India should pay attention on 'gasification' of coal: Anil Kakodkar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar today said India should pay greater attention on " gasification" of coal for maximum exploitation of the untapped coal resources in the country.

Though there was a movement towards clean energy, coal would remain in the main-stage of energy supply, Kakodkar asserted after inaugurating the 23rd national and first international Heat and Mass Transfer Conference ( IHMTC 2015), organised by ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre ( LPSC) here.

Stating that only 40-45 per cent of coal reserves could be mined in the country, he wondered why gasification of coal was not being considered.

"Why cannot we create in-situ gasification and take it out... The chemical processes are, I think, reasonably under control. So, I would like to suggest, we should pay greater attention to this particular aspect," he said, adding the 'in-situ gasification' would largely be an "India-specific problem".

The former AEC chairman also pointed out about the global movements towards non-fossil energy.

Many countries were working on programmes to transfer the "the entire hydro carbon requirements of transport fleet from fossil hydro carbons to non-fossil hydro carbons," and India should pay some attention on this area also, he said.