The kerosene independently developed by Ordos Coal-to-Oil Sub-company of the National Energy Group (NEG) recently helped the "Long March" series of rockets soar into the air, marking a historic step forward in the application of aerospace kerosene in China.

Jia Zhenbin (left) and his colleague work in the laboratory. [Photo/WeChat account of Nuan news]

Jia Zhenbin,the head of the Science and Information Department of the Ordos Coal-to-Oil Sub-company, graduated from Xi 'an Jiaotong University and came to Ordos 18 years ago. Since then, he has formed an indissoluble bond with coal direct liquefaction technology.

A coal-based space fuel. [Photo/WeChat account of Nuan news]

In March 2013, the NEG formally launched a project to implement the research and development of special fuels in the field of coal-based space.

However, the project was completely dependent on China's independent research and development without any industrialization experience for reference. Being rich in coal but lacking in oil and gas, China's space kerosene resources are very scarce, and every step was unknown and full of challenges.

In order to speed up the research and development process, in July 2014, the NEG and the sixth Aerospace Institute began to cooperate in an all-round way.

A spaceflight model with kerosene. [Photo/WeChat account of Nuan news]

Aerospace kerosene needs to be extracted from specific components of coal liquefied oil products, while the biggest difficulty is the control of process parameters. After a series of research and practical application assessment such as component tests and bench tests, the scientific researchers have carried out more than 800 ground-related experiments alone, and produced dozens of batches of industrial production of aerospace kerosene, with a total of more than 8,000 metric tons.

At present, Ordos Coal-to-Oil Sub-Company is carrying out the second-generation technical engineering upgrade of the world's first million-ton coal direct liquefaction project.

A coal liquefaction upgrade demonstration project with an annual output of 3 million tons is expected to be put into operation in the city by 2028. By then, Ordos' coal-to-oil production capacity is expected to reach 5 million tons per year.