The optimization of by-products and pollutants not only save the environment from poisonous hazards it also enhances the economy of the plant, therefore the role of independent coal testing agencies plays a very an important role as its test reports have more credibility, but it also has specialized facilities with calibrations, and most importantly it is unbiased; says Ratnesh Rai, MD, QA Testing Laboratories Pvt. Ltd.
New Delhi (Natural Energy News): Coal analysis/testing is the most important data for coal producers and users as Identification of the chemical composition of coal has a strong influence on its combustibility. Testing results in a variety of improvements to plant operations, which directly affect the profitability of a coal plant, its ability to meet environmental requirements, and its ability to avoid future economic risks. Let us know this better with our expert Mr Ratnesh Rai (Managing Director, QA Testing Laboratories Pvt. Ltd.).Please could you give us some background as to your own career and what attracted you towards the incorporation of the QA Testing Laboratories Pvt. Ltd.?
Ratnesh Rai Managing Director of QA Testing Laboratories Private Limited. He is a Bachelor in Technology and Masters in Business Administration, he has five years of work experience in distinct fields of inception, testing and analysis such as Coal, Food, Water, Environment, Soil, Road and Building Material and many more. Back in 2018, he started QA Testing Laboratory to Enhance and Improve the Quality of the products by testing activities and to reduce its hazardous impact on the Environmental. He is Qualified Lead Auditor for ISO 9001 quality management system (QMS), ISO 14001 Environmental management systems (EMS) & ISO 45001 occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system.
With the vision and mission to be a trusted partner for quality assurance in the field of testing by providing reliable and accurate results using innovative solutions through affordable analytical testing.
Tell us a little bit more about your company and how it contributes to Power Plant and Steel Industries?QA Testing Laboratories offers Accurate, Cost-Effective Analysis in Accordance with Indian and International Standards in Coal and Coke, Food, Water, Environment, Soil, Road and Building Material. We are equipped with latest & advanced testing Equipment’s and Facilities with Experienced & Competent Person. Our Analysis Techniques Are Specific analytical methods designed to measure the particular physical and chemical properties of Coal and Coke, Food, Water, Environment, Soil, Road and Building Material.
QA Testing Laboratories helps to Identify
To Identify the Efficacy & Effectiveness of Coal and Coke.
Determine the Quality of Coal and Coke.
Identify the Composition of elements in Coal and Coke.
To Check the Impact of Combustion of Coal and Coke On Environment.
To Reduce the waste after combustion of Coal and Coke.
To identify Grades of Coal and Coke.
It is essential to understand the properties of biomass materials to evaluate their utility.
Improve quality and enhance the calorific value, making it more suitable for use in High-Efficiency Low Emission (HELE) power generating Systems. Such efforts will lead to more environmentally friendly usage of coal as a source of energy.
Identification of the chemical composition of coal has a strong influence on its combustibility. Identification of Sulphur content in coal and reducing Sulphur in the fuel combusted also will reduce sulphate formation and fine particulate emissions and help to improve visibility by reducing regional haze. Testing results in a variety of improvements to plant operations, which directly affect the profitability of a coal plant, its ability to meet environmental requirements, and its ability to avoid future economic risks.
Most steel industries have tight control of coal/coke ash and sulphur. Coke ash has a negative impact on blast furnace fuel consumption and stable blast furnace operation due to its catalytic effect on coke reactivity and its alkalis attack on the blast furnace lining, while coke sulphur increases blast furnace fuel consumption and reduces hot metal quality. Coke ash and sulphur can be related to coal ash and sulphur very well. During the coal to coke transformation, coal ash reports completely to coke while coal sulphur partially reports to coke. Therefore, the ash and sulphur contents of coal blends need to be controlled.
As we know that your company is specialized in coal testing services and provides the best quality assurance in the field of coal sectors, please enlighten our readers more about your specialized product & services and their salient features.
With a highly qualified group of people performing the testing activities are we also equipped with the latest Hi-tech instruments such as Automatic Bomb Calorimeter, Automatic CHNS Analyser, Air Drier Room, Fully Automatic Humidity Chambers and many more.
QA Testing Laboratories are into Analysis of complete parameters of coal and coke which are used in various power plants and steel industries, as coal analysis plays an important role in both the industries, there are mainly three types of test we do
Proximate Analysis: Determines moisture, volatile matter, fixed carbon and ash content. Proximate analysis is reported by a percent on as-received, moisture-free, and moisture-ash-free bases. For coalbed methane, the proximate analysis, particularly moisture, ash, and the volatile matter is the most important for gas content and adsorption.
