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This post was last edited by liaifeng on 2018-9-1 at 12:29. Visiting China’s first million-ton coal indirect liquefaction project: Successful first batch processing, high output and efficiency throughout the year. Author/Source: China Chemical Industry News; Date: 2017-08-04; Views: 15. Visiting China’s first million-ton coal indirect liquefaction project: Successful first batch processing, with high output and efficiency throughout the year. Currently, China’s coal-to-oil industry is showing good development trends in terms of technological diversity and product variety, but achieving full operational capacity and efficiency in such projects remains a challenging task, and it even poses difficulties for the industry as a whole. The million-ton-scale demonstration project for coal indirect liquefaction to produce oil carried out by Shaanxi Future Energy Chemical Co., Ltd. reached full production capacity and efficiency just over a year after its commissioning, and the experiences and stories behind it are worth exploring. Technology first – independent R&D is more reliable. Mastering core technologies is the foundation for future energy projects involving coal-to-oil conversion. As early as 2002, in order to promote the clean and efficient use of coal, Yankuang Group established Shanghai Yankuang Energy Technology R&D Co., Ltd. In 2008, the Ministry of Science and Technology approved the establishment of a **key laboratory for coal liquefaction and coal chemical engineering** at the company. Here, Sun Qiwen, a coal chemical engineer who returned to China from South Africa, a leader in coal-to-oil technology, led a research team to carry out systematic research on the basic theories and industrial applications of indirect coal liquefaction. They successfully developed low-temperature Fischer-Tropsch synthesis technology that enables the production of oil products and holds independent intellectual property rights, as well as high-temperature Fischer-Tropsch synthesis technology for the co-production of oil products, olefins, and fine chemicals. This Sun Qiwen is the person who would later become the founder and leader of Future Energy Company. The future coal-to-oil energy project will utilize the low-temperature Fischer-Tropsch synthesis technology developed by Shanghai Yankuang Energy Technology R&D Co., Ltd. Compared with similar technologies at home and abroad, this technology boasts advantages such as high selectivity for diesel, low catalyst consumption per ton of oil product, high production intensity in FTO synthesis reactors, and high energy utilization efficiency; its key technologies are at the international leading level. The Fertig synthesis reactor used in this project has a diameter of 9.8 meters and an annual production capacity of 750,000 tons; it is the reactor with the highest single-unit production capacity among similar reactors that are under construction or already built both domestically and internationally. The selectivity of this diesel is more than 30% higher than that of similar domestic technologies; the diesel produced has a cetane number of over 75, and it is sulfur- and nitrogen-free, making it an excellent clean liquid fuel. At the same time, coal-to-oil projects on a million-ton scale feature complex production processes and large-scale systems. By optimizing and integrating industrialized domestic and international unit technologies such as gasification, purification, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, and oil upgrading, appropriate unit technologies and the appropriate scale for these units were determined. This resulted in a large-scale coal indirect liquefaction oil production system with high energy efficiency and the ability to operate continuously and stably, with all key unit technologies being those based on China’s own intellectual property rights. At Shanghai Yankuang Energy Technology R&D Co., Ltd., a reporter from China Chemical Industry News saw thick stacks of data analysis reports covering one entire wall. Sun Qiwen stated that strong technical capabilities are the fundamental guarantee for energy projects based on coal-to-oil conversion to achieve full production capacity and efficiency. Visit to the first million-ton coal indirect liquefaction project: a successful single feed operation at Future Energy Company’s million-ton-scale coal-to-oil production facility. Comprehensive support in place – laying a solid foundation step by step. For the project to achieve the desired levels of production and efficiency, careful attention must be paid to aspects such as the construction of processing equipment, the supply of coal raw materials, catalyst production, and environmental protection measures. And in the future, coal-to-oil energy production has from the very beginning adhered to a high-standard approach in its development. In