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As clean coal technologies go, the ‘advanced ultra super critical’ is cutting edge. Thermal power plants based on this technology burn a lot less coal.
Now a milestone (though an early one) has been crossed with public sector power equipment major BHEL having recently submitted the ‘project design memorandum’ for an 800 MW pilot project based on this technology to the office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India. The memorandum basically sets out the design for the plant — a crucial input — and details of costs.
Driven by the government’s National Mission for Technology, the Advanced Ultra Super Critical (AUSC) project, which could cost well over Rs 6,000 crore, will be put up by a joint venture of BHEL, NTPC and the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR).
A senior official of BHEL told Business Line that the company has sought funding of Rs 1,020 crore to fund the ‘pre-project R&D expenses’. The project, expected to be completed in 2018, is likely to come up at the NTPC’s Dadri complex in Uttar Pradesh.
The year 2018 may sound far away, but the time to fruition is understandable, given the technology weight and the economic significance of the project.
The Advanced Ultra Super Critical technology is only now being developed — anywhere in the world.
The BHEL-NTPC-IGCAR combine wants to work at pressure levels of 310 Bar and temperature of 710 degrees Celsius. This is very high on both counts — comparatively, conventional super-critical projects in India operate at about 250 Bar and 590 degrees Celsius.
Basically, when temperature and pressure rise, the system’s efficiency increases, and it consumes less coal. A 4,000 MW advanced ultra mega power project, built with this technology, will save 4 million tonnes of coal a year.
The challenge lies in finding the material that can withstand such high pressure and temperature. This calls for making an alloy steel that has about 70 per cent nickel.
Sources said the Hyderabad-based public sector Misra Dhatu Nigam Ltd (Midhani) has developed the material, tubes made of which are to be tested in NTPC’s 210 MW unit in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh.
Clean coal technologies are significant to India because coal is the country’s biggest energy resource. India has 293 billion tonnes of coal still underground — the annual consumption today is about half a billion tonnes.
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