Ultimate Analysis: Determines carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulphur contents, which are reported as a percent on as-received and moisture-ash-free bases. Ultimate analysis is important for the classification of coal by rank.
Gross Calorific Value Analysis: Determines calorific value or heating value. It indicates the amount of heat that is released when the coal is burned.
IS 1350: Part 1 Method of test for Coal and Coke: Part 1 Proximate Analysis
IS 1350: Part 2 Method of test for Coal and Coke: Part 2 Determination of Calorific Value
IS 1350: Part 3 Method of test for Coal and Coke: Part 3 Determination of Sulphur
IS 1350: Part 4 Method of test for Coal and Coke: Part 4 Ultimate Analysis
IS 4433 Method for Determination of hard grove Grind ability index of coal
And ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) International Standard such as ASTM D3172 – 13 (Standard Practice for Proximate Analysis of Coal and Coke), ASTM D3176 – 15 (Standard Practice for Ultimate Analysis of Coal and Coke).
What are the other kinds of players and how do you differentiate yourselves from them?QA Testing Laboratories are following Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) within the Organization to Ensure Integrity and Confidentiality of Customers, we are also Implementing Integrated Management System (ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45001:2017 & ISO/IEC 17025:2017) to maintain a Standardized Process for Internal Quality Assurance. QA testing Laboratories is Accredited with Various National and International Bodies such as the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ).
What are the measures you take with regards to quality control?
QUALITY ASSURANCE Quality Assurance program ensures our data meets national as well as the international quality standard. We monitor quality through participation in various ILC (Inter Laboratory Comparison) and proficiency testing. Our labs use concepts of Total Quality Management System (TQM), which continuously refines laboratory processes based on continuous quality feedback. This ensured consistent operations on a daily basis
CUSTOMER SERVICE QATL has dedicated quality assurance departments which independently handle customer needs and also provides reliable analysis in the field of testing.
We have computerized and automated the critical functioning right from sample booking to computation of analytical data and report processing which greatly reduces the factor of human error, ensuring greater reliability in analytical results. At QATL quality & dependability and reliability is defined in terms of various operational & functional parameters catered with standardized specializations depending on customer needs. Our reliable testing is monitored by internal quality assurance departments and our comprehensive SOP’s provide the framework that assures reliable services with the highest standards to our Valuable Customers.
LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System) We in QA Testing follow laboratory information management system (LIMS) which is a software system developed to support laboratory operations. This software system can track specimens and workflows, aggregate data for research or business intelligence purposes, and ensure laboratory operations are compliant with various standards and regulations. A Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is software that allows you to effectively manage samples and associated data. By using a LIMS, your lab can automate workflows, integrate instruments, and manage samples and associated information. Additionally, you can produce reliable results more quickly and can track data from sequencing runs over time and across experiments to improve efficiency.
Tell us about major testing projects undertaken by you and what are the challenges you face when it comes to catering to the Indian market?
India is a country with great opportunities and a growing economy and the Indian market highly prices sensitive, the cost is usually more important in sales than quality, as in the coal sector, it's testing which adds more to the government's account but according to me there are three important aspects where coal and coke testing plays an important role such as economy, environmental and personal. Now if we talk about economical aspect equipment’s, transportation, maintenance and storage are the main components similarly hazardous slurry, air water and land pollution come under the environmental. As in India biggest sources of power are coal-based plants and due to which there is stringent environmental policies, it is important to understand that climate change induces climate change. In an era where we are sprinting towards 6th mass extinction, it is important to draw a fine line between progress and nature.
What are your predictions about the role of independent coal testing agencies for power plants and steel industry in 2021?
Independent coal testing agencies play a vital role in coal and coke industries for selecting appropriate markets and industries for the given coal. With the increasingly stringent environmental policies, the accuracy of coal analysis results help in optimizing disposal and storages of reject coal, coal slurries, fly ash and slag. Poor quality coal produces NOx, SOx and flies ash in reasonably large quantities as compared to good quality coal, so the pre-treatment before processing and disposal can enhance the economy of the plant. The coal analysis results provided by us help coal producers and processing industries in deciding the cleaning equipment, parameters, and probable amount of by-products. The optimization of by-products and pollutants not only save the environment from poisonous hazards it also enhances the economy of the plant, therefore the role of independent coal testing agencies plays a very an important role as its test reports have more credibility, but it also has specialized facilities with calibrations, and most importantly it is unbiased.
QA Testing Laboratories are following different Indian Standards to test these parameters