By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Aug. 16 -- Syntroleum Corp. signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Linc Energy Pty. Ltd., Brisbane, Australia, to jointly develop a coal-to-liquids (CTL) project in Queensland, Australia.
The agreement, which integrates Syntroleum's gas-to-liquids technology with Linc Energy's underground coal gasification (UCG) expertise, is part of Linc Energy's ongoing Chinchilla Project, which includes early development of an integrated power plant.
Under terms of the MOA, Linc Energy and Syntroleum jointly will finance a series of technology demonstration programs in advance of developing engineering designs for CTL projects.
The process utilized at the Chinchilla facility is similar to commercial techniques used in Russia for more than 30 years. It involves injecting air and steam into an underground coal seam boreholes and igniting the coal in-situ.
The UCG syngas, which undergoes sulfur removal and additional conditioning at the surface, is similar to syngas obtained from conventional surface coal gasification systems, but UCG syngas production is less expensive, Syntroleum said.
The first commercial phase of the Chinchilla Project, planned for next year, involves installation of a 30-40 Mw electric power plant. The second commercial phase, to be developed over several years, calls for a 17,000 b/d Syntroleum CTL plant and power plant expansion.