China to convert coal into liquid fuel in 2008
Tuesday, 18 September 2007
BEIJING, Sep 17 (PTI): China's largest coal conglomerate, Shenhua Group will produce the energy-hungry nation's first barrel of liquid fuel from coal in 2008 using a technology known as direct coal liquefaction.
"We have finished 95 per cent of the engineering projects at the first production line in Erdos of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The line will start making liquid products in 2008 in trial operation," Shenhua's coal liquefaction business in-charge, Zhang Yuzhuo said.
Zhang said the first production line would use 3.45 million tonnes of coal every year to make 1.08 million tonnes of liquid products including diesel oil, plus liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and naphtha, a volatile, flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture.
Oil imports have been increased in recent years to fuel China's booming economy, spurring the nation to look for technologies that can turn some of its coal reserves, one of the world's largest, into fuel and other chemicals.
The indirect liquefaction technology was first developed more than 70 years ago. It has been commercialised by South Africa's Sasol Ltd., the world's biggest producer of motor fuel from coal. The direct liquefaction technology, however, is yet to be industrialised.
On the basis of imported technologies, Shenhua has optimised the production flow, built larger facilities and developed new generation activators to create its own technologies, Zhang was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.
Listed as a key state project to help deal with China's petroleum security concerns, the massive Erdos coal liquefaction
facility began construction in August 2004 with the blessings of China's top leaders, the report said.
"We have finished 95 per cent of the engineering projects at the first production line in Erdos of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The line will start making liquid products in 2008 in trial operation," Shenhua's coal liquefaction business in-charge, Zhang Yuzhuo said.
Zhang said the first production line would use 3.45 million tonnes of coal every year to make 1.08 million tonnes of liquid products including diesel oil, plus liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and naphtha, a volatile, flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture.
Oil imports have been increased in recent years to fuel China's booming economy, spurring the nation to look for technologies that can turn some of its coal reserves, one of the world's largest, into fuel and other chemicals.
The indirect liquefaction technology was first developed more than 70 years ago. It has been commercialised by South Africa's Sasol Ltd., the world's biggest producer of motor fuel from coal. The direct liquefaction technology, however, is yet to be industrialised.
On the basis of imported technologies, Shenhua has optimised the production flow, built larger facilities and developed new generation activators to create its own technologies, Zhang was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.
Listed as a key state project to help deal with China's petroleum security concerns, the massive Erdos coal liquefaction
facility began construction in August 2004 with the blessings of China's top leaders, the report said.