(EnergyAsia, May 9 2011, Monday) —- Indonesia’s Total Sinergy International (TSI) recently announced the launch of its Geo-Coal technology which it describes as a simple and economical process of upgrading the energy content of low rank coal by 50% to 100%.

The company said it has filed a patent through law firm Drew & Napier LLC Singapore and signed an agreement with a subsidiary of Indonesian national utility company, PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PT PLN), on their joint research and development to use the technology in a power plant in Indonesia.

TSI said Geo-Coal processes raw brown coal with superheated steam, removing 60% to 80% of the moisture and increasing the energy content of the initial low rank coal feedstock by 50% to 100%. The technology also maintains the inherently low sulphur and ash levels of the low rank coal feedstock, helping power generation plants meet today’s strict emissions standards.

The technology uses coal waste as fuel for the upgrading process. This makes it more efficient and economical to set up and operate than competing technologies on the market, resulting in significant cost savings.

Peter Gunn, a TSI director, said: “The interest in using Geo-Coal technology validates the process we have developed to cost effectively boost the quality of coal supplied to power plants, thereby improving their operating efficiency.

“Geo-Coal expands the energy supply by converting stranded low-rank coal resources into high-rank quality coal with a greater calorific value, bringing affordable energy to people around the world and supporting the economic growth of developing countries. We are excited by the possibilities offered by this paradigm changing invention and are looking to quickly bring it to markets including Indonesia, China, India, Malaysia and Australia.

“The relative cleanliness of our coal makes it a natural bridging energy source as the world transits from fossil fuels to renewable energy, which is still in its infancy and won’t be able to fully replace the former for a few more decades. Coal is also drawing renewed attention as several countries relook their nuclear power plans.”

Agritrade Resources Limited, an associate company of TSI listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, will build the first Geo-Coal commercial plant at their coal mine, PT Senamas Energindo Mineral (PTSEM), in Tamiang Layang in Indonesia’s Central Kalimantan by end June. The plant will have the capacity to produce 500,000 metric tonnes per year of Geo-Coal products.

Founded in 1998, TSI is an Indonesian-based holding company owned by Agritrade International Pte Ltd, WSJ International Shd Bhd and PT Nusa Galih Nusantara.