L&T to make world's biggest coal gasifier plant

Calcutta News.Net
Tuesday 18th March, 2008 (IANS)

Construction major Larsen & Toubro ltd (L&T) has bagged a contract valued at 28 million euro ($44.13 million or Rs.1.70 billion) from China, to supply the world's largest and heaviest coal gasifier plant.

The Hebi Coal and Electricity Ltd, a subsidiary of Zhongyuan Coal Chemical Industry Group has awarded the contract.

Informing the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) of this, an official communique released by the company Tuesday stated that the heavy engineering division will be assembling and executing the structural design of the coal gasifier and syngas cooler assembly plant in India.

The gas plant is expected to weigh 1,740 tonnes and in all likelihood will be the world's largest and heaviest gasifier assembly, with a capacity to handle 3,400 tonnes of coal per day.

The assembly will be the heart of a methanol plant with a capacity of 600,000 tonnes per year and the entire execution will be done at L&T's manufacturing facilities at Powai (north-east Mumbai) and in Hazira, Gujarat.

One of the reasons that Hazira has been selected is because of its proximity to the sea, which will ease shipment of the plant.

In the statement, M.V. Kotwal, member of the board and senior executive vice president, stated that the manufacture of this gasifier would require transportation of large fabricated sections, with on-site assembly, testing and erection.

L&T has earlier supplied several large coal gasifiers to China for various ammonia, methanol, olefin and coal-to-liquid fuel projects.

With rising costs of oil and natural gas, coal gasification provides a promising cost effective alternative feedstock for power, fertilizer and petrochemical complexes and coal to liquid fuel plants.

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