Record of 20,112 MT blended coal loaded
The Paradip Port Trust (PPT) made a paradigm shift on November 6 by introducing ship-loading of 20,112MT of blended coal in the vessel MV Diamond Star.
The vessel contained high grade coal of ECL (G4 grade) with low grade coal of MCL (G12 grade) at the ratio of 35%:65% to achieve a higher GCV suitable for Vallure Thermal power station of NTECL.
Thermal power plants blend high grade coal with low grade coal to achieve the intended Gross Calorific Value (GCV) at the power plant end. Mostly, the high grade coal is imported from Indonesia. In India high grade coal with high GCV is available in ECL, CCL and SECL as against abundance supply of low grade coal from MCL.
Possibly for the first time in India, two different grades of domestic coal were blended at a port to achieve the same effect of blending with imported coal. This would be in the direction of import substitution of Indonesian coal and will go a long way in saving precious foreign exchange for the country.
The blending was done at the Mechanised Coal Handling Plant of PPT. The unit of PPT was commissioned in September 2001 and is one of the premier bulk material handling systems in Asia.