The world’s first 10,000-ton-scale industrial trial of producing high-carbon alcohols and liquid fuels in one step from syngas has passed evaluation!

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The world’s first 10,000-ton-scale industrial trial of producing high-carbon alcohols and liquid fuels in one step from syngas has passed evaluation! Author/Source: Yahuahua Coal Chemical Industry. Date: November 27, 2019. Clicks: 87. On November 26, the interim research results of the major scientific and technological project under the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Class A strategic pilot program titled “Industrial Demonstration of Producing Tens of Thousands of Tons of Mixed Alcohols from Syngas to Produce Diesel Fuel” – specifically, the research on “Development of Co-Co2C-Based Catalysts for the Production of High-Carbon Alcohols from Syngas and Their Evaluation in Tens-of-Thousands-of-Tons Scale Facilities” – were reviewed in Beijing by an expert panel organized by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation. The experts unanimously agreed that the Co-Co2C-based catalysts for producing high-carbon alcohols from syngas have been granted 11 invention patents; they represent original technology with advanced performance metrics and strong practical applicability, placing them at the international leading level. At the meeting, Researcher Ding Yunjie from the Dahuacheng Institute presented a work report and a technical research report titled “Development of Co-Co2C-based Catalysts for the Production of High-Carbon Alcohols from Syngas and Evaluation Tests on 10,000-ton Scale Plants.” He provided a detailed account of the development process of these Co-Co2C-based catalysts for synthesizing high-carbon alcohols from syngas, as well as explanations on how to advance the transition of laboratory achievements to industrial application. Researcher Zhu Hejun from Dahuaxian Institute and Feng Chenghai, Deputy General Manager of Shaanxi Yanchang Yulin Coal Chemical Co., Ltd., presented summary reports on the transformation and operation of the facility as well as summary reports on production operations, respectively. Professor-level senior engineer Liang Longhu from Sinopec Luoyang Engineering Co., Ltd. presented the assessment report on the \"Industrial trial of producing high-carbon alcohols from 10,000-ton-scale syngas.\" This project was carried out jointly by the Dahuazhong Research Institute and Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum Yulin Coal Chemical Co., Ltd., and was officially launched in 2018. The project innovatively used a new cobalt-cobalt carbide-based catalyst loaded with carbon materials developed by the Dahuacheng Research Institute, and carried out the world’s first industrial test on a scale of 10,000 tons in a large-scale slurry bed reactor to produce high-carbon alcohols and liquid fuels in a single step from syngas. From October 31 to November 2 this year, this industrial test passed the 72-hour continuous catalyst performance assessment organized by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation. At a plant load of 30%, the total conversion rate of syngas is greater than 84%, the methane selectivity is less than 6%, and the total selectivity for alcohols/aldehydes is greater than 42%. High-carbon alcohols are important raw materials in the fine chemical industry, used for synthesizing plasticizers, detergents, surfactants, and various other fine chemicals; the products derived from them find wide application in fields such as textiles, papermaking, and pharmaceuticals. Currently, the market price of high-carbon alcohols is 15,000 yuan per ton, with an annual global consumption of around 15 million tons. With the rapid development of China’s fine chemical industry, the annual demand for high-carbon alcohols in the domestic market exceeds 2 million tons, with a growth rate of 10% per year. At present, the raw materials and process technologies for the international mainstream method of producing high-carbon alcohols – the hydroformylation of high-carbon olefins – are under foreign monopoly; domestic companies generally use the oil hydrogenation method to produce high-carbon alcohols, with an annual production capacity of around 700,000 tons. Since the raw materials used in the oil hydrogenation process cannot be produced domestically in China and must be imported entirely, their high cost and unstable supply have prevented an increase in the production of higher carbon alcohols, thereby severely restricting related downstream industries as well. The promotion and implementation of this project will provide a cheap and abundant source of raw materials for the fine chemical industry that uses high-carbon alcohols as inputs. Furthermore, by adjusting the catalyst, this project enables the modification of the ratio between high-carbon alcohols and liquid fuels in the products, which is in line with China’s policy of vigorously developing coal-based liquid fuels to ensure energy security. It can significantly improve the economic efficiency of enterprises that produce coal-based fuels, as well as the economic viability and risk resistance of such facilities. At the same time, high-carbon alcohols can be used as raw materials to produce high-carbon alpha-olefins, thereby alleviating the shortage in the supply of base oils for lubricants in China. High-carbon alpha-olefins are also essential raw materials for the development of high-end polyethylene materials in China. The catalyst carrier used in this project is a carbon material, which is easy to recycle, enabling low or even zero solid waste generation. This project has opened up a new pathway for the clean conversion of syngas into high-value fine chemicals such as high-carbon alcohols, providing a new direction for the valuable utilization of oxygen in syngas. It represents an important advancement in the transformation of syngas chemistry toward higher value and greater sophistication. Following the appraisal meeting, DAHUA held a press conference in Beijing to present the results of the project titled “Development of Co-Co2C-based catalysts for the production of high-carbon alcohols from syngas and evaluation tests on a 10,000-ton scale facility”. The meeting was chaired by Liu Jian, Deputy Director (at the bureau level) of the Science Communication Bureau of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Reporters from 14 media outlets, including China News Service, People’s Daily, Guangming Daily, Economic Daily, Science and Technology Daily, China National Radio, China Youth Daily, China Science News, China Chemical Industry News, China Energy News, Shaanxi Daily, Shaanxi TV Station, Liaoning TV Station, and Dalian TV Station, attended the press conference. At the meeting, journalists exchanged views on issues of interest with appraisal experts and researchers from the Dahuazhong Institute.