JGC says coal to fuel demo plant starts May
Thursday, May 24 2012 - 01:16 AM WIB
Japan?s major engineering firm JGC reported recently that it has started demonstration plant for upgrading low-rank coal into a fuel that can be used as an alternative to petroleum.
The company did not give further detail.
JGC has developed its own unique technology that uses heat to upgrade low-rank coal into a fuel known as JCF (JGC Coal Fuel), which can be used as an alternative to petroleum. JGC has started to construct a demonstration plant at Karawang, near Jakarta, in cooperation with Sinarmas Group that will produce 10,000 tons of JCF annually.
The upgrading process uses high pressure hot water to cause low-rank coal to mature artificially. The matured coal can then be converted into slurry.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the plant was held on 25th of September, 2010.
JCF can be used in place of petroleum products to power boilers for industrial or energy generation purposes. In the future, JCF could also potentially be used as fuel for power generation engines and coal gasification, or as a component in biomass combination fuels.
Based on preliminary studies, JCF will retail for significantly less than other energy fuels. JGC and Sinarmas hope to use this demonstration plant as a platform for popularizing JCF, taking the first step towards the creation of a large-scale total supply chain extending all the way from mining to final retail.
Editing by David Mustakim