The Ministry of Coal has issued draft guidelines for the preparation of mining and mine closure plans for Underground Coal and Lignite Gasification (UCG) blocks.

About the Draft Guidelines

• Purpose: Establish a regulatory framework for in-situ gasification of coal and lignite.
• Scope: Covers project feasibility, safety protocols, environmental management, and post-mining rehabilitation.

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What is Underground Coal Gasification (UCG)?

• Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) is an in-situ process of converting coal or lignite into gaseous fuel (syngas) while it is still underground.
• Process: Instead of mining coal, it is chemically converted into a mixture of combustible gases by injecting oxidants (air/oxygen/steam) into the coal seam.
• Objective: To generate synthetic gas (syngas) for use in power generation, chemical production, or as a feedstock for fuels.
• Significance: The combustion of this gas is cleaner and more efficient than coal combustion since emissions are trapped at the gasification stage.

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