Consider the following substances:
- I.Ethanol
- II.Nitroglycerine
- III.Urea
Coal gasification technology can be used in the production of how many of them?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) Only two
Coal gasification turns coal into syngas, which is then converted into fuels and chemicals. India's Ministry of Coal lists ethanol among these products and describes the Talcher plant converting syngas to ammonia and then urea. Nitroglycerine is made by nitrating glycerine with nitric and sulphuric acids and is not one of the coal-gasification products, so only two of the three qualify.
- ✓ I The Ministry of Coal includes ethanol among the liquid fuels made from syngas and notes that a policy change is under way to include ethanol from the coal gasification route.
- ✗ II Nitroglycerine (glyceryl trinitrate) comes from nitrating glycerine with mixed nitric and sulphuric acids; it is not a syngas product.
- ✓ III At Talcher, coal blended with pet-coke is gasified to syngas, converted into ammonia and then into urea.
Remember · Coal gasification gives syngas, then methanol, ethanol, ammonia and urea (Talcher fertiliser plant). Nitroglycerine comes from glycerine and nitrating acids, not from syngas.
Sources
- Ministry of Coal: National Coal Gasification Mission (100 MT Coal Gasification by 2030), syngas products ↗ “Liquid Fuels such as Methanol, Ethanol, Synthetic diesel and Chemical and Petrochemicals like Methanol derivatives, Olefins, Propylene, Mono-Ethylene Glycol (MEG), nitrogenous fertilizers including Ammonia … Coal blended with pet-coke up to 25% shall be gassified to produce syngas, which shall be converted into Ammonia and subsequently to 1.27 Mt tonnes of neem coated Urea annually.”
- PubChem (US National Library of Medicine, NIH), Nitroglycerin: Methods of Manufacturing (from HSDB) ↗ “It is prepared by continuous two-phase nitration of glycerol in anhydrous mixed acid. The mass ratio of pure anhydrous glycerol (H2O less than 0.5%) and 50:50 mixed acid is 1:5.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2025, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·