Coal India Ltd to ink MoU with Three PSUs for Coal to Chemical Products

Tags: National Economics/Business National News

Coal India Limited (CIL) will sign MoU with three major public sector undertakings – Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and GAIL (India) on 27 September for setting up four Surface Coal Gasification (SCG) projects.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• These public sector undertakings will join hands to set up coal-to-chemical projects through the Surface Coal Gasification (SCG) route.

• Through the SCG route, coal is converted into syngas which can then be processed for downstream production of value-added chemicals. They are produced through imported natural gas or crude oil currently.

• The envisaged end products are di-methyl ether, synthetic natural gas and ammonium nitrate.

• The proposed projects will reduce foreign exchange expenditure and create more than 23,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities.

• A target of achieving 100 million tonnes of coal gasification by 2030 has been set by the Ministry of Coal.

What is Syngas ?

• It is an abbreviation for synthesis gas, which is a mixture of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen.

• This is produced by gasification of a carbon containing fuel to a gaseous product that has some heating value.