Clariant AG (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com) has announced that it has signed an agreement with Siemens Fuel Gasification Technology to cooperate in the commercialization of a new, jointly developed sour-gas shift (SGS) technology for coal gasification. The agreement appoints Clariant as the exclusive catalyst supplier for all Siemens gasification integrated SGS projects. While the collaboration covers all global projects, commercialization will focus on China – the region with the highest growth rate of coal-to-chemical projects.
The advanced SGS technology from Clariant and Siemens significantly decreases total capital cost for coal-to-chemical applications through optimization and simplification of total plant concepts. The entrained-flow Siemens Fuel Gasifier (SFG) is able to produce syngas from a wide range of fuels – even for low ranks of coal. Clariant’s new ShiftMax 821 catalyst enables a simple, once-through process without further adjustment of the exit gas from the gasifier. The simplified layout uses smaller and fewer reactors, and requires no steam adjustment for temperature control. This combination reduces capital expenditure for the shift system by up to 20%, and optimizes operating costs with up to 30% lower catalyst volume. The new technique can handle different steam-to-gas ratios and high carbon monoxide content in the gas, resulting in improved availability and reliability of the whole process.