Achievements of the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences in “Development and Industrialization of Circulating Fluidized Bed Gasification Technology”

Thread Content

Achievements of the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in “Development and Industrialization of Circulating Fluidized Bed Gasification Technology”. Author/Source: Xinhua News Agency. Date: May 24, 2021. Click-through rate: 14. It is necessary to strive to reach peak carbon emissions before 2030; coal, which accounts for a large proportion of China’s energy consumption, faces the challenge of significantly reducing its carbon dioxide emissions. “By utilizing new gasification technologies, carbon emissions can be reduced by addressing both pollutant reduction and efficiency improvement. ”said Lu Qinggang, a researcher at the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The achievement of \"Development and Industrialization of Circulating Fluidized Bed Gasification Technology\", led by Lu Qinggang, was recently presented at the 2021 China (Anhui) Science and Technology Innovation Achievements Transfer and Transformation Fair as one of the five major achievements of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. A pungent smell, coal ash everywhere, and waste water and residues scattered on the ground – these are the impressions that many people have of coal chemical gasification plants. However, at the site of the Xinjiang Yihua gasification plant built by Zhongke Hefei Gasification Technology Co., Ltd., large-scale gasification units are arranged in an orderly manner, and the production workshops are clean and well-organized. The high-alkali coal that is difficult to gasify from the Jundong region in Xinjiang is fed into these units, while clean syngas is produced as a result. ↑At the construction site of the coal gasification plant of Xinjiang Yihua, core technologies such as high-concentration material circulation and waste heat recovery in circulating fluidized bed gasification were employed. This has significantly reduced the production cost of clean coal gas. Additionally, dry ash removal and slag discharge technologies were utilized to enable direct utilization of the ash and slag. As a result, the formation of tar and phenolic substances during the production process was prevented. Lü Qinggang explained that traditional fixed-bed gasification technology faces challenges such as difficult tar treatment and high pollutant emissions, making it hard to significantly reduce carbon emissions. The new gasification technology captures and reuses carbon that would otherwise be lost, creating a high-concentration carbon cycle. By controlling the generation of pollutants at the source, it avoids the traditional approach of polluting first and then cleaning up, thereby achieving a significant reduction in energy consumption. ↑Schematic diagram of the circulating fluidized bed coal gasification technology. Coal is not only a fuel but also a raw material. In recent years, about 800 million tons of gas have been generated annually in our country and are widely used in fields such as metallurgy, chemicals, building materials, and synthetic ammonia production. However, the conversion process often involves significant carbon emissions, and coal chemical industry has become a key area for carbon emission reduction. The Institute of Engineering Thermophysics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences has a long-standing and profound research background in the field of clean and efficient coal utilization. In recent years, the institute has been striving to achieve carbon emission reductions by improving energy utilization efficiency. The gas head renovation project at Guizhou Hongsheng Chemical, built using circulating fluidized bed gasification technology, has now been successfully applied in ammonia synthesis production. Just one gasifier has replaced ten fixed-bed gasifiers, and by utilizing locally available bituminous coal, which is of poor quality and difficult to gasify using traditional methods, gas production becomes more efficient, cleaner, and cheaper. ↑Regarding the gas-based transformation project at Guizhou Hongsheng Chemical, Lü Qinggang explained that the biggest feature of this technology is that it “is not picky about the type of coal used”. Using circulating fluidized bed technology, high-efficiency gasification of pulverized coal is possible, resulting in significantly lower energy consumption and carbon emissions compared to traditional fixed-bed technology. At present, about one-third of the feed gas for China’s ammonia synthesis industry is still supplied by fixed-bed gasification technology. According to a report published by the international consulting firm McKinsey, by upgrading coal-to-gas production equipment, it is expected that by 2030, the coal consumption per unit in related industries in China could be reduced by 30%, thereby cutting carbon emissions by around 15%. The residue left after gasification can still be used as fuel! Fly ash incineration for power generation is a technology developed by the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics for the large-scale treatment and resource utilization of residues resulting from gasification; the combustion efficiency of these residues is even comparable to that of some low-quality coals. It is reported that this technology features a high capacity for handling fly ash and high combustion efficiency; when used in combination with circulating fluidized bed gasification technology, it enables the stepwise utilization of coal, allowing for the maximum possible exploitation of coal resources. “There are many other technologies for carbon emission reduction, and we are continuously exploring ways to bring them into industrial use. ”Lü Qinggang gave an example: by further decarbonizing the residues resulting from gasification, they can be used as raw materials for construction materials, serving as a substitute for certain industries with high carbon emissions and enabling their value-added utilization.