Coal gasification technology restricts the development of the domestic coal chemical industry

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Although technologies such as gray fusion polymerization already exist in China, gasification technology remains a bottleneck for the development of large-scale coal chemical industries there. These were the exclamations of experts at the High-Level Symposium on Gasification Technology held by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the UNESCO China Gasification Education Symposium on August 28. 　　It is said that in the construction of large-scale coal chemical projects, the gasification stage is the core. Coal gasification technology is the foundation for developing process industries such as coal-based chemicals, coal-based liquid fuels, coal gasification combined cycle power generation, and cogeneration; it is a key common technology in the field of clean coal technology. Coal gasification technology, characterized by high efficiency and ultra-high cleanliness, is the mainstream of coal technology development in the world today. However, China’s gasification technology is facing difficulties. First, for a long time, China’s coal gasification technology has relied entirely on foreign companies, resulting in high costs related to technology and patents. Secondly, although China has developed its own two-stage dry gasification powder gasifiers and four-nozzle gasifiers, and in particular, the ash fusion fluidized bed gasifier is suitable for coke powder, bituminous coal powder, anthracite coal powder, high-sulfur coal, etc., these promising domestic technologies lack large-scale commercial demonstration units; therefore, they are not yet ready for widespread adoption and cannot meet the needs of the rapidly developing large-scale coal chemical industry. Third, although China has always encouraged the independent development of gasification technology, **there are currently no systematic and comprehensive policies to promote this effort, nor are there sufficient financial subsidies, which results in a lack of motivation for enterprises to engage in research and development as well as to use such technology. Fourth, there is insufficient communication in terms of industry-university-research collaboration, and no long-term, stable, and institutionalized interest community has been established. 　　Experts suggest that, first of all, China should promptly develop a comprehensive plan for the promotion of coal gasification technologies tailored to its national conditions. It is necessary to actively promote the coal gasification technologies developed in China that possess independent intellectual property rights, and to accelerate the development and construction of a number of demonstration facilities for coal gasification. Secondly, preferential policies such as tax reductions are offered to enterprises that use advanced gasification technology to improve energy conversion efficiency and reduce pollution. Once again, jointly purchasing foreign proprietary technologies. **Research should be conducted on optimization and combination techniques for coal gasification combined heat and power systems, and large corporations should work together to fund the purchase, at low costs, of advanced foreign coal gasification technologies that are already mature. Finally, establish and improve the intellectual property trading system, develop science and technology intermediary institutions, facilitate knowledge flow and technology transfer among enterprises as well as between enterprises and universities and research institutes, and encourage enterprises to carry out independent innovation on a large scale.