Bench-scale and pilot plant development of solvent refined coal (SRC) processes is reviewed. Large SRC demonstration plants are described. Commercialization of the process is envisioned for the 1980's

Chenoweth, G. E.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

. I  
N 79 - 2'1 6 I 6 
STATUS REPORT OF THE SRC-1 AND SRC-M PROCESES 
George E. ChenaratetR 
Gulf WneraL Resources Go. 
Denver. Colorado 
After slxteon years of bench-scale and pIIot 
pleat devclopmmt. krrgc solvcnt rcflncd coal 
(SRC) deaawtrathoa plants are belmq phaned 
wM& awrY lead to commerclelleetlon by the I 9 t e  
19P3.3. 
I. BACKGROUND 
Developmeat of &e solvent refhed coal (SRC) 
process begaa in 1962 at Gulf OU Corporation's 
Lierriam, Kansas Research Laboratories and bench- 
scale work has contLaued at that location since 
t&attlme, Thlswo&ledtotReconstructdooaad 
operation of a one-half eon pea day pilot unlt la 
1W4 w h k h  provided design acta 14 a SO toons per 
day pllot pleat. Constcuctlon of L#.- 50 tons per 
day Govenunent?rpplaed faclllty was completed ln 
1974 at Ft, Lewls. Washington and has been la 
operatton slnce then. TRLs extended research and 
development prugra~ has d e n  funded by the U. S- 
Department of Energy (DOE) and lts predecessors. 
All work until 1973 was alnned at the develop- 
ment of a process to praduce a IQIY-~L;:~. iow- 
sulfur solld product k m r .  ds SRC-I. in  the SRC-I 
process. (y.31 is slwrled ln a dlsrllled. coal- 
2erived. rt.cycle solvent, m i d  wlth hydrogen 
and reactcd at hlgh temperature and pressure. The 
reaction prrxluct is flltered to rcmovr ash and un- 
reacted coal whlch is further processed, such as 
by gaslflcatlon. to convert it to an  envlronmentally 
acceptable form for  dlsposal. The filtrate 1s 
vacuum dlstilled to separate dlsclllate from the 
"heavy" resldual organlc material whlch IS 
rcmov.d a d  solldlflcd as tho solid SRC product. 
The dlstlllatc Is further distlllcd to separate it 
Into a recycle process solvent for the reactlon 
area and lfmited quantltles of fuel 011 and naphtha. 
Much of the sulfur ln the feed coal is converted to 
hydrogen sulflde which Is recovered and converted 
to e;emental sulfur. 
By 1993, Memiam data had lndlcated a poten- 
tlal problem of lnsufficlent productlon of the pro- 
cess solvcnt rcyulrcd for thc rcactlon area. It 
was thmrlrccl that addttlonal solvc.nt production 
could be attalncd by rccycllng a portlon cf the 
reactor efflumt slurry and utilizing It  to replacc. 
some of the distlUed solvent used to slurry the 
feed coal. Thls mode of operation lncreases the 
concentration of ash,  and its catalyuc compon- 
ents, as well as allowing the "heavy" (hlgh 
molecular welght) organic material contained In 
the slurry to be subjected to further ilquefaction 
reactions. The lnltlal slurry rccycle exyerlments 
were su; cessful in achtrvln- 
Increased solvent pmducuw. More Importantly, 
though, 1ndlGatlons were that r e p l a d m  thz dls- 
tllled solvent completely wlth recycle slwry 
increased the degree of conversion of the 'heavy" 
exganic to dlmillate Uqulds to such en extent that 
a m o d l f l c ~ t h n  of the oweraM SRC prooess appeared 
feasible wMcb would allow the e1:zAolrtlon of the 
mwblesome and aostly flltrauon msthad of SOWS 
separatlm. InsW, solldv separat;on frora the 
reactton pruduct would be accomplished ln a much 
slmpler and common cemmerclal processing s tep -- 
vacuum flashlog - wlth the hlgh solids "heavy" 
aganlc streem from the bottom of the vacuum flash 
drum being used as feed to a hlgh pressure gasifier 
for pruductlon of thz hydmgen r e g u W  ln the coal 
reacelon area. Subsequent testing lles demonstcat- 
ed the vlaWty of thls SRC process modlflcatlon 
ahlch Is now known as SRC-M. Its lise r e su l t s  in 
the produdon of a liquid, rather than a solld, as 
ths main product. 
:r .hJr?~tlvc of 
Simpllfled flowsheets of the SRC-I and SRC-II 
processes are shown fn Flgure I.  The major differ- 
ences, as well as th2 similarities. readily m a  be 
seen, 
The largest SHf: faclll'y is thc Government- 
awned a d  -fu&ed pllot plant at Ft. k ~ l s ,  
Washington. ConstruAlon was completed In 1974 
at a cost GI about Si1 ,000,000. It is st*f:ed by 
180 GuX err.pioyc2s. 
Slncc fiartup ln 1974, the plant had cnjoycd a 
hlgh onstrcam factor, !is malor accampllshments 
to date ?.re: 
1. 
2. 
3. 
