India’s Tata Steel Limited has replaced the use of furnace oil with piped natural gas at its ferro alloys plant in Jajpur, Odisha, aiming to reduce carbon footprint and lower greenhouse gas emission, a company statement said on Thursday, March 21.
The company has signed a memorandum of understanding with government-run oil refiner and marketer, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) for long term supply of piped natural gas.
According to the MoU, BPCL will supply the agreed quantity of natural gas through its pipeline to the ferro alloys plant.
The plant, operating under the Ferro Alloys and Minerals Division (FAMD) of Tata Steel, has installed a piped natural gas facility and will use the cleaner fuel for preheating the chrome ore that is used for producing chrome ore briquette, the statement noted.
"Natural gas burns cleaner than furnace oil, producing significantly less harmful emissions especially in the context of high sulphur content of furnace oil. By replacing furnace oil with PNG, we aim to contribute to the nation's effort in mitigating the effects of global warming and moving towards options of lower carbon footprint,” FAMD in-charge, Pankaj Satija said in the statement.