HyMelt® Technology

HyMelt® Process Development

The HyMelt® process has been in development for more than 10 years.  Bench scale testing to demonstrate feasibility of the process was completed in 1998.  Large scale testing of the process sponsored by the United States Department of Energy and the Illinois Clean Coal Institute was conducted at MEFOS, a research organization sponsored by the Scandinavian steel industry in Sweden, in 2003.  All initial testing to-date has been conducted at atmospheric pressure.

Bench scale test

Bench Scale Testing

HyMelt Timeline

1990s

  • Marathon Ashland Petroleum built 0.2 m ID pilot plant
  • Conducted 75 runs in pilot plant
  • EnviRes acquired exclusive rights to HyMelt

2001-2009

  • Received DOE awards
  • Conducted campaigns in 1.1 meter ID reactor at MEFOS

2010+ Plans

  • Design, build and operate first 1000 t/d commercial plant

Pilot Plant Results

  • HyMelt® pilot plant in Catlettsburg, KY
  • 0.2 m ID, contained 140 kg molten iron
    • MEFOS reactor

    MEFOS Testing

  • Operated at 1300–1500oC, atm pressure
  • Conducted 75 experimental runs
  • In “swing” mode, SDA pitch produced 95% H2
  • Demonstrated sulfur removal as H2S

MEFOS Demonstration with DOE Support

  • Steel research consortium in Lulea, Sweden
  • Has large liquid iron reactors for testing
  • MEFOS demonstrated coal gasification in molten iron in 1980’s
    • Operated in steady state mode only
    • Used burnt lime (CaO) for sulfur removal
  • Conducted 3 HyMelt® campaigns in 1.1 meter ID reactor

 

In the 1980s, InterProject Service AB (IPS) successfully led an effort to design, build and operate a Pressurized Coal Iron Gasification (P-CIG) demonstration plant, also at the Metallurgical Research Institute AB (MEFOS) in Lulea, Sweden.  In June 2007, EnviRes LLC purchased all of the P-CIG intellectual property for its exclusive use, including all confidential data and reports and rights to all of P-CIG know-how and inventions.  P-CIG testing conclusively demonstrated that the HyMelt® molten iron gasification concept works at a pressure of up to 44 psia.