Coal industry has plenty of options

Alberta’s coal reserves are estimated to last several hundred years at the current rate of consumption.

The industry has several options in the wake of the province’s new climate change strategy, one of which is to adopt already-proven coal-to-chemicals technology. Coal can be converted by gasification into ammonia — key in the production of fertilizers and other chemicals — and syngas (synthetic gas). The same technology can convert coal to liquid fuels and methanol, an important base for other value-added chemicals.

A portion of the estimated $3 billion per year generated from proposed carbon tax can be used to further refine this technology to make it more economically efficient.

Poland has gone the route of using coal reserves in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. The first commercial plant to process one million tonnes per year of coal to chemicals will be built by 2017. Another commercial plant is also operating in China. Many more will follow in both countries.

In fact, the company I worked for in Alberta has also developed this technology and requires further funding for commercialization.

In situ coal gasification is another option, where the coal need not be excavated to surface to produce syngas. This technology is in its infancy and needs more research and innovation.

Necessity is the mother of invention. Let us be proactive and use our intellectual resources to combat the curse of global warming and put Alberta in the forefront of sustainable solutions for inexpensive coal fossil fuel. Bhupen Parekh, P.Eng., Sherwood Park