1
selection, and thorough geological and other
Volume 1, Issue 12 - November 2009
Invited article
Underground Coal Gasification:
A Future Clean Coal Utilization
Technology for India
Preeti Aghalayam, Visiting Associate Professor,
Dept. of Chemical Engineering, IIT Madras
preeti@iitm.ac.in
Introduction
UCG refers to the in-situ gasification of coal. It is
accomplished by first establishing two vertical
boreholes – the injection well and the production
well. Next, the two wells are horizontally linked
within the coal seam using specialized techniques
such as directional drilling. Reactant gas mixtures
(steam & oxygen) are sent through the injection well,
and suitable conditions for the ignition or start-up of
the coal reactions is provided. A steady production
of combustible gases due to the various reactions
occurring between the gases and the coal, is evident
at the production well.
UCG presents several advantages over conventional
coal mining and utilization techniques. The lack of
need of mining and transportation results in much
savings, especially for coals that contain a large
fraction of ash. Furthermore, some of the
environmental impacts, such as the production of
NOx and SOx due to surface coal processes, are
significantly reduced in case of UCG, through the
maintenance of a reducing atmosphere underground.
Finally, UCG enables the utilization of deep and thin
coal seams, which are not accessible for mining, and
could provide an efficient carbon capture and
sequestration (CCS) possibility.
However, UCG possesses some distinct
disadvantages as well. UCG is fairly capital
intensive, and has been successfully practiced at only
a few world-wide locations. The environmental
impacts on aquifers situated close to UCG operation,
and the potential of surface subsidence are some of
the other problems associated with UCG. These
problems may only be overcome through proper site
assessments of the surrounding regions.
Potential for UCG in India
India is a traditional coal country, possessing >250
billion tonnes of coal, with >60% of energy needs
being met through coal-based technologies. The
concerns around the potential depletion of coal
reserves in the foreseeable future have been
abundant in recent times, alongside the focus on the
environmental impacts of coal utilisation. At least 30
% of Indian coal reserves are situation at a depth >
300m below the earth’s surface (see Table 1).
Furthermore, the ‘rank’ or quality of Indian coals is
usually low, with high ash content. Thus, the
economical mining and utilization of this valuable,
deep, coal resource is not feasible through
conventional techniques.
Table 1: Indian coal reserves at various depths
(Khadse et al., 2007)
It is believed that UCG will play a unique role in
enabling us to utilize these reserves. At this time,
ONGC, GAIL, and RIL are some of the companies
that have expressed interest in UCG in India. ONGC
has recently proposed a pilot UCG station, producing
5.5 lakh m3/day of syngas, by the end of 2010 at
Vastan near Surat in Gujarat (Business Standard,
Aug 21, 2009). The norms & guidelines for the
practice of UCG have been recently notified by the
coal ministry (on July 13, 2009). It seems logical and
evident that in the near future, UCG will emerge as a
major clean coal utilization technology capable of
providing significant impact in our country.
Research in UCG
Due to the worldwide interest in UCG practice,
academic research in the field has also increased
enormously in recent times. The combination of
phenomena that exists in the underground coal

