Experts call for curbing the tendency to convert coal wherever it is available

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The last edit to this post was made by jordan569 on 2013-1-6 at 21:14. According to a report from Sinochem News, on August 18, at the 2010 annual meeting of the Chinese Chemical Society held in Chengdu, Sichuan, Cao Xianghong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and senior advisor to Sinopec, pointed out sharply that China’s coal chemical industry is currently experiencing overdevelopment as well as a tendency to process coal whenever it is available. He emphasized that the development of the coal-to-oil and coal chemical industries must be carried out in a moderate and orderly manner; a thorough analysis of the market competitiveness of the products is fundamental to making decisions regarding such projects. A strong partnership between coal production enterprises and petrochemical companies, linked by financial resources, represents the best approach for developing the coal chemical industry. 　　Cao Xianghong analyzed that the shortage of oil resources is the driving force behind the development of coal-to-oil and coal chemical industries. However, the growth of these industries is constrained by various factors: China’s coal reserves are only relatively abundant compared to those of oil and gas, and the per capita amount of coal resources in the country is even below the world average. Electricity is the most important secondary energy source in our country, and coal-fired power constitutes the main source of electricity. In 2009, coal-fired power accounted for 80% of China’s total electrical generation capacity; the country consumed around 1.5 billion tons of coal annually, which represented about half of the total consumption of primary energy in the country. Our country suffers from a water shortage; the per capita water resources amount to only 1/4 of the world average. Most coal-producing areas are also short of water, resulting in poor ecological conditions. Taking the coal-to-oil project jointly developed by Shenhua Ningmei and South African Sasol as an example, even after various water-saving measures were implemented, the water consumption per ton of oil produced remained at 8 tons. In addition, the Shenhua Baotou coal-to-methanol and methanol-to-olefins projects consume 33 tons of water per ton of olefins produced. Cao Xianghong believes that coal-to-oil and coal chemical plants generate large amounts of carbon dioxide emissions, placing significant pressure on enterprises to adopt clean production methods. 　　Cao Xianghong also pointed out that the economic viability of coal-to-oil and coal chemical industries is closely related to the prices of crude oil and coal. As oil prices rise, the economic viability of coal-to-oil and coal chemical processes improves. However, rising oil prices also lead to higher coal prices, which in turn reduces the economic viability of coal-to-oil and coal chemical processes. In the Middle East, methanol and other products produced from natural gas are inexpensive, which poses a significant challenge to methanol produced in our country from coal. 　　Cao Xianghong emphasized that the development of coal-to-oil and coal chemical industries in our country must take into account limits regarding total scale, resource utilization, and environmental capacity. The total scale should be determined on the premise that there are sufficient environmental permits as well as adequate supplies of water and coal resources; overdevelopment and the practice of converting any available coal into products must be avoided. He believes that it is necessary to strike a balanced balance among the efficiency of resource utilization, investment, and costs, giving priority to ensuring a long-term supply of thermal coal in order to establish a rational industrial layout. Coal-producing areas close to thermal coal consumption should not develop coal-to-oil and coal chemical industries ； In remote areas rich in coal resources, where the cost of transporting coal is high, but where water supplies are sufficient and the ecological capacity allows it, coal-to-oil and coal chemical industry parks can be developed to an appropriate extent. http://www.ccin.com.cn/ccin/news/2010/08/19/140244.shtml. Note $ # , $ $