For 62 glorious years NLC India Limited (formerly Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd.) has been a forerunner amongst the Public Sector Undertakings in the country in the energy sector, contributing to a lion's share in lignite production and significant share in thermal power generation. The Company was incorporated in the year 1956 with the inauguration by the former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. NLCIL is a Navratna Government of India Enterprise, under the administrative control of
Ministry of Coal.
A pioneer among the Public Sector Undertakings in energy sector, NLCIL operates four Opencast Lignite Mines of total capacity of 30.6 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) at Neyveli and Barsingsar, Rajasthan, Five lignite based pithead Thermal Power Stations with an aggregate capacity of
3240 MW – at Neyveli and Barsingsar and a 1000 MW Coal based Thermal Power Station at Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu through its subsidiary company, NLC Tamil Nadu Power Limited (NTPL),
a joint venture between NLCIL and TANGEDCO (equity participation in the ratio of 89:11).
NLCIL has also forayed into renewable energy sector with commissioning of a 141 MW Solar Photo Voltaic Power Plant including 1 MW Roof-top Project at Neyveli and a 51 MW Wind Energy Plant at Kazhuneerkulam Village of Tirunelveli district in Tamilnadu. The Company is also setting up 1209 MW Solar Power Projects at Tirunelveli, Virudhunagar and Ramanathapuram districts of Tamil Nadu, of which, 300 MW have been commissioned. NLCIL is aiming to achieve a total Renewable energy capacity of 4251 MW.
NLCIL has big dreams to become a 20000+ MW company by 2025. Towards realising this dream, NLCIL is already on expansion mode. Works are under progress for the Lignite based Neyveli New Thermal Power Plant (1000 MW), Bithnok TPS and Barsingsar TPS Expansion (each 250 MW). Further, NLCIL, jointly with the Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (UPRVUNL), is setting up a
3x660 MW Coal based Thermal Power Plant at Ghatampur in Uttar Pradesh, through its subsidiary company Neyveli Uttar Pradesh Power Limited (NUPPL) (equity participation in the ratio of 51:49). Apart from the above, addition of Thermal Capacity to the tune of 6040 MW by way of installation of new plants and acquisition of Power Assets to the tune of 3000 MW is in the pipeline.
Not just Mining and Power Generation, NLCIL has contributed significantly to the
Socio-Economic development for more than half a century.
The main activities of NLC are Lignite Mining and Power Generation. However, the company has also diversified into generation of renewable energy through Solar Power Generation and Wind Power Generation.
The Business portfolio of the company is as under:
Lignite Mining
Thermal Power Generation
Solar Energy Generation
Wind Power Generation
Coal Mining
NLCIL Corporate Office, Neyveli, Tamil Nadu
History
YEAR
CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS
1828
Occurrence of "PEAT" a low calorific fuel of coal family near Point Calimere is reported to the then Madras Government, by the sub-collector of Thanjavur Mr. Nelson
1830
General Cullen discovers lignite deposits at the base of the cliffs on the seashore near Cannanore in Malabar - Later near Varkala near Trivandrum and also at Vaikom in Travancore
1840
Captain Newbold discovers lignite at the foot of the cliffs of laterite on the river banks near Beypore, Malabar.
1870
Peat bogs found in Nilgiris (Peat is considered to be the first stage in the formation of Coal from vegetable matter accumulating in swamps)
1877
Mr. W. King of the Geological Survey of India takes up a study of artesian wells around Pondicherry. He comes across a carbonaceous strata.
1884
Mr.Poilay a French Engineer encounters a Lignite seam in a bore hole at Bahoor, the then French territory. Further exploration along the belt indicates possible Lignite deposits at Udharamanickam, Aranganur and Kanniakoil, near Cuddalore. Lignite deposits are indicated at Kasargod and the Collector of South Kanara reports it to the Board of Revenue
1934
Industries Department of the then Government of Madras drills bore holes for tapping artesian water in the neighbourhood of Neyveli. Lignite particles encountered are taken as "black - clay" by unlettered workmen engaged in drilling.
