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IIEPL sees coal gasifier orders raining

India Industrial Enterprises Pvt Limited (IIEPL), a leading supplier of coal gasifiers, is eyeing a spate of orders from refractory makers, pellet manufacturers, steel, aluminium and glass producers scouting for a cleaner source of energy.

"There is a growing trend towards use of green technology across a gamut of energy-intensive industry segments," PS Gandhi, chairman of IIEPL, said. The company has supplied around 110 gasifers to major industrial units across the country and has bagged a number of orders from pellet manufacturers like BMM in Hospet, Karnataka.

Earlier, it had designed, supplied and commissioned around 20 gasifiers for the plate mill at the Raigarh unit of Jindal Steel & Power. IIEPL has also catered to major units in the paper manufacturing sector like ITC's Paperboards and Specialty Papers division at Bhadrachalam, Century Pulp & Paper, West Coast Paper Mills and Ballarpur Industries.

While the paper industry comprises 80% of its customer base, IIEPL which is part of Gandhi group with a turnover of over .

`500 crore, is gearing up to cater to new clients in the refractory, glass, copper and aluminium sectors.

The domestic steel industry is also poised to take up more such projects in the near future.

JSPL, for instance, has pioneered the coal gasification plant (CGP) and direct reduced iron (DRI) route to make steel at Angul in a scale never before tried out in the country.

JSPL, which had signed an agreement with Lurgi Technology for the CGP at Angul, said recently that it plans to take up more such ventures in future, provided the necessary raw material is available.

The advantage of IIEPL equipment is that it helps generate producer gas — a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen — from any grade of Indian coal, including those with high ash content, for use in furnaces.

The process, for which IIEPL bagged a patent from the Indian government, also facilitates use of the producer gas with furnace oil through a dual fuel burner.

This lowers the heat requirement, thus leading to vital savings on energy costs. By using coal as the main feedstock to replace expensive furnace oil, it generates nearly 60% savings in foreign exchange.

source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com