coal washery project

DIBYAJYOTI CONSULTANTS (DILICONS)

The Prospects ofA COAL WASHERY IN

ORISSAHimansu S M

31-05-2003

[ A Pre-Feasibility Report and A Technical Feasibility-cum-Commercial Viability report Complete with Financials, on the subject of the Prospects of setting up of a Coal Washery Project in Orissa and the areas in Chattishgarh & Jharkhand adjacent to Orissa boarder. ]

Prospects of a Coal Washery in Orissa of 37

Table of Contents

Table of Contents 2

Disclaimer 3

Note 3

SYNOPSIS OF A COAL WASHERY PROJECT 4

INTRODUCTION 4

Indian Coal Industry – Facts & Figures 5

REALITIES IN COAL INDUSTRY IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM : 5

BENEFICIATION OF COAL 9

What is “Beneficiation” ? : 10

What is “Blending” ? : 10

Innovations in Coal Transportation : 11

Imported Coal Vs. Washed Coal : 11

RESPONDING TO BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT CHANGE : 12

Impact of change to Indian Coal Industry : 12

Conclusion : 12

Technical Matters 13

Grades 13

Use of coal in power plants : 14

Use of coal in cement plants : 15

And now coal for sponge iron plants & waste heat power plants: 16

THE BENEFITS OF BENEFICIATION 17

DEMAND, SUPPLY AND SHORTFALL : 18

COAL LINKAGES : 18

MAHANADI COAL FIELDS – PARTNERS OF PROGRESS : 18

Coal Resources of World, India and Orissa : 18

Statistics of Coal Reserves : 19

MCL’s Credentials : 20

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats ( SWOT Analysis) : 21

MCL’s Marketing Strategy : 22

Coal Demand of Outside and Within the State from MCL: 22

Future Beneficiation Projects of MCL: 23

Locating the Washery : 23

Technological options for beneficiation of non-coking coal : 24

Dry Beneficiation : 24

© Himansu S M, DIBYAJYOTI CONSULTANTS, Bhubaneswar March, 2010


Different Processes of Dry Beneficiation : 24

Wet Beneficiation : 26

Different Processes of Wet Beneficiation : 26

Some Ideal Procedures : 28

Conclusion : 30

Plant Capacity & Production Programme Of A Coal Washery : 31

Economics : 31

Output Prices & Profit : 34

Pricing of the Secondary Products : 34

SUMMARY OF ALL THE COST INPUT/OUTPUT CALCULATIONS : 34

Financials : 34

Disclaimer

This Report is purported to be and / or can be construed as :

A Pre-Feasibility Report,

A Technical Feasibility-cum-Commercial Viability report,

Complete with Financials, on the subject of the Prospects of setting up of a Coal Washery Project in Orissa or the areas in Chattishgarh & Jharkhand close to Orissa boarder.

And this Report is NOT intended to be a DPR (Detailed Project Report).

Note

This report was originally written in May, 2003. This updated version of March, 2010 includes some additional and latest facts and figures. Financials are as of May, 2003.



SYNOPSIS OF A COAL WASHERY PROJECT

INTRODUCTIONCoal Reserves are the World’s most significant Fossil Fuel Resources. Now about 36 % of World Electricity Is generated from Coal based Thermal Power Plant. Coal is also essential for other core Industries like Iron & Steel, Fertiliser and Cement. In our Country 72 % of Electricity is generated from Coal based Power Houses. In this Millennium with improved clean coal technology, coal will continue to ensure its global as well as national importance as an important source of primary energy relative to oil, gas and other non-fossil fuel because of its vast availability and most cost effectiveness. With new clean coal technology available, coal can be burnt cleanly and efficiently allowing Power stations to met the increasingly stringent environment regulations in force. The coal demand in our country is projected at 513 and 716 million tons per annum (mtpa) in the terminal years of 9th and 10th five-year plans respectively. About 70 % of the production of Coal India Ltd.(CIL) is utilised by the power sector.

The MoEF (Ministry of Environment & Forests) gazette notification no. 376 of 19-09-1997 stipulates that :

Power plants located beyond 1000 kms from the pit heads of any Colliery and

Power plants located in the urban area

Power plants located in the sensitive area

Power plants located in the critically polluted area,

Irrespective of their distance from pit head except any pit head power plants shall have to use raw coal or beneficiated coal with ash content not more than 34 % from June 2001 onwards. In view of this notification, the challenges to the Indian Coal Industry are formidable. The Indian coal industry suffers from vast availability of high ash coal, inter-branded seams, labour intensive mining methods and various other constraints like movement of coal from pit head to consumers at distant points and threat of availability of imported coal at competitive prices. So the Global competitiveness will force the coal industry to go for production of coal by using the latest technology to eliminate dirt bands and use improved methods of coal beneficiation / clean coal technology. The introduction of surface miners in the Open Cast Projects of M/s Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd., is one such step in this direction of quality, productivity, and safe mining of coal with more environmental acceptability.

The availability of low ash imported coal for coastal power sector and the movement of coal on techno-economical viable mode from pit head to the consumers at a distant point has made a challenge to the coal industry in the present scenario. To overcome this challenge, the capacity utilisation in the coal industry, which is low in comparison to world standards and the main cause of poor financial performance has to be improved by standardisation of equipment, selection of versatile equipment suitable for the existing geo-mining conditions and making mining operations more or less continuous by utilising maximum times for productive operations. At the same time, apart from improving the quality of ROM by deployment of improved, suitable and economically viable technology of coal preparation, serious thinking has to be put in terms of setting up pit head coal washeries or blending of coal with different ash content to get final product of coal with less than 34 % ash in context to mode of transport from pit head to consumers. Considering the various issues the coal industry is currently facing formidable challenges from quality, productivity and environmental quarters.



Indian Coal Industry – Facts & Figures

COAL MINING IN INDIA: THE PAST

India has a long history of commercial coal mining covering nearly 220 years starting from 1774 by M/s Sumner and Heatly of East India Company in the Raniganj Coalfield along the Western bank of river Damodar. However, for about a century the growth of Indian coal mining remained sluggish for want of demand but the introduction of steam locomotives in 1853 gave a fillip to it. Within a short span, production rose to an annual average of 1 million tonne (mt) and India could produce 6.12 mts. per year by 1900 and 18 mts per year by 1920. The production got a sudden boost from the First World War but went through a slump in the early thirties. The production reached a level of 29 mts. by 1942 and 30 mts. by 1946.

With the advent of Independence, the country embarked upon the 5-year development plans. At the beginning of the 1st Plan, annual production went up to 33 mts. During the 1st Plan period itself, the need for increasing coal production efficiently by systematic and scientific development of the coal industry was being felt. Setting up of the National Coal Development Corporation (NCDC), a Government of India Undertaking in 1956 with the collieries owned by the railways as its nucleus was the first major step towards planned development of Indian Coal Industry.

NATIONALISATION OF COAL MINES

Right from its genesis, the commercial coal mining in modern times in India has been dictated by the needs of the domestic consumption. On account of the growing needs of the steel industry, a thrust had to be given on systematic exploitation of coking coal reserves in Jharia Coalfield. Adequate capital investment to meet the burgeoning energy needs of the country was not forthcoming from the private coal mine owners. Unscientific mining practices adopted by some of them and poor working conditions of labour in some of the private coal mines became matters of concern for the Government. On account of these reasons, the Central Government took a decision to nationalise the private coal mines. The nationalisation was done in two phases, the first with the coking coal mines in 1971-72 and then with the non-coking coal mines in 1973.

REALITIES IN COAL INDUSTRY IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM :

COAL : CHOICE FOR INDIAN ENERGY

COAL is the most important and abundant fossil fuel in India. It accounts for 55% of the country's energy need. The country's industrial heritage was built upon indigenous coal.

Commercial primary energy consumption in India has grown by about 700% in the last four decades. The current per capita commercial primary energy consumption in India is about 350 kgoe/year which is well below that of developed countries. Driven by the rising population, expanding economy and a quest for improved quality of life, energy usage in India is expected to rise around 450 kgoe/year in 2010. Considering the limited reserve potentiality of petroleum & natural gas, eco-conservation restriction on hydel project and geo-political perception of nuclear power, coal will continue to occupy centre-stage of India's energy scenario.

With hard coal reserves around 246 billion tonnes, of which 92 billion tonnes are proven, Indian coal offers a unique eco-friendly fuel source to domestic energy market for the next century and beyond. Hard coal deposit spread over 27 major coalfields, are mainly confined to eastern and south central parts of the country. The lignite reserves stand at a level around 36 billion tonnes, of which 90 % occur in the southern State of Tamil Nadu.



Coal is the most important and abundant fossil fuel in India as well as the World. It is used in Power, Iron & Steel, Fertiliser, Cement and even in household for daily living. The consumption of coal in our country is increasing day by day with the increase in industrialisation. Considering the current trend of globalisation and liberalisation the growth in the industrial sector and the power demand are expected to be reasonably high. The production and consumption trends in the 60s and the future projections are given below :

YEAR Production (Million Tons) Consumption (Million Tons)

1960-61 56 53

1970-71 73 72

1980-81 114 110

1990-91 212 208

1999-2000 302 300

2001-2002 (Projected) 335 330

2006-2007 (Projected) 365 360

2011-2012 (Projected) 480 480

PRODUCTION

Through sustained programme of investment and greater thrust on application of modern technologies, it has been possible to raise the production of coal from a level of about 70 million tonnes at the time of nationalization of coal mines in early 1970's to 492.95 million tonnes (All India – including Meghalaya) in 2008-09.

