Hi Lory,Sasol does both GTL and CTL. Sasol gasify their coal...

Hi Lory,
Sasol does both GTL and CTL. Sasol gasify their coal above ground which is a much controllable reaction. from that it then turns synthesis gas into liquid. So the only advantage of Linc's UCG-GTL is its claimed ability to gasify coal underground which i have to say is a lot difficult when it comes to purifying synthesis gas (hence the delay of UCG-GTL)


Sasol's primary business is based on CTL (coal-to-liquid) and GTL (gas-to-liquid) technology and this differentiates it from other petrochemical companies. CTL and GTL plants convert coal and natural gas respectively into liquid fuels. Sasol's early experience was in South Africa. Sasol's original CTL plant at Sasolburg was commissioned in 1955. It was subsequently converted into a GTL facility and is still in operation. Two large CTL production facilities were commissioned in the early 1980s in Secunda and now form the single largest and most profitable asset in Sasol's global portfolio. In the early 1990s, at the request of the South African Government, Sasol licensed a GTL process to PetroSA, the South African state-owned oil company. This plant is also still in operation.

During the mid-1990s, Sasol sought to globalise by approaching natural gas and coal resource owners to form CTL and GTL joint venture companies. Sasol owns a stake in the Oryx GTL plant in Qatar that was commissioned in 2007.[3] Sasol, Petronas, and Uzbekneftegaz have signed an agreement to establish a joint venture for developing the Uzbekistan GTL project.[4][5] Sasol also had an economic interest in the Escravos GTL plant, which is currently being constructed in Nigeria and is due to be commissioned in 2011. Sasol is currently also conducting feasibility studies relating to potential CTL plants in China, South Africa, and the United States of America.

There are four basic phases in a CTL or GTL plant: (i) gasifying the coal into synthesis gas or reforming natural gas into synthesis gas, which is primarily a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen; (ii) purification of the synthesis gas to remove impurities such as sulphur; (iii) turning the gas into a liquid; and (iv) processing that liquid into fuel.