Progress of several indirect liquefaction projects in China
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This post was last edited by jordan569 on 2013-1-6 at 22:38. On March 20, 2009, the Yitai 160,000 tons/year coal indirect liquefaction project, located in the Dalu New Area of Zhungeer Banner in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, produced its first batch of oil, and all test results showed that the quality met the standards. Yahua Consulting believes that this marks the official transition of China’s coal-to-oil technology, which relies on independent intellectual property, into industrial application. The Yitai coal indirect liquefaction project was approved in 2005, and construction began in 2006. The designed production capacity of the project is 480,000 tons per year, with a total investment of 4.975 billion RMB. The designed production capacity for the first phase is 160,000 tons per year, with an investment of 2.176 billion yuan. This project utilizes technology from Sinochem Synthetic Oil Company. It passed the technical evaluation by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2005. The slurry bed reactor, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis catalysts, oil refining processes, and system integration were all developed independently in China. More than 40 patents have been obtained, covering all the core technologies for advanced indirect coal liquefaction. According to data from Yahuazheng Consulting, the Lu’an Shanxi 160,000-ton/year coal-to-oil project via indirect liquefaction, which also utilizes technology from Zhongke Synthetic Oil Company, is scheduled to begin trial operations in mid-April 2009 ； The Shenhua Ordos 180,000 tons/year indirect liquefaction coal-to-oil project will be completed by the end of 2009. Additionally, the Yankuang Group’s coal-to-oil project with an annual capacity of 1 million tons in Yulin, Shaanxi, which relies on proprietary technology, has all the necessary documents prepared and has been submitted for approval ； The 3.6 million tons per year coal-to-oil project via indirect liquefaction, a collaboration between Shenhua and Sasol in Ningxia, is expected to have its feasibility study completed by 2010. Although the once-low oil prices raised doubts about the economic viability of coal-to-oil conversion, Yaha Consulting believes that due to the relatively abundant reserves of coal, and as international oil prices are rising, the economic viability of such projects will improve significantly, suggesting a promising future for the coal-to-oil industry. Source: China Coal Chemical Network. A few thoughts: 1 It seems that large-scale indirect liquefaction by Shenhua Ningmei and Sasol is still some time away. If the feasibility study is completed by 2010, production is likely to start after 2015. It seems that Yankuang’s project also has a pilot-scale project (several hundred thousand tons per year); I’m not sure how things are progressing with that 3 I heard that the project in Lu’an, Shanxi, started trial operations last December, but the information available elsewhere says it was in April this year. Which information is correct? This question has been resolved. The one in December is a pilot plant, while the one in April this year is a 160,000-ton/year project. 4 When considering coal-to-oil production, one should not focus solely on the economic aspects related to oil prices; instead, a comprehensive evaluation should be carried out from various and higher levels. This post was last edited by deep007 on 2009-3-26 12:57. Note $ # , $ $
Oil prices are expected to remain bullish in the long term, so I am optimistic about our coal-to-oil project. :lol
On the morning of December 22, a domestic demonstration project for coal-based synthetic oil with independent intellectual property rights began producing oil at the Shanxi Lu’an Group, marking a phased achievement and a significant breakthrough in China’s industrialization efforts related to coal-to-oil conversion.
Thank you for providing the information. Could you tell me the source of the above information? I also heard that Lu’an in Shanxi started producing oil last December, but I’m not sure if it’s true.
In terms of efficiency, coal-to-oil is the lowest, at around 30%, making it the most wasteful method. Coal-to-natural gas has an efficiency of about 45%. As for the efficiency of coal-based power generation, it’s not clear what it is
I have had communication with Zhongke Synthetic Oil. Taking lignite with 4,000 kcal as an example, their current energy efficiency target for indirect liquefaction is expected to reach 45%; if high-quality coal from Inner Mongolia is used, this figure could reach 60%. It’s not the current level, but rather the goal that is desired to be achieved. There should be a possibility.
There are reports and descriptions available online as well as in internal materials, and the quality of the oil is also good.
