RAJYA SABHA
The Government
of India (vide notification of MoEF) has made it mandatory to
use coal of ash content not exceeding 34 per cent in any thermal
power plant (TPP) located beyond 1000 kms. from pithead or located
in urban area or sensitive area or critically polluted area.
To satisfy this stipulation, coal supply matrix for TPPs coming
under purview of MoEF’s notification has been drawn up and is
under operation. However, this is an interim arrangement. In
the long run coal has to be beneficiated to meet the MoEF stipulation.
Presently, six washeries are in operation in CIL for beneficiation
of non-coking coal, namely – Dugda I (1.0 Mty capacity – a part
is in operation on trial basis), Lodna (0.48 Mty capacity),
Kargali (2.72 Mty capacity), Gidi (2.5 Mty capacity), Piparwar
(6.5 Mty capacity) and Bina (4.5 Mty capacity). Coal India is
not contemplating setting up of more non-coking coal washeries
on its own because of fund constraints. Coal washeries are to
be set up either through Built-Own-Operate (BOO) basis or by
the consumers after entering into an agreement.
CIL has taken
action to set up the following coal washeries under BOO scheme
for supply of washed coal to thermal power stations:-
- Kalinga, MCL (8.0 Mty capacity)
- Ananta Bharatpur, MCL (5.2
Mty capacity)
- Dipka, SECL (6.0 Mty capacity)
Formal agreement
to set up the above washeries are yet to be signed and negotiations
with the consumers are in progress.
In addition, the
following measures are adopted by CIL at the pit level to reduce
ash content of indigenous coal:
- Adherence to envisaged mining
sequence during extraction of coal seams.
- Application of selective mining
techniques including deployment of Surface Miners for removal
of dirt bands.
- Picking of extraneous materials
in Coal Handling Plants.
- Keeping O.B. benches sufficiently
advanced from the coal benches Etc.
The following
benefits will accrue to the power plants for using low ash coal
of consistently quality:-
- Saving in the transportation
cost of coal
- Reduction in primary crushing
cost
- Improvement in plant load
factor.
- Improvement in thermal efficiency.
- Reduction in operation &
maintenance cost.
- Decrease in auxiliary fuel
consumption.
- Reduced land and water requirement
for ash disposal.
- Reduction in capital investment
(for new plants).
- Reduction in emission of green
house gases.
Coal imports are
under Open General Licence (OGL). Import of coal and coke is
being resorted to by the consumers due to non-availability/inadequate
availability of required quality and quantity indigenously,
for blending with indigenous coal, cost considerations including
commercial terms etc. With setting up of beneficiation plants,
availability of good quality coal indigenously will improve
and this is likely to reduce the import of non-coking coal.
With the existing import duty, the import of non-coking coal
is projected to decline to 3.30 million tonnes at the end of
X plan (2006-07) from the current level (2001-02) of 9.57 million
tonnes.
This information
was given by the Minister of Coal, Shri Kariya Munda, in a written
reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.