gasification seam presents an extremely complex
situation. Field-scale experiments, though invaluable
in providing insight, are very difficult to envisage,
and expensive as well. Laboratory-scale
experiments, on the other hand, are feasible, but their
scalability is usually questioned [Upadhye et al.,
2006]. Mathematical modeling and simulation of the
UCG phenomena is expected to bridge the gap
between lab-scale experiments and field-practice.
However, since UCG is a complex process, and
involves phenomena occurring at different length
and time scales, robust mathematical models
encompassing all aspects of UCG are as yet
unavailable in literature. In general, an approach
wherein the UCG cavity is treated as a natural
chemical reactor, with reactions, mass and heat
transport, solid wall movement, liquid water influx,
etc. taken explicitly into account through appropriate
terms in the balance equations, is gaining popularity.
Particularly interesting is the phenomena of cavity
growth which is at the core of UCG. Typically,
directional drilling techniques establish an initial link
between the injection and the production well in the
chosen coal seam. Igniting mixtures, and reactant
gases next initiate the reactions in the seam. Due to
the steady consumption of solids (coal & char), and
the egress of product gases, a cavity (typically of a
hemi-spherical shape, when the injection point is
maintained at the bottom on the seam), is formed,
and evolves in shape as the reactions proceed. This is
also evident in the schematic of Fig. 1.
Figure 1: Schematic of UCG
The size (and in more general terms, the three-
dimensional shape) of the cavity at any point of time
is indicative of the progress and efficiency of the
gasification process. The quality of the product gas
obtained at the production well is strongly dependent
on the underground cavity growth phenomena.
Operating conditions selection therefore requires a
continuous knowledge of cavity shape/size. The
cavity growth is expected to be governed by:
reactions (combustion, gasification, or both);
transport phenomena (especially mass transport of
reactant gas to the reacting coal/char face);
thermomechanical failure properties or the
phenomenon known as spalling (pieces of coal are
2
known to disengage from the unreacted seam and fall
through the cavity, encountering a highly reactive
atmosphere along the way); and so on.
At the UCG research group at IIT Bombay, several
phenomena relevant to this fascinating problem are
being studied (see Fig. 2). A detailed
thermogravimetric analyser (TGA) based study to
establish intrinsic reaction kinetics for chosen Indian
coals is underway [Khadse et al., 2008]. A fully
instrumented fixed bed reactor is also being used to
study the pattern of reactions, and also the interplay
of transport and kinetics. Several mathematical
modeling and simulations exercises have been
undertaken. A simple one-dimensional process
model, based on kinetics, has been demonstrated to
give interesting insights into UCG, while predicting
lab-scale experimental data [Khadse et al., 2006]. A
detailed flow patterns study using Computational
Fluid Dynamics, has been conducted, and, the
information used to develop an equivalent reactor
network [Daggupati et al., 2009], for robust
performance predictions. Finally, in recent
laboratory-scale experiments, the shape of the coal
combustion cavity has been established, and
demonstrated to be strongly controlled by the mass
transfer rate of the reactant gases [Daggupati et al.,
2009].
Figure 2: Mathematical modeling of UCG
Summary
Underground coal gasification (UCG) displays
significant potential as a future coal utilization
technique, especially for the deep, low ranked coal
seams found in several locations in India. While the
UCG process is inherently extremely complex, an
approach involving treating the reacting cavity as a
natural chemical reactor, involving several
interlinked phenomena, represents an important
advance. In the UCG research group at IIT Bombay,
research aimed at in-depth comprehension of UCG
has reached a stage of maturity. The predictive
process models emerging from the group are
expected to hugely benefit the design, optimization
and control of UCG field trials and commercial
installations in India.
References

Daggupati S., Mandapati, R. N., Mahajani, S. M.,
Ganesh, A., Mathur, D. K., Sharma, R. K., and
Aghalayam, P., “Laboratory studies on combustion
cavity growth in lignite coal blocks in the context of
underground coal gasification,” Energy (under
review), 2009.
Daggupati S., Mandapati, R. N., Mahajani, S. M.,
Ganesh, A., Sapru, R. K., Sharma, R. K., and
Aghalayam, P.,, , “Underground coal gasification
performance predictions using compartment
models,” presented at the International Pittsburgh
Coal Conference, Oct 2009
Upadhya, R., E. Burton, and J. Friedmann, “Science
and technology gaps in underground coal
gasification,” Technical Report UCRL-TR-222523,
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,
University of California, Berkeley, CA, 2006.
Khadse, A. “Underground coal gasification: Kinetics
and process modeling,” Ph.D. Thesis, Dept. of
Chemical Engineering, IIT Bombay, Mumbai, India,
2008.
Khadse, A., M. Qayyumi, S. M. Mahajani and P.
Aghalayam, “Reactor model for Underground coal
gasification channel,” International Journal of
Chemical Reactor Engineering, V4, A37, 2006
Khadse, A, Qayyumi, M., Mahajani, S.M.,
Aghalayam, P., “Underground Coal Gasification: A
New Clean Coal Utilization echnique for India,”
Energy, 2007, 32, 2061-2071.
The UCG Group at IIT Bombay consists of Profs.
Anuradda Ganesh (Energy Systems & Engineering,
Principal Investigator); Sanjay Mahajani & Preeti
Aghalayam (Chemical Engineering, Co-PIs), Phd
Scholars Sateesh Daggupati & Ramesh Naidu, and
several dedicated staff & students. We welcome your
inputs and visit to the UCG lab, situated in the Aero
Engg Annex at IITB, which has been set up through
sponsored project funds from the IRS, ONGC.
Energy Research at IITM- 4
Research on Biodiesel Combustion in
Engines
Pramod S Mehta
Internal Combustion Engines Laboratory
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Techology Madras
psmehta@iitm.ac.in
Introduction
The engine technology today is experiencing a rapid
pace of development. The combustion process and
systems of reciprocating internal combustion engines
remain at the center of various technological
3
innovations taking place in automotive industries
world-over. These developments are primarily driven
by the concerns on the depleting fuel resources and
the adverse environmental impact of the species
emitting from engine exhaust. There are intense
activities in the area of alternative fuels for internal
combustion engines. An attractive feature of an
alternative fuel is its emission reduction potential.
From this standpoint the fuels like natural gas,
alcohols, biodiesel and hydrogen have attracted
considerable attention to replace the fossil fuels.
The processed vegetable oil i.e. bio-diesel has
emerged as an attractive alternative for diesel fuel
considering its renewable nature, better ignition
quality, comparable energy content, higher density,
higher safety due to higher flash point, non-toxic
character of its exhaust emissions, almost zero sulfur
content, cleaner burning and acceptability in diesel
engines without any hardware modifications [1, 2].
Biodiesel is an oxygenated fuel which comprises
mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived
from vegetable oils and animal fats by trans-
esterification process. The biodiesel fuels are carbon
neutral and are directly miscible with diesel fuel.
They considerably reduce exhaust smoke emissions
but have slightly higher NOx emissions. The non-
edible oils like Jatropha, Karanja, Mahua, Neem etc
are the preferred sources for producing biodiesel
fuel. Being a tropical country, India has a large
potential to produce Jatropha curcas plant [3].
Karanja (Pongamia Pinnata) can be cultivated on any
type of soil that has low moisture demand [4]. The
straight vegetable oil molecules are composed of
triglycerides with non-branched chains of different
lengths and different degree of saturation [5]. The
differences in physical properties of biodiesel fuel
derived from different vegetable oils cause some
difference in their performance potential due to
differential effects on spray and combustion related
processes [6].
The ongoing research on use of Jatropha and Karanja
methyl esters in compression ignition engines
concerns:
• Generating data related to performance,
combustion and emission characteristics of neat
biodiesel viz Jatropha and Karanja and their
blends with diesel fuel in a compression ignition
engine
• understanding the effect of biodiesel fuel
structure and composition on the performance,
combustion and emission behavior of
compression ignition engine
• predicting the properties of biodiesel fuels based
on their fatty acid composition
• establishing correlations for biodiesel fuelled
engine processes like ignition delay, combustion
duration and fuel mass burning rate