More than 70 hours after the industrial demonstration project for coal indirect liquefaction, developed by Sinocat Synthetic Oil Technology Company – a firm formed by Inner Mongolia Yitai Group and the core technology team from the Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences – began operation in Zhungeer Banner, Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, the first batch of coal indirectly liquefied oil was successfully produced this early morning. In our country, the coal indirect liquefaction technology, which possesses entirely independent intellectual property rights, has progressed from the laboratory stage to pilot-scale testing, and further to industrial-scale demonstration production – a first of its kind in the country. The capacity of the first phase of the coal indirect liquefaction project (hereinafter referred to as coal-to-oil production) is 160,000–180,000 tons per year, and Yitai Group has invested over 2 billion yuan in it. The main products of the project are diesel, naphtha, LPG, and a small amount of sulfur. Approximately 4 tons of raw coal can be used to produce 1 ton of oil products. The oil produced by this project is one of the cleanest liquid fuels in the world today. At the production site, the reporter saw that this fuel was as clear as water and could be directly added to diesel vehicles. Tests showed that the exhaust emissions from these vehicles met the European Standard V; using this fuel in diesel vehicles allowed for a 8%–12% reduction in fuel consumption compared to ordinary diesel. This oil can also be used as an blending agent to convert ordinary diesel into high-quality diesel. This project is an industrialization project under the **\"863\" Program, as well as the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Its core technology passed the technical appraisal by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in October 2004, and it was approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology in September 2005. The slurry bed reactor, F-T synthesis catalysts, oil refining technologies, and system integration have all been independently developed by Chinese scientists. They cover all the core technologies for advanced international coal indirect liquefaction, and more than 80 **patents have been obtained. The evaluation experts believe that the industrialization technology for synthesizing coal-based liquid fuels using a slurry bed has achieved reliable results in terms of process development, equipment design, and catalyst research and testing; it has met the intended objectives, possesses independent intellectual property rights, and meets the conditions required for industrial production. The commissioning of this high-tech project at the Dalu Coal Chemical Industry Base in Zhungeer Banner, Ordos City, marks the emergence of oil products produced through the indirect liquefaction of coal in China, with complete independent intellectual property rights. It also represents a significant advancement for the \"863\" high-tech program as well as the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Knowledge Innovation Project, and it illustrates the success of enterprises in investing in high-tech research and development. Leaders such as Chu Bo, Secretary of the Party Committee of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Batel, the head of the autonomous region, and Zhao Shuanglian, the deputy head, have paid close attention to the progress of the project and have visited the site on multiple occasions to provide guidance. Secretary Chu Bo instructed General Manager Zhang Donghai of Yitai Group to have the first batch of coal-derived oil products produced stored in the Inner Mongolia Museum. Zhang Shuangwang, chairman of Yitai Group and one of China’s top 500 enterprises, said that with the guidance of relevant authorities and the strong support at all levels, the company has worked closely with research institutions. Through nearly 10 years of research and development, it has developed advanced industrial production technologies, which have effectively promoted the industrialization of independent coal-to-oil technology and transformed scientific knowledge into productive forces. By adopting this technology, Yitai Group spent nearly 3 years building an industrial demonstration plant for coal-to-oil conversion, achieving local transformation and value addition of resources as well as maximum energy efficiency. It facilitated the circular use of coal mines, synthetic oil, and electricity, thus exploring a new approach for the clean, advanced processing of coal as well as energy conservation and emission reduction. At the coal-to-oil production facility, the reporter met Li Yongwang, a researcher at the Shanxi Institute of Coal Chemistry under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, director of the **Coal Indirect Liquefaction Engineering Laboratory, and one of the key scientists behind coal-to-oil technology. He said that since this is the first time that coal indirect liquefaction has been moved from the laboratory stage to industrial production in China, it is necessary to identify as many engineering and technical issues as possible during the trial operation phase, so as to prepare thoroughly for subsequent maintenance and improvements. This will ensure long-term safe, stable, full-capacity, and high-quality operation. Additionally, it will provide a basis for the software package related to the 3 million tons per year coal-to-oil production process that is currently under development. Rite Group will leverage the coal resource advantages of the Ordos region, and in line with **energy strategic needs, increase investment in the coal-to-oil industry in order to upgrade its status as a resource-based enterprise, thereby contributing to the economic development of the region ； Based on the successful operation of the demonstration plant, the company plans to, in line with the development strategy for the coal-to-oil industry, work together with domestic and international enterprises to establish a coal-to-oil production facility with an annual capacity of 5 million tons by around 2015. (
Everything mentioned above is true; Itai’s coal-to-oil process has indeed produced oil, and the crude oil obtained meets all the standards after testing. Now, the processing of oil in the final unit has also been successfully completed. High-quality, highly clean oils will be produced in large quantities soon. It is also understood that on the 30th, there will be a large-scale celebration at Yitai Coal-to-Oil Plant to mark the successful production of oil through coal indirect liquefaction. Let’s offer our best wishes to Yitai, so that it can help pave new paths for China’s energy strategy.
Regarding Shanxi Lu’an’s coal-to-oil project, it should be clarified that previous reports claiming that oil had been produced from a project with a capacity of 160,000 tons were actually misinformed. This oil production comes from an industrial side line of a 160,000-ton synthetic oil plant; it uses a fixed-bed cobalt-based catalyst and operates on a scale of several hundred tons per year – making it a pilot-scale facility. This plant utilizes technologies such as pressurized coal gasification and coal gas purification to produce high-quality coal-based syngas. Its designed production capacity is 150 barrels per day. It began operating on December 16, 2008, and has been in continuous operation to this day.