1935
Borewells sunk in Jambulinga Mudaliyar's land in Neyveli and the black particles gushing forth attract the attention of camping Geologists engaged in some other mission in the Neyveli Vriddhachalam area.
1937-1938
Samples of the black substance taken from the above form well sent to the Government of Madras for analysis.
1941
M/s. Binny & Co., Madras put down four or five bore holes at Aziz Nagar, near Neyveli. Two of them show evidence of Lignite deposits; but for want of casing pipes and drilling equipment, further work is given up.
1943-1946
The Geological Survey of India starts drilling operations near Neyveli. Preliminary investigations indicate the existence of Lignite to the extent of about 500 tonnes in that area.
1947
Mr.H.K. Ghose, Geologist and Mining Engineer deputed by the Government of India arrives in Neyveli and starts his operations
1948
The first bore holes sunk by Mr. Ghose have to be abandoned because of water logging and sand - beds. The third one "September 1951" yields samples of Lignite
1949
Mr. Ghose draws experimental open cut plan and calls for tenders to start excavation.
1951
Sinking 175 borewells in a cluster punctuating the chosen area, Mr. Ghose proves the existence of about 2000 Million tonnes of Lignite reserves in the area. State Government's Industries and Commerce Department also sinks over 150 borewells South of Vriddhachalam. Mr. Paul Eyrich, a Mining Engineer is deputed by the Bureau of Mines, United States of America, to assist the Government of Madras under point four programme to determine the Engineering and Economic aspects of Lignite Mining in Neyveli. Upon his recommendation, the US Government sponsors a study on the subject under the direction of Mr. V.F.Parry.
1952
The High Power Committee for Lignite Mining recommends the Pilot Quarry project.
1953
Pilot Quarry being commissioned by Dr. U. KrishnaRao, Minister for Industries, Madras Government.
1954
Pandit Nehru's Visit to the Pilot Quarry. Government of India's Committee comprising Mr. C.V. Narasimhan, ICS Mr. A.C. Guha and Mr. A. Lahiri inspect the Pilot Quarry and submit a report to the Government Under the Colombo Plan, Services of the UK firm PDTS (M/s. Powell Duffryn Technical Services Limited) are availed of for a Project report.
1955
Neyveli Lignite project's affairs, hitherto managed by the State Government, get passed on to the Central Government with full Financial responsibility. Mr. T.M.S. Mani, ICS, Secretary, Department of Industries, Labour and Co-operation, takes over as the Chief Executive of the project.
1956
Formation of NLC as a Corporate body. NLC is born as a Government sponsored commercial concern.
Power projects
NLC India has five pithead Thermal Power Stations with an aggregate capacity of 4240 MW. Further, NLC India has so far installed 51 Wind Turbine Generators of capacity 1.50 MW each and also commissioned 140 MW Solar Photo Voltaic Power plant in Neyveli, resulting in an overall power generating capacity of 4431 MW(excl. JVs).
Power Plants
Capacity ( in MW )
TPS - I
600
TPS - II
1470
TPS - I Expansion
420
Barsingsar TPS
250
TPS - II Expansion
500
Wind Power Plant
51
Solar Power Plant
140
NTPL
1000
TOTAL
4431
Thermal Power Station-I (600 MW), Neyveli, Tamil Nadu
THERMAL POWER STATION-I
The 600 MW Neyveli Thermal Power Station-I in which the first unit was synchronized in May'62 and the last unit in September'70 consists of six units of 50 MW each and three units of 100 MW each. The Power generated from Thermal Power Station-I after meeting NLC's requirements is supplied to TANGEDCO, Tamil Nadu which is the sole beneficiary. Due to the aging of the equipments / high pressure parts, Life extension programme has been approved by GOI in March 1992 and was successfully completed in March’99 thus extending the life by 15 years. In view of the high grid demand in this region, this power station is being operated after conducting Residual Life Assessment (RLA) study. GOI has sanctioned a 2x500 MW Power Project (Neyveli New Thermal Power Plant – NNTPS) in June 2011 as replacement for existing TPS-I.
