Steam and oxygen producing units as well as the coal handling system and coal feeding system have been brought online at SES’ joint venture project with Chinese government-owned Yima Coal Industry Group.
SES says the site is now fully staffed and initial startup of the first gasifier is expected to occur in September.
SES president and chief executive Robert Rigdon said commissioning of the facility marked an important development in the company’s strategic Chinese investments.
“The Yima joint venture project continues to make good progress and is a much anticipated important milestone for our company’s growth,” he said.
“The project is being watched very closely in China, as our technology is being considered as a key technology for future growth in China's coal to energy and chemical industries.”
Phase one of the $US350 million plant is designed to process 2000 tonnes per day of sub-bituminous coal into syngas for downstream chemical and fuel products while phase two, if constructed, is expected to double the design output.
Production test runs conducted earlier this year with coal from Yima’s Yaojin mine successfully produced syngas in one of the project’s three gasifiers and are expected to provide important data that will help facilitate a successful gasification unit startup.
