Coal-to-oil industrialization accelerates amid controversy!

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This post was last edited by jordan569 on 2013-1-6 at 22:38. The information comes from the Coal Coking Network. . . . The industrialization of coal-to-oil production is accelerating amid controversy. Following the successful trial production of Shenhua Group’s direct coal-to-oil project, on March 23, Inner Mongolia Yitai Group announced that its industrial demonstration project for indirect coal-to-oil production, with an annual capacity of 160,000 tons, had completed successful trial operations, making it China’s first large-scale industrial facility for indirect coal-to-oil production to produce oil on a trial basis. It is evident that the industrialization of coal-to-oil production in our country is accelerating. However, since the second half of last year, international oil prices have plummeted significantly, and high coal prices have also increased the costs of oil production. What will become of the controversial coal-to-oil industry? 　　Energy security will gain a \"new asset\" In recent years, the imbalance between oil production and demand in our country has become increasingly acute. According to data released by the General Administration of Customs, last year China’s net oil imports reached 199.85 million tons, a 12.55% increase on a year-on-year basis, with the country’s dependence on imported oil reaching as high as 51.3%. Experts predict that oil imports will continue to rise in the future. 　　Of particular concern is the fact that international oil prices have been rising steadily in recent years, reaching a record high of $147.27 per barrel last year. During this period, due to supply shortages, oil shortages occurred frequently across the country. “Promoting the industrialization of coal-to-oil conversion can open up new channels for liquid energy production, which is of great significance for ensuring **energy security. ”Zhao Shuanglian, **deputy head** of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, said. 　　Taking Shenhua Group’s direct coal-to-oil project as an example, the scale of the project is an annual production of 5 million tons. The first pilot production line that was successfully developed can, once put into full operation, convert approximately 3.5 million tons of coal per year, producing 1.08 million tons of products such as diesel and naphtha. 　　The industry is taking shape. Affected by factors such as high oil prices and supply shortages, there have been repeated calls in recent years in China to develop the coal-to-oil industry. **It was also proposed to advance the construction of coal liquefaction demonstration projects in an orderly manner during the 11th Five-Year Plan period, in order to lay the foundation for industrial development. 　　It is against this backdrop that Shenhua Group’s coal-to-oil project was launched first. It is reported that after the first million-ton-class demonstration production line begins to produce oil, Shenhua Group will continue to carry out adjustments and improvements; if everything goes well, two more million-ton-class production lines will be built in the near future. 　　Zhang Shuangwang, chairman of Yitai Group, also said that after the successful trial operation of the demonstration project for the indirect production of oil from 160,000 tons of coal per year, efforts will be made to achieve full-scale operation and operational capacity at 100% by the end of this year. Going forward, the facilities will be upgraded and a new generation of coal fractionation liquefaction technology will be applied, gradually increasing production capacity to around 600,000 tons per year; in addition, a coal-to-oil facility with an annual production capacity of 5 million tons is planned to be built. 　　Progress on other projects is also fast. At the end of December last year, the small-scale coal-to-oil conversion test facility of Lu’an Mining Group produced oil products, and the plant with an annual production capacity of 160,000 tons for coal-to-oil conversion is also under accelerated commissioning. At the same time, Yanzhou Mining Group and Xuzhou Mining Group are also planning coal-to-oil projects. In addition, other enterprises in more than 10 provinces and regions including Xinjiang, Shandong, Shaanxi, Guizhou, and Ningxia are competing to develop coal-to-oil projects, with each production line having a capacity ranging from over 100,000 tons to 1 million tons. According to some experts, by 2020 China’s coal-to-oil production capacity is expected to reach 30 to 50 million tons. 　　Facing Controversies and Responding to Doubts: Regarding the view that coal-to-oil production should be halted at present and instead considered as a technical reserve, Li Yongwang, deputy director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Key Laboratory of Coal Conversion and the lead scientist on the \"863\" project related to indirect coal liquefaction, and others argue that new technologies can hardly be put into industrial use without undergoing practical testing and repeated improvements. Furthermore, advancing industrialization can also improve the level of research and development as well as equipment manufacturing, and it enables the training and development of talent. 　　Some experts also criticize coal-to-liquid fuels for their high water consumption, low energy efficiency, and significant pollution during production. Regarding this, Li Yongwang explained that the water consumption per ton of oil in coal-to-oil demonstration projects is 10–12 tons, while this figure can be reduced to 6–8 tons per ton of oil once coal-based indirect oil production reaches an economic scale. In comparison, the water consumption per ton of coal-derived methanol is about 15 tons, while that for coal-based ammonia synthesis is around 30 tons. 　　At the same time, with the scale expanding to 600,000 tons and the application of cascade liquefaction technology, the energy efficiency of indirect coal-to-oil conversion will increase from less than 40% in the demonstration phase to 43%–45%, which is already on par with that of thermal power plants; it will further rise to around 55% after large-scale production begins. Furthermore, coal-to-oil projects in our country place great emphasis on environmental protection. By applying technologies such as the reuse of exhaust gases, waste heat recovery, and carbon dioxide capture, the carbon dioxide emissions of coal-to-oil demonstration projects are over 70% lower than those of thermal power plants. The Shenhua Group’s direct coal-to-oil project has also installed comprehensive environmental protection facilities such as oil residue power generation and sewage treatment, resulting in near-zero emissions of pollutants. The coal-to-oil demonstration project of Yitai Group is also equipped with systems for dust removal, wastewater reuse, sulfur recovery, and waste heat recovery. This post was last edited by Zhenzhen Youci on 2009-3-29 17:53. Note: $ # , $ $