Innovative Recycle-free Methanation Process for Manufacture of Gas from Coal

The Beijing Huafu Engineering Company under the Shenwu Group in collaboration with the Dalian Ruike Company, and the ChinaCoal Heilongjiang Chemical Company after arduous work in eight years have for the frst time developed the recycle-free methanation process. In comparison with the traditional process, the new process features four innovative advantages. Firstly, the recycle gas compressor is abolished along with the application of domestic process technology, catalyst and core equipment, resulting in more than 25% reduction of comprehensive energy consumption, and over 20% reduction in investment cost. Secondly, the precise control over H/C ratio is realized through staged regulation of H/C ratio to stabilize the product quality. Thirdly, the heat-resistant methanation catalyst has been independently developed, featuring a better performance/cost ratio and lower operating cost. Fourthly, the axial/radial methanation reactor with the built-in waste heat boiler has been developed with a simple process scheme, which can be further enlarged in scale to reduce the investment and operating cost of the whole project.

The ChinaCoal Heilongjiang Chemical Company has adopted this new process to construct a 330 m3/h (afterwards has been enlarged to 580 m3/h) recycle-free methanation pilot unit for manufacture of synthetic natural gas (SNG), which had been subject to the onsite calibration test for 72 hours in October 2015. The test results have shown that this pilot unit has achieved a continuous and smooth operation, with all parameters reaching or exceeding the design indicators along with the realization of staged regulation of C/H ratio in the course of recycle-free methanation, while the gas product contains over 95% of CH4, less than 2% of H2without CO content.

This new process has been adopted in a series of SNG projects, including the 100 million standard m3/a Gangyuan unit in Inner Mongolia, the 300 million standard m3/a Wuhai unit in Inner Mongolia, and the 400 million standard m3/a Shenfu unit in Xinjiang, while the PDP for production of 1.3 billion m3/a of CNG has also been completed.