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Pakistan will produce gas and diesel from Thar coal

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Pakistan will produce gas and diesel from Thar coal

ISLAMABAD: The government has geared up the process on two projects for turning Thar coal into gas and diesel and in is contact with two Chinese companies -- China Ghazuba and China Coal, Special Assistant on Coordination of Marketing & Development of Mineral Resources Shahzad Syed Qasim disclosed this to The News on Monday.
"We want to initiate two projects; one on Coal to Gas (CTG) and the other one on Coal to Liquid (CTL) and to this effect we have asked Engro Fertilizer, Fauji Fertilizer and Fatima Fertilizer to initiate the feasibility study collectively on turning the Thar coal into synthetic gas and then equal to natural gas. The three players want to use the synthetic gas as fuel for production of fertilizer."

He said that the local gas reserves were fast depleting and the cost of RLNG, the imported product, was too high that hovers around $9-10 per MMBTU on an average. If the said projects are materialized, then it will be no less than a game changer.

“Earlier, the three said companies had separately conducted feasibility studies on turning Thar coal into synthetic gas, but they found that it would cost them at a higher side. Now we have again asked them to collectively initiate the feasibility study on the proposed project and we are hopeful this time the result will be positive.” The government will also initiate the project to turn the Thar coal into diesel (liquid).

Qasim said that 75 percent fertilizer was produced in China through synthetic gas as fuel produced from the coal reserves. He also mentioned that according to the standard conversion rates, the Thar Lignite Coal resources are equivalent to around 50 billion tons of oil, which is more than the combined oil resources of Saudi Arabia and Iran. In terms of gas reserves, these are around 68 times the present resources of natural gas in Pakistan.

It is pertinent to mention that Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group, a subsidiary of China’s biggest coal producer, the Shenhua Group, has already successfully installed the project to convert coal into oil in the northwestern Chinese region of Ningxia, the biggest plant of its kind in the world.

The coal-to-liquid (CTL) project, which has an annual production capacity of 4 million tons of oil, was built by the Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group, a subsidiary of China’s biggest coal producer, the Shenhua Group.

Pakistan’s monthly diesel requirement stands at an average 600,000 tonnes according to which annual need stands at 7.2 million tons and the project to make Thar coal liquid (diesel) will also help reduce the import bill of diesel.

The SAPM on mineral development said that the government has planned not to increase the power generation of more than 10,000 MW through Thar coal because of the global warming phenomena, but will increase its focus on power generation through renewable resources as well as hydro generation. He disclosed the Lucky Power Plant of 660MW is being installed at Port Qasim, which will utilize the Thar coal and to this effect a railway line will be laid down from Thar coalfield to New Chhore from where it will be connected to the railway station line that will take Thar coal to Port Qasim. He also disclosed that the railway line of 105 kilometers will be laid down by the private sector on BOT (build, operate and transfer) basis. Similarly the second power plant of 660MW based on Thar coal is being installed at Jamshoro.



Considering the reduction in costs of solar power.....renewables (hydro/solar) should be the largest part of our electric generation fleet into the future. Thar coal should be utilized more for fertilizer and liquid fuel production. We should aim to export $50 billion whiling cutting imports to $30-40 billion. These projects should help us achieve this.
 
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Pakistan will produce gas and diesel from Thar coal

ISLAMABAD: The government has geared up the process on two projects for turning Thar coal into gas and diesel and in is contact with two Chinese companies -- China Ghazuba and China Coal, Special Assistant on Coordination of Marketing & Development of Mineral Resources Shahzad Syed Qasim disclosed this to The News on Monday.
"We want to initiate two projects; one on Coal to Gas (CTG) and the other one on Coal to Liquid (CTL) and to this effect we have asked Engro Fertilizer, Fauji Fertilizer and Fatima Fertilizer to initiate the feasibility study collectively on turning the Thar coal into synthetic gas and then equal to natural gas. The three players want to use the synthetic gas as fuel for production of fertilizer."

He said that the local gas reserves were fast depleting and the cost of RLNG, the imported product, was too high that hovers around $9-10 per MMBTU on an average. If the said projects are materialized, then it will be no less than a game changer.

“Earlier, the three said companies had separately conducted feasibility studies on turning Thar coal into synthetic gas, but they found that it would cost them at a higher side. Now we have again asked them to collectively initiate the feasibility study on the proposed project and we are hopeful this time the result will be positive.” The government will also initiate the project to turn the Thar coal into diesel (liquid).

