Oil production from the industrial demonstration project for coal indirect liquefaction

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On March 20, China’s first industrial demonstration project for coal indirect liquefaction with fully independent intellectual property rights began producing oil at the Dalu Coal Chemical Industry Base in Zhungeer Banner, Ordos City, Inner Mongolia. The success of the industrial demonstration project for coal indirect liquefaction technology marks a major breakthrough in the ’863’ high-tech programs and the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Knowledge Innovation Program. 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 pioneers in coal-to-oil technology, said that it is the first time in China that coal indirect liquefaction has been scaled up from the laboratory stage to industrial production. The industrial demonstration project for coal indirect liquefaction carried out by Sinosteel Synthetic Oil Technology Company, established jointly by Inner Mongolia Yitai Group Co., Ltd. and the Institute of Coal Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is an industrialization project under the ’863’ Program as well as the Knowledge Innovation Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Its core technology was approved by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in October 2004, and it passed the acceptance assessment by the Ministry of Science and Technology in September 2005. The slurry bed reactor, Fertro synthesis catalysts, oil refining technologies, and system integration have all been independently developed by Chinese scientists and engineers. They encompass all the core technologies related to advanced international coal indirect liquefaction methods, and more than 80 **patents have been obtained for these innovations. 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 complete independent intellectual property rights, and is ready for industrial production. The main products of the project are diesel, naphtha, LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), and a small amount of sulfur. 4 tons of raw coal can produce 1 ton of oil products. It is understood that this fuel can be directly used in diesel vehicles. Tests have shown that the exhaust emissions from such vehicles meet the European Standard V, and using it in diesel vehicles results in a fuel savings of 8% to 12% compared to using regular diesel. This oil can also be used as an blending agent to convert ordinary diesel into high-quality diesel. It is reported that Yitai Group has worked closely with the Institute of Coal Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; through nearly 10 years of research and development, it has developed advanced industrial production technologies, which have significantly promoted the industrialization of independent coal indirect liquefaction technology. By utilizing this technology, Yitai Group spent nearly three years building an industrial demonstration plant for coal indirect liquefaction, thereby exploring a new approach for the clean, advanced processing of coal, its value enhancement, as well as energy conservation and emission reduction. The first phase of the coal indirect liquefaction project has a capacity of 160,000 to 180,000 tons per year, and more than 2 billion yuan has already been invested in it. Based on the successful operation of the demonstration plant, Yitai Group plans to, in line with the development strategies for the coal-to-oil industry, work together with domestic and foreign enterprises to establish a coal-to-oil production facility with an annual capacity of 5 million tons by around 2015.