Coal news and updates

‘Indian power plants need coal within specific range’

July 17: The boilers of thermal power plants in India are normally designed for a certain range of coal quality and require using coal within the above range for satisfactory performance even as performance of power turbines are not affected by change in coal quality, Coal Minister Piyush Goyal has said.

Replying a query in Parliament, Goyal said, “Due to wide variations in the quality of domestic coal generally received by Indian power stations, because of progressive deterioration in coal quality and/or supply from different mines; the boilers are designed to use a wide variation in coal quality, typically from 3,000 to 4,000 kcal/kg gross heat value.”

Thus, the boilers are generally seen to accommodate blend of domestic and imported coal, he said.

However, the quantity or percentage of imported coal that can be blended in any station would depend on a number of factors like the design for the boiler, characteristics of domestic coal being received by the station and characteristics of imported coal proposed for blending, Goyal said.

He further said the two coals are also required to be compatible for blending so as to avoid slagging and other operational problems.