Electrical energy is the most vital ingredient of any developing economy. India's economic progress and industrial growth rate in the last couple of years has been stimulated with unleashing of several initiatives for economic liberalisation through legislative and policy changes.This is expected to enhance industrial production and help register higher economic growth. In consonance with the economic development, the infrastructure needs to grow and support the process of growth.
Prime among the infrastructure growth would have to be the power sector growth. As per the plans formulated by the apex power planning organisation in the country, Central Electricity Authority (CEA), India would need to add an average of 10,000 mw every year, in the next 15 years time.
This, undoubtedly, is a tough task, but would have to be achieved in case the present scenario of increasing deficits in supply of electrical energy of around 9-10 per cent average and around 20 per cent peaking has to be contained.
Indiawould need to capitalise on any and every resource of power generation that exists or could be managed. One of the most important resources for electrical power generaetion is the fuel. In India, from amongst the existing generating capacity of about 86,000 mw more than 70 per cent of electrical energy is produced using coal. India is endowed with large coal resources and is amongst the six largest coals producing nations in the world.
It is with this spirit that the largest private sector power company of India i.e. BSES Ltd, decided proactively to set up a washery at the mine end, for the coal being used at its generating plant at Dahanu, Maharashtra.
This proactive initiative soon grew into a confidence and BSES decided to launch a joint venture company to own, construct and operate coal washeries as commercial ventures in India and elsewhere. Accordingly, the technological partner, CLI Corporation USA and a development promoter company Spectrum Technologies of USA were tied up as associates andcompany named "ST-BSES Coal Washeries Ltd" (SBCWL) was launched as an exclusive project vehicle for the purpose.
The new company SBCWL, soon after being formed, received the coveted sponsorship of USAID who had been very keen to get greener technologies to India. USAID agreed to provide grant towards establishment of a demonstration cycle wherein all Indian coals could be tested for washing. This was thus to be set up in addition to the commercial cycle that SBCWL had agreed to implement.
USAID also agreed to provide technological accreditation through US Department of Energy (USDOE). The project was then firmed up using a state of art heavy media technology coal processing technique, which is consented to be the right technology for Indian coal.
The washery has been designed to commercially wash the coal to a set consistent level of ash, which has been decided to be 30 per cent in case of clean coal for BSES. It would simultaneously have provision under the PACER Programme grant to demonstrate anddocument deeper benefaction of low-grade Indian coal to substantially lower product ash levels by advanced techniques.
The first-ever private sector washery has been named Bilaspur Washery Project and has a capacity of 500 tph of raw coal throughput. This size of the washery provides for enough capacity margins and adequate maintenance time, after meeting for the requirement of BSES power station and another small consumer who may require about 0.5 mt raw coal to be processed.
The washery project encompasses in itself detailed contractual guarantees from the EPC and O&M contractor, duly backed by commercial guarantees. SBCWL has now the experience to offer similar contractual guarantees to other clients who may like to avail its engineering consultancy services, EPC services, O&M services and even to establishing the facility on BOO or BOOT basis. To name a few guarantees that are contractually enforceable in Bilaspur Washery Project and which SBCWL could offer to other clients are:
Offer cleancoal with ash percentage at fixed level-30 per cent in Bilaspur Washery, whatever be the input raw coal ash per cent. Reprocess the clean coal, if in any batch the content exceeds 2 per cent of guaranteed ash output i.e. 32 per cent in Bilaspur Washery. Guarantee moisture content of a maximum of additional 2 per cent, over input raw coal moisture content.Technological issues considered
Widely fluctuating input raw coal quality accepted by plant. Large rocks and non-bituminous contamination in the raw coal feed possible to be handed and completed within washery plant. Executive moisture in the raw coal feed, particularly in the monsoon period (makes fine coal by-passing difficult) and state of art heavy media cycle incorporated to handle fines with high moisture. Varying inherent cleaning characteristics of the raw coal incorporated using heavy media cyclones and state of art process (very few plants maintain the same coal characteristics in the feed stockover a 20 year period). Maximum efficiency in the process circuitry, particularly in coals with high NGM content. Maintaining circuitry efficiency with varying size (mean particle Size (MPS)) in the raw coal feed.History created by contracts group of BSES
When the management team showed its futuristic vision, BSES contracts division which provides value-added services through turnkey execution of projects, look upon itself, the onus of construction, erection and commissioning of the plant.
In April 1997, began the saga. The job on hand was tough and difficult. The promoter company - SBCWL, awarded the EPC contract of coal washery to CLI Corporation, USA, who in turn appointed BSES contracts group for the turnkey execution for civil works, structural supply, fabrication and erection works, electrical equipment supply and erection works, mechanical process and conveying equipment supply and erection works. BSES accepted the challenge to complete the job in the tight schedule setforth.
The project site was not one of the conventional pieces of mother Earth. It was a difficult piece of land to even approach. It had to be approached through about five miles of forest path way and through a river flowing in between the inhibited area and site land.
Immediately a temporary arrangement for movement over the riverbed was put into place, yet the weather gods blessed the area with unprecedented rains and the river seldom breached its normal levels and about 8-10 weeks of the project time was lost in rains due to heavy downpur.
Still undeterred BSES site engineers adopted alternative means. Heavy structural steel was unloaded miles before the proejct site and before the river crossing and then subsequently dragged using tractors to site.
CLI Corporation-USA and BSES contracts group, completed parallely the ordering and engineering of all equipment required for the washery plant and even the inspection of foreign supplies and Indian supplies was coordinated in a manner that all theforeign equipment was on its way to Indian shores from USA within six months from the zero date.
The committed BSES and CLI engineers created yet another history by conducting a successful trial operation of the plant on December 11, 1999, by processing 15000 tons of raw coal.
(The author is additional vice-president, BSES Ltd)
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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