Oils and Gases from Coal: a Symposium of The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Oils and Gases from Coal

A Symposium of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

PERGAMON PRESS

Table of Contents

Cover image

Title page

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Copyright

Preface

Chapter 1: Efficiency of Coal Gasification and Liquefaction Processes Opening Lecture

Publisher Summary

Chapter 2: Report of the Symposium

Publisher Summary

TOPIC I THE ROLE OF COAL GASIFICATION AND LIQUEFACTION IN IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY OF ENERGY USE

TOPIC II PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT TRENDS IN COAL GASIFICATION AND LIQUEFACTION TECHNOLOGIES

TOPIC III COAL AS A SOURCE OF CHEMICAL RAW MATERIALS

TOPIC IV ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN THE PROCESSING OF COAL1/

ADOPTION OF THE REPORT OF THE SYMPOSIUM AND CLOSING MEETING

List of Papers

Introduction to List of Papers

A: Assessment of World Resources of Coal and Prospects for the Production of Different Types of Coal in Relation to Dwindling Supplies of Other Fossil Energy

Publisher Summary

I PRELIMINARY REMARKS

II ASSESSMENT OF WORLD RESOURCES OF COAL

III PROSPECTS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF COAL IN RELATION TO DWINDLING SUPPLIES OF OTHER FOSSIL ENERGY

IV RELEVANT PARTS OF THE PAPERS RECEIVED

V CONCLUDING REMARKS

B: Comparative End Use Efficiency of the Use of Coal: Substitute Natural Gas and Other Gases Versus Electric Power Production

Publisher Summary

INTRODUCTION

DESCRIPTION OF PAPERS RECEIVED

CONCLUSIONS

C: Comparative End-use Efficiency of the Use of Coal Liquids versus Other Methods of Using Coal, e.g. in Mining (Processing) Power Generating Complexes; in Transport Compared with Electric Vehicles; and for Electricity Generation

