Abstract
Present status on the direct liquefaction of coal promoted under the Sunshine Project in Japan was reviewed. This project consists of the development of two li-quefaction technologies for brown and bituminous coals. Two stage liquefaction plant for brown coal of 50t/d capacity is primarily designed especially for brown coal in Victoria, Australia and succeeded in the longterm continuous operation for more than 1, 000 hours with oil yield of higher than 50 wt%. Typical advantageous results on the milder condition of firststage reaction and high efficiency deashing unit were obtained. The plant's operation was finished in 1990. Following-up research is conduction to clarify the problems and to summerize the project report.
On the other hand, the NEDOL process is a process for liquefying subbituminous to low-rank bituminous coals which are found in many areas of the world. The oil yjeld of higher than 50 wt% obtained from 1 t/d plant operation makes this process a superior one in terms of economic performance. The construction of new plant of 150 t/d capacity will start from November, 1991.
Future aspect and circumstances related to coal liquefaction, economics, global environ-ment, balance with the other alternate energy sources, are also discussed.
