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Chemical & Process World August 2013
Editorial
Sustaining exports: SEZs to the rescue!
Editorial Advisory Board Dr Kishore Shah
Chairman and Managing Director, Sauradip Chemical Industries Pvt Ltd
Dr P D Samudra
Executive Director - Sales and Member of the Board, Uhde India Pvt Ltd
Pratik Kadakia
Principal, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants Pvt Ltd
Ravi Kapoor
The continuing global economic slump is of foreign direct investments. Importantly, adversely affecting India’s exports. According SEZs were initiated to put India on the fast to the latest available data, the country’s lane to economic growth as well as to boost exports have shrunk by 1.41 per cent to the country’s manufacturing exports. $ 72.4 billion in the first quarter of 2013-14. However, with the passage of time, India’s In a ripple effect, this has led to the widening current SEZ policy seems to be adding little of the current account deficit, which touched towards sustainably boosting India’s economy, an all-time high of 4.8 per cent of the gross especially in the light of the recent global domestic product in 2012-13. Against this economic headwinds and a fast-evolving domestic backdrop and with the general elections barely manufacturing ecosystem. The time is thus ripe few months away, it would not be surprising for a thorough review of this policy in order to witness heightened activity in the policyto initiate fresh measures to making corridors of the further broaden the contours The time is ripe for a national capital. However, of economic reform. thorough review of India’s to energise exports, it is As a welcome step in this current SEZ policy in order important to focus on the direction, the Department of to initiate fresh measures to range of options. Commerce is considering a further broaden the contours relaxation of the minimum In this context, the of economic reform. spotlight seems to return to area requirement for more the significance of Special sectors in the final amendments of the SEZ Economic Zones (SEZs). This is primarily rules because both the industry and state because SEZs have delivered more than governments have been facing hurdles in 30 per cent of growth in exports, while the land acquisition. Further, the Ministry of country’s trade outflow has witnessed an overall Commerce and Industry has prioritised these decline of 1.86 per cent during the same period. proposals and asked its officials to ensure that At this juncture, the evolution and role new norms are put in place at the earliest. of SEZs in India need to be understood first. On being accepted, these changes will add The SEZ policy came into existence in April substantial value to the policy alterations made 2000 with objectives that sought to clear the by the government a few months ago. Moreover, bottlenecks arising from the multiplicity of interest among India-bound investors would controls and clearances, to put in place world- be rekindled and the manufacturing sector class infrastructure and to increase India’s share would perhaps eventually regain its lost glory.
Managing Director, Heubach Colour Pvt Ltd, and Chairman – Gujarat Chapter, Indian Chemical Council
Sunil Chaudhari
Country Manager - South Asia, AspenTech India
Manas R Bastia manas@network18publishing.com
August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 5
Contents Cover Story........................................................................................................
The growth drivers: Proactive steps pivotal to propel Indian chemical sector
22
In 2012, China received 11 per cent more FDI as compared to 2011, while inflows to India decreased by more than 15 per cent. So is India still a preferred destination for global chemical majors? While India offers a huge market for chemical companies, it still needs to prove its business dynamics. The government needs to take proactive measures to attract global and domestic majors to invest in India’s growth story.
In Conversation With
20
“In certain states, the demand for SSP is not growing, which causes stiff pricing competition” Cover illustration: Sanjay Dalvi
Daulat J Ramsinghani
Chairman & Managing Director, Rama Phosphates Ltd
Editorial....................................................... 5
User-industry Monitor................................... 52 Home care products: Specialty chemicals delivering gentle care
News, Views & Analysis................................ 10
Automation Trends....................................... 54 Case Study - Jesons Industries Ltd: Embracing customised solution for real-time process monitoring
Sustaining exports: SEZs to the rescue!
