First Of Its Kind! Central Government Inaugurates India's 'Coal To Methanol' Plant Made By BHEL

The Union Government gave the country its first 'coal to methanol' (CTM) plant built by the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL). The plant was inaugurated in BHEL's Hyderabad unit on the occasion of 'Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' to commemorate 75 years since India's independence.

The pilot project is the first that uses the gasification method for converting high-ash coal into methanol. With the capital goods industry seen as the country's backbone, this is one more step towards making the country 'self-reliant' with the help of an indigenously developed CTM plant.

Pathbreaking Technological Development

The Union Minister of Heavy Industries, Mahendra Nath Pandey, addressed the nation on a momentous occasion. "The role of the manufacturing sector will be crucial in realizing this vision. The government has already highlighted their importance through schemes like 'Make In India' and 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'," Financial Express quoted Pandey.

As reported by The Statesman, BHEL's Research and Development Centre was tasked with coming up with the CTM plant five years back in 2021. A senior official adds, "The Department of Science and Technology supported the coal project with a ten crore grant." Years of hard work culminated in converting 0.25 TPD (temperature-programmed Desorption) of Methanol from high ash coal. The term is used to calculate the number of oxygen-containing groups in carbon materials.

Usage Of Gasification

The conversion was done with the help of a method called Gasification. The technological process involves converting any carbon-based raw material into fuel gas or synthetic natural gas. Coal gasification is a popular method that is slowly gaining momentum globally. As stated by Science Direct, the availability of raw materials like coal makes it an essential power-generation tool in recent times.

In the BHEL CTM plant, it used a 1.2 TPD Fluidized bed gasifier. "This conversion of high ash Indian coals to methanol through the gasification route is the first of its kind technology demonstration in India," BHEL's Chairman and Managing Director, Dr Nalin Shinghal, told The Statesman. Further, the recently-installed plant has produced 99% accurate methanol through this process.

This is not the only plant that the Central government will develop. After this, they aim to inaugurate more such 'Coal To Methanol' plants across the country to facilitate the valuable conversion as a viable energy alternative.

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