“The pilot project for “low-rank coal” successfully passed the acceptance assessments for its eight projects, as well as for its scientific and technological goals and research management

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“The acceptance review for the eight projects and related scientific goals and research management aspects of the strategic pilot project on \"Low-grade coal\" was successfully completed. Author/Source: Date: 2017-09-18 Clicks: 31. On September 9, an acceptance meeting regarding the scientific goals and research management aspects of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ strategic pilot project on \"Key technologies and demonstrations for the clean and efficient utilization of low-grade coal\", led by the Shanxi Institute of Coal Chemistry, was held in Beijing. He Jingdong, Deputy Director of the Materials and Energy Division of the Major Projects Bureau, and Academician He Mingyuan presided over the meetings respectively. At the acceptance meeting, Dai Bowen, deputy director of the Major Projects Bureau, explained the significance of the pilot project on \"low-grade coal\" as well as the acceptance process. He hoped that the experts would strictly adhere to the criteria of \"clear objectives, measurability, practicality, and impact\" in light of the project goals, and provide thorough evaluations along with valuable suggestions and opinions. The acceptance expert group consists of 13 renowned domestic experts, including Academician He Mingyuan from East China Normal University, Academician Fei Weiyang from Tsinghua University, and Academician Li Hongzhong from the Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The eight project leaders gave reports on aspects such as the achievement of key scientific and technological goals, significant results obtained, talent development and team building, the efficiency of fund utilization, the evaluation of project completion, and the special management measures implemented by the research institute. Wang Jianguo, the person in charge of the project, provided a detailed report on the overall progress of the project, covering key achievements, overall energy efficiency, CO2 emission reductions, the status of completion of major technical demonstrations, the key technologies that have been developed, and the successes achieved in terms of research management. After listening to the reports, the acceptance expert group carefully reviewed the completion documents and evaluated the achievement of the scientific and technological objectives by assigning scores based on five evaluation criteria: the fulfillment of scientific and technological goals, the quality and impact of the results, talent development and team building, the efficiency of fund utilization, and an overall assessment of the achievement of the scientific and technological objectives ； The implementation of research management is evaluated by assigning scores to six assessment indicators: the overall framework and measures for organizational management, the establishment and enforcement of management systems, team organization and collaborative communication, the support and safeguards provided by the responsible units, the achievements resulting from organizational management initiatives, and an overall evaluation of the implementation of research management. Following the Q&A session and comprehensive scoring, all eight pilot projects and specialized initiatives for low-rank coal passed the completion evaluation. Experts believe that this specialized effort in research has focused on the clean and efficient sequential utilization of low-grade coal, and by following the established technical approaches and task plans, it has achieved the intended goals. In the areas of low-rank coal pyrolysis, oil and gas upgrading, semi-coke combustion, semi-coke gasification, conversion of coal into petroleum products and bulk chemicals, CO2 utilization and sequestration, as well as process simulation, specialized efforts have led to the establishment of a series of pilot-scale platforms. A number of key strategic technologies have been developed, and several major demonstration projects have been completed. These efforts have improved China’s research capabilities in the field of low-rank coal utilization, laid the technical foundation for the clean and efficient industrial use of low-rank coal, and played an important role in promoting the transformation and technological advancement of the coal power and coal chemical industries ； Strict adherence to rules and regulations is observed in research management; a management organizational structure of \"one office, two lines, and three teams\" has been established. Effective systems for regular exchanges, reporting, inspections, and discussions have been put in place, thereby fully leveraging the role of the overall team in discussing and making decisions on major issues related to specific projects, as well as strengthening process management. At the same time, emphasis was placed on promoting the achievements, which expanded their impact and yielded positive social benefits. As required by the Development Planning Bureau, the special inspections must be carried out item by item at various levels, with the overall special inspection, which includes inspections of scientific and technological objectives as well as research management, finance, and archives, to be completed in October. This acceptance inspection follows the inspections at the project and specific task levels for scientific and technological objectives and research management conducted in June; its successful completion represents an acknowledgment of the work carried out over the 5 years since the launch of this coal-related project, laying a solid foundation for the overall acceptance of the project. More than 80 people attended the meeting, including Peng Zilong, head of the Materials and Energy Division of the Bureau for Major Scientific and Technological Projects; Tao Cheng, head of the Comprehensive Affairs Division of the Bureau for Development Planning; Wang Lan, Ye Tian, and Leng Jie from the institute’s archives; as well as project leaders, task leaders, and key research personnel.