Ikelic - Alliance Digital Repository

STATUS OF COAL PROJECTS (Underline denotes changes since June 1994)
COMMERCIAL AND R&D PROJECTS (Continued)
The CIGAS Process research and development program has been planned for the interval from 1976 to 1998. In 1977 an at
mospheric bench scale reactor was built, from which were obtained the first gasification data for Brazilian coals in a fluidized
bed reactor. In 1978 a feasibility study was completed for the utilization of gas generated as industrial fuel. Next the first pres
surized reactor in Latin America was built in bench scale, and the first results for pressurized coal gasification were obtained.
In 1979 the first atmospheric fluidized bed pilot scale unit was assembled (with a throughput of 7.2 tons per day of coal). In
1980 a project involving a pressurized unit for oxygen and steam began (20 atmospheres and 05 tons per of coal). day The
plant was fully operational in 1982. In 1984 the pressurized plant was enlarged to
capacity
25 tons per day of processed coal
and at the same time air was replaced by oxygen in the atmospheric plant. This unit started processing
17 tons per day of coal.
In 1986 a unit was built to treat the liquid effluents generated throughout the process and studies on hot gas desulfurization
were started in bench scale. By the end of 1988 pilot scale studies were finished. As the result of this stage, a conceptual
design for a prototype unit will be made. This prototype plant will be operational in 1994 and in 1996 the basic project for the
demonstration unit will be started. The demonstration unit is planned to be operational in 2001.
Project Cost: US$6.0 million up to the end of 1988. The next stage of development will require US$8 million.
- CTVOGAS ATMOSPHERIC GASIFICATION PILOT PLANT Fundacao
- de Ciencia e Technolgia CIENTEC (C-133)
The CIVOGAS process pilot plant is an atmospheric coal gasification plant with air and steam in a fluidized-bed reactor with a
capacity of five gigajoules per hour of low-BTU gas. It was designed to process Brazilian coals at temperatures up to 1,000 C.
The pilot gasifier is about six meters high and 0.9 meters inner diameter. The bed height is usually 1.6 meters (maximum 2.0
meters).
The CIVOGAS pilot plant has been successfully operating for approximately 10,000 hours since mid 1984 and has been work
ing mainly with subbituminous coals with ash content between 35 to 55 percent weight (moisture-free). Cold gas yields for
both coals are typically 65 and 50 percent respectively with a carbon conversion rate of 68 and 60 weight percent respectively.
The best conditions operating to gasify low-rank coals in the fluidized bed have been found to be 1,000 degrees C, with the
steam making up around 20 percent by weight of the air-steam mixture.
Two different coals have been processed in the plant. The results obtained with Leao coal are significantly better than those
for Candiota coal, the differences being mostly due to the relative contents of ash and moisture in the feedstock.
CIENTEC expects that in commercial plants or in larger gasifiers, better results will be obtained, regarding coal conversion
rate and cold gas yield due to greater major residence time, and greater heat recovery from the hot raw gas.
According to the CIENTEC researchers, the fluidized-bed distributor and the bottom char withdrawal system have been their
main concerns, and much progress has been made.
- COALPLEX PROJECT AECI
(C-140)
The Coalplex Project is an operation of AECI Chlor-Alkali and Plastics, Ltd. The plant manufactures poly-vinyl chloride
(PVC) and caustic soda from anthracite, lime, and salt. The plant is fully independent of imported oil. Because only a limited
of ethylene was available
supply
from domestic sources, the carbide-acetylene process was selected. The plant has been operat
since 1977. The five processes include calcium carbide manufacture from coal and calcium oxide; acetylene production
ing
from calcium carbide and water, brine electrolysis to make chlorine, hydrogen, and caustic;
conversion of acetylene and
hydrogen chloride to vinyl chloride; and vinyl chloride polymerization to PVC. Of the five plants, the carbide, acetylene, and
VCM plants represent the main differences between coal-based and conventional PVC technology.
This plant, which is now part of Polifin. a 60 percent Sasol. 40 percent AECI joint venture, will be shut down in 1996. being re
placed bv a conventional (vhole-HoechsO balanced oxvchlorination VCM plant using ethylene from Polifin's own facilities
which produce 400.000 tpa ethylene from ethane/ethvlene byproduct from Sasol's coal-based synthetic fuels plants at Secunda.
Project Cost: Not disclosed
- COGA-1 PROJECT Coal
Gasification, Inc. (C-150)
The COGA-1 project has been under development since 1983. The proposed project in Macoupin County, Illinois will con
sume 1 million tons of coal per year and will produce 675,000 tons of urea ammonia and 840,000 tons of urea per year. It will
use a high-temperature, high-pressure slagging gasification technology. When completed, the COGA-1 plant would be the
largest facility of its kind in the world.
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SYNTHETIC FUELS REPORT, JANUARY 1995