RI and Japan to produce high quality coal in Cirebon

The research and development wing of ministry of energy and mineral resources (Balitbang)and Japan Coal Energy Center (JCOAL) will jointly produce environment-friendly and high quality coal in the West Java town of Cirebon, Investor Indonesia and Neraca newspapers reported in their Saturday editions.

These two organizations will develop a new technology to produce high-calorific upgrading brown coal (UBC).

“The time has come for us to use fuel, which is not only clean from the environment point of view, but also economical and has commercial value. This will save our foreign reserves in a big way,” Balitbang chief Simon F. Sembiring told reporters on Friday after the launching of UBC Pilot Plant at Palimanan in Cirebon.

The US$ 500 million Pilot Plant, which was opened by Simon, will produce 5,000 tons of coal per day.

The plant will produce coal with 6,000-6,500 kilo calories from the low-rated coal (3,500-4,500 kilo calories) by using a technology under which the water content in the coal will be reduced to 5 percent from the normal 25 percent to 45 percent.

“Later, the output from the Palimanan UBC plant will be designed for household’s coal briquette, factories which use coal and power plants. The value is very economical and we have a plan to export it to Japan, said Simon.

The production costs will be in the range of $5-$7 per ton. The coal, which is produced at the UBC plant, will be very effective and efficient in the usage, because it will be lit easily and emits little smoke and gas. (*)