文章轉載自世界權威潤滑油雜志lubes&greases的欄目《Lube Report Asia》2014年10月7日刊，作者為TIM SULLIVAN。英文報道詳見：http://www.lubesngreases.com/lubereport-asia/1_40/bio-synthetics/-7605.html
以下為中文簡譯（后附英文稿件原文）。
上海納克潤滑技術有限公司和山西潞安集團正在中國山西省建立一家工廠，該工廠將采用煤制油中的費托法a-烯烴原料制備聚a烯烴（PAO）合成基礎油。該 PAO 工廠已經在建設中，計劃于 2015 年6月建成，預計在第三季度投產。
納克公司于2014年五月在上海建成了第一家 PAO 工廠，該工廠位于上海的國家級化學園區漕涇。主要使用進口α-烯烴作為原料，也將部分利用山西項目來的a烯烴原料資源做補充。PAO 的生產方式通常是采用碳鏈長度在 C8 到 C12 的線性α-烯烴（LAO）通過聚合和加氫工藝來制備的。
“費托法a-烯烴（LAO）適于制造PAO，”納克市場部經理劉青才在一封電子郵件中告訴 Lube Report Asia。“未來中國這種烯烴資源將很豐富，我們需要利用這些資源來彌補中國LAO資源的短缺。”
劉青才說，該 PAO 工廠坐落于長治市，設計能力為 15,000 噸中高粘度 PAO。
該工廠由山西潞安納克碳一化工有限公司投資建設，位于山西長治市屯留縣的煤制油綜合利用產業園。整個項目分為兩期，一期已經于2014年6月建成投產，主要生產CTL溶劑和a-烯烴，二期目前正在建設中，主要是PAO合成及加氫裝置以及灌裝和倉儲等設施，預計將于2015年6月初步建成，并與第三季度投產。
這將成為世界首次使用 CTL 中的 LAO 來生產 PAO 的案例。CTL（COAL TO LIQUID）是指將煤通過費托合成技術把煤炭轉換成油的技術，轉換過程首先煤與水制備生成合成氣（CO+H2）。合成氣再通過費托工藝聚合成長碳鏈油品。
一位業內專業人士對此有些質疑，Amy Claxton是美國的一家基礎油和潤滑油行業咨詢公司“My Energy”的負責人，其表示潞安CTL工廠使用的技術是一種煤炭間接液化工藝，現在還有其它種類的CTL技術都在大規模使用中，包括煤炭直接液化，或者是先讓煤氣轉化為甲醇，再讓甲醇轉化為烯烴和其它化學品。
“是個創新，這樣能生產a-烯烴我覺得很驚訝，更不要說能夠用這個原料來生產PAO了，根據我的了解，目前在中國已經有用甲醇制烯烴的工廠，我認為甲醇制烯烴（MTO）的生產成本會更為低廉，”Claxton在電子郵件中說道。同時，她認為，相比生產PAO的用途，α-烯烴可用于生產比PAO價值更高的很多類其它產品。“對于山西潞安納克的這個 PAO項目，我還是有些不同意見的，如果這家合資企業只是用這個烯烴生產少量的PAO那是很好的項目，但是，如果這個原料很多，PAO的銷路則是個問題了，畢竟PAO還是很貴的基礎油。”另外一位專業人士則持非常肯定的積極態度。“長治的這家PAO工廠將主力生產PAO40、PAO150 粘度等級的產品，主要面向中國國內市場，特別是進入高端柴油機油領域，之前是不可能在柴機油中使用PAO的，因為太貴了，但如果成本降下來，對于行業來說是個好消息。”NovitasChem Solutions 的Liwen Wei 解釋道。同時，他補充說到，納克公司在上海漕涇的第一家PAO工廠將于 10 月 24 日在上海舉行開業慶典。Novitas位于美國得克薩斯州貝萊爾市，是納克公司上海工廠的產品在北美的營銷者，產品包括PAO 40、PAO 100和烷基萘。
潞安集團是中國五大煤炭公司之一，最早于 2008 年開始運行CTL 工廠。是國內唯一同時運行鐵基和鈷基費托裝置的省屬大型企業。
Coal-based PAOs Coming to China
By Tim Sullivan•October 7, 2014
Naco Lubrication Co. and Lu’an Group are building a plant in China’s Shanxi Province that will use coal-to-liquids feedstock to manufacture polyalphaolefins for synthetic lubricants. The PAO facility is scheduled to begin operations in the third quarter of 2015.
Naco, which in May opened its first PAO plant in Shanghai, said it undertook the Shanxi project to take advantage of the feedstock availability. PAO is made by assembling linear alpha olefins of certain carbon chain lengths, typically ranging from C8 to C12.
“CTL olefins are suitable for making PAOs,” Naco Marketing Manager Liu Qingcai told Lube Report Asia in an e-mail exchange. “These olefins are a local source, and we need them to help fill China’s shortage of linear alpha olefins.”
The PAO plant is located in Changzhi City and designed for capacity to make 15,000 metric tons per year of high-viscosity PAO, Liu said.
It will be the second process unit operated by the 50/50 joint venture. The first is already producing CTL solvents and olefins, and will eventually make wax, too. Construction of the PAO synthesis and hydrogenation plant began in December, two months after the joint venture was formed.
Naco believes this will be the first case of PAOs being produced using LAOs made from CTL. CTL refers to several technologies that turn coal into liquid hydrocarbons, starting by burning the coal to produce carbon monoxide syngas. The joint venture, Lu’An-Naco C1 Chemical Co. Ltd., makes LAO through a Fischer-Tropsch process using an iron-based catalyst.
One industry insider questioned the efficiency of the PAO project. Amy Claxton, principal of My Energy, a U.S. consultancy on base stocks and lubricants, noted that the technology used by Lu’An’s CTL plant is an indirect liquefaction process. There are other categories of CTL technologies that do not use Fischer-Tropsch, including direct coal liquefaction; and coal-to-chemicals, which first turns coal gas to methanol and then transforms the methanol to olefins and other chemicals.
“I was surprised to see that this site would be producing olefins at all, much less producing PAO, as there are already several methanol-to-olefins plants running in China where I think it would be cheaper to get olefins,” Claxton said in an e-mail exchange. She also suggested that linear alpha olefins can be used to make products that are higher in value than PAOs. “I can't get too excited about CTL PAOs. If this joint venture makes a little PAO, great. If they make a lot, they won't be able to sell it.”
The Changzhi PAO plant will be optimized for making a 150 centiStoke viscosity grade that is wholly intended for China’s internal market, and especially for premium diesel engine oils, explained Liwen Wei of Novitas Chem Solutions. Meanwhile, he added, Naco’s first PAO plant will celebrate with an official opening ceremony in Shanghai on October 24.
Novitas, which is based in Bellaire, Texas, U.S.A., is the North American marketer of material from Naco’s Shanghai facility, including 40 and 100 cSt PAO and an alkylated naphthalene.
Lu’an is one of China’s five largest coal companies. It began working on its CTL plant in 2008 and last year opened a pilot plant.
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