Developed t.mosss yield data In both the SRC-I 
and SRC-ri m d e s  of operation sufflclent for 
the dssf jn  of much larger demonstratlon 
planto. 
Produced solid SRC for small scale combustion 
tests and 3,000 tons for a large scale test 
whlch was completed In early 1977 at 
Georgia Power Company's Plant Mitchell near 
Albany, Georgia. 
258 
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19790019445 2020-03-21T22:40:13+00:00Z
4. h a l u c d  a b u t  6.000 ~ N C I S  of SIK:-II fuel 
oll for a large scale coarbustion test in a 
cemmencial power plant w h l d  is scheduled to 
be conducted this SUL .m. ??E meta oble -due 
is to determine if SRC-II fuel oll will  ret 
the environmcatal rcqulrements for a he1 for 
electrica!. power generation. Enmuraging 
small scale comb stion tests already have 
k e n  performed. 
Om of the prime objectves i n  the ft. -is 
Pilot Plant program for 1973 is to complete ehe 
installation and begin testing the Lummus 
Colppaoy's Solvcmt DeasUng process to determine 
if it is J mole viable method of solids separation 
*!id filtration. 
The work performed at the Ft. lewis Pilot 
Plant and thir Herrlam Laboratory is reported !n 
quarterly, annual and interim Fossil Energy. 
U. S. DepartmentoFEnergy. raparts (Ref. 1. 2. 3, 
4. 5). 
NI. OZ.!ER SRC DEVELOPMENT 
:am-.- I'V.1. SIC1 :-I (nnr-..;s vla-laf stlwlla.:; tub 
:;*-Va*ldl t--hl#:: m I l S l B  IhlVt. Ih*.*ll t.tblalIOl.ktrl M1 .I SlX- 
IOIIS p-i h y  p I l i v t  pl.tnt . I t  W11:;unvillt.. AIdbma. 
This plant is opuratcd by t:atalytic, Inc.: managed 
by Southern t:ompanv jervices. Inc. and funded by  
Southern, Electr lc  Power Research Institute and the 
U. S. Department of Energy. The Kerr-McGee 
Crltlcal Solvent Deashlng process w?b 'De tested 
there in  1978 to determine its viability as a method 
of solids separation. 
In addition tc, thc SRC-11 davelopment work at 
thz C;overnment-fundcd Merria.n and Ft. Lewis 
facilities, extansive SRC-Ii yield studias have 
k e n  conducted during the  past two years with a 
Gulf-owped and -funded om-ton per day  pilot plant 
at Gulf's Corporate Research Center, Hamrville, 
Pennsylvania. 
N. HEALTH PROTECTION 
AN13 
I: NVIIIONM KNTAL MONITOIIING PROGRAM 
A workvr hcalth protcction m d  ;*nvironmimtal 
monitorinq proqram has  b, .n in rt!  ct at the 
1.t. li-wis Pilot Plant sincc. prior to its startup. 
I t  consists of: 
1. Periodic physical examination of workers. 
2. A worker ifxlustrial hygiene program. 
3. In-plant monltorfng for potentially hazardous 
materials. 
. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
Surrounding area mont corlng . 
lbx6dogical test program with laboratory 
animals. 
A trace mefais  dlstributaon study. 
'Phe flndinas from this overall proSram should 
proVe to be ee ief ic la l  ln planning for icqer SRC 
and other coal liquefaction plants. De'ailed 
descriptions of the program and data obtained have 
been published in several  Fossil Energy. U . S. 
Iwpartmrnt of tnrrqv. rrports W f .  6.  9 .  A). 
V . SIN : t :OM M I:Ht : IA I.l/ATlU N 
Gulf's inltlal SRC commercialigatlon efforts 
occurred in 1974 when it provided process design 
supp* for the conceptual desiqn of an SRC-I 
dernonstmtloa plant utlUeLng 2,000 tons per day 
of coal. The conceptual design was performed bv 
Wheelahator Clean Coal Corporation. u t l l l ehq  
Wheelabratm-Frye's Rust Cngineerh~ Co. 
In 1975, 6ulf decided to concentrate its com- 
mercialization efforts on the SRC-I1 process. 
Among its reasons for doing so were: 
1. 
2. 
3, 
4. 
Its concern with the many problems associated 
with filtration. 
Its belief that SHc:-II fucl oil would cfccrcase 
the demand for imported crl while SRC-I solid 
product provided only a n  alternate to coal 
burning with stack gas ssrubbing. 
I t s  bellef that a liquid produced f rom coal had 
a greater variety ot potential uses than a solid 
product and, thus,  had more long term market- 
lng potential. 
in 1975, Gulf, utilizing the services of 
Steams-Roger Inc., completed the conceptual 
design of an SRC-I1 demonstration plant with a coal 
feed rate of 6,000 tons pet calendar day. In addi- 
tion, a less detailed conceptual design of 30,000 
tons pcr calendar day  co-mercial plant was com-  
p l e t d .  rollowing c.xtrnslve enginerring studres in 
1976. t h r sc  concc-ptual dcslgns wcw uprlatc:d in 
1977. Detailtd imglnecring has  brgun on the 
demonstration plant and Gulf has  proposed to the 
U. S. Department of Energy that the two parties 
lolntly fund its design, construction and op.-ration. 