THERMAL POWER STATION-II
Thermal Power Station-II (7 x 210 MW), Neyveli, Tamil Nadu
The 1470 MW Second Thermal Power Station consists of 7 units of 210 MW each. In February 1978, Government of India sanctioned the Second Thermal Power Station of 630 MW capacity (3 X 210 MW) and in Feb.'83, Government of India sanctioned the Second Thermal Power Station Expansion from 630 MW to 1470 MW with addition of 4 units of 210 MW each. The first 210 MW unit was synchronised in March 1986 and the last unit (Unit-VII) was synchronized in June'93. The power generated from Second Thermal Power Station after meeting the needs of Second Mine is shared by the Southern States viz., Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Union Territory of Pondicherry.
THERMAL POWER STATION-I Expansion
Thermal Power Station-I Expansion (2 x 210 MW), Neyveli, Tamil Nadu
Thermal Power Station-I has been expanded (2 x 210 MW) using the lignite available from Mine-I Expansion. The scheme, TPS I Expansion, was sanctioned by Government of India in February 1996. Unit-I was synchronised in October 2002 and Unit-II in July 2003. The power generated from this Thermal Power Station, after meeting the internal requirements, is shared by the Southern States viz., Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Union Territory of Pondicherry.
BARSINGSAR THERMAL POWER STATION
Government of India sanctioned the Barsingsar Thermal Power Station 250 MW (2 X 125 MW) in October 2004. The units were commissioned in December 2011 and in January 2012. The power generated from this Thermal Power Station after meeting internal requirements is shared by the DISCOMS of the state of Rajasthan.
TPS-II EXPANSION
This Project is consisting of two units of 250 MW capacity each. Unit-II attained commercial operation in April 2015 and Unit-I in July 2015. The lignite requirement is met through expansion of Mine-II. The steam generators of this project employ eco friendly Circulating Fluidised Bed Combustion (CFBC) technology. This technology has been adopted for 250 MW Capacity units for the first time in India.
Thermal Power Station-II Expansion (2 x 250 MW), Neyveli, Tamil Nadu
MINING PROJECTS
NLC India at present has four open cast lignite mines namely Mine I, Mine II, Mine IA and Barsingsar Mine. The lignite mined out is used as fuel to the linked Pit head power stations. Also raw lignite is being sold to small scale industries to use it as fuel in their production activities.
Mines
Capacity ( in MTPA )
Mine I
10.5
Mine I A
3.0
Mine II
15.0
Barsingsar Mine
2.1
Mine I, Neyveli, Tamil Nadu
UNIQUE FEATURES OF NEYVELI LIGNITE MINES
Occurrence of Ground Water Aquifer below lignite Bed
A huge reservoir of ground water occurs below the entire lignite bed, exerting an upward pressure of 6 to 8 kg/cm2. Unless this water pressure is reduced before mining, it will burst the lignite seam and flood the Mines. This problem was overcome by continuously pumping out water round the clock through borewells located at predetermined points and thereby reducing the water pressure at the lignite excavation area. Over the years, through continuous study and implementation of new methods, the quantity of water pumped out has been reduced from 50,000 GPM to 32,000 GPM. (For mining one tonne of lignite, about 13 tonnes of water has to be pumped out). The water level is continuously monitored through observation wells for proper ground water management.
Mine IA, Neyveli, Tamil NaduHigher Ratio of Overburden to Lignite
The overburden to lignite ratio at Neyveli Mine-I is 5.5 to 5 M3: 1 tonne. This requires huge quantity of overburden to be removed (11 T. of overburden is to be removed for mining 1 tonne of lignite). High capacity excavators are used for handling large volume of overburden, after forward preparation.
Hard overburden strata
The highly consolidated overburden stratum consists mainly of Cuddalore sandstone and is hard and abrasive in nature. This problem was overcome by carrying out suitable modifications in the bucket wheel teeth and by instituting a systematic drilling and blasting programme.
