TITLE:
A Comparative Study for the Development of Coal-to-Liquids Industries in China, South Africa and United States
AUTHORS:
Yiming Li, Changqing Li
KEYWORDS:
Coal-to-Liquids, Comparative Study, China, United States, South Africa
JOURNAL NAME:
Green and Sustainable Chemistry,
Vol.9 No.3,
August
5,
2019
ABSTRACT: Many energy
consuming countries have carried out research, development, demonstration,
planning and deployment of coal-to-liquids (CTL) because of its ability to
replace oil imports by converting coal resources into fuel. Among them, China
and South Africa successfully had their CTL technology industrialized, while
the United States did not. To understand the differences in the industrial development
level, a comparative study is necessary. This paper compares the history, driver
and policy of CTL industry in China, South Africa and United States, collates
and discloses numbers of industry details for the first time. We figure out
that the motivation, top level planning and policy consistency are the key
indicators of the difference on the industrial development level. Among them,
the key to the success of CTL industrialization in China and South Africa is
the government’s strong and stable determination to improve energy security,
which provides a stable top-level planning and robust policy support. The
failure of CTL in United States is caused by the shift of policy attention after
its energy security situation improved.