Safriz
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[LAHORE] Pakistan is pushing ahead with a controversial plan to
produce synthetic diesel through underground gasification of its vast
coal deposits in the Thar desert in Sindh province. The Thar Underground Coal Gasification (Thar UCG) project had hung in
balance for 14 months following criticism led by Abdul Qadeer Khan,
nuclear scientist and Shahid Sattar, member of the Pakistan Planning
Commission (PPC). But in August, the project received close to US$10
million from the government as a green signal. "It's a pity that the funds were withheld for 14 months and released
on the intervention of the prime minister of Pakistan," Thar UCG head
and PPC member for science and technology, Samar Mubarakmand,
told SciDev.Net. "We will be in a position to produce diesel from coal
within months, using the Fischer-Tropsch method, he said. The Fischer-Tropsch process converts into liquid hydrocarbons a
mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen derived from coal, natural
gas or biomass feedstock. The Thar project will use lignite, a form of
coal and a fossil fuel. Mubarakmand estimates that the cost of producing one barrel of diesel
from Thar coal would be US$40. While this is higher than the US$25
South Africa spends on producing diesel from coal and the US$28 by
China, Pakistan imports diesel at up to US$120 a barrel. Pakistan need not worry about technology transfer costs, Mubarakmand said. "We are planning to enter into joint ventures with
international partners. They have done their costing which covers this
aspect." Criticism of the UCG project by Khan and some coal technology experts
has centred on the alleged failure by Mubarakmand to convincingly
demonstrate his claims of being able to produce cheap energy from Thar lignite. Shahid Munir, director of the Centre for Coal Technology, University of
the Punjab, Lahore, told SciDev.Net that there should be an
independent feasibility study of the project by an internationally
reputed agency to settle the controversy. Arshad Abbasi, an advisor on energy at the Sustainable Development
Policy Institute, Islamabad, told SciDev.Net that the project may not be
viable because of Thar lignites low calorific value and high vapour
content. But, according to Mubarakmand, the low calorific value would be offset
by the large deposits of lignite an estimated 175 billion tonnes
spread over 9,000 square kilometres.
produce synthetic diesel through underground gasification of its vast
coal deposits in the Thar desert in Sindh province. The Thar Underground Coal Gasification (Thar UCG) project had hung in
balance for 14 months following criticism led by Abdul Qadeer Khan,
nuclear scientist and Shahid Sattar, member of the Pakistan Planning
Commission (PPC). But in August, the project received close to US$10
million from the government as a green signal. "It's a pity that the funds were withheld for 14 months and released
on the intervention of the prime minister of Pakistan," Thar UCG head
and PPC member for science and technology, Samar Mubarakmand,
told SciDev.Net. "We will be in a position to produce diesel from coal
within months, using the Fischer-Tropsch method, he said. The Fischer-Tropsch process converts into liquid hydrocarbons a
mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen derived from coal, natural
gas or biomass feedstock. The Thar project will use lignite, a form of
coal and a fossil fuel. Mubarakmand estimates that the cost of producing one barrel of diesel
from Thar coal would be US$40. While this is higher than the US$25
South Africa spends on producing diesel from coal and the US$28 by
China, Pakistan imports diesel at up to US$120 a barrel. Pakistan need not worry about technology transfer costs, Mubarakmand said. "We are planning to enter into joint ventures with
international partners. They have done their costing which covers this
aspect." Criticism of the UCG project by Khan and some coal technology experts
has centred on the alleged failure by Mubarakmand to convincingly
demonstrate his claims of being able to produce cheap energy from Thar lignite. Shahid Munir, director of the Centre for Coal Technology, University of
the Punjab, Lahore, told SciDev.Net that there should be an
independent feasibility study of the project by an internationally
reputed agency to settle the controversy. Arshad Abbasi, an advisor on energy at the Sustainable Development
Policy Institute, Islamabad, told SciDev.Net that the project may not be
viable because of Thar lignites low calorific value and high vapour
content. But, according to Mubarakmand, the low calorific value would be offset
by the large deposits of lignite an estimated 175 billion tonnes
spread over 9,000 square kilometres.