Under a cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Energy, with cost sharing from the State of Illinois, Kerr-McGee Coal Corporation (K-M Coal), Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC), and General Motors Corp.are developing the Institute of Gas Technology's (IGT) MILDGAS Process for near-term commercialization. The development team is headed by Kerr-McGee Coal Corporation. In addition to K-M COAL who is responsible for overall management of the project, the other team members include: IGT the process developer responsible for technology development and technical supervision; Bechtel Corporation, the A&E firm responsible for the process and plant design and construction; and SIUC the operator of the site responsible for operation of the PDU facility. MILDGAS operates at low severity gasification conditions of 590°-700°CF (1100°-1300°F) and 0.17 MPa (25 psi). The MILDGAS process is capable of processing both eastern caking and western non-caking coals to yield a slate of liquid and solid products. Depending on the feed coal characteristics and the operating conditions, the char can be used to make form coke for iron-making blast furnaces or for foundry cupola operations. The char can also be used as an improved fuel for power generation. The liquids can be processed to produce: feedstocks for chemicals; pitch for use as a binder for electrodes in the aluminum industry; and fuels. The specific objectives of the program are to: design, construct, and operate a 21.8 metric tons/day (24-tons/day) adiabatic process development unit (PDU) to obtain process performance data suitable for design scaleup; obtain large batches of coal-derived co-products for industrial evaluation; prepare a detailed design of a demonstration unit; and develop technical and economic plans for commercialization of the MILDGAS process.
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