The ambreCTL facility will use established international technologies for the conversion of domestic coal to unleaded petrol and LPG. This will occur in three stages:

Stage 1 conversion of suitable, high ash coal feedstock to syngas using commercially-proven fluidised bed gasification technology

Stage 2 conversion of resulting syngas to methanol using an established and commercialised syngas-to-methanol process

Stage 3 conversion of methanol to 18,000 barrels a day of premium quality zero-sulphur unleaded petrol using established methanol-to-gasoline technology developed by ExxonMobil.

This three stage model for using high-ash Queensland coals for gasification will bring new industry to Queensland and play a significant part in the evolution of alternative fuels from coal. 

Through ambreCTL, Ambre Energy will develop and apply proven technologies to the mining and processing of coal to allow for the cleaner and more versatile use of this energy-rich material.

The liquid fuels made from coal will be ultra-clean. Sulphur is removed from feed coal during the gasification process and ExxonMobil’s gasoline synthesis technology process produces a zero-sulphur unleaded petrol product.

The production process for gasoline will be designed using world’s best practice for fluidised bed coal gasification, including carbon dioxide capture. The project is therefore sequestration ready and potentially provides for a low-carbon footprint once sequestration opportunities in Queensland have been developed.

The project will be designed to minimise all air emissions and maximise recycling of water.

The coal-to-liquids process

The heart of the coal-to-liquids process is above-ground coal gasification. The coal at Felton has an extremely high ash at melting point and is highly reactive for a coal in its class. This makes the coal ideally suited to fluidised bed gasification.

Stage 1 Gasification

Fluidised bed gasifiers are used extensively around the world for the gasification of coal. Coal is fed into the unit and heated under pressure to convert it into a synthesis gas or syngas, comprising hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.

The gas is cooled and then passed through a process which catalytically converts the syngas into the optimum mix of hydrogen and carbon dioxide for the downstream process. After this point, carbon dioxide and sulphur are removed from the stream and the syngas passed to the next stage of the process, where it is converted into methanol, an intermediate product.

Stage 2 Methanol production

The syngas, comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen, is converted to methanol using a proprietary catalytic process available from a number of technology vendors. Syngas is first converted to methanol and water in the gas phase, and the methanol and water are condensed and separated by distillation. The crude methanol produced is stored in intermediate tanks and becomes the feed stock for the next key step in the process - converting methanol to liquid fuels. The treated water will be treated and recycled.

Stage 3 Methanol to liquid fuels

The key enabling technology for ambreCTL is ExxonMobil’s methanol-to-gasoline process. In this process, the methanol produced in stage 2 is passed through a series of reactors, including a shape-specific catalytic reactor which produces zero-sulphur unleaded petrol as well as LPG.

A similar plant operated in New Zealand for 10 years and is therefore considered well proven.