Coal India limited and its subsidiaries are the major producers of coal. 403.73 million tonnes of coal was produced by Coal India Ltd. and its subsidiaries during 2008-09 as against the production of 379.459 million tonnes in the year 2007-08 showing a growth of 6.4%.

Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is the main source for supply of coal to the southern region. The company produced 44.54 million tonnes of coal during 2008-09 as against 40.604 million tonnes during the corresponding period last year. Small quantities of coal are also produced by TISCO, IISCO, DVC and others.

The production trend in the coal industry has shown sluggishness during the last two years which is synchronised with our general national industrial growth rate, but with the anticipated general growth in it coupled with the power demand the coal industry is definitely going to pick up in the Tenth FY Plan. The country has a potential to produce the desired quantity of coal but has its own constraints which include several broad areas like :

Low level of mechanisation,

Poor capacity utilisation,



Low productivity,

High maintenance cost, etc.

In addition to this, the fact remains that the quality of our reserves is poor.

INVENTORY OF COAL RESOURCES OF INDIA

In our country, the coal reserves are also located in about one-third of country’s area and the transport costs for some states are quite high. These states are Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Kerala, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi, Western UP. The transport cost of 450 km is almost the price of coal. States having a coast line have the advantages of getting imported coal which happens to be slightly costlier than Indian coal but are superior in quality. Earlier, mainly coking coal was imported for Integrated Iron & Steel Plants, but after the globalisation and liberalisation resulting in lowering of the import duties, the non-coking coal has started being imported by various industries in Gujarat and Tamilnadu. The average import of non-coking coal is around 20 mtpa for the last 2-3 years. The recession in the shipping industries and the currency failure of some south Asian countries have brought down further the imported coal prices, thereby helping imports into India. But, thanks to the limited port facilities and an appreciating US Dollar the imports are not growing fast.

As a result of exploration carried out up to the depth of 1200m by the GSI, CMPDI and MECL etc, a cumulative total of 267.21 Billion tonnes of Geological Resources of Coal have so far been estimated in the country as on 1.4.2009. The state-wise distribution of coal resources and its categorisation are as follows:

(in Million Tonnes)

State Geological Resources of Coal

Proved Indicated Inferred Total

Andhra Pradesh 9194 6748 2985 18927

Arunachal Pradesh 31 40 19 90

Assam 348 36 3 387

Bihar 0 0 160 160

Chhattisgarh 10910 29192 4381 44483

Jharkhand 39480 30894 6338 76712

Madhya Pradesh 8041 10295 2645 20981

Maharashtra 5255 2907 1992 10154

Meghalaya 89 17 471 577

Nagaland 9 0 13 22

Orissa 19944 31484 13799 65227

Sikkim 0 58 43 101



State Geological Resources of Coal


Uttar Pradesh 866 196 0 1062

West Bengal 11653 11603 5071 28327

Total 105,820 123,470 37,920 267,210

CATEGORISATION OF RESOURCES:

The coal resources of India are available in sedimentary rocks of older Gondwana Formations of peninsular India and younger Tertiary formations of north-eastern/ northern hilly region. Based on the results of Regional/ Promotional Exploration, where the boreholes are normally placed 1-2 Km apart, the resources are classified into Indicated or Inferred category. Subsequent Detailed Exploration in selected blocks, where boreholes are less than 400 meters apart, upgrades the resources into more reliable ‘Proved’ category. The Formation-wise and Category-wise coal resources of India as on 1.4.2009 are given below:

(in Million Tonnes)

Formation Proved Indicated Inferred Total

Gondwana Coals 105343 123380 37414 266137

Tertiary Coals 477 90 506* 1073

Total 105,820 123,470 37,920* 267,210

* Includes 456 Mt of Inferred resources established through mapping in NE region.

The Type and Category-wise coal resources of India as on 1.4.2009 are given in table below:

(in Million Tonnes)

Type of Coal Proved Indicated Inferred Total

(A) Coking :-

-Prime Coking 4614 699 0 5313

-Medium Coking 12449 12064 1880 26393

-Semi-Coking 482 1003 222 1707

Sub-Total Coking 17545 13766 2102 33413

(B) Non-Coking:- 87798 109614 35312 232724



(C) Tertiary Coal 477 90 506 1073

Grand Total 105,820 123,470 37,920 267,210

STATUS OF COAL RESOURCES IN INDIA DURING LAST FIVE YEARS:

As a result of Regional, Promotional and Detailed Exploration by GSI, CMPDI and SCCL etc, the estimation of coal resources of India has reached to 267.21 Bt. The estimates of coal resources in the country during last 5 years are given below:

(in Million Tonnes)

As on Geological Resources of Coal


1.1.2004 91631 116174 37888 245693

1.1.2005 92960 117090 37797 247847

1.1.2006 95866 119769 37666 253301

1.1.2007 97920 118992 38260 255172

1.4.2007 99060 120177 38144 257381

1.4.2008 101829 124216 38490 264535

1.4.2009 105820 123470 37920 267210

Considering the above factors the options available with the coal industry in India for improvement are the following :

Increasing Mechanisation

Increasing Capacity Utilisation

Increasing Productivity, of both Men and Machine

Setting up Power Houses near the pit

Beneficiation of Coal

Revolutionary Innovations in bringing down the Transportation cost.

The subject of supply of blended coal and supply of washed coal is an important issue and needs to be discussed in detail. The scope of the present report precludes the details of the above points except the “BENEFICIATION of COAL”; and to some extent the “TRANSPORTATION” as the final products shall obviously be transported to the end users.

BENEFICIATION OF COAL

As per the notification of MoEF, since June, 2001 coal having ash < 34 % has to be supplied to Power Houses, of distance 1000 km and beyond from the pit head, or in sensitive or critically polluted area. At present such Power Houses in the country are



being supplied approx. 90 mtpa of coal with ash content > 34 % out of 215 mtpa of total coal. So the alternative strategies for supply of the required quantity of coal with < 34 % ash to such power plants are :

By blending of high ash coal with low ash coal,

By supplying beneficiated / washed coal having less than 34 % ash

By selective mining

Hence the beneficiation is extremely important for the Power Sector, and also for other sectors where non-coking coal is used like, Cement, Sponge Iron, etc.

What is “Beneficiation” ? :

Coal basically contains :

Carboneous material called the Fixed Carbon,

Gaseous material called the Volatile matter,

Residual material called the Ash and

Traces of other elements like Sulphur or phosphorus which are treated as impurities or contaminating elements.

The coal which is obtained after mining contains all these and also some extraneous material like mud, clay, shale, dirt and parts of soft rock etc. either embedded or attached to the surface of the mined lumps and pieces. These extraneous material have no use or utility value as explained in the following :

They are a burden for carrying, handling and processing

They reduce the real content of the coal i.e. the fixed carbon and increase the ash content

They slow down the process of metallurgical change and retard the pace of chemical reactions

They render the process inefficient and add to the pollution.

Thus, beneficiation is nothing but cleaning or separating the coal from the extraneous material, and also some process like mixing / blending where the effective constituent of fixed carbon is enhanced, thereby improving the usefulness of coal. The purpose of the use of coal is two-fold –

to provide heat energy, and

to act as a reducing agent or reductant in metallurgical processes and chemical reactions.

Both of these need the presence of fixed carbon and more the FC more the heat value and more the reducing power. But Carbon in coal is always accompanied by VM and Ash to varying degrees which decides the quality and the grade of coal along with its calorific value. So the method-wise beneficiation of coal is done by Cleaning and / or Blending.

What is “Blending” ? :

Blending is one of the coal preparation methods like washing, which mixes coals of different ash content to get a final coal of desired ash content. The technology is simply mixing together pre determined quantities of coal with pre determined ash content in a desired / calculated ratio so as to get a homogeneous mixture of coal of a pre determined ash content. This is achieved by the combination of both stacking and



reclaiming machine movement. The type of blending technique to be used depends on the stock pile size, working parameter of stacker cum reclaimer equipment in use and method of reclaiming to be adopted. The purpose of blending system is to receive a quantity of material with varying properties to stockpile them in a programmed manner to maximise uniformity and perform the reclaiming operation to achieve degree of homogeneity desired,

Innovations in Coal Transportation :

Transportation of coal to the consumers’ premises assumes huge importance, as the coal mines are concentrated in some part of the country and the major consumers are located all over the country. The cost of transport of coal to 450 km is almost the same as the price of coal, and many Power plants (the largest coal consuming sector) are beyond this distance. The challenges in this area is to seek for efficiency, speed and cost effective means of transport like :

Containers in road transport to be bigger to transport larger quantities per haul

Engines of road transport vehicles should be more efficient

Quality of roads to be improved which increases the fuel efficiency

Wherever possible railways to be used

Development of inland water transport system and other modes

For less distances, belt conveyor or ropeway systems can be used which will lessen the burden on rail or road, so that they can transport other important and critical materials.

Imported Coal Vs. Washed Coal :

IMPORT OF COAL

As per the present Import policy, coal can be freely imported (under Open General Licence) by the consumers themselves considering their needs based on their commercial prudence.

Coking coal is being imported by Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and other Steel manufacturing units mainly to bridge the gap between the requirement and indigenous availability and to improve the quality. Coast based power plants, cement plants, captive power plants, sponge iron plants, industrial consumers and coal traders are importing non-coking coal. Coke is imported mainly by Pig-Iron manufacturers and Iron & Steel sector consumers using mini-blast furnace.

