China's Ministry of Science and Technology says an inception meeting for the Project of Optimizing Steam Coal Utilization and Coal Boiler Efficiency has been  held in Beijing, within the framework of the National Key Technologies R&D Program in the 11th Five Years.

The event was attended by the Department of Hi-tech Development and Industrialization of MOST, China Coal Research Institute, project contractors and participating units.

A management mechanism was established at the meeting, including a project expert panel and a management office to ensure smooth delivery of every task.

Through research, development and demonstration, the project is expected to develop technologies for advanced coal boiler systems of various sizes and corresponding technologies of dust-collecting and desulfurizing systems, with an aim to raise the boilers' efficiency by 10% to 15% and save coal by 15% to 25%. MOST says efforts should also be made to obtain proprietary IPR in developing technologies and large equipment for steam coal preparation and washing, foster technical progress in regional coal processing systems, lower the cost while improve the quality, and build five to six demonstration zones.