(a) whether the Government proposes to develop underground coal gasification in the country and if so, the details thereof and the concrete steps taken/being taken by the Government in this regard;
(b) whether the Government proposes to explore the possibility of securing the requisite technology to convert coal into liquid oil in view of the ample deposit of coal and shortage of crude oil in the country; and
(c) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons thereof?
MINISTER OF STATE (I/C) IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS
(SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)
(a): A Policy for development of Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) was approved by the Government in December, 2015. An Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) of Ministry of Coal with members from other Ministries/Departments/Agencies has been constituted to identify the suitable coal and lignite blocks for offer to private/PSU companies through auction/allotment. The IMC has identified three lignite blocks for the purpose and Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Limited (CMPDIL) has been engaged for selecting the consultant through the laid down procedure for developing the contract documents etc.
(b) & (c): The Coal- to- Liquid Process Development Unit (CTL-PDU), a fully integrated Pilot Plant facility, has successfully been installed and commissioned at the CSIR- CIMFR Dhanbad in February, 2016. Around 1000 hours of continuous experimental run has successfully been completed for testing of two indigenously developed catalysts towards liquid oil synthesis. It’s a Process Development unit where CTL research is carried out for development of catalysts so that data can be generated for further up-scaling to semi commercial projects. The total project has been funded by Ministry of Coal to carry out research in the field of CTL synthesis.
This PDU can be used as National Test Facility for CTL synthesis for other institutes which are engaged for this kind of research.
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