Qasim said that 75 percent fertilizer was produced in China through synthetic gas as fuel produced from the coal reserves. He also mentioned that according to the standard conversion rates, the Thar Lignite Coal resources are equivalent to around 50 billion tons of oil, which is more than the combined oil resources of Saudi Arabia and Iran. In terms of gas reserves, these are around 68 times the present resources of natural gas in Pakistan.

It is pertinent to mention that Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group, a subsidiary of China’s biggest coal producer, the Shenhua Group, has already successfully installed the project to convert coal into oil in the northwestern Chinese region of Ningxia, the biggest plant of its kind in the world.

The coal-to-liquid (CTL) project, which has an annual production capacity of 4 million tons of oil, was built by the Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group, a subsidiary of China’s biggest coal producer, the Shenhua Group.

Pakistan’s monthly diesel requirement stands at an average 600,000 tonnes according to which annual need stands at 7.2 million tons and the project to make Thar coal liquid (diesel) will also help reduce the import bill of diesel.

The SAPM on mineral development said that the government has planned not to increase the power generation of more than 10,000 MW through Thar coal because of the global warming phenomena, but will increase its focus on power generation through renewable resources as well as hydro generation. He disclosed the Lucky Power Plant of 660MW is being installed at Port Qasim, which will utilize the Thar coal and to this effect a railway line will be laid down from Thar coalfield to New Chhore from where it will be connected to the railway station line that will take Thar coal to Port Qasim. He also disclosed that the railway line of 105 kilometers will be laid down by the private sector on BOT (build, operate and transfer) basis. Similarly the second power plant of 660MW based on Thar coal is being installed at Jamshoro.



Considering the reduction in costs of solar power.....renewables (hydro/solar) should be the largest part of our electric generation fleet into the future. Thar coal should be utilized more for fertilizer and liquid fuel production. We should aim to export $50 billion whiling cutting imports to $30-40 billion. These projects should help us achieve this.

The technology to convert coal to gas exists and this vision should be implemented aggressively. Coal to gas and coal to liquid conversion has the potential to transform Pakistan. I’m just skeptical about Pakistan’s capacity to pull off such a project which requires sacrifice, patience and multi-layered commitment. @Bilal Khan (Quwa)
 
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I've heard about this for sooo long. Lets hope they actually do something this time.
 
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Pakistan will produce gas and diesel from Thar coal

ISLAMABAD: The government has geared up the process on two projects for turning Thar coal into gas and diesel and in is contact with two Chinese companies -- China Ghazuba and China Coal, Special Assistant on Coordination of Marketing & Development of Mineral Resources Shahzad Syed Qasim disclosed this to The News on Monday.
"We want to initiate two projects; one on Coal to Gas (CTG) and the other one on Coal to Liquid (CTL) and to this effect we have asked Engro Fertilizer, Fauji Fertilizer and Fatima Fertilizer to initiate the feasibility study collectively on turning the Thar coal into synthetic gas and then equal to natural gas. The three players want to use the synthetic gas as fuel for production of fertilizer."

He said that the local gas reserves were fast depleting and the cost of RLNG, the imported product, was too high that hovers around $9-10 per MMBTU on an average. If the said projects are materialized, then it will be no less than a game changer.

“Earlier, the three said companies had separately conducted feasibility studies on turning Thar coal into synthetic gas, but they found that it would cost them at a higher side. Now we have again asked them to collectively initiate the feasibility study on the proposed project and we are hopeful this time the result will be positive.” The government will also initiate the project to turn the Thar coal into diesel (liquid).

Qasim said that 75 percent fertilizer was produced in China through synthetic gas as fuel produced from the coal reserves. He also mentioned that according to the standard conversion rates, the Thar Lignite Coal resources are equivalent to around 50 billion tons of oil, which is more than the combined oil resources of Saudi Arabia and Iran. In terms of gas reserves, these are around 68 times the present resources of natural gas in Pakistan.

It is pertinent to mention that Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group, a subsidiary of China’s biggest coal producer, the Shenhua Group, has already successfully installed the project to convert coal into oil in the northwestern Chinese region of Ningxia, the biggest plant of its kind in the world.

The coal-to-liquid (CTL) project, which has an annual production capacity of 4 million tons of oil, was built by the Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group, a subsidiary of China’s biggest coal producer, the Shenhua Group.

Pakistan’s monthly diesel requirement stands at an average 600,000 tonnes according to which annual need stands at 7.2 million tons and the project to make Thar coal liquid (diesel) will also help reduce the import bill of diesel.

