00/01772 Study for development of the coal liquefaction process by 150 t/day coal liquefaction pilot plant. III. Properties of coal liquefaction produc

Abstract

Hydrocarbon Technologies (HTI) has been working on a feasibility study for the construction of a Direct Coal Liquefaction Plant in Shenhua coalfield of China. HTI's direct coal liquefaction process, consisting primarily of two backmixed reactor stages plus a fixed-bed inline hydrotreater, operates at a pressure of 17 MPa and reactor temperatures in the range of 400–460°C. A dispersed superfine iron catalyst, GelCat®, is used in the process. Phase I of the study was successfully completed. Two coal sample from a coal mine in Shenhua coalfield were tested on HTI's continuous flow unit (CFU). Results were very encouraging. Though Shenhua coals are high in inert materials, HTI's coal liquefaction process has been able to achieve coal conversion of higher than 91 wt.% (on moisture and ash free, maf, coal) under all test conditions. Under the best conditions tested, distillate product yields from Shenhua coals are between 63–68 wt.% (maf coal). Liquid products are very low in sulfur and nitrogen, thus, very clean. Phase II is now underway. An additional test was conducted on a coal from another coal mine in Shenhua coalfield, which showed similar performance on liquefaction. Preliminary economic assessment is also discussed.