Two recent GE gasification projects with ChinaCoal Shaanxi Yulin Energy & Chemical Company and Guizhou Jinchi Chemical Company successfully highlight the performance and flexibility of GE’s gasification technology at large-scale coal-to-chemical facilities and according to the group, “underscore the increasing role GE’s gasification technology plays in the expansion of the Chinese economy.” GE signed an agreement to licence its gasification technology to ChinaCoal Shaanxi Yulin, a subsidiary of China’s second largest coal company, ChinaCoal Group. This agreement, the first cooperative effort between the two entities, includes technology licence, process design package and technology services.

The project, which is twice the size of GE’s largest coal-to-chemical facility to date, will use 14,900 ft³ gasifiers with an operating pressure of 65 bar. The GE gasification units will be installed at a coal chemical plant in Yulin, Shaanxi Province. Once the project is completed, the facility is expected to process enough coal to produce approximately 25 million normal cubic metres of syngas per day, which will be used to make approximately 3.6 Mt/y of methanol, making it the world’s largest single-phase coal-to-chemical gasification project. Plant commercial operation is targeted in 2015. GE’s gasification technology is one of the most widely applied technologies of its kind in China with more than 50 licensed facilities and approximately 150 gasifiers currently in operation or under construction. The agreement with ChinaCoal Shaanxi Yulin includes the licencing of GE’s well-proven gasification technology, a process design package and technical services.

Lieke Yang, Executive Director and President of ChinaCoal Group stated, “ChinaCoal is the second largest coal group in China. Developing clean coal chemical industry is one of ChinaCoal’s strategies. The Shannxi Yulin project is one of the biggest and most important coal-to-chemical projects of ChinaCoal up to this point. ChinaCoal Group pays much attention to this project. We will select only mature and advanced technologies to build a successful, advanced and clean plant.” Jason Crew, general manager of GE’s Gasification business, said, “As gasification projects in China get larger and more complex, advanced gasification technologies which are flexible and perform very well at scale are critical to reducing overall project cost without sacrificing performance. ChinaCoal will further demonstrate the maturity, reliability and proven fuel flexibility of GE’s gasification technologies.” Additionally, the first anthracite coal-to-chemical project in China using GE gasification technology has started operating in Tongzi, Guizhou Province, China. The plant uses two GE gasification units to produce syngas, which then is used to produce methanol and ammonia. “Tongzi demonstrates that GE gasification technology continues to push the boundaries and flexibility of cleaner coal technology by successfully utilising diverse feedstock like the unique anthracite coal found in Guizhou,” said Crew. “GE is a pioneer and continues to be heavily involved in cleaner coal research and development of cleaner coal technology.” At full operation, the Tongzi plant produces 160 million standard ft³/d of syngas, with a chemical output of 300,000 Mt/y of methanol and 300,000 Mt/y of ammonia. GE’s installed fleet of gasification units in China includes 75 gasifiers that use solid feed (slurry) and 77 gasifiers that use gas or liquid feed.