Details of import of coal and products during the last five years is as under:

(in million tonnes)

Coal 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08

Coking Coal 12.99 16.93 16.89 22.00 22.02

Non-coking Coal 8.69 12.03 21.70 23.00 27.76

Coke 1.89 2.84 2.62 3.80 4.24

Total Import 23.57 31.80 41.21 48.80 54.02



Many Cement and Power Plants particularly in coastal areas near ports use imported coal at present. This is because :

They are not able to get the desired quality of indigenous coal

Import duty has been reduced substantially

World price of coal has come down sharply.

With substantial devaluation of Rupee, the price of the imported coal in Rupee terms has gone up. With increase of World Oil prices, the coal price is also expected to go up. Subsequently with the inflation, the washed coal will be cheaper that the imported coal. Even now the landed price of imported coal with GCV of 6000 Kcal/kg is Rs. 2800 / ton; whereas the landed cost of indigenous coal at the farthest coastal plants with GCV of 5050 Kcal/Kg is Rs. 2250 / ton. The latter works out to be better in terms of “price per Kcal” (44.55 Paise against 46.67 Paise for imported coal).

RESPONDING TO BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT CHANGE :

Globalisation, liberalisation and the fast spreading use of the web and a growing concern for environmental preservation are today’s key industry drivers. Few companies or industries are immune to the effects of these tidal waves of change. These factors have changed and are going to change the way most companies do business. At home, the GoI has initiated economic reforms in 1991-92. The basic strategy implicit in the reforms was that the Govt. cannot be a substitute for the market and that the economy performs better when exposed to global competition. The Gulf war hastened the pace of liberalisation by contributing to a higher import bill in 1990-91 and the temporary loss of export markets and remittance earnings. While economic reforms initiated in the last decade of the last millennium has brought a see-saw change in the Indian business environment; in the new millennium, the advent of e-commerce and the web is fundamentally changing the customer value proposition across the globe. Today the customers are more enlightened and they can shop globally with the click of a computer mouse, so to say. In this rapidly changing business environment the market place is very harsh to companies which don’t adapt to change. History shows that the organisations best positioned to seize the future rarely do so.

Impact of change to Indian Coal Industry :

The Indian coal mining industry has witnessed a phenomenal growth of 286 % with an increase in production of coal from 102 mtpa to 292 mtpa between 1978-79 and 1998-99. Yet, while the world average of per capita commercial energy consumption is 60 Giga Joules (GJ), the Indian average is only 9 GJ. It is estimated that the requirement for electrical energy will go up by over 190 % in the next 15 years. With its limited reserves of oil and natural gas, the country will continue to depend on coal based thermal power. While domestic coal reserves are expected to last for another 245 years at the current rate of consumption, the petroleum resources will last only for 26 years more.

The Coal Mines Nationalisation Act has been amended to allow other parties in private / public sector to participate in captive coal mining in power, steel and cement sector as well as in coal beneficiation. Further liberalisation measures by GoI are likely to throw the coal mining sector fully open to market economy. The new millennium will be marked by intensive competition for the coal mining industry. It will have to cope up with cheaper imports, inter-company rivalry for market share, and competition from private entrants.

Conclusion :



In the coming years Coal shall continue to remain the only versatile, dependable and most abundantly available cheap fuel not only for power houses but also for other core industries. The key to continuing dependence on high ash domestic coal resources lies in adopting efficient and cost effective clean coal technology like deployment of surface miner, coal beneficiation and blending, and simultaneous introduction of clean and efficient coal combustion methods. It is expected that the Environmental and Ecological Departments will implement very strict rules for which the whole burden of burning fossil fuels shall fall on the shoulders of the consumer of the clean coal. With the liberalised economic policy, decontrol of coal price and more discerning consumers, the competition from imported coal has become a reality. Consumers have now an option to choose between indigenous and imported coal on the basis of quality, price and other economic benefits. So to make their coal more competitive in the market, the producers are going for improvement of quality by blending and / or washing. It is against these back-drop that the coal mining companies shall opt for setting up of washeries wherever feasible, or choose a private Washery operator to wash their coal before despatching them to the final consumers.

Technical Matters

Grades

The gradation of non-coking coal is based on Useful Heat Value (UHV), the gradation of coking coal is based on ash content and for semi coking / weakly coking coal it is based on ash plus moisture content, as in vogue as per notification.

Grades of Coking Coal

Grade Ash Content

Steel Grade –I Not exceeding 15%

Steel Grade -II Exceeding 15% but not exceeding 18%

Washery Grade -I Exceeding 18% but not exceeding 21%

Washery Grade -II Exceeding 21% but not exceeding 24%

Washery Grade -III Exceeding 24% but not exceeding 28%

Washery Grade -IV Exceeding 28% but not exceeding 35%

Grades of Non-coking Coal

Grade

Useful Heat Value (UHV)

(Kcal/Kg)

UHV= 8900-138(A+M)

Corresponding

Ash% + Moisture %

at (60% RH & 40O C)

Gross Calorific Value GCV (Kcal/ Kg)

(at 5% moisture level)

A Exceeding 6200 Not exceeding 19.5 Exceeding 6454

B Exceeding 5600 but not exceeding 6200

19.6 to 23.8 Exceeding 6049 but not exceeding 6454

C Exceeding 4940 but not 23.9 to 28.6 Exceeding 5597 but not



exceeding 5600 exceeding. 6049

D Exceeding 4200 but not exceeding 4940

28.7 to 34.0 Exceeding 5089 but not Exceeding 5597

E Exceeding 3360 but not exceeding 4200


F Exceeding 2400 but not exceeding 3360

40.1 to 47.0 Exceeding 3865 but not exceeding. 4324

G Exceeding 1300 but not exceeding 2400


Grades of Semi-Coking and Weakly Coking Coal

Grade Ash + Moisture Content

Semi coking grade –I Not exceeding 19%

Semi coking grade –II Exceeding 19% but not exceeding 24%

Grades of NEC Coal :

Grades UHV (Kcal/Kg) Corresponding Ash% + Moisture %age

A 6200-6299 18.85 – 19.57

B 5600 – 6199 19.58 – 23.91

Use of coal in power plants :

The total installed capacity of power generation in India as on 31-3-2000 was about 98 GW of which 72 % (70.5 GW) was thermal, out of which about 90 % is coal based. That makes almost two-thirds of power generation coal dependant. The total coal consumption by power plants is around 215 mtpa. By the end of the Tenth Plan (2007), the annual consumption of coal for power is expected to double and by then 75 % of the total coal produced may be consumed in power sector itself. According to the estimates of Ministry of Coal, the demand for coal by power plants is expected to increase to about 415 mtpa by 2011-12.

The average rate of consumption of coal is around 730g per kWh (one unit) of electric power produced, varying between 530g per kWh for some modern plants of NTPC and 1300g per kWh for some older units. The following table gives the ash content and Calorific Value (CV) of different grades of coal produced in India.

Over the years the quality of coal being supplied to power houses has been deteriorating. In fact nearly 70% of total coal production is found to be in D, E, F, G grades of which over 75% is in grades E, F, G.

Grade-wise Details of Non-Coking Coal ( with Moisture 6 %):

GRADE UHV (Kcal/kg) Ash (%) GCV (Kcal/kg)



From - To From - To From - To

A More than 6200 Less than 13.56 More than 6406

B 5600 – 6200 13.56 – 17.91 5997 – 6406

C 4940 – 5600 17.91 – 22.69 5447 – 5997

D 4200 – 4940 22.69 – 28.06 5042 – 5447

E 3360 – 4200 28.06 – 34.14 4469 – 5042

F 2400 – 3360 34.14 – 41.1 3814 – 4469

G 1300 – 2400 41.1 – 49.07 3064 – 3814

The requirement of washing non-coking coal is experienced because of following listed reasons :

Freight saving owing to reduced ash in clean coal. Particularly for power plants located far from source

Achieve Consistency in the feed coal quality for better performance of the coal consumer sector

Elimination of non-desirable materials from the coal resulting in reliability of down stream

High cost of transportation of dirt along with coal and its subsequent disposal as ash or slag resulting in more capital and damaging environment. Disposal of ash by consumers particularly in large cities is a difficult problem

Environmental requirement in regard to air pollution caused by fly ash

Partial elimination of trace elements in the beneficiation process and minimising environmental hazards

Reduced investments in down-ward stream equipment for the handling of clean coal.

Studies conducted with beneficiated non-coking coal in one of the thermal power plant provided the following results :

High out-put for the thermal power plant

Plant utilisation factor increased from 73 to 96 %

Specific coal consumption reduced from 770 to 530 grammes per unit of energy (1 kWh)

Auxiliary fuel consumption was reduced practically to nil

Auxiliary power consumption reduced by 1.5 %

Minimisation of deposits, clinker formation and leakage development in the Boiler.

Use of coal in cement plants :

Earlier to 1993 only the Coal India and its subsidiaries were authorised to set up coal washeries, but in 1994 GoI allowed these to be set up in Private sector. Coal India is not



keen in setting up of washeries. Cement Industry is one of the major consumers of the non-coking coal. So some of the Cement Majors took steps to set up washeries. But they could not have the benefit of economy of scale as they were not interested in selling the surplus because it was not there key area of interest and also there requirement may not be commercially viable. They resorted to import of coal after the reduction in the import duty.

Some of the entrepreneurs took initiative and set up plants which are successfully able to market the washed coal and earned substantial profits. A few of such plants have come up near the Cement Cluster at Bilaspur and in Maharashtra. Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. one of the fastest growing company whose mines are located in Orissa and catering to the full demand of the whole of south India south of Mahanadi, is in a position to supply raw coal for washing and subsequently the washed coal can be marketed successfully to the Cement Plants in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra etc. But till date there is no proposal of a coal Washery in the command areas of MCL. ( There is a proposal of a Dry Beneficiation Plant near Talcher ). Thus for the South and South-Central Cement Plants, the Talcher Coalfields and the Ib Valley Coalfields are the most optimal source of raw coal for a Washery.

