Space furnaces consume coal with high sulfur, high ash, and high carbon content

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Recently, news came out at a media briefing held by Aerospace Engineering Corporation in Beijing. As the first project to use \"high-carbon, high-sulfur, and high-ash\" coal as raw material, the Jincheng Coal to Oil Conversion Project undertaken by Aerospace Engineering Corporation (referred to as the Tianxi Project) has been in operation for over half a year now. Its gasification unit has passed performance tests, with its production capacity, consumption, and emission levels all meeting the design requirements. “The raw coal used in the Tianxi project is a ’three-high’ coal – a low-quality anthracite with high sulfur content, high ash content, high ash fusion point, and poor chemical reactivity. The owner of this project is Jincheng Coal Industry Group, which possesses numerous coal mining areas; most of these coal mines are key production sites for high-quality anthracite in China. However, after more than forty years of mining, the high-quality anthracite in some mining areas has been nearly depleted, and the remaining coal that can be mined is all of the ‘high-carbon, high-ash, high-sulfur’ type. Currently, the recoverable reserves of ‘high-sulfur, high-ash, high-temperature’ coal in the Jincheng area account for about 40% of the total recoverable reserves. Therefore, how to make rational use of surplus coal and recycle low-quality coal has become an important research topic for Jinmei Group. ”Chen Zuoqiang, the project manager of Tianxi, explained. It is reported that the gasification unit of this project utilizes space coal pressurized gasification technology and a complete set of processes with domestic independent intellectual property rights; it is the first gasification unit of this furnace type to use \"high-gravity, high-calorific-value, and high-moisture coal\" as raw material. This device has successfully achieved long-term full-load operation; on the one hand, it addresses the issue in China of large reserves of \"high-carbon, high-sulfur, and high-ash\" coal along with the difficulties associated with its utilization, and on the other hand, it indicates that the space-based pulverized coal gasification technology for burning such coal is at the leading level in the industry. It also makes this device a model for the clean, efficient, and economical use of \"high-carbon, high-sulfur, and high-ash\" coal. Leveraging years of theoretical research and practical experience in coal types, the aerospace engineering company made adjustments to the size and structure of the gasification furnace in light of the characteristics of the \"three-high\" coals. It also optimized the selection of equipment, materials, and process routes, thereby addressing the issues associated with these coals in Jincheng, such as low reactivity, high ash content, high ash melting point, and difficulty in gasification. At present, the high adaptability of a series of equipment represented by space furnaces designed specifically for coal with high sulfur, ash, and calorific value, the reliability of the associated process technologies, as well as the advancement of the process parameter specifications, have all been well proven in actual operation. At present, the hourly methanol production capacity of this project is 50 tons. At the current price per ton of coal, the cost per ton for methanol produced by older plants exceeds 2,000 yuan, while after renovation this cost drops to around 1,200 yuan per ton. The aerospace engineering company states that the advanced aerospace powder gasification technology not only helps to control the cost of products, thereby bringing significant economic benefits to the company, but also embodies the principles of a clean and efficient green circular economy. Source: China Chemical Industry News