An Australian company has said major investment from Indian multi-national Tata and Australian engineering firm Sedgman will allow it to develop its variety of clean coal technology.
New clean coal technology promises to reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent. Photo:Yallourn W Power Station - Victoria, Australia. Credit: Marcus Wong.
Exergen Pty Ltd has successfully tested new technology at its Australian plant which removes moisture and contaminants from the coal, reducing its carbon emissions when burnt.
The radical, new clean-coal technology, known as Continuous Hydrothermal Dewatering (CHTD), has attracted the interest of several mining corporations and Exergen's general manager, Greg Kukla told the ABC his company was now ready to fully develop the technology.
"We have now proven the concept, we've been quietly trialling a number of coals over several years," said Mr Kukla.
"We're now confident that we're about to embark on a definitive feasibility study which will take another eight months and then we're going to build a demonstration plant, closely followed by a commercial plant in the La Trobe Valley [in Victoria]."
According to a 2006 press release, the company claim CHTD will reduce, "..Greenhouse gas emissions by 30%; water use by 40% and lower overall power station capital cost".
CHTD works by placing the coal in a reactor which expels moisture and reduces soluble ash content. Kukla said the technology will remove around 80 per cent of the moisture from brown coal, while also removing other contaminants.
Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson congratulated the company saying the technology could revolutionise the coal industry.
"The government is acutely aware of the emissions profile of brown coal-fired power generation," he said in a statement. "Latrobe Valley brown coal power is a significant contributor to Australia's energy market."
"We see it as a priority to achieve large emission reductions quickly. The Exergen pilot is a significant step towards cleaner brown coal power," he said.
Exergen hopes to be able to start exporting the clean coal in three years.
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