REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KARAWANG -- Indonesia is collaborating with Japan to process low calorie coal into gas, which will be used as a raw material in fertilizer production.

"While coal is abundant, we do not have the required technology to process it. Japan has the expertise in the requisite technology, and thus, we are cooperating with them to process it," the Ministry's Deputy for Energy and Mineral Resources, Montty Girianna, stated here on Thursday, February 26.

Under a government-to-government scheme, the two countries inaugurated a low calorie coal processing plant at the Pupuk Kujang industrial estate in Karawang district, West Java.

The plant, which was developed by Japan's IHI Corporation, served as the first prototype in Indonesia to process low calorie coal into hydrogen gas more efficiently, he noted. "In the next two years, we will focus on research. We will continue to evaluate the performance of the plant. If it works well, we will develop it commercially," he remarked.

Once the research and evaluation process is completed, the plant would be replicated in coal-producing areas on a larger scale, he stated. "For the time being, we are focusing on fulfilling the demand of the fertilizer producers. Once the plant is developed commercially, other industries can utilize its hydrogen gas," he said.

By applying effective technology designed in such a mature way, the plant, built on an 800-square-meter plot of land, will be able to process 50 tons of low calorie coal into gas per day.

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