CDWP likely to approve 'coal gas conversion to liquid fuel' project worth Rs 898 million

The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) is likely to approve the 'Design, manufacturing and commission of pilot plant for conversion of coal gas into diesel/liquid fuel' project, at an estimated cost of Rs 898.382 million, it is learnt.
The project would be funded totally by Annual Development Plan (ADP) program of federal government. The project is to be financed out of block allocation to the Ministry of Science and Technology. According to documents available with Business Recorder, the objectives of this project are: (i) method development for underground coal gasification, (ii) purification of syngas, (iii) method development for the conversion of syngas into liquid petroleum at lab scale, (vi) fabrication of pilot plants for syngas production, its purification and its liquefaction, and (v) refining of liquid petroleum produced from syngas.
The three-year project would be launched in Tharparker District where there are huge coal deposits of 175.5 billion tons spread over an area of 10000 sq km. Sources said that preliminary studies show that extraction of coal via classical mining methods is not economical as its moisture content is extremely high--40-50 percent.
The government is initiating clean coal technologies, especially the underground coal gasification (UCG). The UCG is the in-situ conversion of coal into combustible gases. It is a complex process involving chemical reactions, heat and mass transfer and complex flow dynamics. UCG utilises injection and production wells, drilled from the surface and linked together in the coal seam. Once linked, air and/or oxygen are injected. The coal is then ignited in a controlled manner to produce hot, combustible syngases [a mixture of CH4(methane), CO (carbon monoxide), CO2 (carbon dioxide) and H2(hydrogen)] which are captured by the production wells. The syngas is brought to the surface and cleaned for power generation and liquid hydrocarbon fuel.
In the current national energy scenario, coal provides the best alternative to overcome the energy crisis for supporting economic development. After the conversion of coal to syngas, there are two possibilities. One is the utilisation of syngas as alternative of natural gas after purification; and second is conversion of syngas to diesel fuel through gas to liquid route. The aim of this project is to utilise huge reserves of Thar coal to overcome the energy crises in Pakistan by converting gas into liquid fuel in an effective manner.