Underground Coal Gasification

It is a process of extracting Energy from those coal seams which are either
present at great depth or are too thin or fractured. It is a process where the coal seam
is burnt in situ with controlled oxygen supply. The partial burning produces syngas or
producer gas which can be then used for Energy Generation.

But, following are the concerns related to UCG:

1. Contamination of aquifers.

2. It is difficult to control combustion and the coal seam may burn leading to land
subsidence.

Coal Bed Methane

It’s gas adsorbed by Coal Seam during the process of coalification or coal
formation. It is a gas of pipline quality which has a calorific value comparable to that of
natural gas.

In India, we have reserves of Coal Bed Methane but the share is less than 2% of
total natural gas production. If CBM is not explored, following can be the problems:

- Methane being lighter than air, escapes into the atmosphere and creates
problems of GHG concentration.

- A useful energy resource gets wasted.

- Coal Mines with high CBM concentration are unsafe for coal miners.

- It is considered as one of the major reasons for fires in the coal mines (for
example, fire in Jharia Coal Fields).

- Polymetallic Nodules
- Also known as the Manganese Nodules, these are small aggregates
present at the sea bottom. The size varies from few cms to few inches and they
are strewn on the ocean bottom. They are considered as source of Manganese
and also contain some Fe, Cu, Co, etc. Though the process of formation is not
clear, they are considered as a result of precipitation around a central nucleus
which can be a skeletal remain of a Micro-Scopic or Macro-scopic animal, sand
particle, etc.
- They are present in deep ocean basin and the mining rights are given by
InternationalSeabed Authority to a country, group of countries or consortium of
companies on case by case basis.
- Concerns –

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 - Cost concern
- Biodiversity loss
- Sea floor stability

Methane Hydrate/Fire Ice/Gas Hydrate or Methane Clathrate

It is considered as one of the important energy resource of future. It is a solid

compound where methaneis trapped in Cage-like structure of water. It may be present
on land (glacial or peri-glacial regions) or at the sea bottom.

India has estimated 1900 tonne cu meters of Methane hydrate reserves located
at Kerala-Konkan basin, Cauveri basin, Krishna-Godavari-Mahanadi basin, Andaman
basin, etc.

Though we have reserves of Gas hydrates but following are the problems related
to its exploration–

- Lack of technology

- Cost of exploration is high

- The Gas hydrates have to be de-pressurised or heated to extract Methane which

may leak it into the atmosphere increasing concentration of green house gases.

- Sea floor stability and concerns related to aquatic life (biodiversity loss)

Coal

Mains question:Despite adverse environmental impactof coal mining, it is

necessary for development. Discuss (2017).

Answer: First Paragraph has to be on adverse affect of coal mining on environment.

Coal deposits – Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal -

80% of total coal reserves.

Coal present in indensely forested areas.

Coal is a sedimentary deposit and found in form of beds/seams.

Open cast mining is done where coal is present at shallow depth.

Underground Mining takes place where coal is present deep underground.

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When you go for open cast, treecover is removed before you remove overburden of
mud and sand.

Now, coal seam requires first to be drilled and then blasted to break the layer.

The coal is then sent for washing to remove impurities before transportation.

This leads to

- Biodiversity loss

- Deforestation, habitat loss

- Degeneration of land

Also, air pollution

 Drilling and blasting creates problem of coal dust in the air which leads to
diseases such as Miner's lung where polluted air is inhaled by the miners.

 Government mandates the use of sprinklersduring drilling and blasting so that coal
dust settles down but there have been instances where mining companies have
flouted the norms.

 Water pollutionfrom coal washeries and discharge of waste water without

treatment leads to Acid Mine Drainage Problem. For example pollution in
Damodar River.

 This affects marine life (e.g. Rat Hole Mining was banned by NGT in 2014).

 Ground Water Pollution – due to explosives used during blasting process.

Why is Coal necessary for Development

It is important for power generation

In 2009- report of Planning Commission (Integrated Energy Policy) – forecast of

energy planning in India for next 25 years - identified coalas the most important source
of energy.

But now Solar Power and Wind energy are cheaper– then tariffs were high.

Renewable energy, is technology disruptive sector which leads to fluctuation in

pricing.

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2017 – National Energy Policy of NITI Aayog gave forecast of next 30 years.

The document mentioned that Power generation capacity of coal based power
plants would increase by two times in next 30 years. (Despite low tariffs of solar and
wind power).

Why Coal so important?

In India – 5th largest coal reserves of world(some government agencies claim India to
have 4 th largest reserves)

- States get tax revenue

- It gives you a consistent supply of power unlike solar power and wind power
which have limitations of storage (Li-ion batteries are costly) and there are
fluctuations due to weather conditions, therefore not regular.

- It is a cheap source of energy.

- We are power surplus country due to low hook up rate of electrity.

- Need cheap power which can be sourced from coal.

- Manufacturing Industries are also energy intensive, need to bring down the cost
of production – one way is cheaper power which coal can provide.

- Per capita consumption of steel is also an indicator of development – Steelis

used for: Infrastructure development, agriculture equipments, machine and
machine tools, automobiles etc.

Steel industry uses coke and cokeis made from coal. Hence, coal importance for
Steel Industry. Strength of steel can be increased by varying the amount of
carbon..

Many steel industries are near coal mining areas.

- Bharatmala, Sagarmala projects – need cement and coal is important for cement
industries.

We need to mine more coal to decrease imports of coal.

Coal as an important resource in India

- Geological Survey of India (2017) : upto depth of 1200 m, we have 315 bn

tonnes of estimated reserves in India.

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Then why we import?

Maximum of coal is imported from Indonesia, Australia, South Africa,

Mozambique.

Reasons

1. Maximum of coal (more than 85%) is mined by public sector. CIL and some by
Singarini Coaleries Co. Ltd. Coal mining largely depends upon climatic
conditions. In 2019, we missed coal targets due to heavy monsoon (as activity
suspended during monsoon).

2. Productivity is very low – especially in case of underground mining.

3. We do not have good quality of coal in India

I. Coal is formed as a result of anaerobic decomposition, under heat and pressure.

Longer is time period of formation better is the quality.

98-99% of coal in India is Gondawana Coal (formed around 200mn years before
present). Compared to this, USA coal reserves are more than 300 mn years old.
Hence Gondwana coal is of inferior quality.

US has coal with high calorific value. Calorific value in India is 4500 Kcal/kg
whereas in Australia it is 6500 Kcal/kg

II. Volatilie Matter: Gondwana Coal has high Ash content (~30-40%). It not only
brings down the calorific value of coal but generates fly ash which causes air and
water pollution.

Gondwana Coal has low Sulphur content.

Tertiary coal deposits ie coal in North East India has high sulphur content and
hence cannotbe used in Steel Industry as Sulphur destroys many properties of
iron when the two are mixed together.

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