Publisher Summary

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS

D: Theoretical Bases of Coal Gasification

Publisher Summary

1 PRINCIPAL MODERN METHODS OF GASIFICATION OF SOLID FUEL

2 INFLUENCE OF THERMODYNAMIC PARAMETERS ON THE GASIFICATION PROCESS

3 THE MECHANISM AND KINETICS OF THE PRINCIPAL REACTIONS OF CARBON WITH GASES

4 EFFECT OF CERTAIN PROPERTIES OF CARBON-CONTAINING MATERIALS AND MINERAL ADMIXTURES ON THEIR REACTIVITY

5 WAYS OF DEVELOPING HIGHLY INTENSIVE METHODS OF COAL GASIFICATION

CONCLUSION

E: Recent Achievements in Conventional Coal Gasification Processes

Publisher Summary

INTRODUCTION

2 APPLICATIONS FOR COAL GASIFICATION TECHNOLOGIES

3 RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN GASIFICATION PROCESSES

4 CONCLUSIONS

F: New Gasification Methods Developed on a Laboratory or Large Scale

Publisher Summary

G: Underground Coal Gasification

Publisher Summary

1 INTRODUCTION

2 METHODS NOW BEING TESTED

3 TECHNICAL PROBLEMS

4 ECONOMIC STUDIES

5 CONCLUSIONS

H: Progress in Research and Development of Coal Liquefaction

Publisher Summary

1 INVESTIGATIONS ON COAL LIQUEFACTION TECHNOLOGIES

2 CATALYSTS

3 INTRODUCTORY ECONOMIC ESTIMATION

4 CONCLUSIONS

I: Prospects for Chemical Syntheses Based on Gas from Coal

Publisher Summary

1 INTRODUCTION

2 PROCESSES OF COAL GASIFICATION SUITABLE FOR SYNTHESIS GAS PRODUCTION

3 GAS PREPARATION

4 SPECIAL APPLICATION OF APPROVED COAL GASIFICATION PROCESSES

5 FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF COAL GASIFICATION

6 SPECIAL APPLICATIONS OF GAS PREPARATION PROCESSES TO COAL GASIFICATION

7 UTILIZATION OF BY-PRODUCTS OF COAL GASIFICATION FOR CHEMICAL SYNTHESES

SUMMARY

J: Use of Coal Products for Non-energy Purposes

Publisher Summary

1 MAIN SOURCES OF PRODUCTION OF CHEMICALS FROM COALS

2 PROCESSING OF LIQUEFIED PRODUCTS FROM THE TRADITIONAL COAL REFINING BY DISTILLATION AND HYDROGENATION

3 HYDROGENATION OF COALS

4 ACETYLENE RECOVERY

5 EXTRACTION OF LIGNITE FOR THE RECOVERY OF MONTAN WAX

6 RECOVERY OF ACTIVATED CARBON

K: Protection of the Atmosphere

Publisher Summary

L: Protection of Waters

Publisher Summary

SUMMARY

M: The Utilization or Disposal of Coal Processing Residues

Publisher Summary

1 INTRODUCTION

2 GASIFICATION OF COAL LIQUEFACTION RESIDUES

3 LOW-TEMPERATURE PYROLYSIS OF COAL LIQUEFACTION RESIDUES

4 CARBONIZATION OF COAL LIQUEFACTION RESIDUES

5 FLUID COKING OF COAL LIQUEFACTION RESIDUES

6 CHEMICAL UTILIZATION OF COAL PROCESSING BY-PRODUCT CHARS OR COKES

7 UTILIZATION OF INORGANIC SOLID RESIDUES

8 RECOVERY OF VALUABLE METALS FROM COAL PROCESSING RESIDUES

9 DISPOSAL OF COAL PROCESSING RESIDUES

10 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DISCUSSION

Chapter 3: Selected Contributions to the Discussion Development of a New Lurgi Gasifier Type Ruhr 100

Publisher Summary

1 OBJECTIVES OF DEVELOPMENT

2 DESCRIPTION OF THE PILOT PLANT

3 TEST PROGRAMME

4 TIME SCHEDULE

5 CONCLUSIONS

Chapter 4: Development of Processes of Semi-Coking and Gasification of Oil Shales in the USSR

Publisher Summary

Chapter 5: Further Development of Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis

Publisher Summary

Chapter 6: Application of Fluidization in Coal Gasification

Publisher Summary

INTRODUCTION

STATUSIN THE UNITED STATES

LOW AND INTERMEDIATE-BTU GAS PRODUCTION

PRESENT STATUS

ADVANTAGES OF FLUIDIZATION

CONCLUSIONS

Chapter 7: Economic Viability of Coal-Derived Aromatic Chemicals and Carbon Precursors

Publisher Summary

Chapter 8: Co-operation Among CMEA Member States in the Field of Coal Gasification and Liquefaction

Publisher Summary

1 PRODUCTION OF LIQUID FUEL FROM COAL

2 PRODUCTION OF GASEOUS FUEL FROM COAL

3 PRODUCTION OF FUEL WITH IMPROVED TRANSPORTABILITY

Chapter 9: Evaluation of the Trade-offs from Regional Coal Development and Environmental Strategies

Publisher Summary

1 INTRODUCTION

2 STUDY OBJECTIVES

3 APPROACH

4 REGIONAL STUDY AREA SELECTION

ANALYSIS, CONCLUSIONS AND PROSPECTS

Chapter 10: Analysis, Conclusions and Prospects Consolidated Report on the Symposium

Publisher Summary

1 COAL’S IMPORTANCE FOR ASSURING ENERGY SUPPLIES IN EUROPE

2 FUTURE POSSIBILITIES OF COAL CONVERSION IN THE VARIOUS MARKET SECTORS

3 ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS

4 PRIORITIES

5 CONCLUSIONS AND PROSPECTS FOR INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

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THE GAS SITUATION IN THE ECE REGION AROUND THE YEAR 1990

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NOTICE TO READERS

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Publisher at Pergamon Press

Copyright

Copyright © 1980 United Nations

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the copyright holders.

First edition 1980

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Symposium on the Gasification and Liquefaction of Coal, Katowice, 1979

Oils and gases from coal.

1. Coal liquefaction - Congresses

2. Coal gasification - Congresses

I. Title II. Economic Commission for Europe

662′.6622 TP352 79-41362

ISBN 0 08 025678 3

In order to make this volume available as economically and as rapidly as possible the authors’ typescripts have been reproduced in their original forms. This method has its typographical limitations but it is hoped that they in no way distract the reader.

Printed and bound in Great Britain by

William Clowes (Beccles) Limited, Beccles and London

Preface

The economic viability of coal gasification and liquefaction has substantially improved during the last few years. In particular circumstances gases and liquids from coal can already compete with natural crudes. New, second generation technologies enter the pilot plant stage: they promise higher conversion efficiencies, are better suited to the different qualities and properties of coal and lend themselves to more extensive automation. Hence, there is promise for a further improvement of the technical feasibility and competitiveness of coal gasification and liquefaction.

