Page 193 - CW E-Magazine (30-4-2024)

Special Report

Coal gasifi cation in India – the unfi nished story

oal gasifi cation as we know since 2006. There were few who lis- D.M. MOHUNTA
today and touted as great pana- tened and most enamoured with natural
Ccea has been practiced in large gas, pooh-poohed the idea. Commercial, Chemical and
Development Company
scale since 1936 in Germany. The E-mail:dmm@ccdcindia.com
purpose was to use the gas produced as Development of technology
fuel for industry and households, and One must go back many decades to An important reason for adoption of
many hundred kilometres of gas pipe- understand the development of gasifi - coal gasifi cation is that it is a relatively
lines were laid in Europe. By 1946, coal cation technology. clean technology, with lower pollution
gasifi cation was recognised as an im- and higher thermal effi ciency compared
portant source of syngas (synthesis gas – Gasifi cation of coal has been to other coal-burning technologies.
a mixture of carbon monoxide and known for more than century and half
hydrogen) for chemical production in in some industrial form or another. An study from Department of
USA and Germany. Very detailed work It was messy and there was pollu- Energy (DoE), USA, indicates that
was done on all aspects of gasifi cation tion load. It lost priority with advent even if it is used for power generation
of coke and lignite under widely diffe- of plentiful natural gas and LPG. gasifi cation is superior in terms of
ring operating conditions. There were sporadic developments in thermal effi ciency and pollution load.
the USA and Germany on gasifying Coal-based Integrated Gasifi cation
This author has been advocating not coal to produce gases that could be Combined Cycle (IGCC) plants have
only coal gasifi cation, but gasifi cation converted to industrial products like thermal effi ciencies of 50-55%, com-
of heavy tar and other low value fuels those derived from petroleum. pared to 40-50% for the best coal-based

REFINERIES OPERATIONS DME

METHANOL
FORMALDEHYDE

CHEMICALS AMMONIA
MTBE
OXOCHEMICALS:
BUTANOL,
SYNTHETIC NATURAL ACETIC ACID
GAS(SNG) ETHYLHEXANOL

SYNGAS DIRECT REDUCTION AMINE
GASIFICATION IRON (DRI)
(H +CO)
2 POLYPROPYLENE
TOWN GAS
GAS INDUSTRY O /N /H /CO/AR
2 2 2
GASOLINE, LPG
GAS TO LIQUID
UREA

TO OLEFINES AMMONIA NITRATE
/SULFATE
HEAT & POWER
IGDC
Fig. 1: Products that can be made by coal gasifi cation

Chemical Weekly April 30, 2024 193

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