RI, South Korea to develop coal technology

RI, South Korea to develop coal technology

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia and South Korea will cooperate in
developing coal briquette technology, in a bid to promote the use
of that fuel in households and small industries.

The Indonesian and South Korean governments signed yesterday a
cooperation agreement, whereby they will study the development of
the most suitable coal briquette technology to be applied in
Indonesia.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Director General of Mines
Kuntoro Mangkusubroto said that the cooperation is part of
Indonesian efforts to develop other alternative forms of energy,
to curb the domestic consumption of oil.

"Kerosene and wood are the typical fuels used for households
and small industries in Indonesia. To preserve forests from
deforestation and utilize oil resources efficiently, the
government has decided to promote the coal briquette as a fuel
substitute," he said.

Currently, out of the primary energy mix consumed in
Indonesia, 40 percent is still provided by oil, 30 percent by
biomass, 20 percent by natural gas and 10 percent by other energy
sources, including coal. By the year 2002, the share of oil is
projected to decline to about 30 percent and the share of coal
will jump to 56 percent, due to the government's energy
diversification policy.

Coal is abundantly available in Indonesia -- the world's third
largest producer of coal after Australia and South Africa.
Unfortunately, coal does not belong to the category of ideal
energy alternatives. The plan to use coal extensively for fuel
has not yet been received warmly by the general public.

Worry

Kuntoro pointed out that as long as the standard consistency
is maintained, the worry in using coal can be minimized. In
addition, the application of proper clean-coal technology will
make it possible for coal utilization to have only a minimum
negative impact on the environment, especially with Indonesia's
favorable coal quality.

"Coal is truly a great opportunity for Indonesia. We have to
capitalize on it to support the sustainable economic
development," he noted.

To develop such an energy, the government has, since April,
1993, selected three villages in Java for pilot projects. The
result of that campaign, until now, shows that people are
starting to accept the coal briquette for household purposes.

"We still need to do more work, such as improving the quality
of coal briquettes, making the briquettes easier to ignite and
reducing smoke and odor," he said.

He added that, under the cooperation with South Korea, which
is said to have greatly benefited from the coal briquette
technology, the additional work can be accomplished.

By the fiscal years 1998/1999 and 2003/2004, coal briquettes
used by households are predicted to reach 4.8 million and 12
million tons respectively. (13)