The SAPM on mineral development said that the government has planned not to increase the power generation of more than 10,000 MW through Thar coal because of the global warming phenomena, but will increase its focus on power generation through renewable resources as well as hydro generation. He disclosed the Lucky Power Plant of 660MW is being installed at Port Qasim, which will utilize the Thar coal and to this effect a railway line will be laid down from Thar coalfield to New Chhore from where it will be connected to the railway station line that will take Thar coal to Port Qasim. He also disclosed that the railway line of 105 kilometers will be laid down by the private sector on BOT (build, operate and transfer) basis. Similarly the second power plant of 660MW based on Thar coal is being installed at Jamshoro.



Considering the reduction in costs of solar power.....renewables (hydro/solar) should be the largest part of our electric generation fleet into the future. Thar coal should be utilized more for fertilizer and liquid fuel production. We should aim to export $50 billion whiling cutting imports to $30-40 billion. These projects should help us achieve this.
You cannot have an export in that range while importing for much less. Usually import is equal to export or bigger.
 
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You cannot have an export in that range while importing for much less. Usually import is equal to export or bigger.
Well that's what we should aim to change. 50 Billion in exports is ambitious but doable. Our textile industry is already exporting at max output, it needs to be invested in to expand and diversify output. We need to expand RMG and chase Vietnam and Bangladesh. We have lagged far behind Vietnam and Bangladesh in making investments in and allocating manpower to RMG.

Our largest import is energy. If we shift to indigenous hydro, solar and coal for electricity and produce fertilizer and liquid fuels from Thar coal.....it will reduce our imports by a lot. Energy independence will also reduce our reliance on the petro-dollar.

I've heard about this for sooo long. Lets hope they actually do something this time.

CTL plants are very capital intensive. Most Pakistani prefer to invest real estate/gold or overseas. How do you expect to raise capital to build these plants in that environment.

Main concern is if it make financial sense with low global oil/gas prices? I think solar thermal energy could be used to lower the costs for CTL. Thar would be a great experiment site for this since its a large coal field in the desert.
 
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Pakistan will produce gas and diesel from Thar coal

ISLAMABAD: The government has geared up the process on two projects for turning Thar coal into gas and diesel and in is contact with two Chinese companies -- China Ghazuba and China Coal, Special Assistant on Coordination of Marketing & Development of Mineral Resources Shahzad Syed Qasim disclosed this to The News on Monday.
"We want to initiate two projects; one on Coal to Gas (CTG) and the other one on Coal to Liquid (CTL) and to this effect we have asked Engro Fertilizer, Fauji Fertilizer and Fatima Fertilizer to initiate the feasibility study collectively on turning the Thar coal into synthetic gas and then equal to natural gas. The three players want to use the synthetic gas as fuel for production of fertilizer."

He said that the local gas reserves were fast depleting and the cost of RLNG, the imported product, was too high that hovers around $9-10 per MMBTU on an average. If the said projects are materialized, then it will be no less than a game changer.

“Earlier, the three said companies had separately conducted feasibility studies on turning Thar coal into synthetic gas, but they found that it would cost them at a higher side. Now we have again asked them to collectively initiate the feasibility study on the proposed project and we are hopeful this time the result will be positive.” The government will also initiate the project to turn the Thar coal into diesel (liquid).

Qasim said that 75 percent fertilizer was produced in China through synthetic gas as fuel produced from the coal reserves. He also mentioned that according to the standard conversion rates, the Thar Lignite Coal resources are equivalent to around 50 billion tons of oil, which is more than the combined oil resources of Saudi Arabia and Iran. In terms of gas reserves, these are around 68 times the present resources of natural gas in Pakistan.

It is pertinent to mention that Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group, a subsidiary of China’s biggest coal producer, the Shenhua Group, has already successfully installed the project to convert coal into oil in the northwestern Chinese region of Ningxia, the biggest plant of its kind in the world.

The coal-to-liquid (CTL) project, which has an annual production capacity of 4 million tons of oil, was built by the Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group, a subsidiary of China’s biggest coal producer, the Shenhua Group.

Pakistan’s monthly diesel requirement stands at an average 600,000 tonnes according to which annual need stands at 7.2 million tons and the project to make Thar coal liquid (diesel) will also help reduce the import bill of diesel.

The SAPM on mineral development said that the government has planned not to increase the power generation of more than 10,000 MW through Thar coal because of the global warming phenomena, but will increase its focus on power generation through renewable resources as well as hydro generation. He disclosed the Lucky Power Plant of 660MW is being installed at Port Qasim, which will utilize the Thar coal and to this effect a railway line will be laid down from Thar coalfield to New Chhore from where it will be connected to the railway station line that will take Thar coal to Port Qasim. He also disclosed that the railway line of 105 kilometers will be laid down by the private sector on BOT (build, operate and transfer) basis. Similarly the second power plant of 660MW based on Thar coal is being installed at Jamshoro.