The washed coal having an Ash content of 28-29 % is the most suitable for the cement plants and the suppliers of this don’t face any problem in marketing the product. The specific advantages enjoyed by the cement industry in using washed coal are :

Shows improvement of quality of clinker

Use of washed coal enables to maintain the Modula values within specified limits

Permit the use of marginal quality lime stone to produce clinker of improved quality

The use of high cost sweetener is completely eliminated or partly reduced, thus bringing down the cost of raw materials.

With the use of consistent quality of clean coal, CO formation is significantly reduced even at a lower percent of excess air thereby improving the thermal efficiency of the kiln

Due to higher calorific value of washed coal, input to the kiln is reduced by 10-15 %

Savings in Freight & Insurance cost due to reduced consumption

Power saving in crushing and grinding the input coal as the handling volume decreases

Power saving in crushing and grinding the clinker as the quality and grind-ability improves

Better heat exchange between outgoing hot gases and the charge

The kiln operation becomes stable and temperature control becomes easy and smooth

Because of this reason the productivity of the kiln increases

Reduced deposit on the refractory linings improve life of them and the per capita consumption of the refractory material.

And now coal for sponge iron plants & waste heat power plants:

The sponge iron industry is making its presence felt in a big way. As on today, the all India capacity is almost 3.2 mtpa (Coal Based), which requires around 1250 - 1450 kgs. of non-coking coal per ton of sponge iron. That makes a demand of around 4 mtpa of



coal. This can be an excellent market for the washed coal. Added to this a few of the SI manufactures have shown interest in Captive Power Plants using the Waste Heat Gas Recovery and simultaneously a Fluidised bed boiler for generation of Electric Power. In the north-western part of Orissa, two such plants are in the state of proposal which will also consume the “Rejects” fraction of the washery, which makes very cost effective. These two CPPs may require 75,000 tpa of coal or 0.15 mtpa of rejects which is one third the price. A one mtpa washery produces about 0.337 mtpa of rejects.

The latest concepts of integration for a viable business scenario that are generally envisaged now a days is where there are sponge iron kilns, induction furnaces, rolling mills on one side, and on the other we have a coal washery, a bedding and blending yard for coal blending, a waste heat recovery boiler & fluidised bed boiler driving the steam turbo generator of captive power plant which supplies power to the entire unit. All these are set up at the same place where there are no constraints of space. Thus, washed coal is used in the DRI plant and the rejects in the fluidised bed boiler, the hot sponge iron from the rotary hearth is directly charged into the induction / electric arc furnaces, the waste heat gas is used in the WHR boiler, and the power such generated drives them all. The advantages of this integrated system is the common and shared use of certain plant and infrastructural facilities and the effective use of the industrial waste generated which enhances the profitability of the entire system and makes the system self sufficient. The exact capacities have to be worked out for viable individual capacities and an optimum combination of inter-related and integrated capacity.

THE BENEFITS OF BENEFICIATION

The need for beneficiation of coal for reduction of its ash content is well recognized both from environmental and economic angles. This is why most of the coal producing countries beneficiate the entire coal produced by them. In India coal beneficiation has been practiced only for Metallurgical Coal (Coking Coal as used by the BFs of Integrated Steel Plants). Non-Coking Coal is used in three major type industries which are the main stay of our economy. They are: Cement, Thermal Power and now Sponge Iron or DRI. Now these users are facing the trouble of extraneous materials, shale, stone, clay, mud and tramp iron being present in the coal. These extraneous materials jam the mechanical handling system and the metallurgical process of the industrial set up. Apart from this, the ash content in Indian coals being very high, and the Indian Collieries have gone in for open cast mines make the quality of coal still more unsuitable for these industries.

Because of these reasons, some of these companies started to import coal. This is a very expensive proposition and also eats up our Forex reserves. Because of this the GoI has in 1994 allowed setting up of Coal Washeries in the private sector. On one hand, somehow the major coal producers are not keen on this aspect and on the other the major consumers also can’t go for the economy of scale because this is not their core interest / activity area. So the private sector has shown interest in conducting a detailed viability study, which has given positive and encouraging results. Even some of the entrepreneurs have tried and derived substantial benefit out of it apart from being successful, as there is a great demand for the washed coal.

The following benefits are directly derived from the washed coal :

The Ash content of the Coal decreases

The Fixed Carbon content of the Coal increases

The Calorific Value of the Coal increases



Specific Heat consumption of the Kilns / Boilers decreases

Stability / Consistency in Ash content increases

Coal consumption decreases hence does also the cost of freight and handling

Jamming in mechanical handling system is minimized

Deposits on the Refractory Linings in the kilns is reduced thereby increasing their life

Overall cost reduces, as efficiency in mechanical handling system, smoothness & consistency in metallurgical process and faster chemical reactions are achieved

Pollution and handling of waste products are minimised.

For these reasons the coal has to be “Beneficiated” or in simple terms sized and washed in a Washery. This Washery will produce washed and sized coal of Gross Calorific Value (GCV) of 5132 kcal/Kg. Having ash content of 28 %. Also in the process some “Slurry” and some “Rejects” are generated which are of 44.4 % and 63 % ash respectively. The clean coal accounts for 51 % of the input by weight. The slurry(7.3 %) is generally bought by the Brick Manufacturers and small industries and the rejects(33.7 %) are bought by industries having fluidised bed boilers and also the Brick Manufacturers.

DEMAND, SUPPLY AND SHORTFALL :

For the clean coal produced by this unit the total demand for D-Grade coal by the cement manufacturing units in India is about 20 mtpa (Million Tons per Annum), which is expected to rise further to 28 mtpa by the year 2004-05. As against the demand of 20 mtpa the Cement plants are getting only 9.76 mtpa of D-Grade coal which leaves a gap of 10.24 mtpa. Out of this they depend on 6 mtpa of imported coal and rest 4.24 is inferior coal. Because of this low-grade coal the industries pay more for the higher coal consumption in addition to inconsistent quality in the product. Apart from this the Sponge Iron Industry in India which is coming up in a very big way has a demand of nearly 4 mtpa of D to F Grade Coal ( the All India Sponge Iron Installed Capacity =3.2 mtpa). The Thermal Power Sector is the third major consumer of non coking coal (say 215 mtpa).

Hence here again the need for a Washery comes into the picture to take care of the total of 10 mtpa gap and also to some extent import substitution by inexpensive alternative. If the Washeries are set up at the pit head area of collieries it will be the most cost effective to both the buyer and the owner. As and when the clean and washed coal starts being available, then all the three major consumers shall come forward to share the benefit of cost and other host of advantages.

COAL LINKAGES :

The Coal Washery shall need a source of coal for the raw material supply. The fixing up of a supplier in the form of coal mines is what is called as Coal Linkages. The only coal mining company in Orissa is the Mahanadi Coalfields Limited. Therefore it is pertinent to know relevant matters about the “Partner of Progress” critically. In the following we have presented a synopsis of M/s MCL.

MAHANADI COAL FIELDS – PARTNERS OF PROGRESS :

Coal Resources of World, India and Orissa :

India has emerged as the third largest coal and lignite producer of the world having nearly 6.4 % of the total world coal production, though its reserves position is the 10 th in



the world scenario. With respect to the energy consumption rate in India during this decade coal alone has accounted for nearly 60 % of the total commercial energy consumed. Globally use of coal for commercial energy has been going down since 1950, largely because of environmental considerations and availability of cheap oil and gas. However in India the scenario is totally different. As stated earlier, here, the coal is likely to pay a dominant role in power generation because of its abundant reserves and cheap availability coupled with limited oil reserves within the country. In India 63 coalfields are identified as coal bearing with a total coal reserves of 214 Billion Tons as estimated on 1-1-2001 by the Geological Survey of India. (See the Table on the next page):

The State of Orissa hosts two large coalfields, i.e. Talcher and Ib Valley, both under the jurisdiction of MCL whose potentialities were not properly known even in the seventies of the last century. Systematic and sustained exploratory efforts by the Geological Survey of India(GSI), the Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Ltd.(CMPDIL), and the Directorate of Geology, Govt. of Orissa, during the last two decades have updated the coal reserves of Orissa from 6 BT to 51 BT, thereby elevating the position from 6 th to 2nd

in terms of total geological coal reserves. And thus Orissa ranks first among the states containing non-coking coal in India. In terms of prognosticated coal bearing area the coalfields of Orissa cover only around 7.6 % of the total coal bearing area in India. But its share in the national coal reserves are over 23 %. This illustrates the high ratio of coal to non-coal strata and thus being accorded the most favourable coalfields status by nature as far as quariable potentiality of coal is concerned.

