Coal India (CIL) has recently begun the process of retrofitting liquefied natural gas kits in its dumpers -- big trucks engaged in transportation of coal in mines, a move that will further reduce the company's carbon footprint.
CIL uses over four lakh kilo ltr of diesel per annum with an expense of over Rs 3,500 crore.
The company in association with GAIL (India) and BEML has taken up a pilot project for retrofitting LNG kits in its two 100 tonne dumpers operating at the subsidiary Mahanadi Coalfields (MCL) under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with GAIL and BEML.
Once the LNG kit is successfully retrofitted and tested, these dumpers will be able to run on dual fuel systems and their operations will be significantly cheaper and cleaner with the use of LNG.
CIL has over 2,500 dumpers operating in opencast coal mines and the fleet consumes about 65 to 75 percent of the total diesel used by CIL.
LNG is likely to replace diesel use by 30 to 40 percent and reduce fuel cost by about 15 percent paving the way for Rs 500 crore savings annually if all heavy earthmoving machines including dumpers are retrofitted with LNG kits.
The cost economics of the project will be evaluated after completion of the pilot project and technical study on performance of the dumpers. The pilot project is likely to be completed by the end of 2021.
Based on the outcome, CIL will decide about bulk use of LNG in its Heavy Earth Moving Machines (HEMMs), especially dumpers.
CIL is planning to buy HEMMs with only LNG engines if the project becomes a success and this will help reduce its carbon footprint drastically and achieve sustainable goals.
Globally, LNG hybrid operation in high-capacity mining dump trucks has been implemented by the US, Canada, Mexico, Russia and Ghana.