terms of facility construction, before the development of the demonstration projects, Future Energy prepared a detailed planning document; during the preparation phase, everything from large tower-mounted equipment to small valve switches was constructed in strict accordance with the planned requirements. According to Sun Qiwen, there are currently over 500 units of large-scale equipment in the project, the vast majority of which are domestically produced. In terms of investment amount, the degree of localization of project equipment exceeds 82% ； Based on the number of units, the degree of localization of project equipment exceeds 92%. In terms of raw materials, the coal used for the project comes from the Jijitan Coal Mine, which is part of the supporting mining infrastructure. The designed production capacity of this mine is 8 million tons per year; it began trial operations in June 2014, thereby ensuring a supply of raw materials for the project’s operation. Regarding catalysts, the low-temperature Fischer-Tropsch synthesis catalyst project for coal-to-oil production was successfully commissioned on September 6, 2014, with qualified catalyst products being produced. Under industrial reaction conditions, this catalyst achieves a total conversion rate of CO+H2 of over 90%, a CH4 selectivity of less than 3.5%, a C5+ selectivity of over 82%, and an oxygen-containing organic compounds content of less than 5%. In terms of environmental protection, the investment in environmental protection facilities for this project amounts to 1.81 billion yuan, accounting for 11.04% of the total project investment. Water treatment facilities such as sewage treatment units, reclaimed water treatment stations, and sewage treatment plants are in place, along with desulfurization and denitrification equipment and associated slag disposal areas. In August 2015, this million-ton-scale coal-to-oil project achieved successful commissioning in its first operation, marking the industrial production of oil through indirect coal liquefaction; it also became China’s first million-ton-scale demonstration project for indirect coal liquefaction to go into operation. Visit to the first million-ton coal indirect liquefaction project: A successful single feed operation – the clean diesel products produced by this future energy coal-to-oil project. Robust management – long stable operation periods. If advanced core technologies are the engine that drives the successful operation of coal-to-oil projects, then management is the driver who operates this engine. In this project, there are thousands of devices and equipment of various sizes; only through proper management can all aspects of production be coordinated effectively, ensuring the safety of each reaction, the precision of each mixing process, the thoroughness of each separation step, and the high quality of every ton of product produced. Sun Qiwen also said that since there are supporting devices from the outset of construction, it is necessary to make full use of the capabilities of each device; it is essential to avoid the situation where devices exist in name only but have no actual application. Otherwise, not only will the benefits of the project not be ensured, but issues may also arise regarding the quality of operation. Future energy makes business processes more efficient and practical through the establishment of systems. Whether it is frontline production tasks such as material handling, safety inspections, and process parameter adjustment, or other positions like data analysis, financial management, and product management, there are well-established sets of rules and regulations in place. Outstanding talents and strict discipline ensure that employees are perfectly aligned with the projects at hand. With robust technical support and strict management, the coal-to-oil project is currently operating smoothly. By adjusting the operation of the synthesis system, continuously optimizing technical parameters, and accumulating production data, the enterprise has resolved a range of issues related to the plant’s processes, technologies, equipment, and other aspects; as a result, the production load has increased steadily, and the system has remained in a stable operating state. The production and operation data of the demonstration unit show that the water consumption per ton of product is 7 tons, with a reuse rate of water reaching 98.26% ； The coal equivalent consumption per ton is 3.59 tons, and the electricity consumption per ton is 44.57 kWh; the overall energy utilization efficiency of the project is 45.9% ； 4.93 tons of carbon dioxide are emitted per ton of oil. It fully meets the energy efficiency and resource consumption criteria specified in the \"Plan for Demonstration Projects on Advanced Coal Processing.