Statistics of Coal Reserves :

TOTAL WORLD RESERVES : = 24.5 TRILLION TONS

TOTAL INDIAN RESERVES : = 214 BILLION TONS (0.87 % of World Reserves)

BIHAR (Undivided) = 70 BT ( 32.7% of Indian Reserves )

ORISSA = 51 BT ( 23.8 % of Indian Reserves )

MADHYA PRADESSH = 44 BT ( 20.6 % of Indian Reserves )

WEST BENGAL = 26 BT ( 12.1 % of Indian Reserves )

MAHARASTRA = 7 BT ( 3.3 % of Indian Reserves )

OTHER STATES = 16 BT ( 7.5 % of Indian Reserves )

In Orissa :

Talcher Coalfields Ib Valley Coalfields Gopalpur Sector

29 BT 16 BT 6 BT

57 % 32 % 11 %

GRADE-WISE GEOLOGICAL RESERVES IN EXPLORED BLOCKS OF MCL (in Million Tons) :

Grades

Ash Content (%)

TALCHER COALFIELDS

IB VALLEY COALFIELDS

TOTAL MCL

% OF TOTAL

RESERVE

Quality

B 15 192 2 195 2 Good



C 20 168 193 361 3 Good

D 26 260 221 481 4 Good

E 32 1446 849 2295 20 Medium

F 42 3166 2524 5690 50 Poor

G 50 1455 997 2451 21 Poor

TOTAL 6,687 4,787 11,473

100

In terms of spatial spread of prognostic coal bearing area, the coalfields of the state of Orissa have about 7.6 % area (2723 Sq. Km.). This goes to illustrate the high ratio of coal to non coal strata in the two coal bearing basins. The coal reserves of MCL are generally of poor quality, as given in the table below, with only 9 % of good quality (grades- B, C, D), 20 % of medium quality (grade- E)and finally 71 % of poor quality (grades- F and G).

MCL’s Credentials :

The proposed Coal Washery Project shall obtain coal from the only prime source in Orissa i.e., M/s Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd., to cater to all the categories of consumers as given below :

MCL’s original consumers who were buying unwashed coal, now can have the option of washed coal

New consumers ( to be developed ) who would prefer to buy washed coal

Internal customers of the business group promoted by the same promoters.

Therefore, this is a proposition of mutual benefit, and as a matter of fact, MCL has several washing and blending projects at hand but yet to be finalised, and hence it is worthwhile to know and understand this company (MCL)’s fundamentals, as enunciated in the following :

The State of Orissa is bestowed with six Gondwana Basins, out of which two, namely Talcher and Ib River Valley Coalfields contain promising coal reserves. Systematic exploratory efforts have revealed vast potentiality of these two coalfields having nearly 23.5 % of the national coal reserves and thus enjoys the status of the most favourable coalfields as far as quariable potentiality is concerned. To tap this vast coal resources of Orissa, a separate subsidiary was formed in the name of MAHANADI COALFIELDS LIMITED (MCL in short), in 1992.

MCL (M/s Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd.) is an epitome of excellent performance against the back drop of many public companies becoming sick. It has to its credit excellent performance year after year and many awards received by it for not only in technology, innovation, high productivity but also in the fields of environmental and ecological implementation. MCL, the second largest coal company in India as well as the World, is the story of success in the heart of Orissa, one of the backward states in the country.

With the advent of urbanisation an industrial Orissa is slowly but steadily progressing. One such example is the birth of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. in the year of 1992. The current decade has brought in its fold rapid economic growth especially in the core



sector like coal. Coal is the most important source of commercial energy in our country and with the inception of MCL, a dawn of new era has ushered in on the industrial horizon of Orissa. It has got two coalfields namely Talcher and Ib Valley. Out of 57 Gondwana and 13 Tertiary coalfields for the national inventory of coal, Orissa State has only two. Yet its share in the reserves is so far established in the country amounts to 23.6 %.( as given in the table earlier )

At the time of nationalisation of coal industry in India in 1973, coal production from all the mines of Orissa was only 1.6 mtpa, and since then the high growth in production and despatch, these coalfields which are now under the MCL have recorded a total production of 44.8 mtpa in 2001-2002 and occupied second largest position in the coal producing subsidiary of COAL INDIA LTD.

Ever since its inception in April 1992, MCL registered all round growth and become the 2nd largest coal producing company in the country and may eventually occupy the top position by the end of Tenth plan so far as the coal production is concerned. The growth of MCL during the end of the Eighth plan was largely due to commissioning of new Thermal Power Projects like NTPC at Kaniha within Talcher Coalfields, OPGC Power Plant in the Ib Valley Coalfields and other power projects in Southern & Western India. The Ninth plan period had been dormant for the new power projects. The power sector will continue to play an important role in the future scenario of the MCL and the future coal production from MCL will depend mainly on new power houses for which coal linkages have been granted by Standing Linkage Committee.

As far as the continuous process for improvement and modernisation is concerned, the MCL has already put in a substantial investment of to the tune of Rs. 16.90 Billion (1690 Crores) in various projects. There are also some projects worth Rs. 28.65 Billion (2865 Crores) under various stages of approval. This huge investment in MCL needs to be protected by aggressive marketing of its coal. The challenges have become stronger after 01-01-2000 with the GoI authorising Coal India Ltd.(CIL) and Singareni Coal Company (SCCL) to fix the prices of E, F and G grades of non-coking coal in relation with the market prices, thus deregulating the pricing mechanism of all grades of coking and non-coking coal in India. Now with the differential pricing of various grades of non-coking coal coming into effect, MCL faces stiff competition from other subsidiaries of CIL, imported coal, captive and private mining.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats ( SWOT Analysis) :

STRENGTHS

One-Thirds of total exploitable reserves of coal in India is in the command area of MCL

Coal reserves proved so far are amenable mostly to open cast mining

Stripping ratio is favourable

Infrastructure have been developed to a large extent and for the new projects the work has been under implementation

Cordial Industrial Relation.

WEAKNESSES

High ash coal which needs up-gradation by beneficiation, selective mining and blending. Since June, 2001 coal having ash < 34 % has to be supplied to Power



Houses, of distance 1000 km and beyond from the pit head, or in sensitive or critically polluted area.

Land acquisition

Rehabilitation and Resettlement

Forest land and land for compensatory afforestation

Environmental consideration and compliance of various legislation and rules therein

Problems of coal evacuation

Majority of the consumers are far away from coalfields.

OPPORTUNITIES

To formulate a sound marketing strategy

Emphasise to develop the techno-economical viable infrastructure for evacuation of coal from its mine end

To prepare and formulate the project report for new underground mine having good quality of coal for blending

To create preparedness strategically and policy wise to meet the requirement of environmental and legislative stipulation in future along with production programme and productivity.

THREATS

Imported coal of superior quality at a competitive price

Serious evacuation problems in both coalfields due to near saturated evacuation capacity of the existing rail links

Captive mining and private mining

Competition from other subsidiaries of Coal India Ltd.

Delay in approval of the project reports due to forestry and environmental clearance.

From the above SWOT analysis, it is concluded that the marketing of MCL coal in a competitive price because of its farness from southern consumers and compliance of MoEF stipulation of ash content of coal for power generation will be a challenge of the new millennium.

MCL’s Marketing Strategy :

MCL produces around 45 mtpa of coal mostly of F grade with an ash content varying from 40 – 43 %. While 90 % of its coal production is consumed by the power plants. Out of this, the quantity supplied to the South India power houses which are more than 1000 km from the pit head is in the order of 15 mtpa. As per the MoEF notification this amount of coal has to be of < 34 % ash, as compared to the present proportion of coal (2.6 mtpa) having < 34 % of ash. To manage the gap, the import of lower ash coal by the coastal power houses has become the order of the day.

Seized with the problem of finding a solution to the need of supplying less than 34 % ash coal, the top management of MCL has contemplated the following technological improvement options :

Beneficiation of coal including blending with better quality of coal; deshaling and blending with partial beneficiation.



Selective mining of coal to reduce the ash content of ROM coal.

Offering coal linkages to private washery operators to supply washed coal to their consumers.

Now the third option actually encourages the third parties to set up washeries and supply better quality coal with reduced ash content for efficient use of consumers in Power, Cement and DRI Sectors. After the liberalisation in coal sector, even the mines are given on lease to private parties.

Coal Demand of Outside and Within the State from MCL:

The coal demand from MCL is based on the coal linkages granted by Standing Linkages Committee(Long Term) during the X th. Plan and beyond has been projected at 112 and 117 mtpa respectively. In addition to this MCL has already recommended coal linkages for another 17 mtpa. So the coal demand from MCL beyond the X th. Plan is projected at 134 mtpa. At present the customers are from the Power, Cement, Fertiliser Plants of both outside and within the state. But now with the changed Industrial scenario of Orissa and adjacent states, there will be a demand from the Sponge Iron, Ferro-metal, paper, Captive Power Plants and the like apart from the current consumers.

Future Beneficiation Projects of MCL:

MCL is going ahead with construction of two (Kalinga and Ananta-Bharatpur) coal preparation plants at Talcher Coalfields on BOO basis having raw coal input of 13.2 mtpa. The washing process will reduce the ash by 7-8 % but the moisture content will increase by 2-3 %. Another Washery at Belpahar area of IB Valley coalfields is under planning stage. Meanwhile proposals have also been received from different private parties for construction of washery on BOO basis at Hingula and Gopalprasad projects of Talcher coalfields. Some Power Plants have also shown interest in setting up of their own washeries. All these are under active consideration.

The MCL has a prestigious project for a coal blending facility at New Ennore Satellite Port. It is envisaged that the superior grades of coal (B,C,D) can be blended with inferior grades (F,G) to keep the combined ash content at or below 34 % to meet the requirement of Power coal as per MoEF notification.

Locating the Washery :

As discussed a little earlier, the coal washery to be set up in the state of Orissa has to cater to the cement industries of south and south-central India as well as the cement and sponge iron plants in Orissa. The Thermal Power Plants of south India can be excellent consumers but as they are bulk consumers (about 15 mtpa), and some coastal plants import coal, so the market has to be developed specifically with assured tonnages and services. For this purpose the most optimal source for these plants will be from Talcher Coalfields and Ib Valley Coalfields, which are both under the control of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. Till now there is no concrete and finalised proposal of any Washeries in this area by MCL or any private operator (one Dry Beneficiation Plant at Talcher is in the proposal stage). Hence this nascent area is awaiting for the maiden project for a washery using the raw coal from MCL.

