Shell, Shenhua to Partner on R&D in Advanced Coal Technology; Shell Qualifies 3 Chinese Companies to Manufacture Gasification Technology
13 September 2009
| Shell Coal Gasification Process. Source: Shell. Click to enlarge. |
Shell (China) Limited and Shenhua Coal to Liquid and Chemical Co. Ltd. (Shenhua) have agreed to seek opportunities for conducting joint research and development in advanced coal technology.
Additionally, Shell Global Solutions International B.V. (Shell) also qualified three Chinese companies for the manufacture of key equipment for the Shell Coal Gasification Process (SCGP), in order to make the Shell technology more competitive in the Chinese market.
Shell and Shenhua. Under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Shell and Shenhua, the two parties will explore opportunities to jointly develop more advanced coal gasification technology. In addition, they will discuss the possible application of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. A joint working team will be set up to implement the agreement.
Shenhua has built the world’s first million-tonne level direct coal liquefaction project in China’s Inner Mongolia, equipped with two gasifiers using Shell’s coal gasification technology to produce hydrogen from coal.
The Shell-Shenhua MoU was signed alongside government meetings between China and the Netherlands on sustainable energy cooperation. Officials from the National Energy Administration of China and the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands witnessed the signing, after their meeting concluded with a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of energy between the two government departments.
Shenhua Coal to Liquid and Chemical Co. Ltd. is a subsidiary company to Shenhua Group Corporation Limited. Shenhua Group is the world’s largest coal company. It not only builds coal-to-liquid and coal-chemical projects, but also develops CCS, hydrogen power and renewable energy technology.
Shell has been developing and commercializing coal gasification technology since the 1970s with a total of 26 licensing agreements signed worldwide. Shell has signed 19 licensing agreements with different Chinese users. Eleven plants using Shell coal gasification technology, including Shell’s joint venture with Sinopec in Yueyang of Hunan Province, have been started up.
Gasification equipment. The SCGP is a dry-feed, oxygen-blown, entrained flow coal gasification process which has the capability to convert virtually any coal or petroleum coke into a clean medium Btu synthesis gas.
In SCGP, high pressure nitrogen or recycled syngas in used to pneumatically convey dried, pulverized coal to the gasifier. The coal enters the gasifier through diametrically opposed burners where it reacts with oxygen at around 1,600 °C. The gasification temperature is maintained to ensure that the mineral matter in the coal is molten and will flow smoothly down the gasifier wall and out the slag tap. The hot syngas exiting the gasifier is quenched to below the softening point of the slag and then cooled further in the syngas cooler.
Research on the SCGP began in 1972.
Dongfang Boiler Group Co., Ltd., Suzhou Hailu Heavy Industry Co., Ltd., and Wuxi Huaguang Boiler Co., Ltd. signed qualification contracts with Shell which allow them to manufacture internal components of coal gasifiers and syngas coolers. This equipment is key to Shell’s coal gasification technology and Shell will work with the qualified manufacturers to ensure their product quality.
The qualification contracts were signed alongside the government meetings on sustainable energy cooperation.
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Our leader tells us that ALL coal is evil. Therefore, this is evil.
Praise be to Algore.
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Posted by: The Goracle | 13 September 2009 at 02:42 PM
Along these lines, GreenFuel has used the Redhawk Power Plant in Az. to scrub CO2/produce fuel with algae for several years.
I noticed GreenFuel is auctioning it's technology - has it failed?
Posted by: kelly | 13 September 2009 at 02:42 PM
With the price of coal so low compared to that of natural gas or especially imported oil, the quest for a few additional percent of efficiency is questionably not cost effective.
At one time natural gas was cheaper than coal and restrictions were put on its use by central power plants because central power plants could and did burn coal cleanly and homes could not, so the reserves of natural gas should be kept for small users. This policy has be overturned by a demand for lower CO2 at power plants, so homes now must pay much higher gas prices which are forced even higher by speculation being allowed in the gas and oil markets where supply is controlled by government policies not demand.
The few extra efficiency points of a large power plant is absolutely of no interest or concern to the ordinary residential customer who pays four to fifty times the cost of the coal used for each kilowatt hour delivered to him. With modern metering and billing methods this price can be increased beyond that because of Enron's lobbying.
It may be that the large central power station should vanish from the face of the earth and that synthesis gas producing plants should be built in every city and town. This cheaper gas can then be used in home heating and power plants such as the Honda, Whispergen, "lion" Capstone and others. Yes there are quite a few homes that could use Capstone 30Kw units and many apartment buildings.Since the waste heat is collected for use, the cogeneration features of combined heat power and cooling units render the idea of electric efficiency to one of much lower importance.
It could be that it would be best for gas synthesis plants to just produce methanol from coal. Plastics of all varieties allow the pumping of methanol through pipelines if steel does not. Railroads are not very expensive for shipping either. Vast stocks of methanol can be stored in cheaply produced containers when there is surplus production. Some of these containers could be almost identical to plastic water or soda bottles. Methanol does not change rapidly in storage and can be used directly in most engines. Fuel pumps and pipes and hoses and carburators of some engines will fail with methanol but the engines will not.
The fact that methanol was used for race cars for many years means that it is known what materials can be used. In large scale production, methanol resistant fuel systems should not cost an additional hundred dollars. The Norwegian gas and oil company ran a Capstone turbine on methanol.
I have no idea what it costs to transport hydrogen through pipes as compared to natural gas. Steel pipes are likely to be destroyed by hydrogen. The carbon monoxide in synthesis gas does not flow as easily as hydrogen, so perhaps only pure hydrogen should be shipped in pipes.
The US has one plant that makes natural gas out of coal via synthesis gas, and it probably should build others in every cheap coal field we could buy cheap gas producers now from China. ..HG..
Posted by: Henry Gibson | 14 September 2009 at 05:38 PM
Hey Coal lovers (Goracle, HG),
What price do you put on poisoned ocean large fish? See if you can live off them for a year without mercury poisoning. Thank you coal for that!
Even if you ignore the GHG problem, you can ignore that.
Don't be such idiots!
Posted by: GdB | 14 September 2009 at 10:23 PM