Converting Nigerian Coal Deposits to Smokeless Coal Fuel for Energy Transition and Socio-economic Transformation

Abstract

Energy transition emphasizes a drastic reduction in fossil fuel energy sources and to step up the deployment of alternative and renewable energies as pathways to industrialization and development. Attention is therefore shifting from coal and crude oil to solar, wind, geothermal and natural gas sources of energies. Although the use of coal for electrical power generation has been on the decline and it is being discouraged world-wide, the Smokeless Coal Research Team at IBB University has been able to differentiate “good” from “bad” coals. Not all coals are environmentally harmful for electrical power generation. And even for the so-called “bad coals the team at the IBBU has identified processes to clean up such coals. Whether generated from dams, gas turbines or thermal sources, Nigeria has been a nation with an acute supply of electricity; yet the country has far more resources of oil, gas and coals than it has the demand for them. The country is currently challenged by series of energy crises with concomitant economic and social implications. Electricity generation and energy availability are in gross shortfall which has resulted in the shutting down of many industries with the attendant job losses and escalating unemployment. Power supply to many homes is very epileptic, covering not more than 10% of the total average domestic daily demand. With these enormous energy challenges, the government of Nigeria is working on reforms at several fronts that will embrace appropriate energy-mix, enabling power generation / energy production from nuclear, coal and renewable sources (solar, wind, biomass) in addition to the conventional hydro and thermal sources. With the use of 30% diluted benzoic and formic acids on some Nigerian coals, smoke emission reduced considerably, thus allowing the use of abundant Nigerian coal deposits as alternative clean energy source for electrical power generation in a physically sustainable environment in an era of energy transition. Furthermore, some coals (in Nigeria and elsewhere) do not need processing (cleansing) based on the inherent chemical and petrological composition as elucidated in this paper. Power (electrical) is the single major factor to social and economic transformation in Nigeria.