By washing the quantity of coal transported to the consumers gets reduced, thereby saving in freight and insurance. So more distant the consumers the more is the savings. Most benefit could be derived to place the washery near the pit head of the collieries with a railway siding provided by the MCL on lease or rent. If this is not available, then it can be at one of the following places :



Near a Railway Station thru which the rakes for Cement Plant are going, or

In between the road from the mine to the cement plant (consumer centres for the clean coal).

For this the matter has to be taken up with the MCL authorities for the supply of raw coal for washing, and on getting the information as to which is the source, an application has to be made also for a siding and the land either on rent or on lease basis. If the land is not given by MCL then the promoters have to arrange for the same at an appropriate place as discussed above.

Technological options for beneficiation of non-coking coal :

The various procedures are broadly classified as the “DRY” and the “WET” processes. The dry processes don’t involve the use of water, where as in wet processes the water is the main medium for washing and jigging. By adoption of conventional wet methods of washing of coal, the ash content can be lowered but there is always an increase in the surface moisture which is not desirable for power coal where the associated moisture reduces the heat value of the coal. This has given an impetus to go for the concept of dry beneficiation.

Dry Beneficiation :

The dry beneficiation has the following advantages :

Dry beneficiation does not add any recurring water (except for dust separation)

Power consumption is less than 1 unit per ton

It is completely automatic, semi-automatic and requires less man-power for operation

No moisture is added to the clean coal which may reduce the heat value

Least problem of slurry or fine generation and subsequent disposal problem

The operating cost is low.

Different Processes of Dry Beneficiation :

HAND PICKING :

Hand Picking is an old and ancient practice of removal of shales and stones associated with ROM (Run Of Mines) coal. Normally it can deal with coal of varying sizes between 200 – 15 mm and can be adopted only in the smaller capacity. Such methods depend solely on human factor and are labour intensive and can never be effective where a large volume of coal is involved. Since India has a cheap and abundant labour force, this method is still in practice in India.

ROTARY BREAKER :

Mostly Rotary Breakers have been in use abroad, mainly for beneficiation of Coking Coal. It is also used in India in the coking coal washery, at Sudamdih and Monodih Washeries. In the non-coking coal sector too, India has a few breakers installed, but they don’t perform effectively because of improper design with respect to Indian conditions. In rotary breakers the difference in shatter strength of coal pieces compared to those of associated shale and stone chips is taken advantage of. The two most important factors are :

Crushing Degree and



Selective crushing Index.

By careful study of these two parameters, the specific design of the Breakers have to be made in regard to :

Diameter, Length and RPM of the Drum, and

Opening of the breaking area.

And these should be optimised for the effective design and performance of Rotary Breakers. In fact, exhaustive R & D data and a pilot study have been prepared by the Central Fuel Research Institute (CFRI), Dhanbad, to design Rotary Breakers for Indian non-coking coal.

PHOTOMETRIC ORE SORTER :

The Photometric Ore Sorter has been successfully utilised in the mines for separating ore and gangue material. The principle of separation in case of coal is entirely based on the difference in the light reflectance of coal surface and shale / stone surface. It has not been experimented for Indian coals and hence its efficacy is doubtful. However, before putting this principle to commercial use, it has to be critically studied and tested with special reference to Indian coal and conditions.

SHALE EXTRACTION TECHNOLOGY :

This technology which is used in a “Shales Extractor”, has been developed by M/s Stamic Carbon of Holland and M/s MAMC of Durgapur. In this equipment separation of shales / stones from coal entirely depends on the probability of the particles being allowed to pass through a series of leaf springs provided in the equipment on the basis of specific gravity or weight of the particles. It is claimed that, high ash materials (Sp.Gr.-2.0) can be removed by this equipment from mixed coal above 50 mm. The equipment also requires that the beneficiated coal size should be closely sized with a range in the ratio of 1:2.

RADIOMETRIC-CUM-ULTRA-SONIC TECHNIQUE :

This technology uses the differential Gamma Rays absorption principle. Caesium Sources are placed in emitters located between the forward and return Belt carrying raw coal. From the emitter, a collimated beam of Gamma rays is directed vertically upwards, such that they penetrate the belt and the material. These rays are attenuated by the particles on the belt, less attenuated by coal than stone or shales, because of less atomic no. of carbon. This attenuation is measured by a sensor detector, placed vertically above the emitter. The height of the load of the belt is measured by high-speed ultrasonic probes. The combination of these out-put signals are processed thru a high speed processor to calculate the instantaneous densities of the particles on the belt. The time duration of each measurement cycle is around 50 ms (milli second, i.e., completing twenty process cycles every second). Density of coal is dependent on ash content, and it is now customary to discard coal above a sp. gr. (specific gravity) of 1.8. The system is generally calibrated to reject all materials above sp. gr. 1.6, and a removal system can be adjusted for varying degree of densities. To ensure the optimum efficiency of the system, a module should be incorporated in the system where the particle sizes have a range with a ratio of min. to max. size equal to 1:2.

The removal system incorporates a two way chute at the end of the conveyor belt. Coal particles emerging out of belt full in a particular trajectory, and falls into the primary outlet of the chute. There is also a secondary outlet for the chute meant for the rejects. The solenoid valves after receipt of a signal from the high speed processor thru a relay,



get energised and eject a jet of air at a high pressure directed towards the fall trajectory of the particles so that they deviate the trajectory to make the particles fall into the secondary outlet of the chute. The timing and the period of blowing air is so pre-programmed that there is no mix-ups. The limitation of this system is that it is not effective for particles below 50 mm size, and different modules are available for different particle size ranges, viz., 250-125 mm, 125-75 mm, 75-50 mm.

PNEUMATIC JIGS :

The operating principles of the pneumatic jig is very similar to those employed in the familiar Baum type jig (explained later), except that the air is used as the separating medium instead of water. But this process is yet to be tried for Indian power coal. There is another process like flip flow screen, which can also be used in Indian power coal, but the efficacy of the process is doubtful.

Wet Beneficiation :

Though the dry processes are cheaper and simple in design, they have limitations in respect of the size and the system efficiency in quantity and quality. The wet beneficiation processes have been found to be more efficient and have the following advantages, and therefore are more popular :

These can use some types of coal breakers and hand picking methods as used in the dry process

There’s no limit to the particle sizes, and no limit even to the size and capacity of the washing plant

Quality of the final products are usually better

The processes are usually environment friendly unlike the dry processes.

Different Processes of Wet Beneficiation :

BAUM JIG :

In many of the existing coking coal washeries, the jig is usually used for primary washing (deshaling) and the secondary beneficiation is done by heavy media bath or cyclones. The Baum jigs are successfully employed for both these processes and for most types of coal. Jigging is considered to be quite an economical process for beneficiation as it is simpler to operate, easy to maintain and requires less space. In this process there is a chamber filled with water and fitted with perforated plates on which the raw coal moves. The water is pulsated by air with the help of a piston or a rotary valve. The air chamber is situated by the side of the coal belt which reduces the direct intensity of blown air. To improve the performance, capacities, technical and economical indices, some radical improvements have been made in the design.

KOMAG JIG :

This Process is similar to the above mentioned Baum jig, with extensive improvement. The outcome is a new type jig designed by Komag of Poland. The improvements involve the utilisation of the whole area of the bed for beneficiation by induction of air just below the bed and also incorporation of automatic control for sink disposal, and air and water control systems. There are basically two types of Komag jigs – one for coarse coal of 150-20 mm size and the other for fine coals of 20-0 mm size. Both the types can be used as deshaler, primary and secondary washers. The coarse coal jig can also be used for washing of non-coking coal which requires cheaper washing plants.



BATAC JIG :

After a lot of research and developmental efforts, an improved jig, namely the Batac jig manufactured under license from its Japanese inventor is a major innovation in the field of coal beneficiation. The major difference between Batac jig and the conventional Baum jig lies in one essential feature. The water pulsations are not produced in one air chamber arranged laterally beside the jig (as in Baum jig), but in air chambers arranged under the jig bed. The following improvements are confirmed practically :

The space required to house the jig is reduced by 50 % with respect to Baum jig as a result of the removal of lateral chambers.

Unlike the conventional jig, the movement of water is regular in every place, as the distance to be covered by water is of equal length at any point. The variation in jigging section which limits the size of conventional jig to 4 metres across the bed, does not therefore, affect the Batac jig. Batac jigs of even 7 metres long have been successfully built and installed.

The air pulsation is electronically controlled by a system of electro-pneumatic valves which are activated by electrical impulses. The discharge arrangement are also closely monitored by a system of floats which indicates the position of the various layers in the bed, the information being used to select the position of discharge ways.

Use of Batac jig may be proved to be a much better option for treating non-coking coal. Separation is better and it can take care of NGM (Near Gravity Material) to an extent. But its efficiency becomes very low for sp. gr. below 1.6.

MOVING PAN JIG :

Recently, a special type of jig that is movable screen jig has been developed by a German Company, KHD Humboldt Wedag. It is also referred to as ROMJIG (short for roaming jig). The Romjig consists of an unilaterally supported screen panel with a slot width of 15 mm which is moved up and down in a water vessel. The movement of screen panel is affected via a hydraulic cylinder on gimbals, by which the screen panel is lifted. Upon reaching its highest point the oil pressure in the hydraulic cylinder is released and the screen panel freely falls thru the water to its lowest dead position. The kinetic energy is absorbed by a hydraulic shock absorber, connected with a central hydraulic plant preventing the building from receiving noticeable shocks. The capacity of the equipment may be very high. The requirement of make-up water is low and the product being in big lump size, the dewatering is easier.

