Korea plans coal upgrading project in RI

GS Engineering & Construction, South Korea?s sixth-largest builder, has teamed up with the Korea East-West Power (EWP) to develop a coal upgrading project in Indonesia, a report said Thursday.

The two signed an agreement in May under which GS E&C will build a coal upgrading manufacturing plant in Indonesia using the coal upgrading by palm oil residue (CUPO) technology developed by EWP, businesskorea.co.kr said.

The CUPO technology, developed by EWP during a four-year research and development activity, is claimed to be able to increase the calorific value of coal from 4,200 kcal/kg to 6,500 kcal/kg. With the CUPO technology, low-quality coal with high moisture content goes through drying and stabilizing process to minimize the reabsorption of moisture.

?EWP and GS E&C are on their way to building a coal manufacturing facility in Indonesia with the capacity of producing 5,000 tons per day. According to the agreement, EWP will be in charge of applying the CUPO technology and examining the effect on the boilers and other energy-generating facilities. GS E&C will be in charge of building plants and acquiring the suppliers,? the report said.

When the facility with built-in CUPO technology is installed in Indonesia, where 40 percent of all coals in Korea already comes from, it will result in reduced cost of transportation due to delivering upgraded coal. It will also contribute to cleaner air for the upgraded coal will emit less greenhouse gas. (*)