Pradhan throws open largest coal gasification plant in Odisha
Angul (Odisha): A basic oxygen furnace (BOF) as well as other facilities at the integrated steel plant of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd were inaugurated here on Saturday Union by Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh and Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The ministers also inaugurated a two million tonne per annum capacity (MTPA) DRI plant, a blast furnace – billed as India's largest – and coal gasification plant for making steel based on indigenous coal.
While the coal gasification plant was inaugurated by Pradhan, the other three facilities were inaugurated by Birender Singh.
"Four key steel manufacturing facilities are being dedicated to the nation," JSPL Chairman Naveen Jindal told reporters here.
Naming the facilities, he said, "The 4554 cubic metre blast furnace (BF) is India's largest and the three MTPA basic oxygen furnace (BOF) the most modern BOF in the country."
The JSPL head also said that the two MTPA DRI (direct-reduced iront) plant at the Angul unit is world's largest syngas-based plant, and that for the first time, a company in India is using coal gasification method for steel making.
"This is for the first time that any company in India is using coal gasification method to make steel," Jindal told media persons here.
The coal gasification plant has been set up with an investment of Rs 10,000 crore and the technology being used was brought from Germany, Jindal said.
Singh said about 80 per cent of coking coal is imported by India.
"We remain dependent on imports (for coking coal) but Naveen (Jindal) has come out with a plan which can make us reduce this dependence," he said.
The Union Steel minister added that the new technology of making steel by coal gasification helps in producing the metal using domestic coal.
The company's 6 MTPA plant at Angul is the largest steel manufacturing plant in Odisha, spread across 3,500 acres.
It has 1.5 MTPA rebar mill, 1.2 MTPA plate mill, 2.3 MTPA billet caster, 1.7 MTPA slab caster and 2.75 MTPA new electric oxygen furnace. It also has 810 MW capacity power plant for captive use.
