**7.1 Indigenous production**

*High Ash Coal to DME -* Coal reserves in India (350 billion tons) [22] predominantly consist of high ash content (20–30% and sometimes >40%) and therefore not considered techno-economically suitable for power generation. This high ash content coal can however be converted to syngas through suitable process and catalyst and the syngas can be converted to DME through a two-step or single-step synthesis. NITI Ayog of Government of India has taken up a Methanol Mission for conversion if highash coal of India into methanol/DME. Under this mission Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), a public sector unit of government has developed an indigenous process to convert Indian high-ash coal to methanol and has set-up a pilot coal-tomethanol plant, 0.25 TPD methanol with feedstock of 1.2 TPD coal using fluidized bed gasifier. Methanol with a purity of 98–99.5% has been produced in the pilot plant. As the process matures and costs come down higher commercial scale plant of coal-tomethanol/DME can be set-up with clean coal technology to produce DME for transportation and for blending with LPG. Clean-coal technologies like carbon capture and storage and use can be used during gasification of coal to syngas. Moving bed gasifiers, fluidized bed gasifiers and entrained flow gasifiers are some of the reactors to produce syngas from coal (**Figure 18**).

*Biomass and municipal solid waste to DME -* India generates 62 million tons of municipal solid waste per year [24]. India also generates about 230 million metric tons of surplus biomass (28 GW) and about 115 million metric tons bagasse (14 GW) annually which includes agricultural residues. Organic content of the MSW (50%) [25] and the biomass/bagasse is suitable for gasification to syngas. National Chemical Laboratory has developed indigenous catalysts for conversion of methanol to DME and are in the process of developing catalysts for converting syngas to methanol/DME. This route will have the advantage of very low WTW life cycle energy and emissions footprint.

**Figure 18.** *Transport sector, use of diesel sector (India) [23].*
