New Delhi: Domestic industry needs to start using coal through gasification technology, JSPL Managing Director VR Sharma said, stressing that the process is environmentally friendly and carbon emissions are minimal.

The gasification technology will also help India overcome the shortage of oil, gas, methanol, ammonia, urea and other products, making the country Aatmanirbhar, he told PTI.

“The domestic industry should use coal through the gasification process. Burning of coal in open furnaces should be stopped. When we gasify coal, carbon emissions are minimal,” Sharma said.

India has coal reserves for another 300 years and now is the time to use them, he said.

Coal can be converted into syngas which can be used to generate electricity, gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products, which can reduce dependence on imported crude oil , he explained.

Synthesis gas can also be used in the manufacture of iron sponge, by the glass and ceramic industry and even in the kitchen. In addition, India can produce the cheapest hydrogen through the gasification of coal, the managing director said. The use of gasification technology will not only make the country Aatmanirbhar for such products, but also save a lot of forex coming out of India, he said.

The government has set itself the goal of gasifying 100 million tonnes of empty coal. This should be increased to 500 MT, Sharma said.

According to Sharma, India has coal reserves of 350 billion tonnes and is the largest producer and supplier of coal. Coal India Ltd (CIL) does not even produce a billion tonnes.

He recently said that India consumes 1,200 million tonnes of thermal coal or steam coal per year. However, CIL produces 800 MT per year, ie a deficit of 400 MT.

In this way, it will take hundreds of years to use the national coal reserves, Sharma said, suggesting that CIL needs to produce 100 MT of coal per month to meet the annual demand of 1,200 MT, which comes from various industries. such as steel, electricity, aluminum and copper, etc. Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) is already using coal gasification technology at its Angul plant in Odisha. It is the first and only Indian factory to produce steel from Swadeshi coal using coal gasification technology.