Comments
State-owned Neyveli Lignite Corporation is thinking of using a new German technology to convert lignite into pellets, and is looking at the feasibility of employing that technology in a proposed plant in Tamil Nadu.
If successful, this will significantly boost the lignite (also known as brown coal) industry and its users, such as the power sector, since lignite in pellet form could compete with coal in terms of calorific value and in its ability to be transported across longer distances.
Lignite has a much shorter spontaneous heating time when compared to coal — so it cannot be transported beyond 100-odd kilometres, either by rail or road. This means power units using lignite have to be set up in the vicinity of the pit heads.
Essentially, what the German technology would do is preserve the inherent moisture content in lignite by converting it into pellets to prolong its spontaneous heating time. Also, the calorific value of pellets could be raised from 3,000 kilo-cal/kg to about 6,000 kilo-cal/kg.
“The German lignite industry has developed a pilot project for lignite pelletisation. It is now setting up the world's first $24-million pelletisation plant using this technology,” Mr A.R. Ansari, CMD of Neyveli Lignite, told Business Line on the sidelines of a coal summit here.
NLC will soon send a team of officials to Germany to study the technology and chalk k out the feasibility of setting up a similar plant in Tamil Nadu using the technology. “We are keen on this project, as converting lignite into pellets will give us an edge to compete with coal in terms of pricing, properties and logistics,” he said.
Expansion plan
NLC has lined up a Rs 40,000-crore expansion plan for the next five years, involving an increase in its mining capacity from 28 mt to 45 mt and power production from 2,500 MW to 10,000 MW. “For next fiscal, we are adding 5 mt of mining capacity and 1,500 MW of power capacity at a cost of Rs 10,000 crore,” Mr Ansari said.
It currently has a cash reserve of Rs 6,000 crore, and is expecting turnover to touch Rs 5,000 crore and make a profit of Rs 1,300 crore this fiscal. “We will be financing these projects with a debt-equity ratio of 70: 30,” he said.
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.