The production of synthetic or substitute natural gas (SNG) from coal is a process of interest in Colombia where the reserves-to-production ratio (R/P) for natural gas is expected to be between 7 and 10 years, while the R/P for coal is forecasted to be around 90 years. In this work, the process to produce SNG by means of coal-entrained flow gasifiers is modeled under thermochemical equilibrium with the Gibbs free energy approach. The model was developed using a complete and comprehensive Aspen Plus model. Two typical technologies used in entrained flow gasifiers such as coal dry and coal slurry are modeled and simulated. Emphasis is put on interactions between the fuel feeding technology and selected energy output parameters of coal-SNG process, that is, energy efficiencies, power, and SNG quality. It was found that coal rank does not significantly affect energy indicators such as cold gas, process, and global efficiencies. However, feeding technology clearly has an effect on the process due to the gasifying agent. Simulations results are compared against available technical data with good accuracy. Thus, the proposed model is considered as a versatile and useful computational tool to study and optimize the coal to SNG process.

Este documento tiene por objetivo analizar el proceso de sustitución de la utilización de combustibles pesados hacia el gas natural por parte de medianas y grandes empresas ubicadas en el Valle del Cauca y norte del Cauca, que se observan durante el periodo 2004-2012. Asimismo, utilizando un modelo Probit de efectos aleatorios en Panel, se estima la propensión de estas industrias a sustituir un combustible altamente contaminante por gas natural. Los resultados muestran que la diferencia de gasto en gas con relación a otros combustibles es determinante en la probabilidad de conversión.<br />Adicionalmente, se confirma que las industrias con menos probabilidad de realizar la conversión son aquellas que utilizan carbón en los procesos de producción.