Let’s discuss the advantages and disadvantages of multi-component slurries, Endo, and ash fusion, as well as the current status of their industrial application. Thank you!

I would like to ask what you plan to use gasification for. The pressure in Endler furnaces and ash fusion gasification processes is not high, which makes it difficult to scale up these devices. The multi-material slurry is similar to TEXCO slurry, except that the raw materials are not limited to coal alone; if the multi-material slurry cannot be used, water-coal slurry can serve as a substitute. Additionally, it seems that Endler furnaces cause significant pollution

I think it’s better to ask one by one; with so many questions, it’s really hard to answer

The Multi-Component Slurry Gasification Technology (MCSG) is a large-scale coal gasification technology developed by the Northwest Research Institute of Chemical Engineering. It utilizes the concept of wet gasifier fluidized bed gasification; carbon-containing materials such as coal, petroleum coke, and petroleum asphalt, along with oils (crude oil, heavy oil, residue oil, etc.) and water, are optimally mixed to form a multi-component slurry. This slurry is mixed with oxygen through nozzles and then gasified instantly. The technology features wide adaptability to various feedstocks, advanced gasification performance, maturity and reliability, and low investment costs. To date, three industrial units using this technology are in stable operation in China. Enterprises applying partial multi-component slurry pressurized gasification technology:
Serial No. | Enterprise | Purpose and scale | Commissioning date | Remarks
1 | Zhejiang Fengden Company | 30,000 tons/year ammonia synthesis plant | Already in operation
2 | Zhejiang Juhua Company | 60,000 tons/year methanol plant | Already in operation
3 | Shandong Hualu Hengsheng Company | 300,000 tons/year ammonia synthesis | Already in operation
4 | Shandong Hualu Hengsheng Chemical Co., Ltd. – Phase 2: 200,000 tons/year methanol | Already in operation
5 | Inner Mongolia Sanwei Resources Group Co., Ltd. | 200,000 tons/year methanol | Under construction
6 | Inner Mongolia Yitai Coal-to-Oil Co., Ltd. | 160,000 tons/year coal-to-oil project | Under construction
7 | Shaanxi Xianyang Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. | 600,000 tons/year methanol | Under construction
8 | Inner Mongolia Nailun Group Co., Ltd. | 300,000 tons/year ammonia synthesis | Under construction

The ash fusion gasification technology uses dry coal powder with a particle size of less than 6 mm as raw material, and air, oxygen-enriched air, or steam as the gasifying agent. The coal powder and gasifying agent are continuously fed from the bottom of the gasifier, where they undergo rapid gasification reactions at high temperatures of (1050–1100)°C. The unreacted carbon and fly ash carried away by the raw gas are recovered using two-stage cyclone separators and then returned to the furnace for further gasification, thereby increasing the carbon conversion rate and reducing the phosphorus content in the ash to below 10%. The ash disposal system is simple. Raw gas contains almost no harmful substances such as tar and phenols, making it easy to purify. China has successfully developed this advanced gasification technology on its own. This technology can be used for producing fuel gas, syngas, and for combined-cycle power generation. It is particularly suitable for replacing intermittent fixed-bed gasifiers in small and medium-sized nitrogen fertilizer plants; by using bituminous coal in place of anthracite to produce the raw material gas for synthetic ammonia, the cost of synthetic ammonia can be reduced by 15% to 20%, offering broad prospects for development.

The Eunde coal fluidized bed gasification technology is a coal gasification process that was gradually improved and refined by the ’7·7’ Chemical Plant in Eunde County, North Hamgyong Province, North Korea, based on the original Wenkle coal fluidized bed gasifier. This gasification technology was introduced to China in the 1990s by Liaoning Ende Engineering Construction Co., Ltd. This type of furnace uses pulverized coal as raw material and different gasifying agents to produce air gas, semi-water gas, and water gas, which are respectively used as gas for industrial heating furnaces, as fuel for domestic use, and as synthesis gas for chemical industries. At present, all components of this device have been domestically produced.     The gas generation system of the Ende furnace mainly consists of raw coal preparation, gas generation, preliminary gas purification, and the associated air separation unit. The production process involves atmospheric pressure gasification at an operating temperature of 900–1000 °C; solid ash discharge is used, with the carbon content in the ash being less than 10%. The effective gas content in the produced coal gas ranges from 65% to 70%. For a plant with a gas production capacity of 40,000 Nm3/h, if one gas generation furnace is used, the total investment for the entire coal gasification system is approximately 80 million yuan; of this amount, the investment in the Endler furnace is about 32 million yuan, while the investment in the air separation system is 30 million yuan. If two gas generation furnaces with a capacity of 20,000 Nm3/h are used, the total investment for the entire system is approximately 90 million yuan.     The raw materials used in this technology are mainly lignite, long-flame coal, and non-sticky and weakly sticky bituminous coals. The ash content of the coal is required to be less than 30%, it must have a high ash fusion point (ST > 1250 °C), and good chemical activity at low temperatures (greater than 85% at 950 °C, and greater than 95% at 1000 °C).     The current production capacities of this equipment are 10,000 Nm3/h, 20,000 Nm3/h, and 40,000 Nm3/h. Considering the impact that equipment maintenance can have on the operational stability of the plant, it is common for a single plant to use two or more gas generation furnaces, so that a failure in one unit does not result in the shutdown of the entire plant.     To date, 18 units have been installed in China, of which more than 7 are used in ammonia synthesis plants. China’s first gas generation unit for Ende furnaces was put into operation in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province in 2001, with a capacity of 10,000 Nm3/h. Subsequently, gasification units for Ende furnaces were also built and brought online by various chemical enterprises such as Heilongjiang Heihua Group Co., Ltd., Jilin Changshan Fertilizer Group Co., Ltd., Anhui Huaihua Group Co., Ltd., Heilongjiang Beifeng Group Ningan Chemical Company, and Jilin Beifang Gas.