Microwave pyrolysis and its applications to the in situ recovery and conversion of oil from tar-rich coal: An overview on fundamentals, methods, and challenges

Energy Reports

Yan Zhu¹  Shirong Ge²  Hongwei Zhou³  Heping Xie³  Yang Ju⁴ 

[1] Frontier Scientific Research Centre for Fluidized Mining of Deep Underground Resources, China University of Mining &;State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep Underground Engineering, China University of Mining &Technology, No. 1 University Ave, Xuzhou 221006, China;State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, China University of Mining and Technology at Beijing, D11 Xueyuan Road, Beijing 100083, China;

关键词: Microwave pyrolysis;    Tar-rich coal;    In situ oil recovery;    Unmanned automatic mining machine;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Efficient, safe, and environmentally friendly methods for the low-carbon utilization of coal are required to exploit this resource as a source of cleaner energy. Tar-rich coal can produce a high volume of oil and is abundant in western China. Currently, tar-rich coal is mostly combusted for power generation, which results in wastage of valuable oil resources and serious environmental pollution. Researchers have focused on achieving zero or near-zero carbon emissions while alleviating damage and pollution to geological formations when mining coal resources. In particular, the use of an intelligent unmanned automatic mining machine (UAMM) integrating microwave pyrolysis technology for the in situ mining and conversion of coal into oil and gas has been proposed. However, to date, studies on the microwave pyrolysis of tar-rich coal for the efficient extraction of oil are lacking. In this study, we outline the state-of-the-art developments in the microwave treatments of coal. The principles and advantages of microwave heating compared with traditional heating methods are discussed. Further, current research and applications of microwave-assisted coal processing are reviewed. We also discuss the challenges and future developments in the field of the microwave-based pyrolysis of coal. This report provides a reference for the application of microwave technology to in situ mining, pyrolysis, and conversion of tar-rich coal into liquid energy resources based on a UAMM.

【 授权许可】

Unknown