Coal-to-Ammonium Nitrate Project
Why in News?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of India's first commercial-scale coal-to-ammonium nitrate project on June 20, 2026, at Lakhanpur, Jharsuguda district, Odisha.
Key Project Features & Implementation
- Developing Entity: Executed by Bharat Coal Gasification and Chemicals Limited (BCGCL), which is a joint venture between Coal India Limited (CIL) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL).
- Production Capacity: Engineered to process and produce 2,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate per day once fully operational.
- Location Footprint: Spread across 350 acres of land in Lakhanpur, Odisha, leveraging the region's vast domestic coal reserves.
- Engineering Partners: Major Lump Sum Turnkey (LSTK) construction and engineering packages have been awarded to Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and BHEL.
- Financial Incentives: Supported by a ₹1,350 crore grant from the Ministry of Coal under its dedicated financial incentive scheme.
Technology: Coal Gasification
- The Process: Rather than directly burning coal, the facility utilizes a thermo-chemical process that partially oxidizes coal using controlled air, steam, or oxygen.
- Syngas Creation: The primary output of this conversion is Synthesis Gas (Syngas), a mixture composed chiefly of Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen.
- Chemical Synthesis: The generated syngas serves as a foundational chemical building block, which is then synthetically processed into Ammonium Nitrate (NH₄NO₃).
- Indigenous Pride: The plant showcases India's first commercial deployment of home-grown gasification technology developed by BHEL, reducing dependence on Western or Chinese tech licenses.
Strategic Significance & Benefits
- Import Substitution: India currently imports chemical feedstocks worth ₹2.7 lakh crore annually; this plant heavily cuts down import reliance on critical industrial chemicals.
- Backward Integration: Provides an internal supply chain loop for Coal India Limited, as the produced ammonium nitrate will be used directly to manufacture industrial mining explosives.
- Agricultural Support: Serves as a key backup supply for manufacturing nitrogen-rich agricultural fertilizers to boost domestic crop yields.
- National Goals: Aligns directly with India's national mission to achieve 100 million tonnes of coal gasification capacity by 2030.
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