These basic problems approaching solutions, growing efforts are presently directed towards reducing the environmental impact of coal refining and to the sharing of R and D risks and costs by means of bilateral and multilateral international co-operation. While coal gasification and liquefaction has been in the past an interesting R and D option, it now enters medium-term policies as a real possibility. It offers the opportunity of smoothening the constraints of oil supplies in the future, but it also raises policy questions such as: selecting the most promising technologies: accelerating large-scale industrial demonstration; standardising equipment; ensuring the necessary coal supplies either from indigenous or foreign sources; facilitating international technology transfer and solving siting and environmental issues.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) has organised co-operation among its member States¹/ in this field since 1974. In 1976, a symposium on the Gasification and Liquefaction of Coal was held at Düsseldorf in the Federal Republic of Germany²/. A second symposium took place in Katowice (Poland) from 23 to 27 April 1979 from which this present publication has been drawn under the responsibility of the secretariat.

¹/Comprising the following 34 countries in Europe and North America: Albania; Austria; Belgium; Bulgaria; Byelorussian SSR; Canada; Cyprus; Czechoslovakia; Denmark; Finland; France; German Democratic Republic; Germany, Federal Republic of; Greece; Hungary; Iceland; Ireland; Italy; Luxembourg; Malta; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Turkey; Ukrainian SSR; USSR; United Kingdom; United States of America and Yugoslavia.

²/For a report see: UN ECE Symposium on the Gasification and Liquefaction of Coal, Düsseldorf 1976, Verlag Glückauf, Essen (Federal Republic of Germany), 1976.

Efficiency of Coal Gasification and Liquefaction Processes Opening Lecture

Wlodzimierz Lejczak,     Minister of Mining, Polish People’s Republic

Publisher Summary

This chapter focuses on the efficiency of coal gasification and liquefaction processes. The progress made in converting low-grade coals, containing much mineral matter and sulfur is of high economic importance. Now, there are better possibilities for the utilization of those coals than what was previously available. Apart from conventional coking plants, processes of coal-dust gasification with oxygen and steam in fluidized bed and steam-oxygen gasification of coal breeze in a quasi-static bed under pressure found a wide application. In the late 1970s, dozens of coal gasification processes were being developed, which were at a different stage of achievement. Other research activities aimed at the development of coal liquefaction technologies on the basis of solvents and direct hydrogenation. A promising use of coal liquefaction is the application of the coal hydrogenizate as an additive to feed blends for metallurgical coke manufacturing. Research going on in Japan and other countries including Poland predicts good results. The coupling of coal conversion systems with electric power generation might have become one of the more profitable solutions. During the 1970s, discussions concentrated most frequently on the gas-steam circuit, which improved the efficiency of the transformation of coal’s chemical energy into electric power by more than 40%.

Owing to the worsening supply of energy and raw materials since the mid-seventies, everyone is aware that a rational and economic use of resources, particularly all energy resources, is the real challenge facing the world economy.

In the next centuries coal is the only primary energy capable of covering world energy needs, in addition to supplying raw material for the chemical industry. As a matter of fact world reserves of coal are ten times greater than those of natural gas and oil.

Coal resources are not only abundant, but also favourably located near industrialized centres. According to forecasts by 2000, 43 per cent of oil reserves and 23 per cent of gas reserves, but only 1.4 per cent of coal reserves will have been exhausted. At the same time it is expected that before the end of this century the level of oil production will reach its maximum, while the highest level of coal output will not have been attained before 2000.

An increase of electric power production from nuclear power stations sufficient to allow a replacement of the diminishing reserves of hydrocarbons at least for electric power generation and, on this basis, the possibility, for instance, of using limestone for chemical syntheses, seem very remote alternatives.

Thus, an essential factor to improve the energy situation would be an increase in coal production. However, great technical and social problems are involved.

May I illustrate the scale of the problem on the basis of a theoretical example: in 1978, world energy consumption reached eight billion tons of coal equivalent. To meet this demand by coal alone, it would have been necessary to mine at least an extra 20–22 billion tons of hard coal and brown coals. This would have required an increase of present output by six times and, using the most up-to-date methods of underground and opencast extraction, the employment of 10–12 million workers. This number could hardly be handled unless long-term mining programmes coupled with high capital investments and with recruitment schemes would have been envisaged.