\" At the same time, all environmental protection facilities are operating stably; the compliance rate of wastewater treatment systems is 100%, and that of water reuse systems is 99%. Zero wastewater discharge is achieved, with emissions of SO2, NOX, and particulate matter all meeting the specified standards. Planning for the future – seeking benefits from extended value chains. Currently, China’s first industrial test facility for high-temperature Fischer-Tropsch synthesis has also begun construction at Shaanxi Future Energy Chemical Co., Ltd. The subsequent project for coal-to-oil production with a capacity of 4 million tons per year (2 million tons per year using low-temperature processes and 2 million tons per year using high-temperature processes) has been included in the **13th Five-Year Plan for the Clean Utilization of Coal**. This testing facility was designed specifically to facilitate the construction of coal-to-oil projects based on high-temperature Fischer-Tropsch synthesis processes in a more efficient and rational manner. Compared with the low-temperature Fischer-Tropsch synthesis process, the high-temperature Fischer-Tropsch synthesis technology boasts advantages such as a longer industrial chain and a wider range of products. While producing clean and high-quality oils such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, naphtha, and lubricant base oils, it can also generate chemical products with high added value, including α-olefins, solvent oils, surfactants, and aldoximes. These products have good market adaptability, resulting in higher profitability. A more efficient and broader future for energy lies ahead. Visit to the first million-ton coal indirect liquefaction project: a successful single feed operation at Future Energy Company’s million-ton-scale coal-to-oil production facility. (Photo by Wang Bin) Shaanxi Future Energy Chemical Co., Ltd. was established in 2011 with joint investment from Yankuang Group Co., Ltd., Yanzhou Coal Industry Co., Ltd., and Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum (Group) Co., Ltd. Leveraging the abundant coal resources in the Yushen mining area in northern Shaanxi as well as its own Fischer-Tropsch synthesis technology, the company plans to build a new integrated industrial park for coal, oil, electricity, and chemicals in Yulin, Shaanxi. Within this park, it will construct a project for the clean utilization of coal to produce 10 million tons per year of petroleum products and chemicals, in two phases over three steps. The million-ton-class coal indirect liquefaction demonstration project is the launch project for Phase I; it utilizes low-temperature Fischer-Tropsch synthesis technology, with a designed capacity of 1.15 million tons per year of oil products, of which 790,000 tons per year are synthetic diesel, 260,000 tons per year are naphtha, and 100,000 tons per year are liquefied petroleum gas. Supporting facilities include the Jijitan Coal Mine with an annual production capacity of 8 million tons, and a catalyst factory with an annual capacity of 3,000 tons. The million-ton-scale coal-to-oil demonstration project commenced construction on July 1, 2012. Unit tests and joint tests of various processing units were completed in June 2015, and on August 23, 2015, the entire production process was operational, producing high-quality oil products whose parameters met all requirements and complied with the Euro V standards. Currently, Future Energy is planning the follow-up project for the first phase of coal indirect liquefaction. The subsequent projects will utilize the high- and low-temperature Fischer-Tropsch synthesis technology independently developed by Shanghai Yankuang Energy Technology R&D Co., Ltd. They aim to build a coal indirect liquefaction plant with an annual capacity of 4 million tons, along with supporting facilities for coal processing with an annual capacity of 10 million tons. These facilities include a low-temperature Fischer-Tropsch synthesis unit with an annual capacity of 2 million tons, a high-temperature Fischer-Tropsch synthesis unit with an annual capacity of 2 million tons, as well as units for producing PAO at 100,000 tons per year, for deep cryogenic separation of ethylene and propylene at 500,000 tons per year, for hydrogenation at 3.3 million tons per year, for hydroisomerization at 2 million tons per year, for aromatization to reduce viscosity at 300,000 tons per year, for cyclic fluidized bed aromatization at 800,000 tons per year, for alkylation at 100,000 tons per year, and for MTBE production at 100,000 tons per year. There will be over 20 different types of products produced, including gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, lubricant base oils, solvents, ethylene, propylene, n-hexene, n-octene, and PAO. On June 10 this year, construction began on China’s first industrial test facility for the high-temperature Fischer-Tropsch synthesis process at Shaanxi Future Energy Chemical Co., Ltd., with completion expected by April next year.