**2018 Annual Report on the Key Research and Development Program: “Key Technologies and Processes for the Mild Hydrogenation Liquefaction of Coal to Produce High-Quality Liquid Fuels”

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Author/Source: Yahuahua Coal Chemicals. On December 27, 2018, the 2018 progress report meeting and project advancement session for the **key research and development program “Key Technologies and Processes for the Mild Hydrogenation Liquefaction of Coal to Produce High-Quality Liquid Fuels”, which is led by the Shanxi Institute of Coal Chemistry, was held at Zhongke Synthetic Oil Technology Co., Ltd. in Huairou, Beijing. Chen Shuoyi, Director of the Energy Division at the High-Tech Research and Development Center of the Ministry of Science and Technology, along with Liu Jianlei, the person in charge of that division; Professor Du Minghua, Professor Liu Zhenyu, Professor Bao Xiaojun, Researcher Shen Wenjie, Professor Xu Zhengang, Professor Da Zhijian, and Professor Liu Haichao, who are members of the project’s expert team; Jiang Dong, Director of the Science and Technology Development Division at the Shanxi Coal Chemistry Institute, the institution supporting the project; as well as nearly 30 people including the leaders of various sub-projects and their key team members, attended the meeting. The meeting was chaired by Researcher Wang Jianguo, the project leader and director of the Shanxi Coal Chemistry Institute. This project focuses on key scientific and technical issues such as coal pyrolysis, solvent-catalyzed cyclic hydrogenation/hydrogen supply, pyrolysis/hydrogen supply balance, and efficient conversion treatment through slag reduction. It aims to develop catalysts/reactors for mild hydrohydrogenation of coal along with related process systems, technologies for converting intermediate products into clean fuels, methods for lightening heavy components, slag-reducing fluidized pyrolysis, and gasification of solid products. Pilot tests for mild hydrohydrogenation of coal and slag-reducing fluidized pyrolysis are to be carried out, and these techniques are to be integrated with advanced indirect liquefaction technologies to create a coal fractionation liquefaction process capable of handling millions of tons per year. Chen Shuoyi presented an overview of the recent activities of the Energy Division at the High-Tech Research and Development Center under the Ministry of Science and Technology, emphasizing the importance of holding regular meetings during the project implementation phase. He called for improved communication between different projects, in order to avoid redundant research efforts and ensure that tasks are completed with high quality. Subsequently, Wang Jianguo introduced the overall objectives of the project, evaluation indicators, technical approach and task breakdown, research topics and main research contents, implementation schedule, organizational management, as well as the arrangements for supporting elements such as personnel and funding, and the status of fund utilization. He also highlighted the significant progress made in the project during 2018. The project leaders, Guo Qiang, Mao Xuefeng, and Guo Qinghua, reported respectively on the progress achieved regarding the 2018 plans (evaluation criteria) for “Development and Integration of Key Technologies for Mild Hydrogenation Liquefaction of Coal,” “Development of Technologies for Processing High-Quality Oil Products,” “Development of Technologies for Producing Special Fuels and Chemicals from Heavy Fractions,” and “Development of Technologies for the Clean and Efficient Utilization of Solid By-products.” They also discussed the notable achievements and important progress made, the utilization of project funds, existing problems and corresponding solutions, as well as the work plans and key milestones for 2019. After listening to the presentations on the projects and topics, the experts provided comments and questions regarding each topic, and offered specific suggestions and practical recommendations. Finally, Wang Jianguo delivered a concluding speech, expressing his gratitude to the experts from fields such as coal chemical engineering, catalysis, direct liquefaction, indirect liquefaction, and petrochemicals for their recognition of the project as well as for the valuable suggestions they had offered. It was noted that the project progressed smoothly in 2018, verifying the feasibility of the technical approach. As a critical year for project implementation, 2019 calls for enhanced communication between the various teams and proper handover of raw materials, in order to lay a solid foundation for the successful execution of the project. Following the presentation session, in-depth discussions were held within each project team. These discussions focused on the problems that arose during the implementation of each project, corresponding solutions were proposed, the key priorities for the next phase were identified, and plans for the work to be carried out in 2019 were established, with clear milestones set in place to prepare for the mid-term evaluations of the projects organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology.