Winkler gasification process

There are three well proven processes for the gasification of coal. All three processes were developed in Germany at a time when natural gas was not available in Europe. One such process is the Winkler Process. 

So far only the Koppers - Totzek, Texaco and Lurgi gasifiers, and probably the Winkler process in some smaller installations, have been used in ammonia plants, but the successful demonstration of the Shell process in other applications make it a potential candidate for ammonia production, too. Additional processes in different stages of technical development are the HTW and the Dow process. Information on the status and the development in the gasification of coal can be obtained from [541], [545], [548] -[554],... 

Winkler process, the Koppers-Totzek process, and the Texaco process. Downstream adjustment and treatment of the raw product gases is required when these processes are used to supply feedstock or cofeedstock to a typical low-pressure methanol process operating at 220 to 270°C and 5.066 to 10.132 MPa (50 to 100 atm). A few of the operating details of these and other commercial coal gasification processes are presented here. 

All the industrial processes are autothermal, 30 to 40% of the coal utilized being burnt to attain the required high reaction temperatures. This is also the case for the Lurgi pressure gasification process carried out in a mechanically agitated solid bed at ca. 1200°C (as used e.g. in Sasolburg in South Africa), for the Koppers-Totzek process in which the coal is used in the form of flyash (atmospheric pressure, 1400 to 1600°C) and for the Winkler process operating with a pressureless fluidized bed at 800 to 1100°C. 

The first application of the fluidized-bed gasifier in the gasification process is the original Winkler process. In the Winkler process, steam and air (or 02) are used at atmospheric pressure. The schematic of a typical Winkler gasifier is shown in Figure 4.25. The coal (brown coal coke, subbituminous, or bituminous coals) is... 

The Winkler gasification process has many advantages such as low operating temperature, high reliability, and low tar in the gas product. However, due to the low operating pressure and temperature, the carbon conversion is also low (20%-30% carbon in ash). Most plants using the Winkler process have been shut down for almost entirely economic reasons. 

J. Engelhard and W. A. Adlhoch. "The High-Temperature Winkler Process-Operational Experience and New Developments." Presented at the Eighth Electric Power Research Institute Coal Gasification Conference, Palo Alto, California Electric Power Research Institute, October 1988. 

Winkler process An early coal gasification process that uses air and steam in a fluidized bed operated at atmospheric pressure. The air provides the oxygen in the process. The process is named after its inventor Fritz Winkler who developed it in the 1920s. 

Comparable to IGT technology for syngas generation is the high-temperature Winkler (HTW) gasification process. A commercial HTW unit was installed in 1988 at a Finnish ammonia synthesis plant and has operated successfully using peat as a feedstock.51... 

None of these current processes has a distinct advantage over the other two in all situations of coal gasification. However, we believe that the Winkler is best suited for the production of methanol because it yields a clean gas with a low inerts content. Other advantages include the plant s low environmental impact, the minimal coal preparation required and the simple construction of the Winkler gasifier. 

Fig. 19.15. Lurgi dry bottom gasifier. Comparative Study of Coal Gasification Processes—Koppers-Totzek, Lurgi[ and Winkler," Koppers Co., Pittsburgh, PA.)...

Two gasification processes under development, namely High Temperature Winkler Gasification (HTW) and hydrogasification of lignite (HKV), encouraged to study the gasification behaviour of various brown coal lithotypes (15). 

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