Deep Desulphurization of Hot Coal Gas for Production of Liquid Fuels
EMSL Project ID
22291a
Abstract
The production of liquid fuel from coal via gasification and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis is one of the few feasible strategies for improving the nation's energy security. The energy efficiency of the current process would be improved if the wet sulfur scrubbing step were replaced with a sulfur removal process that operates at temperatures higher than the Fischer-Tropsch reaction temperature (greater than 250oC). The widely studied metal-oxide "hot gas cleanup" adsorbents can only reduce the sulfur concentration in hot-coal gas to the parts-per-million level―a concentration that is too high for Fischer-Tropsch catalysts. A process consisting of a metal-based adsorbent used in tandem with conventional metal-oxide adsorbents has the potential to further reduce the sulfur concentration to the 50- to 100-parts-per-billion range. In this project, an integrated total sulfur removal system consisting of a metal-oxide-based sorbent plus a metal-based adsorbent will be developed. This system will be able to remove sulfur in hot-coal gas to parts-per-billion levels and prevent the downstream Fischer-Tropsch catalyst from being deactivated by sulfur poisoning. Such an integrated technology would be beneficial in both economic and technical terms when compared with the conventional wet-scrubbing desulphurization process.
Project Details
Project type
Large-Scale EMSL Research
Start Date
2007-05-31
End Date
2008-06-01
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members