Ministry of Coal constitutes Committee to prepare road map for coal based hydrogen

Ministry of Coal recently constituted a task force and expert committee to prepare road map for coal based hydrogen production and usage.

Context

Ministry of Coal recently constituted a task force and expert committee to prepare road map for coal based hydrogen production and usage.

Task Force

The Task Force will be headed by Additional Secretary in the Ministry.
Broad terms of reference: monitoring of activities towards achieving coal-based hydrogen production and usage and coordination with Coal Gasification Mission and NITI Aayog.

Expert Committee

The Expert Committee will be headed by Director General of the Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry, R.K. Malhotra.
Terms and reference: identifying experts in India and co-opting as members, desk based review of progress in hydrogen technology and also review ongoing research projects in Hydrogen technology.

In his Independence speech, Prime Minister had announced a National Hydrogen Mission.
Coal is an important source of hydrogen making (brown hydrogen) apart from natural gas (grey hydrogen) and renewable energy (green hydrogen) through
- In case of renewable energy (green hydrogen) surplus solar power is used to electrolyze water into hydrogen and oxygen.
Hydrogen produced from coal can be cheaper and less sensitive to imports when compared with hydrogen production through electrolysis and Natural Gas respectively.

To produce hydrogen from coal, the process begins with partial oxidation, which means some air is added to the coal, which generates carbon dioxide gas through traditional combustion.
Not enough is added, though, to completely burn the coal – only enough to make some heat for the gasification reaction.
The partial oxidation also makes its own gasification agent, carbon dioxide.
Carbon dioxide reacts with the rest of the carbon in the coal to form carbon monoxide (this is the endothermic gasification reaction, which needs heat input). No hydrogen yet.
Carbon monoxide in the gas stream is now further reacted with steam, generating hydrogen and carbon dioxide.

Coal has not been encouraged elsewhere because of the fear that while extracting hydrogen via coal (from the moisture embedded in coal) there may be carbon emission.
Almost 100% of Hydrogen produced in India is through Natural Gas.