Using technologies developed by CAS researchers, a demo facility of coal-to-oil conversion with an annual capacity up to 3,500 tons was successfully commissioned on 11 December at the Yunnan Jiehua Chem Group (JH Group) in Southwest China's Yunnan Province, producing qualified Ron 93 petrol.

    The production unit, the largest of its kind in China so far, employs the catalysts developed by the CAS Institute of Coal Chemistry (ICC) and the technology of adiabatic fixed bed reactor in one-step methanol-to-gasoline conversion jointly worked out by ICC and Second Design Institute of Chemical Industry (SEDIN). It was jointly built up by ICC, SEDIN and JH Group.

    Experts say that the feat could offer a reliable technological route for China's coal-to-oil conversion industry, and it may become an important option for producing clean petroleum from coal in the future. The Diameter of the major reactor (adiabatic fixed bed) is one meter, which could be amplified directly to the scale of 10 ton petroleum per year.