• controlling nitric oxide emissions using biodiesel
- methanol blends
• analyzing biodiesel combustion through detailed
CFD and kinetics modeling
• investigating the effects of storage stability of
the biodiesel fuel on engine processes and
performance.
EXPERIMENTAL FACILITY
A well instrumented engine test facility (see Fig 1) is
built around four cylinder turbocharged in the
laboratory to conduct experimental investigations.
Fig. 1: Pictorial views of test-engine setup and
instrumentation
The important outcome of the current research
efforts include: Performance of Biodiesel and its
blends vs fossil Diesel Fuel in Diesel
Engine.Fig. 2 shows the typical comparison of
engine combustion, performance and emission
characteristics of neat Karanja (KME) and
Jatropha (JME) methyl esters with base diesel at
an engine speed of 2000 rpm. These results
suggest that
9 There is an advanced start of injection up
to 1.90CA and consequent early start of
combustion for biodiesel fuels (refer Fig.
2a) due to their higher density/less
compressible nature compared to base
diesel.
9 There is a slight increase in ignition
delay (refer Fig. 2b) and decrease in
combustion duration (refer Fig. 2d).
4
9 The magnitude of peak cylinder pressure
increases for biodiesel fuels and the rate
of increase is significant at higher
loads (refer Figs. 2c).
9 There is an increase in brake specific
fuel consumption (refer Fig. 2e) and
slight decrease in thermal efficiency
(refer Fig. 2f) of biodiesel fuels primarily
due to their lower energy content.
9 There is not much difference in the
exhaust Carbon Monoxide (CO)
concentrations for both diesel and
biodiesel fuels (see Fig. 2g).
9 The unburned hydrocarbon and exhaust
smoke emissions are significantly
decreased
9 for biodiesel fuels as compared to base
diesel (refer Figs. 2g and 2h) whereas
nitric
9 oxide emissions are increased for
biodiesel fuels (refer Fig. 2h)
9 The increase in nitric oxide emissions
with biodiesel fuel are attempted to be
minimized by blending 10% methanol
with biodiesel. The typical results
comparing effects of Karanja biodiesel-
methanol blend (B90M10) with neat
Karanja biodiesel (B100) at 1000 rpm
engine speed are shown in Figs. 3. The
following facts are observed:
9 - There is a delayed start of
injection and an increased ignition delay
(refer Fig. 3a) primarily due to lower
density/higher compressible nature and
poor ignition quality of biodiesel-
methanol blend compared to neat
biodiesel.
9 The magnitude of peak cylinder pressure
decreases (refer Fig. 3b) for biodiesel-
methanol blend due to higher latent heat
of vaporization of the blend and there is
slight increase in brake thermal
efficiency due to wider flammability
limits and lean burning characteristics of
biodiesel-methanol blend.
h
g
 5

a
e

f
b

Fig. 2: Comparison of engine combustion, performance Fig. 3: Comparison of (a) brake thermal efficiency and (b)
and emission characteristics of Jatropha and Karanja nitric oxide and exhaust smoke emissions for biodiesel
biodiesel fuels with base diesel and biodiesel-methanol blend

