Jindal's CTL plant likely to start production in 2017-18

Commercial production of the proposed Rs 45,000 crore Coal-to-Liquid (CTL) plant in Angul is likely to start in 2017-18, Executive Director of Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL), Angul, Rajesh Jha said.

The 4-million tonne annual capacity plant, to produce 80,000 barrels of liquid fuel like diesel and petrol daily, will be commissioned by Jindal C N Fuels, a sister concern of JSPL with technology from Germany, he said.

The coal at Ramchandi coal block, which was allotted to JSPL, would be used for the CTL project and the annual coal requirement was targeted at about 25 million tonnes.

A mega thermal power plant of 1,100 MW capacity would also be installed as captive plant for the CTL project as water need for the project would be met by river Mahanadi.

No fertile land will be used for the project and it will comee up on waste land, Jha said.

The executive director said the guidelines of World Bank, both central and state pollution control board norms and Orissa government rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) polices, would be followed for setting up the CTL plant.

Stating that the CTL plant would consume less water, Jha said recycled water could be used and the co2 (carbon dioxide) emission would be low. Carbon dioxide gas would be stored beneath the earth, he said.

The plant once commissioned will save valuable foreign exchange that is being spent to import crude oil and utilise high ash content locally plentily available coal.

The coal gasification process would also reduce green house gas emission suspected to be contributing to climate change and global warning.