China’s original oxygen-enriched continuous gasification technology for coal powder formation

Thread Content

According to the China Chemical Industry News, a major breakthrough has been achieved in China’s proprietary technology for oxygen-enriched continuous gasification of pulverized coal. On December 5, reporters learned from Jiangxi Changyu Industrial Co., Ltd. that after more than 10 months of intensive efforts, the technical upgrade project aimed at enhancing the oxygen enrichment process for coal gas production using fixed-bed gasifiers, carried out jointly by this company and Fujian Sanming Chemical Co., Ltd., was a complete success. The 5 newly installed 3.0m fixed-bed batch gasifiers have all been put into operation at Sanming Chemical, with performance metrics that exceed those of existing facilities in China’s fertilizer industry. Gas production volume and carbon conversion rate have increased by half, while overall costs have decreased by 10%. Additionally, these gasifiers have completely resolved the environmental issues related to sulfur compounds and carbon dioxide emissions associated with batch gasifiers. Zhao Lequn, an expert in gas generation technology and the chief engineer of Jiangxi Changyu Industrial Co., Ltd., told reporters that the cooperation between Sanming Chemical and Jiangxi Changyu in the renovation of gas furnaces began in June 2006. They first achieved high-intensity gasification using briquettes as raw material in 3.0m series fixed-bed gas furnaces; on this basis, they spent over 10 months working on developing a technology for continuous oxygen-enriched gasification of briquettes, and eventually succeeded. The newly installed oxygen-enriched gas furnace at Sanming Chemical has increased gas production by 50% when burning briquettes in a single furnace. The overall cost per ton of ammonia has decreased by about 10% compared to the batch gasification process, while coal consumption per unit of output has dropped by around 30%. The fixed carbon content in the slag has fallen from 20% in batch gasifiers to less than 5%. According to You Biao, the chief engineer of Sanming Chemical Co., Ltd., the technology of oxygen-enriched continuous gasification for coal briquette formation is a systematic project that requires addressing issues such as the thermal stability, thermal strength, chemical reactivity, and slag properties of coal briquettes. It also involves dealing with the scale of oxygen enrichment processes and product costs, as well as the design of key equipment and the overall engineering design for gasifiers. Transforming the fixed-bed batch gasifier into a new oxygen-enriched continuous gasification process using briquettes as raw material resolves all these problems. Currently, the national nitrogen fertilizer industry operates over 5,000 fixed-bed batch gasification coal gasifiers. These units not only suffer from low carbon conversion rates and high energy consumption, but they also emit large amounts of sulfides and carbon dioxide. Replacing them with advanced foreign powder coal gasification technologies requires substantial investment and a long period for technology transfer. The coal briquette oxygen-enriched oxidation technology upgrade project carried out jointly by Fujian Sanming Chemical and Jiangxi Changyu Company has established a practical path for technological upgrades for similar nitrogen fertilizer manufacturers and gas furnaces across the country.