By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, June 9 -- Syntroleum Corp. and private firm Sustec Industries AG of Switzerland, through a recent 50-50 joint venture, have agreed to develop a 3,000 b/d Syntroleum Fischer-Tropsch (FT) and Synfining unit as the first phase of a planned 20,000 b/d coal-to-liquid (CTL) plant at Sustec's Schwarze Pumpe industrial facility at Spreetal, Germany.
The project includes expanding Sustec's gasification capacity using its Future Energy gas-subcooled process (GSP) technology, which was recently acquired by Siemens Co. Siemens will install the 1,000 Mw GSP gasification units at Schwarze Pumpe. Sustec also plans to expand its methanol production and power plant there.
The Syntroleum FT unit, a slurry reactor using cobalt catalyst, will produce ultraclean diesel and specialty chemicals from synthesis gas made from lignite coal, municipal waste, and biomass, all gasified at the Schwarze Pumpe facility.
The existing Rectisol syngas and carbon adsorption units used for syngas clean-up processing also will be expanded as part of this initial FT project.
The preliminary front-end engineering and design work and the feasibility study for the Spreetal CTL project are scheduled to start by midsummer, with completion expected by yearend. Final project sanction is to be decided by first quarter 2007.
Sustec will provide the initial equity in the Schwarze Pumpe expansion project, including the CTL plant. The project has been prequalified for financial support from the Saxony (Sachsen) state government and is eligible for a €100 million grant.