I t  is being deslgnall so that, after successful 
demonstration, it can be a p a n d e d  to commercial 
size. Several eastern electric and g a s  utilities are 
interested in purchasing the products of this 
demonstration facllity at a premium price in order 
to ensure the development of an  alternate fuel 
supply. Other companies have proposed th- 
deslgn, construction and operatlon of solid 
259 
SRC-I demonstretlon plents to the U . S. Depart- 
ment of Enerdy. 
Thc c*xprcted ranges of fue l  products trom 
Gulf's pI6inni-d SRC-If Dcmunstratlon Plant am 
shown In Tablc 3. Thls product slaw Is &sod on 
mlnlmtalng rlcctrlcal usage and utlllelng naphtha 
and synthesis gas. In excess of that requlred for 
precess hydrogen requlrements. as plant fuel, 
In conclusion. the puMlcly-owned SRC pro- 
cess has been developed wet the last sixteen 
years to the point that demonstratlm wlth commer 
c:hrl-.slxcd cqolpnwnt can and shotikl br COllrJucttrl 
whkh could ~ l l o w  ihls pma-ss to makc a contd- 
Won to tk Natlon's domestlc "clean" enemy 
production by the late 1980's. 
REFERENCES 
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
Solvent Refined Coal (SRC) Rocess. Startup 
and Opeeatlon of the SRC P l h t  Plant. June 
Iossll I:nt?rgy. Inergy wcst.JrCh a d  Ikvclop- 
mcnt klmlnlstratlon. Jwnc 1977. 
1974-Aprll 1973. Report No. I'C496-TI3. 
Solvent R e f W  Coal (SRG: Prtcess. Quarterly 
Technical Progress Repor t .  Jarrr?ary - March 
1977. R e p o r t  No. FE.196-134, fossil Energy, 
Energy Research and Development Admlnlstra- 
tion. July 1917. 
Solvent Ref lned  Coal [SRC) Frocess. Quarteily 
Technical Pmgress Report, Aprll - June 1977, 
Report No, FE496-141, Fossll Energy. U. S. 
Department of Energy. November 1977. 
Solvent Refined Coal (SRC) Process, Quarterly 
Technical Progress Report, July - September, 
1975, Report No. FE496-143. Fossil Energy. 
U. S. Department of Energy, January 1978, 
Solvent Refined Coal (SRCJ Process, Annual 
Report 1917, Report No. FE496-149,Fossil 
Energy, U. S, Department of Energy8 May 
1978. 
Solvent Reflned Coal (SRG) Proccss. Envlron- 
mental Program, January 1972-June 1.977, 
Report No. FE496-"9, rossil Energj'. U. S. 
Department of Energy, March 1978. 
Solvent Reflned Coal (SRC) Process. Industrial 
Hygiene, Cllnlcal and ToxlcologIcal Programs, 
Jacuary 1974-June 1977, Report No. FE496-TI5, 
Fossil Energy, U. S. Department of Energy, 
January 1978. 
Solvent Refined Coal (SRC) Process. The F d e  
of Trace Elements in the SRC Process. 
August 1974-July 1976, Report NO. FE496-TI7. 
Fossll Energy. U. S. Department of Energy, 
March 1978. 
Table 1. Ft. kuls SRC lilot Plant 
typl-1 ylelds. wt. 'K of 
molstilrc- frw. m a l  
SRC-I SRC-I1 
Carbon oxldes 
H ydr0qc.n s t i  I f  Id? 
Ammonla 
W&ter 
Methane - ethane 
Propane - butane 
Naphtha 
(Pentane - 3s0°r) 
Fuelooll 
(350 F - 9OOOF) 
Organlc vacuum 
bottoms (SRC) 
Unreacted coal 
Ash 
Hydrogen 
1 2 
1 2 
1 
5 6 
3 9 
2 5 
- 
5 8 
0 28 
62 27 
6 6 
10 10 
(2) (4) 
Gross yields before hydrogen productAon and 
fuel requirements 
a. 
Table 2. Typtcal properta.~ of SRC-I 
solld and SRC-II fuel oll 
SRC-I SRC-11 
SoUd I'uel 011 
Composluan, wt. % 
Carbon 87.2 
Hydrogen S .8 
Nitrogen 2.1 
Sulfur 0.75 
Ash h.Ei 
0 Pour point. F 
rlasrt point, Or 
0 
Illa-lt PBitlt. I' :1.15 
I lhjht.~~ laratlng 
valus, Rtu/lb. 16,000 
C t . 5  
8.4 
1.1 
0.2s 
0.02 
-20 
> IS0 
17,300 
- -  
Table 3. Expected range of fuel products from 
planned SRC-I1 demonstration plant 
-- --- 
Per Stream Day 
-- -- 
Fuel oil, barrels 10,000 - 12,00@ 
I FG, barrols 3,000 - 4,000 
l'lg. 1. Simpllflcd SRC l'lowshrets 
26 I 


Status report the SRC-1 and SRC-2 processes

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