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CIL and BHEL JVA for Ammonium Nitrate Plant through Coal Gasification
28th February 2024
- Two of the country’s top Maharatna CPSE entities Coal India Limited (CIL) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) formally signed a joint venture agreement (JVA) for setting up an ammonium nitrate plant through surface coal gasification (SCG) technology route
- The plant to come up in Lakhanpur area of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited, Odisha is planned to produce 2000 tons of ammonium nitrate per day initially. The annual production is slated at 6.60 Lakh tons which requires 1.3 million tonnes (mts) of coal
- The coal will be supplied by CIL
- BHEL would bring to the table indigenously developed pressurized fluidized bed gasification (PFBG) technology for this purpose. The synergy and partnership of the two corporate giants is a big step towards National Coal Gasification Mission which facilitates utilization of chemical properties of coal
- Ammonium nitrate is a major ingredient in manufacturing of bulk explosives which CIL uses in large quantities in its Open Cast mining operations, a major source of its coal production
- The upcoming plant as backward integration would help in securing the raw material and reducing import dependency of ammonium nitrate
- On the occasion, Coal Secretary said that with the commitment of CIL and BHEL, this project will be a role model. “Gasification is the highest priority area for the ministry of coal. In next two to three years there will be sufficient coal. All the possible support from government is in place including financial support for viable gap funding"
- SCG is a promising technology that converts coal into valuable Syn gas. This on further processing produces synthetic natural gas that can be used as alternative natural gas. Additionally, it can be used as feedstock for downstream chemicals production which are currently being imported and for power generation as well
- Projects and Development India Limited (PDIL), a Mini-ratna design engineering and consultancy company has been assigned the work for preparing a detailed feasibility report of the plant