Considering the reduction in costs of solar power.....renewables (hydro/solar) should be the largest part of our electric generation fleet into the future. Thar coal should be utilized more for fertilizer and liquid fuel production. We should aim to export $50 billion whiling cutting imports to $30-40 billion. These projects should help us achieve this.
China??? You must be joking.

SASOL is the world leader in this field since 1950s with proven track record.



 
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Hearing from many years when we will really do it
 
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They shud aim to complete a pilot in one year
 
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Hearing from many years when we will really do it
Thar coal has only started being commercially exploited last year. You can not rush into into such large capital projects. It must be studied to determine its viability.
 
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“Earlier, the three said companies had separately conducted feasibility studies on turning Thar coal into synthetic gas, but they found that it would cost them at a higher side. Now we have again asked them to collectively initiate the feasibility study on the proposed project and we are hopeful this time the result will be positive.”
insanity is doing the same sh!t over & over again & expecting different results.
 
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Thar coal has only started being commercially exploited last year. You can not rush into into such large capital projects. It must be studied to determine its viability.

Any idea how long will it take?
 
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China??? You must be joking.

SASOL is the world leader in this field since 1950s with proven track record.




You are partially correct SASOL is a world leader in Fischer-Tropsch Indirect coal liquefaction (ICL) while China is a world leader in Direct Coal Liquefaction DCL.

3.3. Indirect coal liquefaction (ICL) This approach involves a complete breakdown of coal into other compounds by gasification. Resulting syngas is modified to obtain the required balance of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Later, the syngas is cleaned, removing sulphur and other impurities capable of disturbing further reactions. Finally, the syngas is reacted over a catalyst to provide the desired product using FT-reactions (Formula 1). Alteration of catalysts and reaction conditions can create a wide array of different products (Figure 1).

3.2. Direct coal liquefaction (DCL) This process is built around the Bergius-process (Formula 4), where the basic process dissolves coal at high temperature and pressure. Addition of hydrogen and a catalyst causes “hydro-cracking”, rupturing long carbon chains into shorter, liquid parts. The added hydrogen also improves the H/C-ratio of the product. Liquid yields can be in excess of 70% of the dry weight coal, with overall thermal efficiencies of 60-70% [22, 23]. The resulting liquids are of much higher quality, compared to pyrolysis, and can be used unblended in power generation or other chemical processes as a synthetic crude oil (syncrude).


IMO DCL is bad for Pakistan since the process consumes a lot of water with the average water intensity of 7 ton/ton of product.
Plus, it has a much higher carbon footprint vs conventional crude and a much higher environmental impact.

I wonder if China is attempting to achieve its zero carbon footprint goal by exporting the carbon problem to Pakistan? Ah well, I suppose these questions are deeply offensive to both Iron brothers.
 
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You are partially correct SASOL is a world leader in Fischer-Tropsch Indirect coal liquefaction (ICL) while China is a world leader in Direct Coal Liquefaction DCL.

3.3. Indirect coal liquefaction (ICL) This approach involves a complete breakdown of coal into other compounds by gasification. Resulting syngas is modified to obtain the required balance of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Later, the syngas is cleaned, removing sulphur and other impurities capable of disturbing further reactions. Finally, the syngas is reacted over a catalyst to provide the desired product using FT-reactions (Formula 1). Alteration of catalysts and reaction conditions can create a wide array of different products (Figure 1).

3.2. Direct coal liquefaction (DCL) This process is built around the Bergius-process (Formula 4), where the basic process dissolves coal at high temperature and pressure. Addition of hydrogen and a catalyst causes “hydro-cracking”, rupturing long carbon chains into shorter, liquid parts. The added hydrogen also improves the H/C-ratio of the product. Liquid yields can be in excess of 70% of the dry weight coal, with overall thermal efficiencies of 60-70% [22, 23]. The resulting liquids are of much higher quality, compared to pyrolysis, and can be used unblended in power generation or other chemical processes as a synthetic crude oil (syncrude).


IMO DCL is bad for Pakistan since the process consumes a lot of water with the average water intensity of 7 ton/ton of product.
Plus, it has a much higher carbon footprint vs conventional crude and a much higher environmental impact.

I wonder if China is attempting to achieve its zero carbon footprint goal by exporting the carbon problem to Pakistan? Ah well, I suppose these questions are deeply offensive to both Iron brothers.
Correct; in my country water is a limitation and environmental impact which is why DCL was never pursued.

Right now; Sasol is producing within SA - 300,000 barrels/day+. Largest one that is coming online is their installation in Luisiana. GTL - their installation in Qatar is the largest.
 
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