Cyclonic area
Mine II, Neyveli, Tamil Nadu
The Mine is located in a predominantly monsoonic and cyclonic area. The average rainfall in a year comes to about 1200 mm and the wind velocity goes up to 160 km per hour. Every year, an Action Plan for monsoon is prepared well in advance in detail.
MINE - I
The lignite seam was first exposed in August 1961 and regular mining of lignite commenced in May 1962. German excavation technology in open cast mining, using Bucket Wheel Excavators, Conveyors and Spreaders were used for the first time in the country in Neyveli Mine-I. The capacity of this mine was 6.5 MT which met the fuel requirement of TS-I. The capacity was increased to 10.5MT of lignite per annum from March 2003 under Mine-I expansion scheme and at present meets the fuel requirement for generating power from TPS-I and TPS-I Expansion.
MINE - II
In February, 1978 Government of India sanctioned the Second Lignite Mine of capacity 4.7 MT of lignite per annum and in February `83, Government of India sanctioned the expansion of Second Mine capacity from 4.7 Million Tonnes to 10.5 Million Tonnes. Unlike Mine-I, Mine-II had to face problems in the excavation of sticky clayey soil during initial stage. The method of mining and equipment used are similar to that of Mine-I. The seam is the same as of Mine-I and is contiguous to it. The lignite seam in Mine-II was first exposed in September 1984 and the excavation of lignite commenced in March, 1985. GOI sanctioned the expansion of Mine-II from 10.5 MTPA to 15.0 MTPA of lignite in October 2004 with a cost of Rs. 2295.93 crore. Mine-II Expansion project was completed on 12 March 2010. The lignite excavated from Mine-II meets the fuel requirements of Thermal. Power Station-II and Thermal Power Station–II Expansion under implementation.
MINE-IA
Government of India sanctioned the project Mine-I A of 3 million tonnes of lignite per annum at a sanctioned cost of Rs. 1032.81 crores in February'98. This project is mainly to meet the lignite requirement of M/s TAQA Neyveli at Oomangalam's power plant and also to utilize the balance lignite to the best commercial advantage of NLC. The project was completed on 30 March 2003 within time and cost schedule.
BARSINGSAR MINE
GOI sanctioned implementation of Barsingsar mine with a capacity of 2.1 MTPA of lignite per annum at an estimated cost of Rs. 254.60 crore in December 2004. Both overburden and lignite production has been outsourced. Lignite excavation commenced on 23 November 2009 and production attained the rated capacity on 31 January 2010.
Joint venture projects
NLC TAMIL NADU POWER LTD. (NTPL) (2 x 500MW)
NTPL (2 x 500MW) Thermal Power Plant, Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu
NLC Tamil Nadu Power Limited (NTPL), is a joint venture company of NLC India Ltd (formerly known as NLC Ltd) and M/s TANGEDCO (Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company), incorporated under the company act. The Equity participation between NLC and TANGEDCO is at the ratio of 89:11. GOI had issued sanction for the implementation of coal based 2 X 500MW Thermal Power Project by NTPL at Tuticorin at an estimated cost of Rs.4909.54 Cr. Unit 1 and Unit 2 have been declared for commercial operation w.e.f. 18 June 2015 and 29 August 2015. RCE – 2 for the project (Completion cost of the project) works out to Rs.7293.48 Cr. (June – 15 base).Power Purchase Agreement has been signed with TANGEDCO, ESCOMs of Karnataka State, Puducherry Electricity Department, Kerala State Electricity Board and DISCOMs of Andhra Pradesh. Power evacuation from this project is being carried out by M/s Power Grid Corporation of India.NTPL has signed a fuel supply agreement with Mahanadhi Coal fields Limited for supply of 3.0 MTPA of coal and in order to meet the shortfall in requirement, a contract has also been awarded on M/s. MSTC for supply of imported coal.
