— Peter Gunn, Director, Total Sinergy International
Total Sinergy International, an Indonesian holding
company, is the name behind the revolutionary GEO-COAL
technology that upgrades low-rank coal into higher
calorific value coal. For India that will predominantly
rely on coal-fired power plants to meet bulk of its energy
needs, GEO-COAL offers an extremely cost-effective
solution.
Peter Gunn, in an exclusive interaction with
Venugopal Pillai, expounds on this new technology and
shares TSI's plan of bringing it to India.
Tell us about the revolutionary GEO-COAL™ technology, from a technical perspective.
In a nutshell, GEO-COAL™ is a simple and easily implementable technology that
upgrades economically stranded low rank coal (2,500 to 4,000 kcal/kg (ar)) into
higher calorific value coal (greater than 5,000 calorific value kcal/kg), resulting in
higher sale prices. It requires short installation times of merely a few months.
GEO-COAL™ leverages on affordable gasification burner technology, which
processes raw low rank coal with superheated steam, removing more than 60 per
cent of the moisture from the low rank coal. Additionally, it increases the energy
content of the initial low rank coal feedstock by 50 to 100 per cent. GEO-COAL™ taps
on low rank coal which is more accessible as it sits closer to the surface of the earth,
is generally found in thick coal seams and is structurally undisturbed, and is
therefore easier, less costly and less dangerous to mine than natural high rank coal.
The ingenuity behind GEO-COAL™ technology lies in its use of waste (low value
fine coal) as fuel for the upgrading process. By recycling the waste as fuel, this
makes the heating process more economical to set up and operate than competing
technologies in the market.
Can one quantify the efficiency gained by power plants by boosting the quality of
low-grade coal?
By boosting the quality of low rank coal, power plants stand to gain from increased
performance and increased transport efficiency:
- Increased performance: GEO-COAL™ produces higher power outputs of 50 to
100 per cent as a result of higher heating value of the coal, and higher combustion
temperatures enabling more efficient burning and utilisation during combustion
- Enhanced transport efficiency: Upgraded coal's reduced moisture content
(reduction of 50 per cent to 80 per cent) saves on transportation and handling costs, as unnecessary volume in the form of water mass need
not be carried.
In addition, GEO-COAL™ maintains the inherently low sulphur,
low nitrogen and low ash levels of the low rank coal feedstock,
helping power generation plants meet today's strict emissions
standards. The upgraded coal will also command a significantly
higher selling price, thus generating higher profit margins and
increasing market opportunities for coal producers.
When is TSI likely to receive the patent for GEO-COAL™?
TSI applied for a worldwide GEO-COAL™ patent in April 2011. It
is standard for such applications to take two to three years to
process.
Recently, an internationally accredited independent entity,
Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) successfully conducted
sampling of the coal both during and following the GEO-COAL™
upgrading and analysing the feed and product samples which
showed that high moisture, low rank coal can be upgraded to
low moisture higher rank coal with 50 per cent higher energy
value whilst maintaining the inherently cleaner properties of
the low rank coal.
Please discuss your plans and modalities in bringing GEOCOAL
™ technology to India, and start commercial operations.
TSI will consider introducing the technology where suitable coal
is available for upgrading. Such coal should have high moisture
levels and relatively low ash contents while having low sulphur
and nitrogen levels. These properties are normally found in
young, low rank coals. India has some 35 billion tonnes of
lignitic coal that may be suitable for GEO-COAL™ technology.
Given that India is highly dependent on coal-fired power plants
to meet its energy requirements and that coal quality is not
superior, how do you see the country as a market for GEOCOAL
™ technology?
India is a key market for GEO-COAL™, in view of its rapidly
rising energy needs. According to India Energy Portal, coal
continues to be one of the most important sources of energy in
India, and accounts for 55 per cent of the country's total energy
supplies. GEO-COAL™ technology is most suited to low ash, high
moisture coals and as mentioned above, India has in-excess of
35 billion tonnes of lignitic coal. At this stage, TSI can only
comment that the technology looks promising for India, but
further research is required before TSI can say that some or all
of the resources can be effectively converted to high rank coal.
Apart from India, which other countries are you planning to take
GEO-COAL™ technology to? Which country/regions will
dominate GEO-COAL™'s presence?
Apart from India, TSI is looking to bring GEO-COAL™ to markets
including Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Australia, New Zealand,
USA and Canada.
TSI has signed an agreement with a
subsidiary of the Indonesian national
utility company, PT Perusahaan Listrik
Negara (PLN), to use GEO-COAL™
technology to upgrade coal currently
supplied to its 2x300-mw power
generation plant in Labuan, Banten
Province, Indonesia.
In addition, Agritrade Resources Ltd, an
associate company of TSI, has signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
with TSI to build the first GEO-COAL™
mine-site commercial upgrading plant in
Tamiang Layang, Indonesia, by end-August
2011. This will have a capacity of 500,000
tonnes per year, providing GEO-COAL™
products to the industry.
Tell us about the cost-efficiency of using
GEO-COAL™ technology to upgrade the
quality of inferior coal.
Coal is traditionally known to be the
cheapest source of energy, particularly for
emerging economies. GEO-COAL™
technology further lowers the cost by
upgrading economically stranded low rank
coal into usable coal with higher calorific
value (with over 5,000 calorific value in
Kcal/kg, while maintaining the
environmental properties of low rank coal,
i.e. lower sulphur and lower ash content.
GEO-COAL™ achieves this at 66.7 per cent
of the cost of high-rank coal.
The cost of converting low rank coal using
GEO-COAL™ technology to high rank coal
with the same energy value is often lower
than the cost of producing natural high rank
coal. For example, the cost of producing
Indonesian low rank coal is approximately
$35 per tonne. The cost of using GEOCOAL
™ to convert this into high rank coal of
the same energy value is approximately $20
per tonne (taking into consideration the
recovery loss of the original coal). Together,
the total cost is $55 per tonne. Compared
with the cost of producing natural high rank
coal in Australia which is approximately $75
(all costs including transport and
miscellaneous cost to the port), the cost to
produce the same value coal is lower
through GEO-COAL™.
Tell us about the research going on at TSI
to further improve the technical and costefficiency
of GEO-COAL™ technology.
TSI has proven to itself through its
demonstration plant that low rank coal can
be upgraded to high rank coal using GEOCOAL
™ technology on a continuous basis.
TSI is installing instantaneous monitoring
systems that will allow it to modify the
upgrading conditions and obtain immediate
feedback on the energy consumption, plant
emissions and product quality. This will be
an ongoing process.TSI is also committed
to maximising the energy value contained
within steam and other by-products from
the GEO-COAL™ technology. In addition to
this TSI will begin mass production of its
GEO-COAL™ upgrading plants that will
further reduce the cost of producing
upgraded coals through the provision of
lower amortisation costs.