NITI Aayog Workshop on Coal Gasification Technology

Context

• Organized by NITI Aayog.

• Participants: Ministry of Coal, IIT Delhi, Fraunhofer IKTS (Germany), BHEL, IIT Roorkee, GAIL, CIMFR, IOCL, CIL, TFL, NLCIL, EIL, L&T, JSPL, DVC, CCL, PDIL, CSIR-IMMT, Dastur Energy.

• Aligned with:

  • National Coal Gasification Mission

  • Make in India

  • Atmanirbhar Bharat

India’s Coal Profile

• 4th largest coal reserves in the world: 378 billion tonnes (199 billion tonnes proven).

• Indian coal = high ash content (25–45%) vs low ash in global coals.

• Challenge: earlier perception that Indian coal is “non-gasifiable” due to ash.

• Recent trials prove feasibility through indigenous technology.

Key Workshop Highlights

1. Technology Discussions

   • Focus on fluidized bed, circulating bed, entrained flow systems.

   • Global insights from Fraunhofer IKTS, Germany.

   • Indian pilots: IIT Delhi, Thermax, BHEL, CIMFR.

2. Recommendations

   • Circulating fluidized bed gasification most suited for India’s high-ash coal.

   • Other technologies (entrained flow, fixed bed) unsuitable due to Indian coal ash chemistry.

   • Scale up pilot → commercial projects.

   • Integrate Carbon Capture, Utilization & Storage (CCUS).

   • Strong industry involvement in core technology development.

Expected Outcomes

• Acceleration of large-scale coal gasification projects.

• Development of indigenous technology ecosystems.

• Contribution to energy security, reduced import dependence, cleaner coal utilization.

• Roadmap for commercial adoption with policy & financial support.

Chemicals from Coal Gasification

Process

• Gasification vs Combustion:

  • Combustion → burns coal directly for heat & power.

  • Gasification → coal + water (slurry) + oxygen → thermal-chemical breakdown → produces syngas.

• Syngas Composition:

  • Mainly Carbon Monoxide (CO), Hydrogen (H₂), Water Vapor (H₂O) + minor gases.

  • Acts as a building block for fuels, electricity, and chemical products.

Industrial Example 

• Feedstock: Coal or coal + pet-coke mix.

• Steps:

  1. Particulates removed.

  2. Purification: Removal of Hg, H₂S, CO₂.

     • Sulfur recovered as elemental sulfur (S).

  3. Syngas separation → CO + H₂ (feedstocks).

  4. Conversion to Methanol (CH₃OH).

  5. Derivatives:

     • Methyl acetate → Acetic acid & Acetic anhydride.

     • Acetic anhydride: Used in photographic film, textiles, plastics, pharmaceuticals.

Key Products from Coal Gasification

1. Methanol – precursor for formaldehyde, olefins, fuels.

2. Ammonia (NH₃) – fertilizers, explosives.

3. Urea – nitrogen fertilizers.

4. Hydrogen (H₂) – refining, steel, green fuel.

5. Carbon Monoxide (CO) – acetic acid, plastics, resins.

6. Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) – substitute for natural gas.

7. Acetic Anhydride – textiles, film, industrial solvents.