NEYVELI UTTAR PRADESH POWER LTD. (NUPPL) (3 x 660MW)
Neyveli Uttar Pradesh Power Limited (NUPPL) is a joint venture between NLC India and Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited,Surajpur,
Ghatampur in the State of Uttar Pradesh, for setting up of 3 x 660 MW power project. NUPPL has taken into possession of the entire land of 828 hectares required for this project. LOA for Steam Generator (SG) and Turbo Generator (TG) have been issued.
all work Work under progress. it is scheduled to be commissioned of 1st unit in 2020.
UPCOMING PROJECTS
NEYVELI NEW THERMAL POWER PROJECT (NNTPP) (2 X 500 MW)
The Neyveli New Thermal Power Project (2x500 MW) is being implemented at a capital cost of Rs.5907.11 Cr as replacement for the more than five decades old 600 MW Thermal Power Station I and adopts pulverized fuel firing technology. Consequent to re-tendering of Steam Generator package the Units are rescheduled to be commissioned in October 2017 and April 2018. LOA for Steam Generator package(NTA 1) and Turbo-Generator package (NTA 2) have been issued to M/s BHEL and detailed engineering activities, civil and mechanical erection works and supplies are in progress. LOA has also been issued for the Balance of Plant Package and the engineering & civil works, supplies and erection are in progress.
EXPANSION OF MINE I-A
In order to meet the additional requirement of lignite arising out of implementation of 1000 MW Neyveli New Thermal Power Project at Neyveli, expansion of Mine-IA is being implemented, which would result in raising the Mine IA capacity by 4 MTPA. Acquisition of required land has been taken up with Government. Ministry of Coal has accorded approval for mining expansion plan of Mine 1A.
WIND POWER PLANT (51 MW)
NLC India is implementing Wind Power farm of capacity 51 MW at Kazhuneerkulam in the State of Tamil Nadu at an estimated cost of Rs. 347.14 Cr. M/s LeitwindShriram Manufacturing Limited is the implementing agency and so far 29 Nos.of Wind Turbine Generators (WTG) have been commissioned and the balance 5 Nos.are expected to be commissioned during the year 2016. Power Purchase Agreement has been signed with TANGEDCO.
NEYVELI SOLAR POWER PROJECT (2 X 65 MW)
NLC India is setting up 130MW Solar power project at Neyveli, Tamil Nadu. The project is implemented through EPC route and scheduled to be commissioned in 2016-17. M/S BHEL and M/s Jakson bagged the contract and LOA has been issued. Power Purchase Agreement has been signed with TANGEDCO.
BITHNOK THERMAL POWER PROJECT (250 MW)
Bithnok Thermal Power Project (250MW) with the linked lignite mine of 2.25 MTPA capacity at Bithnok in the State of Rajasthan is being set up at an aggregate estimated cost of Rs.2709.93 Cr. Power Purchase Agreement has been signed with Rajasthan DISCOMs. Agreement for supply of 25 cusecs of water from IGNP canal has been entered into. Government of Rajasthan (GoR) has issued award for acquisition of 1175.87 hectares of private land in Bithnok and 1863.184 Ha of Government land will be diverted to project by GoR after takeover of private land. The project is proposed to be implemented through Engineering, Procurement & Commissioning (EPC) contract mode and is expected to be commissioned during the year 2020. Ministry of Coal has accorded approval for revised mining plan in June 2015. EOI short listing is completed & techno-commercial evaluation is in progress.
BARSINGSAR THERMAL POWER PROJECT EXTENSION (250MW)
A lignite based Thermal Power Plant with a capacity of 250MW as an extension of the existing power plant at Barsingsar is being set up. The fuel requirement for the above power plant is to be met from linked Hadla Mine of 1.9 MTPA and the existing Barsingsar Mine. The aggregate estimated cost of the project is Rs.2635.04 Crores. All statutory clearances have been obtained. Government of Rajasthan has allocated Mining Lease area of 15.66 Sq. km. The project is proposed to be implemented through Engineering, Procurement & Commissioning (EPC) route and is expected to be commissioned during the year 2020. EOI short listing is completed & techno-commercial evaluation is in progress.
