Coal news and updates

Government working on development of catalyst to convert coal into liquid fuel

The government is setting up a pilot project to develop an indigenous catalyst to convert coal into liquid fuel, Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal told the Rajya Sabha.

Developing the catalyst locally will eliminate dependence on a technology provider for its supply, the minister said on Monday.

The coal ministry is funding the research project and the Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research ( CIMFR) is implementing it along with the Central Mine Planning & Design Institute, he said.

"It is not a commercial project for CTL (coal-to-liquid) production," the minister said. The plant is being set up in CIMFR'S Digwadih Campus in Dhanbad, Jharkhand.

The research project will require around 225 tonnes of coal for testing of the catalyst, he said.

In response to a separate question, the minister said the production of coal in the country was constrained by land acquisition problems, environment and forest clearance, resettlement and rehabilitation and restrictions due to imposition of Central Environment Pollution Index guidelines.

"Law and order condition in some areas and constraints arising from lack of adequate infrastructure for evacuation of coal including delay in construction of rail infrastructure in some major coalfields have also been constraining factors," he said.

Coal India plans to deploy mass production technology as well as upgrade and modernise its mines to enhance production, he said. The state-run company targets produce 1 billion tonnes of coal by 2019.

source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com