Rotary kiln arrives at Coldrey coal technology demonstration site

Industrial technology group Environmental Clean Technologies has received a rotary kiln (pictured), a key component of its Coldrey technology small-scale commercial demonstration plant at Baccus Marsh in Victoria.

The kiln, manufactured in Western Australia, was transported 3,600 kilometres to the site where it forms the heart of the process to dry lignite coal without CO2 emissions.

The company is developing a number of technologies to upgrade low-grade materials such as brown coal as well as recover waste resources and turn them into new materials.

ECT is expanding its Bacchus Marsh, Victoria Coldry facility which upgrades low-grade brown coal into a product with properties closer to high-grade black coal.

The company is also commercialising COHgen technology to produce hydrogen production from lignite and its Matmor technology that utilises lignite rather than black coal to produce primary iron, decreasing costs and CO2 emissions.

ECT said buying the kiln locally rather than from overseas as originally envisaged had saved $500,000 and reduced the project’s lead times by up to four months.

Chief Engineer Ashley Moore said: “With the safe arrival of the kiln on site, we are able to commence a range of phase 2 activities, including detailed design of the supporting plant, refinement of the layout and initiation of procurement for the balance of plant and equipment.

“Starting these activities now should help us claw back several months lost to Covid since March last year, keeping us on target to deliver the project in the first half of 2022.”

The plant will demonstrate the Coldrey process at scale and demonstrate its integration with a commercial application to prove its financial feasibility.

The plant will produce dried lignite pellets and high-value char products.

Picture: Environmental Clean Technologies

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