Comparison of the prospects for coal-to-oil and coal-to-olefins
Thread Content
This post was last edited by jordan569 on 2013-1-6 at 22:04. Coal-to-oil is an industry that requires high technical standards, significant investment, and substantial energy consumption. Currently, South Africa is the only country with industrial experience in indirect coal liquefaction for this purpose; approximately 30% of the gasoline and diesel in South Africa is produced through this method. To date, direct coal liquefaction relies only on pilot-scale experience; there is no mature industrial experience available for reference. The technology is not yet developed, which entails high risks. Shenhua’s million-ton-scale project in Inner Mongolia is also the world’s first such facility, and it is still in the exploratory phase. The idea of coal-to-oil technology developing rapidly in the future raises some concerns and a lack of confidence to varying degrees. At present, coal-to-olefins projects represent a relatively mature technology. Although the scale of all such projects has not been large to date, they involve low investment risks and offer high profit margins; as a result, many people have shown great interest in them in recent years, leading to the launch of numerous projects, especially in areas with abundant coal resources. However, it remains to be seen whether coal-based olefins can continue to grow and develop just like oil refining companies. I hope everyone will feel free to share their opinions and insights, and that we can exchange ideas together. I also hope that those who have resources can share them so that we can all benefit from them! ! This post was last edited by redfox1985 on 2009-4-15 12:57. Note: $ # , $ $
Shenhua’s million-ton-scale project in Inner Mongolia is also the world’s first such facility, and it is still in the exploration phase. Is the million-ton plant in the exploration phase? Your exploration is a bit too extensive, haha. Coal-to-oil is originally a type of coal chemical industry; I’m not sure what the person above meant What is the so-called coal chemical industry upstairs? Could you give an example? Is coal-to-methanol profitable with great potential? Is it coal-based olefins? I’m afraid those upstairs don’t know what coal chemical engineering is either.
Coal-to-oil and coal-to-olefins represent two different approaches. In my previous understanding, coal-to-olefins was part of coal chemical processing; I was quite interested in this area, but my knowledge wasn’t sufficient, so my concept of it was a bit unclear. Thank you for your advice. Hehe, but direct liquefaction of coal on a million-ton scale was only carried out by Germany during World War II; after that, all such projects were discontinued. From pilot scale to industrial production, the scale is increased by many times, and for it to operate stably, modifications to processes and equipment are also necessary. It is a process of trying things out as one goes. Many processes were successful at the pilot scale, but didn’t they all fail when applied to industrial production? It is certain that direct coal liquefaction is still in the “exploration stage”; there’s no doubt about that at all.
I wonder when in China large-scale use of domestically produced coal-to-oil products will become possible? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
I don’t know on what criteria you base this comparison. Due to the high environmental demands and substantial water consumption associated with coal-to-oil production, it is generally considered as an energy technology that should be kept as a strategic reserve. Apart from the existing projects, no new large-scale coal-to-oil projects will be established. According to China’s relevant policies in recent years, coal-based olefins are likely to be produced on a large scale after the industrialization project of Shenhua has undergone practical verification.
Coal-to-oil is a form of strategic reserve, and it will not be developed on a large scale due to the high costs associated with investment and waste. It’s hard to say whether coal-based olefins are cost-effective or not from an environmental perspective; after all, there are no methanol-to-olefins plants with a capacity of millions of tons worldwide. So we’ll have to wait and see what happens with Shenhua’s MTO project, to determine whether such projects should be developed on a large scale or not.
It’s not clear when Shenhua’s MTO/MTP plants will come online. The chemical industry is currently in a downturn, and it’s hoped that by the time they start operating, the situation in this industry will have improved. If that happens, Shenhua will be able to rebuild itself as a strong company within 5 years.
Coal-to-olefins is not a good project. The profit margin is low in the coal-to-methanol process, as it requires a lot of water and electricity. It is far less competitive compared to coal-to-oil, and it also lacks competitiveness compared to the petrochemical route. Only after the price of oil exceeds $100 (this isn’t necessarily accurate; it’s just a rough estimate) can a cost advantage be realized. Although the technology for producing light hydrocarbons from coal is relatively mature, the purity of the products obtained differs to some extent from that of petroleum-based products; further purification is required, otherwise it is not possible to produce final products such as PE and PP that meet the specified standards.
I would like to ask you the following: 1. What kind of projects are considered good projects? 2. How did you personally determine that coal-based olefins only have a cost advantage when oil prices are above $100 per barrel? 3. You say that the technology for producing olefins from coal is mature, but I tell you clearly that it is not yet mature; as far as MTP is concerned, LURGI has still been making technical changes until recently. Moreover, there will be immeasurable technological changes in the future. 4. Do you have any evidence for your claim that coal-based olefins require high energy and water consumption? Is the energy and water consumption for coal-to-oil production very low? Where did you get your data from, to speak nonsense like that? 5. Regarding the purity of coal-based olefins, I posted the specifications for the propylene produced in a previous post; I’m not sure if you’ve seen it, and I also wonder what level of polymerization you’re referring to? 6. The end product of coal-based olefins is definitely polyolefins, and even the polyolefin production facilities of petrochemical companies must have olefin purification units – this is common sense. Do not make arbitrary comments on an industry you are not familiar with, and certainly avoid irresponsible comparisons; let the data speak for itself. This is also advice for you.
Haha, different people have different opinions. Share your opinions; okay, great
After listening to the remarks from everyone above, I realized that Shenhua is actually so powerful among China’s coal chemical enterprises! As far as I know, Tsinghua University and Sinopec have an experimental project for coal-based olefins called “FMTP” (Fluidized Bed Methanol to Propylene), which aims to minimize time and energy consumption by using a new type of catalyst as well as multi-level utilization of energy within the facility. It should be able to save a significant amount of costs.