Product Competitiveness of Upgrading Brown Coal (UBC) Process in Indonesia

Abstract

The utilization of coal in Indonesia is in a running of improvement to become the biggest energy source. In 2025, 30% of total energy used is targeted as stated in Indonesian Government Regulation No. 79 of 2016. In Indonesia, the potential coal is mostly found in low and moderate calorific coal, it is classified as brown coal. Commonly, brown coal has high moisture content. Upgrading Brown Coal (UBC) process is a method for reducing the moisture content of brown coal by up to 80%. This study provides an overview of the UBC product competitiveness compared with brown coal. It will generate some technical recommendations on the current energy policies. Business as Usual (BAU) scenario and UBC product scenario were applied to show the difference in the amount of coal needed to generate electricity with the same capacity and the total of green house gas emission potential (GEP). The calculation was performed using the LEAP program (Long-range Energy Alternative Planning system). The use of UBC product was potentially reduce the feed consumption by 50% compared to usual brown coal. Furthermore, the GEP calculated between the two scenarios was 1.141 billion kg CO₂-eq/year as net saving. UBC process can be developed to improve the quality of brown coal, so that the UBC product will be much more competitive.