Indian producer Jindal Steel has started using synthesis gas (syngas) at its galvanizing and colour coating units to offset natural gas and propane shortages, the company said today.
Jindal was previously using syngas to produce direct-reduced iron (DRI), but has now extended its use to downstream operations, a spokesperson told Argus.
The shift comes in response to shortages of natural gas and propane stemming from the US-Iran war, which has hampered India's coated steel production.
Galvanizing — a process in which steel is coated with molten zinc to prevent corrosion — requires propane as a fuel source for furnaces. The gas crisis thus prompted several downstream steel producers, particularly smaller re-rollers, to curtail output and ration gas supplies.
Jindal Steel commissioned the world's first coal gasification-based DRI plant at its Angul facility in 2014. The 1.8mn t/yr plant uses Swadeshi domestic coal to produce syngas for DRI.
"Thanks to the coal gasification process [Jindal] initiated a decade ago, we have been able to successfully operate our galvanizing lines, colour coating lines, and heat treatment lines using syngas as a fuel," said V. R. Sharma, member of the advisory board at Jindal Steel.
Jindal has also started injecting syngas into blast furnaces, reducing dependence on imported coking coal and lowering carbon emissions, the company said.
Industry experts say India's vast coal reserves make it well suited for expanded coal gasification, bolstering energy security and aiding decarbonization efforts. The Indian government aims to gasify 100mn t of coal by 2030 under the National Coal Gasification Mission.