DENSE MEDIUM SEPARATION :

With the changing pattern of coal, the earlier methods of washing in water are giving place to dense medium separator on accounts of its higher degree of precision and its ability to cut at the point of separation even with a feed consisting of large quantity of close sp. gr. material. The particular feature of these dense medium processes which have accounted for their commercial expansion in the treatment of coal above a certain minimum size are :

Accuracy of separation i.e., the ability to make sharp separation at any pre-determined sp. gr. ranging from 1.35 to 2.00 and continuously maintain this within a tolerance of +/- 0.005.

Ability to separate at one or more pre-determined densities. The sp. gr. of the separating media can be changed at any time and within a few minutes, when necessary to meet changing characteristics of feed coal.



Adaptability to the treatment of larger coal, say from 13 to 200 mm.

Independent on load fluctuation, important in run of mines coal.

Near gravity material to the extent of 70 – 80 % can be dealt with accurately in this process. There are now at least a dozen of dense medium processes available with established commercial status. A few important ones amongst these are :

Barvoys Bath - Deep Bath

Drum Washery, Leedar Bath, Tromp Bath, and DISA - All Shallow Bath

The basic principle is common to all. The sized raw coal is passed thru a separating bath containing a dense medium made up of suspensions of finely divided solids (mostly magnetite) in water. The special grade of the medium being adjusted so that the clean coal floats in it while the dirt sinks. By varying the suspended solid particles the sp. gr. of the medium can be accurately adjusted to float any type of coal and to make separation between coal and dirt at any cut-off point. The present day tendency is to use shallow bath type separators in preference to deep ones. Some of the apparent advantages of using shallow baths are low head-room, flexibilities in flow arrangements and more effective use of a given volume of the medium. The use of such baths for treating Indian power coal will be one of the best choices.

Some Ideal Procedures :

The advent of the large size of heavy medium cyclones viz., 1 metre diameter capable of handling 50 mm size of non-coking coal is a major breakthrough in coal preparation. Such a cyclone will be able to wash the non-coking coal of difficult characteristics and high NGM quite comfortably. Separation is highly encouraging with higher organic efficiency. This can also be best implied in case of deeper beneficiation of non-coking coal in order to have the ash range of clean coal to the tune of 20-25 %.

A second scheme comprising of rotary breaker Jig washer and heavy medium bath can also be a good option for deep beneficiation of non-coking coal. Here the raw coal shall be treated in rotary breaker to reduce its obvious dirt and shale / stone along with reduction of ash percentage of coal from 2 to 4 %. Further crushed coal received out of it of the size –150 shall be deshaled in a jig washer with a sp. gr. of 1.8 / 1.9 as per the characteristics of the coal. Further the deshaled coal shall be treated in heavy medium bath at the sp. gr. of 1.55 / 1.65 to get a clean coal with required ash level. Heavy medium bath has been suggested because of the fact that the NGM percentage around that cut point will be expected to be high. The sinks of the bath forming middlings may be mixed with the untreated small coal as per the requirement. Middlings, fractions and smalls taken together may be used in fluidised bed boilers according to the quality characteristics of the mixed material. The clean coal so obtained may suit the specific requirement of the customer like cement, sponge iron manufacturers and captive power plant.

This is one of very healthy schemes to beneficiate the non-coking coal of M/s MCL which has difficult washing characteristics and also its coal matrices have got inter-grown impurities. This scheme is cheaper in both capital and operation cost and thus may be adopted for washing power coal. Here, the raw coal is first treated in rotary breaker and thus removing its stone, dirt and shale and thereby reducing the ash by 2 to 4 %. The crushing cost of coal is saved because the same is crushed in rotary breaker itself with less generation of fines. The crushed coal 150 – 100 mm is screened to separate small coal below 15 – 10 mm. The large coal 150 – 100 mm to 15 – 10 mm are crushed and deshaled in a jig at a higher sp. gr. of 1.8 / 1.9 as per the washing characteristics of that



particular coal. The deshaled coal thus obtained is mixed with unwashed coal of 15 – 10 mm fraction to get the washed coal of 34 % ash to meet the requirements of power plants.

THE TYPICAL COAL WASHING PROCESS

The Process

Coal Washing is a process of separation mainly based on difference in specific gravity of coal and associated impurities like shale, sand and stones etc so that we get relatively pure marketable coal with add on calorific value of the coal. Coal washing separates non-combustible material from useful combustible material. Coal washing uses gravity separation, flotation and a technology, which uses dense media. In India dense medium cyclones are mostly popular as it gives very high separation efficiency Mostly magnetite is used as dense media. Magnetite having specific gravity in the range of 4.8 to 5.4 is used in washery for washing process which is ground to –325 mesh and mixed with water to maintain the desired gravity in HM Bath or HM Cyclone for separation of coal from its impurities.

Indian coal has a very high NGM value and its difficult to wash it. Dense medium cyclone provides best solution for Indian coal. With around 221 billion tons of non coking coal deposits, India has huge advantage in developing coal-based sponge iron technology in India. A country having no significant resources of either coking coal or natural gas can leverage washed and beneficiated coal causing value addition of coal by way of reduction in ash percentage.

Beneficiated coking coals find use in manufacturing of hard coke for steel making.

Beneficiated washed Non-coking coal find use mainly for power generation.

Beneficiated Non-coking coal can be used by Cement plants, Sponge Iron plants and other industrial plants.

This process is generally used to beneficiate non-coking coal from IB Valley (for example) in Orissa, to upgrade its quality for use in rotary kilns for DRI (Sponge Iron) production. The middlings and other products are to be further used in the proposed power plant. The aim is to set up a plant of capacity 150 tph that would accept (–) 20 mm coal for washing while crushing and screening stage would accept –300 mm coal. This needs a solution for reduction in ash of raw coal from various mines of IB valley from 38-60% to 27-36% with surface moisture of 11-14%.

The proposed the coal washery that would accept -300mm coal. The solution following crushing and sizing to the washing size (-20 mm) is first wet de-slimed over Low head screens to remove the -1.0 mm fraction. The heavy media cyclone washery can consist of the following sub-systems -

Receiving and Sizing Section

Heavy Media Coal washing system

Media handling and recovery system

Process water handling and recovery system.

Receiving and Sizing Section

Raw coal is fed to a Raw Coal Hopper (Surge Bunker) for feeding to the washery. This hopper is provided with a Grizzly of 200 mm. A Vibratory feeder draws the coal from the hopper and feeds to a Primary Crusher preceded by a fixed screen for scalping the feed



to the primary crusher. The Primary crusher is operated in open circuit and envisaged to reduce the size of the coal to 75 mm. This is followed by a second stage of crushing is set up in close circuit with a screen to ensure low generation of fines and close size control for the products from the washery. The Vibratory screen classifies the material at 20 mm and the oversize material is sent to the crusher for crushing down to –20 mm. The crushed fraction is re-circulated back to the screen. The undersize of the screen (-20+0 mm) is directed towards the surge bunker for feeding to the washing section.

Heavy Media Coal washing system

The -20+0 mm coal is tapped from the belt conveyor into the de-sliming screen for removal of -1.0 mm material. De-slimed coal (-20+1.0 mm) is fed to the Correct Media Tank, which also acts as the HM cyclone feed tank. Feed coal mixed with Media was supposed to go to the HM cyclone through HM Cyclone feed pump. Admixture of coal and media which was fed to the HM cyclone underwent a density separation in the cyclone where the clean coal below the cut density reports to the overflow. The middling which is of a higher specific gravity supposed to report to the cyclone underflow. Both these streams are containing a mixture of coal and media.

Clean Coal Dewatering Screen is Double Deck Screen (5 mm & 0.5 mm). 20-5 mm material is taken out directly and 5-0.5 mm material is passed through a centrifuge to dewater the product.

Media handling and recovery system

Media is used for providing a heavy liquid in which coal below the cut density can float. In heavy media cyclone plants this media is prepared by mixing finely ground magnetite (- 45 micron) with water. This media is recovered back from the clean coal and rejects stream and reused in the washing circuit. Media coal mixture from the HM cyclone is fed to De-pulping and Rinsing Screens for clean coal and middlings. The underflows from the screens are fed to the Dilute Media Tank. However this slurry is more dilute than the required media due to the addition of water on the screens for rinsing.

Media from the Dilute Media tank is first fed to a magnetic separator, which recovers magnetite from the thinned stream. Recovered magnetite is fed back into the correct media tank for reuse in the media system. To cover the media loss, magnetite is added from magnetite hopper by screw conveyor to dilute media tank. A density control system is provided for continuously maintaining the density of the media by addition of water (for lowering density) or magnetite (for increasing density) as required.

Process water handling and recovery system.

Process water is mainly used in screen rinsing. LIMS underflow, which is stripped of magnetite, contains most of the water from the circuit. This is used for wetting in the primary screen, which then mixes with the -1.0 mm fraction and reports to the Dewatering Section. Dewatering cyclone overflow reports to the thickener where the water is clarified. Both clean coal and middlings are dried in centrifugal dryers and the effluents from these too join the thickener feed stream. The overflow from the thickener is fed back to the plant as process water and the thickener underflow and cyclone underflow is sent to a tailing filter for dewatering the fine coal.

They use -20+5 mm coal in sponge iron project and –5 mm coal in power plants. While de-slimed coal after dewatering is mixed with raw coal and used in power plant. This is fully automated plant running smoothly and producing good quality of clean coal for



various purposes. Table below shows the performance of a typical washery for one particular type of coal -

Coal Surface Moisture Moisture V.M. Ash F.C.