SIRKAZHI THERMAL POWER PROJECT (3960 MW)
It is proposed to set up a coal based thermal power project with an overall capacity of 3960MW, in two phases, at Sirkazhi in the coastal district of Nagapattinam, in the State of Tamil Nadu Advance Action Proposal at a cost of Rs.56.52 Cr for taking up pre-project activities is in progress. NLCI has identified Thirumullaivasal as the site for locating the power plant. Feasibility report is under preparation. Action has been initiated for floating tender for preparation of CRZ map for the project. Application for land acquisition has been submitted to Government of Tami Nadu for issue of administrative sanction for acquisition of land for this project. Preparations of EIA/EMP report, DPR for captive coal jetty are in process. Change in configuration to 5 x 800MW using super critical technology is under active consideration.
THERMAL POWER STATION II -2nd EXPANSION (2 x 500 MW)
It is proposed to increase the power generating capacity by adding another 1000MW thermal power plant as the second expansion to the existing TPS-II at Neyveli. A new mine, Mine-III of capacity of 9.0 MTPA is proposed to be set up to exploit the mineable lignite reserves of about 380 MT available in the south of the existing Mine-II to meet the fuel requirement of the proposed thermal power plant. Advanced Action Proposals (AAP) of Rs.7.05 Cr for Mine-III and Rs.1.80 Cr for TPS-II Second Expansion for taking up phase-I pre-project activities were approved. Action has been initiated to enter into Power Purchase Agreement with DISCOMs of Southern States. PPA has been signed with TANGEDCO, Kerala SEB, Puducherry, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Government of Telangana. Change in configuration to 2 x 660MW using super critical technology and augmentation of Mine-III capacity to 11.5 MTPA is under active consideration.
MINE II - AUGMENTATION
It is proposed to augment Mine-II from the present capacity of 15.0 MTPA to 18.75 MTPA, in order to meet the lignite requirements of TPS-II including Expansion for operating at a higher Plant Load Factor (PLF).
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT (R&D)
R&D INITIATIVES
Coldry and Matmor process – In this process, Lignite is crushed and made into pellets which are dried using hot air and then iron ore is added to make the pellets suitable as reduction agents in iron ore purification process.
Upgradation of Brown Coal (UBC) - Reducing moisture in raw lignite at site and increasing calorific value will reduce the transportation cost and increase the fuel value. This will reduce auxiliary power consumption, CO2 emission and improve power plant efficiency and overcome the problem of spontaneous ignition while transporting lignite over long distances.
Underground Coal Gasification - To gainfully utilize the vast potential of lignite deposits which are uneconomical for conventional mining.
Synthesis of Zeolites from Lignite Fly Ash – For removal of calcium from Circulating Water System.
Dynamic Loading of Conveyors – Energy Conservation Measure.
Separation of Iron from bottom slag of Thermal Power Stations.
Usage of Bottom ash for Construction purposes.
High longevity coatings and alternate material for erosion and corrosion resistance.
Development of fly ash based pesticide.
Collaborative Research with Premier Technical Institutes.
Silica Sand Beneficiation Plant.
Centre for Applied Research & Development (CARD), Neyveli, Tamil Nadu
CENTRE FOR APPLIED RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT (CARD)
Centre for Applied Research & Development (CARD) is the in-house R&D Centre of NLC India Limited and has been recognized by the Department of Science & Technology since 1975.
The testing and R&D facilities were upgraded under a project (LERI) sponsored by United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Vienna during 1995 - 2000. The main objective was to strengthen CARD to improve its capability to provide analytical, environmental monitoring, R&D, technology and services to industry and the Government. Under this project, services of national and international experts were utilized for lignite utilization and opencast mines, power stations related problems and acquired sophisticated equipments, training and established combustion and gasification testing facilities.
The major functions of CARD are carrying out Science & Technology Projects (Ministry of Coal), In-house S&T Plan Projects, Pollution level measurements, Quality control Testing & Consultancy services, Pilot Plant studies based on R&D and commercialization of technology developed, Coordination of S&T projects taken by other NLC Units, Institutional services for students, Special studies for operation & new schemes etc.
