Test runs for the world’s largest coal-to-ethanol conversion plant have commenced. Chinese authorities have announced that the site has a reported output of an estimated 600 000 tonnes per year, making it the only industrial-level facility of its kind.
Ethanol is traditionally synthesised from agricultural crops like corn, sugar and cassava but the new plant, situated in Huaibei City, uses low-grade coal to create the versatile fuel, providing much needed relief to China’s food security.
The project was jointly developed by the China Academy of Science’s Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP), the Shanxi Petroleum Group and the Huabei Mining Group subsidiary, Tanxin Technology Group.
Ethanol alcohol is an organic compound created through the fermentation process. At room temperature, it is a colourless liquid with a pungent smell. Traditionally, it has been used as a disinfectant, an anaesthetic, a solvent and a fuel source.
China has an immense appetite for the substance, using a reported 10 million tonnes every year, according to figures provided by the South China Morning Post. It produces roughly 2.7 million tonnes of ethanol domestically, but relies on importing the remainder, usually from major ethanol powers, Brazil and the US.
Instead of grain fermentation, DICP’s new method creates ethanol from coke oven gas, a cheap by-product of coke production. Coke is a low-grade carbon-based fossil fuel abundant in the country’s north and north-eastern regions.
The process, known to science as dimethyl ether to ethanol (DMTE), through carbonylation or hydrogenation, could save China millions of tonnes of food crops per year, helping the country stave off food insecurity and control rising grain prices.
When mixed with certain fuels used for internal combustion engines, ethanol compounds can assist in the reduction of harmful exhaust fumes. E10 or ‘gasohol’, a blend of gasoline and pure anhydrous ethanol, has been shown to reduce carbon dioxide emission in motor vehicles by as much as 30 percent.
DICP first set about developing a practical DMTE production technique in 2017 when a team representing the institution helped establish a 100 000 tonne facility in Shaanxi province. Since then, DICP has set up a 500 000 tonne plant, as well as the 600 000 Huaibei plant.
Those close to the project say they are hopeful the technique can be used to create ethanol from natural gas, as well as gas released during the steel-making process.
https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/worlds-largest-coal-to-ethanol-plant-china
https://english.news.cn/20231228/6cb03e11a05d454e8330e29e118e365b/c.html
