Eastman Chemical Company's coal gasification plant has
been producing syngas for chemicals for 21 years.
In the early 1980s Eastman installed two large Texaco
(now GE Energy) gasifiers at its primary
chemical manufacturing site in Kingsport, Tennessee. The
installation was finished in 1983 and many improvements have been
made
over the last two decades. Many consider this to
be America's
premiere coal gasification installation:
For the last 21 years the plant has had an
on-stream rate of 97-98%
(it was 91% in the initial
startup year).
The annual forced outage rate is now less
than one percent.
The system removes more than 99.9% of the
sulfur in the syngas; it has a patented sulfur-free
gasifier start-up process; and nearly all of the volatile
mercury present in the syngas stream is removed.
Continuous process improvements have
resulted in a 40%+ reduction in annual maintenance costs
over the last seven years.
Project Essentials
Located in Kingsport, Tennessee
Syngas plant owned by Eastman Chemical Company
100% project financing by Eastman
Began commercial service in 1983
Texaco (now GE Energy) gasifiers (one hot stand-by)
Produces chemicals for Eastman's flagship facility
