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June2012|SangeetaMenon

Lowisthehighhere
Thankstoauniqueprocessthatenablesthereductionofashcontent
inthecoalitsources,TataSteelisinapositiontoreapmultiple
benefits
Thebackground
Asoilsourcesbecomescarce,theimportanceofcoalforenergyneedshasgotreinforced.Whilethatmay
seemlikegoodnewsforIndiatheworldsthirdlargestcoalproducerthepoorqualityofcoalbeing
minedinthecountrytonesdownmuchoftheoptimism.

HighashcontentmakesIndiancoalunfitfordirectuseinindustrialapplicationslikesteelmaking,power
generationandsyntheticfuelgeneration.AddtothatIndiancoalslowercalorificvalueandpoor
combustibility.Forefficientandsustainablesteelproduction,plantsacrosstheworldneedcoalwithash
contentof810percent.Indiansteelmakersarefacedwiththeproblemofrunofmine(ROM)ashcontentas
highas3035percent.

TataSteelswasheriescurrentlyproducecoalwithanashlevelof15percentat39percentyield,using
physicalbeneficiationtechniques.In2006,thecompanysetitselfthetargetofachieving8percentash
contentat45percentyield,eitherbyalteringitsexistingprocessorbydevelopinganewtechnology.

Baselinestudiesindicatedthatmodifyingtheexistingprocesswouldimproveyieldbyamere45percent.
Therefore,TataSteelsresearchdepartmenttookonthechallengeofachieving8percentashcleancoal
withoutdiminishingtheyieldbydevelopinganewtechnology.

Theinnovation
AteamcomprisingDrPSDash,RKLingam,SKSriramoju,ASureshandDrPKBanerjeecameupwiththis
solution,usingleachingtechnologytoproducelowashcoalfromcaptivemines.

Theleachingprocessinvolvesadditionofchemicalswhichreactwiththemineralslockedinsidethecoal
matrix,allowingthemtobeeasilyremoved.Theprocesscanreduceashcontentbyabout60percent,at
morethan70percentyield,withoutanydeteriorationinthecokingproperties.

Aspecificbreakthroughinthisinnovationisthedevelopmentofa
unique,patentedprocessflowsheetfortheleachingofcoal.
Anotheristhedevelopmentoftheregenerationprocessforthe
alkalireagentusedintheprocess.Byinjectingcarbondioxide
intothesolution,silicapresentinthespentsolutionassodium
silicateisconvertedtopuresilicaandsodiumcarbonate.The
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precipitateisremovedbyfiltrationandthefiltrateiscausticisedto
regeneratethecausticsolution.Thisyieldsefficiencyofmore
than95percentregeneration(comparedwiththe80percent
achievedbyconventionalregeneration).

Sincethistechnologycanalsobeappliedwithnoncokingcoals,
thelowashcoalthusproducedcanbeutilisedforpulverisedcoal
Company:TataSteel
Innovation:Cleancoalforgreen
steel
Team:DrPKBanerjee,DrPratik
SwarupDash,RaviKumarLingam,
SantoshKumarSriramoju,ASuresh

injection(PCI).As1tonneofPCIcoalcanreplace1.4tonneof
cokingcoalforsteelproduction,theuseofthistechnologycan
ensurethelongevityofIndiascokingcoalreserves.

Moreover,theaveragenetefficiencyofcoalbasedpowerplants
inIndiaisjust33percent,mainlyduetothelowqualityofIndian
coal.Thecombustionoflowashcoalcanimprovetheefficiency

ofapowerplantto53percentandreduceCO2emissionsby24percent.

Thischemicalleachingtechnologyforcoalisunique.Althoughtheapplicationofleachingtechnologyforores
iswellestablished,theimplementationofleachingforcoalonacommercialscaleisstillintheresearch
phaseduetothevariouscomplexitiesinscalingup.

Thepayoff
TataSteels8percentashcoalprojectwaslaunchedasaseedingstrategytoensurerawmaterial
security.Aftercompletingtrials,itissettobecomeaharvestingstrategyandapartoffutureinvestment
plans.

Thetechnologycanbeappliedtobothcokingandnoncokingcoals,enablingmaximumutilisation.Middlings
andrejectsfromthecoalwasheriescontainaround50percentcarbon,whichcanbeutilisedascokingcoal
bywayoftheleachingmethod.Atpresent,TataSteelsproductioncapacityisabout6.8mtpa.Itisestimated
thatevena1percentdropinashfromthecurrentlevelwithsameyieldcouldbenefitthecompanytothe
tuneofRs580millionperyear.Similarly,every1percentincreaseinyieldmaintainingthesameash
percentagecouldsaveuptoRs300millionannually.

ThetechnologywillalsohelpTataSteelachieveitstargetof1.8tonneofCO2emissionpertonneofsteelby
2012and1.5tonneby2020(againstthepresent2tonneCO2pertonneofsteelproduced).Theleaching
technologywillhelpinachievingthisgoalbyproducinglowash,cleancoalforcoke,byconsumingCO2for
chemicalreagentregenerationandinacidleaching.
TataSteelwasoneof12awardwinnersattheTataInnovista2012,theannuallyheldcelebrationofcreativity
intheTatagroup.Readabouttheotherwinnersandtheinnovationsthatbroughtthemtocentrestage>>
(/lead/tata_innovista_2012.htm)

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