Ikelic - Alliance Digital Repository

COAL
Removing
that moisture is the main point of the
process, in order to reduce transportation costs.
During a 68-day period of sustained operation,
ENCOAL's plant processed over 24,000 tons of
Powder River Basin subbituminous coal, produc
ing marketable coproducts of approximately
11,000 tons of Process Derived Fuel (PDF) and
more than 600,000 gallons of Coal Derived Liquid
(CDL). The PDF and CDL, both clean fuel
products of the LFC process, are expected to as
sist Industry in meeting
ments of the Clean Air Act standards.
the long-term require
The 500-ton feedrate is expected to reach
1,000 tons per day after additional capacity
modifications are completed.
The first product was shipped to Western
Farmers'
Hugo powerplant in Oklahoma in Sep
tember. That first shipment was blended at ap
15 percent upgraded clean coal to
proximately
85 percent unprocessed Powder River Basin
coal; subsequent shipments are to be at a higher
percentage of upgraded clean coal.
After a successful test burn, a second blended
shipment was shipped to the same utility.
In October, the United States Department of
Energy (DOE)
and the ENCOAL Corporation
agreed to an extension of their Cooperative
Agreement. The extension will provide additional
funding of up to $18 million for two more years of
operations of ENCOAL's demonstration plant.
DOE and ENCOAL will each contribute one-half
of the additional funding under the extension.
Railroad tank cars of coal liquids are being
shipped on a regular basis to several customers
in the midwest, including the Dakota Gasification
Plant In Beulah, North Dakota, where tests have
successfully demonstrated use of the fuel in in
dustrial boilers.
Utilities which are planning to test the coal in addi
tion to Western Farmers'
in Oklahoma, include
Muscatine Power in Iowa, and Wisconsin Power
and Light. Muscatine Power in Eastern Iowa
4-2
received Its first shipment as a 40 percent blend
of the PDF with Western coal under a contract
that calls for shipments of 10,000-20,000 tons of
PDF. Future shipments will include blends of
70 percent and 90 percent PDF.
Technology Licensing Activities
SGI continues marketing activities for the LFC
process worldwide. The company says It is
evaluating funding alternatives for a project in
Alaska which would site a Clean Coal Refinery on
tribal land located in the Cook Inlet region. Un
der the 1992 National Energy Policy Act, Native
American tribes can obtain grants for energy
project development.
In Indonesia, SGI has submitted proposals for
two Indonesian Clean Coal Refinery Projects.
The clean coal and oil from Indonesian coal
refineries could earn badly needed foreign ex
change and could also meet domestic energy
requirements.
In Poland, a testing program was recently com
pleted with positive recommendations for Clean
Coal Refinery processing of high-sulfur coals
from the Belchatow Mine in South-Central
Poland. The mine produces about 40 million
tonnes per year that is dedicated to a nearby
4,320 megawatt power station. The powerplant's
sulfur dioxide emissions are a significant environ
mental problem. SGI has reported that refining
of the lignite would result in significantly lower
powerplant S02 emissions.
In China, SGI has signed Letters of Intent and
has evaluated candidate coals received from coal
producers in Shandong, Shanxi, and Uaoning
Provinces.
In September, it was announced that SGI and Mit
subishi Heavy Industries (MHI) have agreed to
proceed with an engineering and economic
feasibility program for a 6,000-tonne per day
Clean Coal Refinery to be located at Longkou
Harbor in Shandong Province, China. SGI and
MHI will work with the Comprehensive Utilization
Corporation of Shandong Coal Industry, which is
THE SYNTHETIC FUELS REPORT, JANUARY 1995