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Quality of Coal for Indian Cement Industry

Article · March 2014

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 Indian Cement Review, Vol. 28, No. 8, March 2014, p 41
QUALITY OF COAL FOR INDIAN CEMENT INDUSTRY

Dr J D Bapat
http://www.drjdbapat.com

Coal is the main fuel for manufacture of cement in India, due to high cost and inadequate
availability of oil and gas. The consumption of coal in dry process system ranges from 20-25% of clinker
production. That means 0.20-0.25 t of coal is consumed to produce one tonne of clinker. The cement
industry consumes about 10 million tonnes of coal annually. Since coalfields like Bharat Coking Coal
Limited (BCCL), Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) supply poor quality of coal, the industry has to blend
high-grade coal with it; imported coal attracts a customs duty. The power sector is the largest consumer
of coal followed by the iron and steel and cement industry. The current coal consumption is about
600x106 t, out of which about 85x106 t is imported.
Coal is a combustible carbonaceous rock, with different organic and inorganic constituents,
formed from accumulated vegetable matter that has been altered by decay and various amounts of heat
and pressure, over millions of years. Coal varies widely in its composition. It is composed chiefly of rings
of six carbon atoms joined together in an extremely complex composition of layered arrangements that
have in them, not only hydrogen but significant amounts of oxygen and nitrogen. The structure also
includes varying amounts of sulphur and other environmental pollutants. Coal is usually analysed for
moisture, volatile matter, fixed carbon and ash. The sulphur and nitrogen content are important, as
emissions of their chemical oxides during coal combustion pollute air.
Typically, Indian coal is characterised by the following quality aspects:
• Lower to medium grade
• High ash
• Low moisture
• Low sulphur
The major issues faced by the coal industry since last few decades, leading to further quality
deterioration, are as follows:
• Increased production from lower seams
• Lower liberation size (coal is required to be reduced to relatively small size to improve yield)
• Low washability index (coal is difficult to wash when the index is low)
• Enhanced production from mechanical open cast mines consisting of larger dirt particles and foreign
materials
• Depletion of good quality coal seams (coking as well as thermal coal)
As a result, The calorific value of coal has come down from nearly 5250 to 3500 Kcal/kg, in last fifty
years.
 Owing to a very wide spectrum of coal usage, ranging from power generation to steel
production to infrastructure and commercial usage, the technology of coal by washing needs to be
improved, to reduce the environmental impact, enhance coal quality and increase process efficiency. The
Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (erstwhile Central Fuel Research Institute, CFRI) has
developed the following processes for coal beneficiation:
• Improved froth floatation process
• Oleo flotation process
• Oil agglomeration process
Coal washing and coal beneficiation processes require major thrust in terms of developing
strong research cells for developing better practices, suiting requirements of all the coalfields of India.

References
1. The Indian coal sector: Challenges and future outlook, Indian Chamber of Commerce, 2012
2. Technologies for Coal Beneficiation in India, Haldar D. D., Central Institute of Mining and Fuel
Research, Dhanbad, India,

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