. Taking the dry powder gasification technology using space furnace as an example, the Sinochem Changshan expansion project represents the first brown coal gasification unit equipped with such space furnaces; it was put into operation in September 2015, with a production capacity of 360,000 tons per year of synthetic ammonia and 600,000 tons per year of urea. The project uses lignite from the eastern Mongolian region as raw material; this type of coal has a moisture content of 21%~30%, a calorific value of 3400~3500 kcal, and a ash fusion point of around 1050°C. By employing space-based powder gasification technology, the carbon conversion rate reaches over 99.2%, with an effective gas yield (CO+H2) of 87%-90%. Jincheng in Shanxi is a major production area for high-quality anthracite in China, and after decades of extraction, the resources of this high-quality anthracite are gradually decreasing. The recoverable reserves of \"three-high\" anthracite account for about 40% of the total recoverable reserves; it has favorable occurrence conditions and is easy to mine. Therefore, the rational and effective utilization of \"three-high\" anthracite is of great importance. The gas generation process technology upgrade project at Jincheng Coal Group’s Tianxi Coal-to-Oil Branch utilizes two Ф2800 model space furnaces, with a maximum daily processing capacity of 1,900 tons of raw coal, all of which is high-quality, smokeless coal from Jincheng. The project began operation with materials fed in in August 2014. While patent holders of gasification technology, manufacturers of equipment and instruments, and engineering companies continue to enjoy significant market opportunities, they also face three major challenges. 1. The investment in the gasification unit accounts for a significant portion of the total investment in coal chemical projects; how can the cost of gasification facilities be reduced? 2. The stable and high-load operation of the gasifier is crucial for the profitability of coal chemical plants; how can the performance of the gasifier be improved? 3. Gasification technology is evolving toward higher energy efficiency, larger scale, and greater adaptability to various types of coal. What new requirements will this impose on equipment and instrumentation manufacturers? The 2017 China Gasification Technology, Operational Experience and Equipment Forum, organized by Yahuazhengxun, will be held in Zhuhai from December 21-22. The conference will invite coal chemical manufacturing enterprises, as well as companies specializing in coal gasification technology, engineering, and equipment, to discuss the prospects for coal chemical projects in China and the future of the coal gasification market. Topics to be covered include the matching of coal gasification technology with downstream products, experience in operating gasification units at high loads over extended periods and aspects related to daily management, advanced equipment and instruments for optimizing the performance of coal gasification processes, environmental protection strategies for coal gasification units and the treatment of waste materials, as well as the development trends of next-generation coal gasification technologies.