KARACHI, April 15 (INP) — The Sindh energy department will prepare a draft policy for production of liquid gas from coal, said Asif Mangi, Deputy Director Sindh Coal Authority (SCA), in an interview with WealthPK.
This decision was made in a high-level meeting of Sindh Coal Authority chaired by Sindh Energy and Planning Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah recently.
SCA consultant Dr Farid A Malik told WealthPK that Thar coal was declared a subject for gasification in the international laboratory of South Africa. He said the meeting was also informed that gas production from coal could save about 500 million dollars in foreign exchange annually.
In terms of gas import, an energy system from Thar’s 175 billion tons of coal reserves could reduce the energy import bill by 50 percent. It was decided that Nasir Shah would personally contact the federal energy minister in connection with coal gasification.
Coal gasification is a process that converts solid coal into a combustible gas, composed primarily of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, by adding an oxidizing agent (air, oxy-gen, water vapor). Coal gasification offers a practical means of utilizing coal for meeting the stringent environmental control requirement. In the gasification process, the sulfur present in the coal is converted to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and minor amounts of carbonyl sulfide (COS).
