Page 224 - New Trends In Coal Conversion

186 New Trends in Coal Conversion

2017). Since its beginning in commercial operation in July 2013, the plant has been
operating approximately 36,400 h (Yamauchi, 2017).
Based on the successful results of the demonstration plant, Tokyo Electric Power
Company, Incorporated (TEPCO), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Mitsubishi
Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, and Joban Joint Power Co. Ltd.
announced in 2014 a plan to develop a new project in the Fukushima Prefecture to pro-
mote the economic revitalization the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of
2011. The project aims to construct and operate two 540 MW class IGCC facilities
in Fukushima: one at TEPCO’s Hirono Thermal Power Station and the other at Joban
Joint Power Company’s Nakoso Thermal Power Station. The project is currently
ongoing, and the IGCC plants are expected to be operating in 2020 (Mitsubishi Hitachi
Power Systems, 2017; Modern Power Systems, 2017; Tokyo Electric Power
Company, 2015).
Beyond the application at commercial scale of the IGCC developments carried out
until now in Japan, there are new concepts proposed to continue improving the effi-
ciency of coal gasification processes, such as CO 2 -recovery-type IGCC system
advanced IGCC/IGFC with exergy recovery technology or a super IGFC (S-IGFC)
concept (Guan, 2017; NEDO, 2007).

7.2.1.3 India
Several projects on coal gasification have been developed in India in this decade.

7.2.1.3.1 Angul
The Angul project at Orissa was developed by KBR for Jindal Steel and Power
Limited. Using as feedstock bituminous Angul coal, with an ash content of around
40% w/w, a syngas through coal gasification was generated to be used for the direct
reduction of iron (DRI) process (Mills, 2016). Lack of recent news about the Angul
plant may mean that the project might be cancelled or reused for other purposes but
not coal gasification.

7.2.1.3.2 Chhattisgarh
In 2014, the Indian Adani Group showed interest in investing US$3.75 billion in a coal
gasification project to be located in Chhattisgarh state. It will use local high-ash coal
(Mills, 2016). However, it seems that the project is facing some delays due to funding
issues.

7.2.1.3.3 Jamnagar Gasification Project
The Jamnagar Gasification Project developed by Reliance Industries Limited is
considered to be one of the biggest gasification projects in the world with a feed
rate of 1150 MWth. Although the main feedstock is petcoke, coal is also used in the
blend as a secondary compound (35% w/w) (Mathew, 2016).