The ever closer economic and political ties between different regions of the world, which produce and consume energy, provided a period of ample supplies and low prices of liquid and gaseous fuels. This period was followed by a steep rise in prices, which also made it indispensable to raise consumer prices, and by the introduction of new forms of international co-operation including customer participation in investments. In these circumstances, traditional means of fuel competition will disappear in the near future, to permit a more co-ordinated use of all forms of energy, including advanced and comprehensive coal conversion into so-called clean forms of energy and chemical feedstock.

I must emphasize that the security of primary energy supplies is a prerequisite to the development of key industries such as metallurgy, chemical syntheses and others. Fuel processing may have an impact on increasing or decreasing profits, while a stop in supplies would de-stabilize the economies as a whole.

Assumptions are justified that in a few decades in some regions of the world basic energy supplies for use as raw materials for the chemical industry may become short. Oil and gas reserves will, to a large extent, have been exhausted and nuclear power, particularly nuclear fusion, as well as other unconventional sources of energy will not yet be in common use.

Coal is in a position to fill a considerable portion of the gap, provided comprehensive conversion makes better use of its inherent properties than is presently done.

The anticipated trans formation of the world energy situation calls for specific solutions for any given country. One solution would be the intensification of scientific and technical research to allow an optimum utilization of the vast coal reserves, particularly the production of synthetic fuels, both liquid and gaseous.

There is a real chance for the industrial use of the results of research and development in the field of coal conversion into liquid and gaseous fuels. This means that coal-derived forms of energy will be available to permit a flexible adjustment to the market, and to stimulate technical-economic progress with no threat to the environment. This should be an industry based on production-conversion plants with an improved technological operation and structure in which the feedstock - coal - would be taken both as a primary energy and as an organic substance providing fuels and chemical products.

May I bring to your attention the result of some recent studies based on Polish data which are of interest in this respect. A comparison of the economics of the processing of 11 million tons of crude oil (including higher fractions, solvents, ethylene etc.) with the economics of coal processing yielding similar end-products, shows that:

– the capital expenditure for coal conversion will be 2.4 times higher than those for oil processing

– but as regards fuel there will be an advantage for coal, thus permitting to amortize the higher capital expenditure within nine years.

It should be emphasized that the direct introduction of coal products as substitutes for oil, though in many ways convenient, is certainly not the best and final way of solving our problems. In this connexion I wish to highlight a new generation of organic chemical syntheses based on carbon monoxide instead of, e.g. ethylene. As a matter of fact, the range of chemical products being obtained in this way includes ethylene oxide and glycol, acetic acid, higher organic acids and other compounds. Progress in this respect will lead to new products and other avenues to obtain gas from coal, differing from the presently widespread use of pyrolysis. The interest of many well-known chemical companies in this problem is evidence of its opportuneness, as well as of the imminence of its commercial application.

Of high economic importance is the progress in converting low-grade coals, containing much mineral matter and sulphur. Now there are better possibilities for these coals to be utilized than previously, i.e. as gases for chemical syntheses with the prospects of conversion that have already been mentioned.

Coal conversion has been used for a long time and has attained a high degree of perfection. It should not be forgotten that the development of the chemical industry was based on coal until such times when the ample supply of low priced oil and natural gas prompted the change in the raw material base. The present high level of achievement affects the development of coal conversion methods of the second and third generation.

At present, apart from conventional coking plants, processes of coal-dust gasification with oxygen and steam in fluidized bed and steam-oxygen gasification of coal breeze in a quasi-static bed under pressure have found a wide application.

In one of the plants gasification is connected with the production of liquid fuels by the Fischer-Tropsch method.

Without going into the technological details of newly-developing gasification processes, it should be stressed that the second generation techniques feature increased unit sizes and output capacity as well as efforts to make the technology adaptable to various coal properties and to reach a higher degree of automation of the process.

At present, dozens of coal gasification processes are being developed at a different stage of achievement. It is hard to foresee which of them will have the widest use, but I think that in a few years a selection will take place among on-going technologies.

Design and test work in Poland is geared towards a generator construction and gasification process which will minimize all external technological circuits. The generators currently used account for only 8 to 12 per cent of total expenditure of a gasification plant, followed by gas scrubbing, then treatment of water and effluents and the costs of energy. If new solutions in the field of generators allow to simplify those-to some extent - external circuits, there appear prospects for industrial application even when the generator itself becomes more complicated.

