Thermax, IIT Delhi, and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. are developing indigenous technology as part of the construction of coal-to-methanol plants across the nation.
Image Credit: PIB
According to petroleum and natural gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri, work is underway to build coal-to-methanol plants across the nation using indigenous technology being developed by Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Hyderabad and Trichy), Thermax, and IIT Delhi.
The minister said in a statement to the media in Guwahati, where he officially opened the demo-run of the inland water vessel fueled by methanol mixed diesel (MD15), “In Assam, Assam Petrochemical Limited (APL), Namrup currently produces about 100 temperature programmed desorption (TPD) of methanol and is implementing a new project for the production of 500 TPD of Methanol.”
Puri and Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameshwar Teli had a low-carbon boat trip in a 50-seater motor launch marine vessel called the “SB Gangadhar.”
In addition to being less expensive than other marine fuels, methanol is also more economical to develop shoreside storage and bunkering infrastructure, according to Puri. The event was organised in advance of the India Energy Week 2023 (IEW 2023) which will be held in Bengaluru from February 6 to 8, 2023.
The “Methanol Economy” programme of NITI Aayog aims to lower the cost of the nation’s oil imports, cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and produce methanol from municipal solid waste and coal reserves.
As a liquid fuel, methanol requires only minor adjustments to the existing storage and bunkering infrastructure, which makes converting ships to run on it substantially less expensive than converting them to run on other alternative fuels.
The import of gasoline and crude oil can be reduced by at least 15%t when 15% methanol is blended with regular gasoline.
Additionally, this would reduce GHG emissions by 20% in terms of particulate matter, enhancing the quality of the air in cities.
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