9 The nitric oxide and exhaust smoke code in conjunction with KIVA3V CFD package
emissions decrease significantly for is being pursued.
biodiesel-methanol blend (refer Fig. 3b)
due to higher fuel bound oxygen of the
50
blend.
Brake thermal eff. (%)

B100
9 Besides these basic performance studies, 40 B90M10
the research efforts led to evaluating the 30
effects of long storage of biodiesel on a
engine performance, combustion and 20
emission characteristics have also been 10
evaluated. A generalized, simple and
accurate method for estimating thermo 0
physical properties of biodiesel fuels 0 3 6 9 12
bmep (bar)
derived from source vegetable oil of
varying compositions has been Fig. 3a: Comparison of (a) brake thermal efficiency
successfully evolved. A new
methodology has been proposed for
estimating the lower heating values of
biodiesel fuels using bond energy

method. The modeling of the biodiesel ignition

and combustion processes using CHEMKIN

1000 10
B100-NO B90M10-NO
B100-Smoke B90M10-Smoke
800 8
Smoke (BSU)
NO (ppm)
600 6
b Reliance International E and P, Dallas,
400 4 USA gave a talk on “Trends in Oil and Gas
200 2
0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10
bmep (bar)
Fig. 3b Comparison of nitric oxide and exhaust smoke
emissions for biodiesel and biodiesel-methanol blend
Acknowledgement: This work is the result of
the efforts of Mr K Anand, Research Scholar
towards his Ph D thesis.
REFERENCES
1. Ma, F., and Hanna, M. A. (1999) Biodiesel
production – A review, Bioresource
Technology, 70, pp. 1-15.
2. Srivastava, A., and Prasad, R. (2000)
Triglycerides-based diesel fuels. Renewable
and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 4, pp.
111–133.
3. Mohibbe Azam, M., Waris, A., and Nahar,
N.M. (2005) Prospects and potential of fatty
acid methyl esters of some non-traditional
seed oils for use as biodiesel in India,
Biomass and Bio Energy, 29, pp. 293–302.
4. Srivastava, P.K., and Verma, M. (2008)
Methyl ester of Karanja oil as an alternative
renewable source energy, Fuel, 87, pp. 1673-
1677.
5. Rao, P.S., and Gopalakrishnan, K.V.
(1991) Vegetable oils and their methyl esters
as fuels for diesel engines, Indian Journal of
Technology, 29, pp. 292-297.
6. Rakopoulos C.D., Antonopoulos K.A.,
Rakopoulos D.C., Hountalas D.T., and
Giakoumis E.G. (2006) Comparative
performance and emissions study of a direct
injection diesel engine using blends of diesel
fuel with vegetable oils or bio-diesels of
various origins, Energy conversion and
Management, 47, pp. 3272-3287.
6
Events
¾ Dr. Srinivas Bette, President and CEO,
Exploration and Production and its
influence on the Indian Energy Scenario”
on 03 Nov 2009. Prof M.S. Ananth ,
Director, presided. A large number of
students and faculty listened to the very
interesting and informative lecture
followed by a lively interaction. Earlier Dr.
Bette visited the Dept of Ocean
Engineering for a discussion on the
M Tech (Petroleum Engineering)
programme. Dr Bette is an IITM alumnus
(BT Chem 1976).
¾ A presentation on “A Possible Solution to
the Rural Energy Problem” was delivered
on the 13th Nov by a team of students from
IITM who won the national contest on
“The GE Edison Challenge”. The winning
team , which was awarded a cash prize of
Rs 5 lakhs, consisted of :
Srinath Ramakkrushnan, Mechanical Engg.
Ashwin Ramesh, Mechanical Engg
Midhun Salim, Electrical Engg
Kaushik Anand, Chemical Engg
Aditya Harit, MA in Developmental studies
ANNOUNCEMENT
The Energy Forum will observe The National
Energy Conservation Day on the 13th and 14
December as was done last year. Details will
be sent shortly. Please send in your
suggestions .
Your response requested….
Please suggest topics and names of experts for the
monthly lecture series. Also please suggest other
activities that can be arranged in lieu of the monthly
lectures.
For comments, suggestions and contributions write
to kolar@iitm.ac.in or scrajan@iitm.ac.in