Therefore, further work on the development of new coal gasification methods should concentrate first on efforts to find processes with high thermal efficiency and to reduce the number of those side processes which, to a considerable degree, affect the system efficiency.

Other research activities aim at the development of coal liquefaction technologies on the basis of solvents and direct hydrogenation. A number of processes are in the preliminary stage of research, while others are at the pilot plant stage. Also large-scale installations are being designed.

The main problem connected with this group of coal liquefaction technologies is the decomposition of the organic coal substance, thereby possibly avoiding secondary condensation processes. The product should be ash free and also free of incompletely processed coal. The mastering of the problem is fraught with many difficulties of a technological and engineering nature, the solution of which is the main prerequisite for the use of coal liquefaction methods to obtain a wide variety of fuels and chemical stock.

Primary products of coal liquefaction may be used in the following fields:

– direct use as ash-free, low-sulphur energy fuel

– post-catalytic conversion into motor fuels or light combustion oils used for motor transport

– processing into chemical feedstock, mainly as aromatic hydrocarbons

– processing into non-energy products, such as electrode cokes, graphitic materials, binding agents etc.

A promising use is the application of the coal hydrogenizate as an additive to feed blends for metallurgical coke manufacturing. Research going on in Japan and other countries including Poland predicts good results.

It should be mentioned that the processing of coal liquefaction products is much easier from the technical point than the production itself.

All coal liquefaction methods give rise to problems which hamper the speed of research and their industrial application. The most important problems are:

– separation of non-reacted coal and ash from liquefied coal products

– production of cheap and effective catalysts for processes of direct hydrogenation of coal or coal extracts

– achievement of high thermal efficiency with the coal liquefaction process.

The solution of these problems should soon have a beneficial effect on the competitiveness of coal liquefaction technologies as a source of liquid fuels compared with oil.

New ideas are now emerging in this field, e.g. the synthesis of hydrocarbons from methanol. It seems adequate to look at coal liquefaction as a source from the point of view of the problems of getting hydrogen. In hydrogenation about 50 per cent of coal or char coke in relation to the bulk of processed feedstock has to be used for hydrogen production. This requires a large gasification plant. One may wonder whether it would be more economical to go the synthesis gas route. The answer is apparently affirmative with regard to some types of liquid products obtained, i.e. motor fuels. In this respect, I think that already now the problem of using methanol as a component of petrol and as an additive to air in high-pressure engines can be considered as successfully solved.

The coupling of coal conversion systems with electric power generation may become one of the more profitable solutions. At present, discussions concentrate most frequently on the gas-steam circuit which improves the efficiency of the transformation of coal’s chemical energy into electric power by more than 40 per cent. It is well-known that transformation in an up-to-date conventional power station has an efficiency of about 36 per cent, or at best 38 per cent.

It has been suggested that as soon as high-temperature reactors are on stream, a revolutionary change will happen in coal conversion. I believe that this matter depends on the availability of cheap energy for allothermic processes of coal conversion. If nuclear power is going to be cheaper than that of coal, it will certainly be more economical to bring heat in from the nuclear power stations rather than to take it from coal. However, many difficulties have been encountered in the development of technologies with the use of high-temperature reactors connected mainly with materials. The whole problem needs further wide-ranging technical research carried out on different scales, as well as a thorough economic analysis which would take into account the influence of a number of factors that are not only technological.

Quite often mention is made of the high capital costs required by coal conversion and, in this connexion, of the unprofitability of industrial undertakings under present market conditions. However, a closer examination of the problem shows that such opinions are arrived at on the basis of incomplete data. I suggest to consider the economic issues connected with the exploitation of deposits of fossil fuels, such as gas, oil and coal in the light of the following:

– each deposit of fossil fuels possesses a non-renewable raw materials and energy potential

– this raw materials and energy potential cannot be fully exhausted

– exploration, development and exploitation of the deposits requires energy

– the processing of primary forms of energy into its secondary form, as well as its transportation and delivery to consumers requires energy.

It should be remembered that the rate of capital investment and present operational costs is, to a certain extent, proportionate to energy consumption.

A relevant indicator for this relationship is the ratio between the energy extracted from a given deposit in a given time, i.e. one year and supplied to the consumer, and the amount of energy used for the development and exploitation of the deposit also in a year. The ratio for comparable conditions is:

With the present price systems, if the ratio is below 1.0, there is no hope of a satisfactory return on capital and of adequate economic viability. However, an examination of coal conversion technologies shows that the concentration of energy supply industries in large installations can contribute to the reduction, by half, of conversion losses (amounting to 40 per cent). At the same time, it can bring the above ratio to a figure higher than 1.0. In the long run, the ratio of energy extracted from the deposit during the whole exploitation period, to the energy consumed in the development and exploitation of the deposit is very important. The ratios are as follows:

– for gas deposits from 6–14

– for oil deposits from 3–20

– for coal deposits from 30–60 (without conversion) from 20–24 (with conversion).

