Raw Materials and Process Engineering · B.Sc. · 7th semester
Fossil Fuel Technology · RMPE403
From the coal seam and the oil trap to coke, synthesis gas, fuels and carbon materials: primary energy sources and their thermo-chemical conversion — pyrolysis, coking, gasification, liquefaction, cracking and hydrogen — taught as interactive lectures with live simulations, animated plant cut-aways, recitation problems and a Mongolian summary in every lecture.
4 CP · 120 h48 h contact, 72 h self-study
2 + 2 UoIlecture + recitation per week
15 lectures417 interactive slides
70 % + 30 %oral exam (30 min) + academic performance
6 simulatorsin-browser, Python, SCORM
Part A · Primary Energy Sources
Calculation and provision of energy requirements; formation and occurrence of fossil fuels; classification, properties and characterisation of solid, liquid and gaseous fuels; consumption of energy sources and the principles of setting energy prices.
01Energy Demand and the Primary Energy SystemEvery tonne of fuel begins as a demand for heat, power or motion — calculate the demand first.live heating-season simulator · ger, flat, five climatesenergy chain cut-away · seam → CHP → radiatorpower-plant fuel calculator · η, capacity factor, LHV02Formation, Occurrence and Resources of Fossil FuelsEvery tonne of coal and every barrel of oil is buried sunlight that survived three filters: preservation, maturation and trapping.live Van Krevelen path · kerogen types I–IIIburial–maturity model · EASY%Ro in your browserP90 / P50 / P10 · reserves by Monte Carlo03Solid Fuels: Classification and CharacterisationA coal is only as useful as the numbers on its certificate, and every one of those numbers depends on how it was measured and on which basis it is reported.bomb calorimeter · run a test, correct the driftbasis converter + live ASTM D388 rank classifiermacerals · coking · ash fusion · four machine scenes04Liquid and Gaseous Fuels: Properties and CharacterisationA fuel is sold, refined and burned by its numbers: learn to measure them and to read what they control.ASTM D86 and CFR engine · two laboratory machines, tap every partlive Watson-K chart · classify any petroleum fractionlive gas mixer · HHV, Wobbe, flammability limits, air demand05Energy Markets, Consumption and PricesEvery energy price is a marginal cost, a rent, or a bargain — and an engineer can compute all three.live merit-order dispatch · move gas, coal and CO₂ pricesLCOE calculator · coal, CCGT, wind, PV with CRFnetback chain · Tavan Tolgoi to a Chinese coke plant
Part B · Thermo-chemical Fuel Conversion
Thermodynamic and kinetic principles, then the processes: carbonisation and coking of biomass, lignite and coal; gasification in fixed beds, fluidised beds and entrained flow; synthesis gas to products; hydrogenation of coal; cracking of gaseous and liquid hydrocarbons; gas processing and hydrogen; carbon absorbents.
06Thermodynamics of Fuel Conversion and CombustionThe oxygen you add decides whether a fuel burns, gasifies or pyrolyses, and thermodynamics tells you how far each can go.live flame & flue-gas calculator · λ, Tad, dew pointlive steam cycle · IAPWS-IF97 in your browserlive gasification equilibrium · Boudouard, water gas, C–H–O07Kinetics of Solid Fuel ConversionEquilibrium says where a coal particle ends up; rates, pores and films decide whether it gets there inside the reactor.devolatilisation lab · single-rate, Kobayashi, DAEMthree-regime Arrhenius plot · exact pore-diffusion solverparticle models · shrinking core vs random pore08Pyrolysis, Carbonisation and CokingHeat without air turns coal, lignite and wood into char, tar and gas; the coke oven is the art of steering that split.animated coke-oven battery · push, quench, regeneratelive coke-oven simulator · width, wall, moisturelive pyrolysis model · charcoal, bio-oil or gas09Gasification I: Principles and Fixed-Bed GasifiersA gasifier is a furnace that deliberately runs out of oxygen, and the fixed bed is the one that also recovers its own heat.Lurgi FBDB cut-away · descending bed, coloured zoneslive zone model · steam/O₂ ratio against ash fusionthree gasifier families · CGE and carbon audit10Gasification II: Fluidised-Bed and Entrained-Flow Gasifiers, IGCCParticle size sets the residence time, the residence time sets the temperature, and the temperature decides what happens to the ash.live equilibrium gasifier · C–H–O balance, shift and methanation, adiabatic Tmembrane-wall gasifier cut-away · slag film and quenchfluidisation and slag-viscosity calculators · Kemper case11Synthesis Gas to Products: Conditioning, Methanol, Fischer–Tropsch, SNG, AmmoniaThe gasifier makes a raw gas; everything valuable is decided by how that gas is cleaned, shifted and converted.live syngas conditioning · shift and CO₂ removal to any target ratiolive methanol equilibrium · Graaf K(T), T and P sliderslive ASF distribution · slurry FT reactor cut-away12Coal Liquefaction and HydrogenationCoal is a hydrogen-deficient oil: liquefaction is the art of breaking it gently and paying for the hydrogen.animated DCL flowsheet · slurry to diesellive bond-scission model · capping vs cokinglive hydrogen balance · H₂, efficiency, CO₂13Cracking of Hydrocarbons and Petroleum RefiningA refinery is a machine for breaking the right bonds, in the right place, for exactly the right time.crude-unit cut simulator · four crudes, your cut pointslive ethane cracking coil · kinetics against equilibriumFCC heat balance · riser, regenerator, coke14Natural Gas Processing and Hydrogen ProductionThe same molecule, CH₄, is either cleaned and sold as fuel or taken apart for its hydrogen; both are chemical engineering against an equilibrium.live SMR equilibrium · T, P, S/C → methane slip and CO₂ per kg H₂amine, hydrate and CO₂-intensity calculatorsthree plant cut-aways · amine unit, turboexpander, reformer15Carbon Materials, Emissions and the Future of Fossil FuelsThe carbon we do not burn, the emissions we must capture, and the whole course in one view.live activation kiln · burn-off, BET, Thielelive isotherms · carbon dose for water and goldoral-exam guide · all 15 lectures
Simulators for this course
Standalone engineering tools with the model equations written out. Each runs in the browser, downloads as a Python script, and is available as a SCORM package for Moodle.
Coal Analysis & Calorific ValueProximate/ultimate bases, HHV/LHV, ASTM D388 rank, Van KrevelenLecture L03Fuel Combustion & Flame TemperatureAir demand, flue gas, dew points, adiabatic flame temperature, boiler efficiencyLecture L06Crude Distillation Cut SimulatorTBP curves, cut points, product yields, animated columnLecture L13Gasification EquilibriumGibbs minimisation, adiabatic T, CGE, carbon boundaryLecture L09–L10Syngas Synthesis ExplorerASF distribution, methanol equilibrium, shift adjustmentLecture L11Coke-Oven BatteryTransient heat conduction, coking time, yields, COGLecture L08
Module information
Learning outcomes
- Explain the occurrence, properties and consumption of energy sources.
- Determine the thermo-chemical conversion processes of fossil fuels.
- Distinguish the technical applications of power generation from fuels and of synthetic gases, hydrogen, coke and carbon-based raw materials.
Assessment and literature
- Oral examination, 30 min — 70 %; academic performance during the module — 30 %.
- Prerequisites: semesters 1–4; Thermodynamics for Chemical Engineering recommended.
- Jess, A., Wasserscheid, P.: Chemical Technology: An Integral Textbook, Wiley-VCH.
- Higman, C., van der Burgt, M.: Gasification, Elsevier.
How to use the lectures
- Arrow keys or swipe to move; T = contents, G = glossary, F = presentation mode.
- Dotted terms open their definition; every lecture ends with a quiz, recitation problems and a Mongolian summary.
- Recitation problems reveal their solution step by step and check your numerical answer.
Монгол хэлээр
Лекц бүр «Монгол хураангуй» слайдаар төгсөнө: гол санаанууд болон 15–20 нэр томьёоны англи–монгол толь. Хичээлийн шалгалт аман хэлбэрээр (30 мин) явагдана.
Prof. Dr. Purev-Ochir Togtokhbaatar · Chemical Process Engineer · GMIT · purevochir@gmit.edu.mn · WS 2026/27