Raw Coal 2.94 3.98 23.76 48.54 27.70

Middling Coal 2.98 19.48 60.17 21.35 12.51

Clean Coal 14.01 4.52 29.29 31.44 39.27

Coal Fines 13.27 3.59 30.07 30.49 39.44

Conclusion :

Conventional wet method of beneficiation of non-coking coal, although effective and efficacious, there is a simultaneous increase in surface moisture of 2 – 3 %, which is detrimental in case of power coal, because the added moisture decreases the heating value of coal. On this count the dry process is advantageous. But not much R & D has been done to improve the efficiency of the dry processes. The dry beneficiation processes are still of limited scope and the same are not being able to fill up the gap of poor capacity, poor quality of product and are anti-environment. The wet processes are worth it but are slightly expensive. So the economy of scale has to be strictly adhered to while designing a coal washery of a commercially viable size.

Plant Capacity & Production Programme Of A Coal Washery :

In the following pages we have presented a test case of coal washery with various commercial details to show that such a unit shall be viable in the state of Orissa.

Let’s assume that the proposed unit to come up in the north-western belt of Orissa which is industrialised enough to provide the required infra-structure. The Coal Washing Unit proposes to use Two Million Tons of Raw Coal to produce 1.02 mtpa (51%) of clean and washed coal, 0.146 mtpa (7.3%) of slurry and 0.674 mtpa (33.7%) of rejects.. This is at 100 % capacity utilization, which gives a yield of 92 % with a washing & system gross loss of 8 %. But the actual production is envisaged to be 65 %, 70 %, 75 %, 80 %, and 85 % in the 1st., 2nd., 3rd., 4th. and 5th. year onwards respectively. This capacity has been decided on the basis of the minimum size viable for an industrial unit and with a provision for expansion to another two mtpa plant. Also, the capacity utilisation in this industry is normally about 85 %.

The pricings have been worked out on this basis as explained in the later chapters on financials, and are as follows: (a) The raw coal costs Rs. 445 per ton, (b) The clean coal is Rs.787.50 per ton, (c) The Slurry is Rs. 344.50 per ton and (d) is 121 per ton. Hence the Input – Output relation is worked out later in the report in details.

Economics :

As per the report given by the EPC contractor, M/s HWI and the flow sheet suggested finally decided the main characteristics / parameters for washery shall be as follows:

No Parameters Raw Coal Clean Coal Slurry Rejects



.

1. Ash 43 % 28 % 44.4 % 63 %

2. Moisture 5 % 6 % 9 % 2.7 %

3. UHV (Kcal/Kg) 2276 4208 1807 (167)

4. GCV (Kcal/Kg) 3781 5047 3665 2693

5. Grade G D G Ungraded

6 Yield - 51 % 7.3 % 33.7 %

Taking the market into account and to begin with it is proposed to build a washery of 1 mtpa in the beginning with a provision to expand it to 2 or 3 mtpa later. So for 2 mtpa the products are :

Clean Coal = 10.2 mtpa

Slurry = 0.146 “

Rejects = 0.674 “

The Economics of the Cost of Capital and Operating cost assuming the following basis :

All the products as mentioned above with their respective proportions are sold in the market

Washery is located near the pit head of colliery, and coal is directly obtained from the MCL

The despatch of the output shall be directly done either thro’ the siding or by road.

Now let’s examine the other costs that are involved in a Washery as given in the following Table :



Washing Cost per ton of Raw Coal= At 100 % Capacity = Rs. 30.30

= At 90 % Capacity = Rs. 33.24

RAW COAL PRICE :

According to the CIL price as on 01-02-2000, the prices OF Raw Coal are : (Rs. Per Ton)

ROM Coal Price = 351.00 | Total Cost of Raw Coal

Charge for sizing to 200-250 mm = 20.00 | = 445.50

Transport to washery = 21.00 |

Royalty & Stowing Excise Duty (SED) = 53.50 |

Hence the total cost of raw coal including washing cost =

at 100 % Capacity = 445.50 + 30.30 = 475.80

And at 90 % Capacity = 445.50 + 33.24 = 478.74

INCOME :

Clean Coal is of “D” grade quality and according to the CIL price as on 01-02-2000, the prices are : (Rs. Per Ton)

ROM Coal Price = 633.00 | Total Cost of Washed Coal




Additional charges for sizing to 75 mm = 20.00 |

It may be noted that the washed coal price is not administered. It can be negotiated with the consumer / customer on the basis of decisive market forces of supply and demand and value addition / benefits that will accrue to the customer by using washed coal.

BENEFITS TO THE CEMENT PLANTS :

Customers of “D” Grade coal i.e. the Cement Plants should be able to pay a premium for the washed coal over the notified price of D-Grade coal as (1) this grade in short supply, (2) use the G-Grade with high ash content and low GCV, or (3) resort to import coal with low ash and high cost. Using washed coal has various advantages as described earlier.

In financial and commercial terms, also there are substantial benefits : Let’s take three cases of different distance of

(1) case – I = 120 Km from the washery for cement plants in Orissa / Bilaspur Cluster,

(2) case – II = 1850 km from the Washery for cement plants in Tamilnadu Cluster,

(3) case – III = 1520 km from the washery for cement plants in Karnataka Cluster. This is given in the following Table :

Descriptions : CASE-I CASE-II CASE-III

Distance of Cement plant from Washery (kms) 120 1850 1520



Freight Saving (Rs. Per ton of Clinker) 20.02 111.68 96.27

Other Savings ( -do- ) 41.85 41.85 41.85

Total Savings ( -do- ) 61.87 153.53 138.12

Additional Cost by using Washed Coal (Rs/Ton) 35.80 68.00 49.60

Net Savings to Cement Plants using Washed Coal (Rs/Ton)

26.08 85.53 88.52

It may be noted that even after charging premium for washed coal over above the notified price of D-Grade coal and crushing charges for sizing the coal to cement plants, there is saving for all distances and locations. These are the reasons why the cement plants will agree to pay the premium for washed coal of lesser ash consistent GCV and size.

Output Prices & Profit :

Premium for washing would be different for various plants depending on their distance for more the distance more the price advantage of freight. Thus a “Washed Coal Premium” is proposed to be charged varying between 60 – 200 Rs per Ton. Assuming the sales to be 20 % in Orissa, 20 % in MP, 40 % in Karnataka and 20 % in Tamilnadu, the weighted average works out to be 128 Rs. Per Ton taking the premiums as 60, 60, 120 and 200 Rs per ton respectively for the states.

Adding this Average Premium to the price of Washed Coal we get ( 673.50 + 128.00 = ) Rs. 801.50 per Ton. However, the economics have been worked out on the basis of premium of Rs. 100 /ton i.e. a price of Rs. 773.50 per ton, which includes the Royalty charges, SED, and crushing charges for sizing to 75 mm, but does not include the loading charges and Rail / Road freight to cement plants.

Pricing of the Secondary Products :

The Slurry and the Rejects are the secondary products which have substantial material value albeit of lower GCV and higher ash, but have some market value. So they have to be appropriately priced. The slurry is off G-Grade and as per CIL price it is the following :

ROM Coal Price = 250.00 | Total Price of Slurry




The Rejects are priced at Rs. 100 per ton and with the transport cost of Rs. 21 per ton it is Rs. 121 per ton.

The Washed Coal, the Slurries and the Rejects have the yield of 57 %, 6.3 % and 32.7 % respectively with a total yield of 96 % and a system loss of 4 %. With their respective prices the total income per ton of Input, i.e., the raw coal is calculated as follows : (in Rs. Per Ton)

INPUT PRICE OUTPUT YIELD PRICE TOTAL INCOME



Raw Coal Washed Coal 51 % 867.50 442.43

At 100 % 475.80 Slurry 7.3 % 344.50 25.15

At 90 % 478.74 Rejects 33.7 % 121.00 40.78

TOTAL 92 % 508.36

PROFIT MARGIN at 100 % ( 508.36 – 475.80 ) Rs. 32.56 per Ton

PROFIT MARGIN at 90 % ( 508.36 – 478.74 ) Rs. 29.62 per Ton

Our Proposed Plant is of Two Million Tons per Annum of Raw Coal Consumption. Hence the gross operating margin shall be ( 32.56 * 2 m / 1 Cr = ) Rs. 6.512 Crores for 100 % and Rs. 5.924 Crores for 90 % capacity utilisation.

SUMMARY OF ALL THE COST INPUT/OUTPUT CALCULATIONS :

Financials :

In the following pages we are giving the details of Financial Analyses. The basis of Assumptions are as follows :

The Debt & Equity Capital shall be roughly 2 : 1,

The Rates of Interest of Term Loan shall be 14% and for Working Capital 15%,



The repayment schedule shall be after Two years in 24 equal quarterly instalments (6 Years),

The Norms for the Working Capital requirements shall be :

Raw Materials = 15 Days Work-in-Progress = 3 Days

Finished Goods = 15 Days Book Debt = 15 Days

The Sale Price of Washed/Clean Coal is taken as Rs. 877.5 per ton with a premium of Rs. 110 / t.

REFERENCES

Mahanadi Coal Fields, Bhubaneswar Office,

CMPDIL, Bhubaneswar,

Coal Journals, etc.

www.coal.nic.in



[End]

© Himansu S M / 30 – March – 2010.

Divine Light ( Dibyajyoti ) Consultants ( DILICONS ), Chandrasekharpur, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India.


coal washery project

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