Taking into account the typical energy and raw materials balance for our country, as well as the demands of the growing national economy, we prefer solutions resulting in high ratios. In view of the geological conditions in our country, such solutions are possible only for hard coal, assuming its comprehensive conversion at some later stage. Indeed, the magnitude and potential of energy contained in our coal deposits is extraordinary.

If compared with the deposits of the various forms of fossil energy (gas, oil, coal), the present structure of market prices appears abnormal. This situation reflects the extremely advantageous conditions of oil and gas exploitation, as well as the effect of protectionist measures adopted in a number of countries. The recently observed scope of price adaptations for gas, oil and coal on the international market confirms this conclusion.

Whatever the results of our analysis concerning the net energy requirements of supplying energy or chemical feedstocks to the end-user may have been: I should like to make it clear once more that we do not believe that in the near future coal could be taken as an all-purpose primary form of energy to displace other fuels.

The analysis refers to conditions in countries having easily workable coal deposits and has been elaborated on the basis of United States and Polish conditions. It is probable that the conclusions drawn from it can also be adopted by other countries with a similar coal structure. After all, technical progress which is being developed in research centres all over the world may bring many changes improving the value of coal. Here, I have in mind, inter alia, the great progress achieved recently in the field of fluidized bed combustion of coal. It can be said now that due to the development of boilers for fluidized combustion (although, at present their capacity is still small or medium), the problem is being solved successfully on an industrial scale, particularly in the United Kingdom where the combustion of the lowest quality coals, and even of coal waste, is possible.

In Poland, too, we have built boilers for fluidized combustion at the Siemianowice and Jowisz collieries. The successful mastering of the next step, i.e. the construction of modular hearths under pressure, will allow the introduction of fluidized combustion in high capacity plants.

We all know that the development of coal conversion is a problem demanding high financial expenditure and great human effort. In these circumstances, growing importance is being attached to various forms of international co-operation, from the exchange of information, to jointly organized scientific meetings and precise division of work in research activities and industrial realization. I should like, here, to express my gratitude to the ECE secretariat which, many times, has undertaken efforts towards expanding international co-operation in this field.

The symposium about to begin is the second on this subject, the first being organized in the Federal Republic of Germany in January 1976 under the auspices of the ECE.

I believe that the impetus of holding symposia on coal gasification and liquefaction will carry benefit for all participants. I also wish to say that the Government of the Polish People’s Republic will give high priority to international co-operation.

We recently proposed the establishment, by interested countries, of an international Co-ordinating Centre for co-operation in the development of coal conversion. From experience gained we are convinced that such activities on an international scale brings substantial advantages. For example, the CMEA Co-ordinating Centre for New Methods of Coal Utilization expedites coal conversion programmes undertaken by research institutes in the Soviet Union, German Democratic Republic, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Hungary and Mongolia.

Last December, Poland concluded an agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on the production of low-sulphur fuels from coal. Provision is made for training, specially of personnel from developing countries, in Poland. These examples of multilateral international co-operation do not cover the whole of the problem. An undeniably important form of bilateral co-operation is also undertaken not only at the government level, but also between commercial firms.

To sum up, it can be claimed that already now coal conversion methods have reached a high degree of efficiency. They can meet a number of commercial purposes. The situation with regard to energy, chemical feedstocks and nuclear energy has prompted wide-scale research to find more efficient coal conversion methods. One can expect soon that new technologies will bring a reduction of capital expenditures and an improvement in efficiency.

I hope that the present symposium which has brought together a great number of very competent participants from all over the world will allow an in-depth review of actual achievements in coal conversion, and shed light on its anticipated future role.

Report of the Symposium

Publisher Summary

This chapter reports on the second symposium on the gasification and liquefaction of coal organized by the Government of Poland. The symposium was held at Katowice, Poland from April 23–27, 1979. The symposium was attended by 415 representatives from 24 countries, 4 inter-governmental organizations, and 3 international non-governmental organizations. These were the representatives of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Finland, France, German Democratic Republic, Federal Republic of Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America,