CARD is carrying out various R&D works on lignite utilization, diversification, product development, by-product utilization, solid waste management, wasteland reclamation, corrosion evaluation and prevention etc. For implementing these projects, CARD is associating with outside agencies like, IIT-Delhi, IITM-Chennai, IIT-Kharagpur, CIMFR-Dhanbad, TNAU-Coimbatore, BHEL-Trichy, Anna University-Chennai, Madras University-Chennai, Annamalai University-Chidambaram, NIIST-Thiruvananthapuram, VIT-Vellore, NIT-Trichy, CECRI-Karaikudi, VCRC-Pudhucherry, IRERC, Kollam, etc. Based on the R&D works, some of the processes have been scaled up to pilot plant scale. The projects include Ministry of Coal funded R&D projects as well as in-House S&T funded projects. CARD has completed seventeen projects funded by Ministry of Coal and seventeen projects under in-house R&D. There are two on-going Ministry of Coal funded projects and nine on-going projects under in-house R&D and a study on upgradation of brown coal in association with M/s Kobe Steel Ltd., Japan with a funding from NEDO, Govt. of Japan.
CARD/NLC has conducted extensive studies on mine spoil reclamation, integrated farming system, slope stabilization, ash pond reclamation, utilization of Fly ash, bottom ash and bottom slag etc.
Corrosion studies have been conducted in SME structures of Mines to develop suitable coating material. Corrosion studies are also being conducted in SWC pumps to prevent erosion-corrosion due to adverse conditions in mining environment.
TESTING FACILITIES
CARD has a well-established analytical facility and is rendering analytical services towards quality control of various products/materials used in mines, power stations and other service units as well as outside agencies. The analytical testing facility includes lignite analytical, microbiology, material testing, environmental section, soil mechanical section, metal testing, paint testing, general analytical, petrography etc.
The sophisticated instruments available include Scanning Electron Microscope with EDS, ED-X-RAY Fluorescence Spectrometer, Elemental Analyzer, TGA/DTA, Heating Microscope, Inductively coupled Plasma spectrometer, Atomic Absorption Spectrometer, High Pressure Liquid Ion Chromatograph, Nitrogen Analyzer, Fluorescence Microscope, Petrography microscope, Metallurgical Microscope, Surface area analyzer, Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System, Power quality analyzer etc. CARD facilities are available for internal use and utilized by other agencies like SAIL, BHEL, MECL, GSI, STCMS etc.
NEW PRODUCTS DEVELOPED
CARD has patented a process for the production of potassium humate from lignite. Potassium humate helps to build up organic matter status in soil and is a plant growth stimulant. By commercialization of this product, lignite will have a diversified utility in producing a value added product and thereby promoting agricultural growth in the country.
CARD successfully completed a joint R&D project with National Institute of Interdisciplinary Science & Technology (NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram, for development of a process for the production of activated carbon from Neyveli lignite. This is a novel method for the production of activated carbon from lignite . Zeolite has been synthesized from Neyveli lignite fly ash under the consultancy project given to IIT/Kharagpur for the reduction of calcium in blow down water of Thermal Power Stations. Feasibility studies on using zeolite are proposed on pilot scale water treatment plant at CARD.
PILOT PLANTS
Potassium Humate: A pilot plant of capacity 7.20 Lakh litres per annum has been developed successfully. Humic acid is extracted from lignite. Potassium humate is used for agricultural application and for land reclamation. Obtained Golden Pea-Cock Eco-Innovation Award during the year 2008 by World Environment Foundation. Biofertilizer: Biofertilizers like Rhizobium, Azospirillum, Azotobacter & Phosphobacteria are produced using lignite as a carrier material. The products are mainly used in mine spoil/ash pond reclamation and green cover development in Afforestation. Activated Carbon Pilot Plant: A pilot plant was erected for development of a process for production of activated carbon from lignite. The product was tested its quality and further studies are in progress for improvement. Zeolite from fly ash: A Bench scale plant has been established for production of zeolite from fly ash.
₹8,672.84 crore (US$1.0 billion) (2017)[1]
