CIL and BHEL sign JV for ammonium nitrate plant

29 Feb 2024 , 10:32 AM

Coal India Ltd and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd inked a joint venture agreement on Wednesday to establish an ammonium nitrate facility using surface coal gasification (SCG) technology.

The facility would be built in Odisha’s Lakhanpur region by Coal India’s subsidiary Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, with an initial production capacity of 2000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate per day, according to a coal ministry release.

Annual production is expected to be 6.6 lakh tonnes of ammonium nitrate, requiring 1.3 million tonnes of coal. Coal India will supply the coal, while BHEL will use indigenously designed pressurized fluidized bed gasification technology.

According to the government, ammonium nitrate is a key element in the creation of bulk explosives, which Coal India utilizes extensively in its open-cast mining operations, which account for a significant portion of its coal output.

The future plant’s backward integration will aid in securing raw materials and minimizing ammonium nitrate import reliance.

CIL will explore alternate uses of coal for environmentally friendly enterprises such as coal gasification in the future after meeting the power sector’s requirements. SCG is a potential method for converting coal into lucrative synthetic gas. This is then further processed to make synthetic natural gas, which may be used as an alternative natural gas. It may also be utilized as a feedstock for downstream chemicals that are now imported, as well as for power generation.

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