Producing natural gas from coal

The possibility of making natural gas, methanol, ammonia and other essential products from coal is being explored in the mines of South Eastern Coalfoields Limited (SECL). If implemented, this will be the first such project in the state of Chhattisgarh.

Coal gasification is the cleanest and most eco-friendly way to convert coal components into electricity, hydrogen, clean fuel and valuable chemicals as opposed to combustion. Adoption of gasification technology in India will revolutionize the coal sector. This will reduce the dependence on import of natural gas, methanol, ammonia and other essential products.

The possibility of coal gasification project is being explored in Mahamaya opencast mine of Bhatgaon operational area of SECL located in Surajpur district of Chhattisgarh. A plan is being considered to make ‘ammonia’ as a suitable down stream product here through coal gasification project.

Coal India is exploring the possibilities of coal gasification in its various subsidiaries. The company has entered into agreements with BHEL, Indian Oil and GAIL to further enhance cooperation and expertise in the implementation of gasification projects.

In order to promote sustainable development and reduce the carbon footprint of the coal industry, the Ministry of Coal has set a target to achieve gasification of 100 million tonnes (MT) of coal by FY 2030. At present, India imports about 50 percent of its natural gas, more than 90 percent of total methanol consumption and about 13-15 percent of total ammonia consumption to meet the domestic demand.

The implementation of coal gasification is expected to contribute significantly to the development of the country by reducing the import of these products by 2030.