JSPL's sponge plant to go on stream soon

Manufacturing of sponge iron from synthesis gas is expected to begin by May 15

Breaking new ground in steel making technology, Naveen Jindal controlled Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL) expects to start producing sponge iron soon using synthesis gas from its coal gasification plant at the site of its six million tonne steel project at Angul.

Manufacturing of sponge iron from synthesis gas, a process that the company claimed to have used for the first time in the world, is expected to begin by May 15.

“Coal gasification has already started at the project site and the coal gasifiers are working very well. By May 15, for the first time in the world, synthesis gas will be used for making sponge iron on the DRI (direct reduced iron) route,” JSPL chairman Naveen Jindal said after meeting Odisha chief secretary J K Mohapatra.

JSPL’s DRI plant has a unique feature of using synthesis gas from the coal gasification plant as the reducing agent. The DRI-gasification route has the advantage of using high ash coal which is predominantly available in the vicinity of the project site. JSPL has signed an agreement with Lurgi Technology Company of South Africa, for providing technology for coal gasification. The DRI plant has a capacity of two million tonne per annum (mtpa).

JSPL’s Angul facility has already commissioned its two mtpa plate mill. The company is bringing semi-finished steel products from its Raigarh plant in Chhattisgarh to produce steel plates there. The company has been allotted Utkal B 1 coal block in the state with an estimated reserve of 228 million tonne. It is awaiting permission from the state government to commence mining. However, JSPL’s ambitious bid to produce petrol from coal got a jolt with the Ministry of Coal de-allocating the Ramchandi promotional block allotted to it. Asked on the fate of the coal-to-liquid project, Jindal said, “The coal block for the project has been de-allocated by the ministry. We will see what can be done on the project.” JSPL’s coal-to-liquid project (CTL) was to be taken up by its subsidiary Jindal Synfuels Ltd at an estimated cost Rs 60,000 crore.

The company needed approximately 5000 acres of land for the CTL complex that will include an 1100 Mw captive power plant (CPP) and 50 million tonne per annum coal washery.