Technology & Innovation................................ 16 Technology Transfer............................... 18 Projects.................................................... 64 Tenders..................................................... 66 Event List.................................................. 68 Book Review............................................... 71
Products............................................. 73 List of Products..................................... 82 List of Advertisers.................................. 83
Event Report l
Courtesy: Robosoft Solution Pvt Ltd
Sustainability Mantras.................................. 56 Wastewater treatment technology: The effective solution for saving the precious drop Policies & Regulations.................................. 58 Inverted duty structure: An impediment to industry competitiveness Strategy.................................................... 60 SME development: Exploring sustainable strategies towards success Tips & Tricks.............................................. 62 Use of chromatography: Guidelines to select right solvent for fast-track analysis
ARC India Forum: Aiding process industry for breakthrough performance....................................... 70
6 | Chemical & Process World | August 2013
Contents Facility Visit.......................................................................................................
36
A Schulman Plastics India (Pvt) Ltd: Giving a master’s touch to masterbatch manufacturing
25
39
Special Focus
Insight & Outlook
Risk assessment .................................26
Indian surfactant industry......................40
Maintenance made effective and easy
Surfing high on the demand wave
Industrial cyber security .......................28
Synthetic fibre industry.........................42
Shielding against online threats
Treading on a successful path
Personal protective equipment................32
Carbon black sector.............................44
Safety, Health & Environment
Donning the armour for protection Vinay Pathak, Lab Head-R&D Centre (Gurgaon), 3M India Ltd
Safety compliance...............................34 Implementing actionable HSE strategies in a global marketplace
Bulk/Base Chemicals
Heading for a revival?
Titanium dioxide market........................46 Combatting the clouds of price hike
Roundtable........................................47 Specialty or bulk chemicals, which is the best bet for the Indian chemical industry?
63
Caprolactam industry in Asia-Pacific........48 Hotspot for growth!
Material resources deployment................50
Frank Lelek
A novel concept for optimising resources
President, India Region, Evonik Industries AG
Highlights of Next Edition Special Focus: Heating & Cooling Equipment Insight & Outlook: Specialty Chemicals
Details on : page no. 68
Note: ` stands for Indian rupee, $ stands for US dollar and ÂŁ stands for UK pound, unless mentioned otherwise
August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 7
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August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 9
News, Views & Analysis
specialty chemicals
SRF plans capex The SRF Board has approved a capex proposal to set up a new plant under the second flexible multi-pur pose plant at the company’s newly developed chemical complex at Dahej, Gujarat. The total investment will be approximately ` 50 crore. The new plant will manufacture specialty chemicals catering to the agrochemical industry. SRF Ltd reported 100 per cent growth in net Profit After Tax (PAT) at ` 44 crore during the first quarter of 2013-14.
Omnia Fertilizer awards cryogenic ammonia storage tank contract to UHDE India Omnia Fertilizer has awarded UHDE India a contract to render engineering, procurement and supervision services associated with the 10,000-MT cryogenic ammonia storage tank and associated systems at Sasolburg, South Africa. The tank will use UHDE India’s cup-in-tank floating roof technology.
Linde India appoints new Managing Director Linde India has announced that Moloy Banerjee has been appointed as the Managing Director of the company and a member of its Board of Directors effective July 2013. Banerjee succeeds Srikumar Menon, who will continue as The Linde Group’s Managing Director for South Asia, responsible for its businesses in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Clariant to expand its pigment manufacturing capacity Clariant, a specialty chemicals manufacturing company, is proceeding with a 50 per cent expansion in capacity at its Azo pigments and pigment preparation plant in Roha. This recently approved investment will also enhance the capabilities and output at the site in a sustainable manner by reducing energy consumption and expanding the range of low VOC-containing pigments preparations offered to the market. These latest investments are intended to support the strong market growth in India. They also mark another step in Clariant’s efforts to enhance its on-the-ground presence and offer
more intimate customer service to customers in the emerging Indian and Asian markets. A new upgraded technical service laboratory for pigments has now commenced operations at its Cuddalore site (Tamil Nadu). Clariant is also in the process of doubling its marketing and sales organisation in India, China and Indonesia throughout 2013. “Our on-going efforts to strengthen our presence in India are part of a broader commitment to give customers access to high quality, sustainable products,” said Marco Cenisio, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Business Units, Pigments, Clariant.
INNOVATIVE PAINTS
Dulux introduces Weathershield Next Gen exterior emulsion AkzoNobel, one of the largest global paints and coatings company and the makers of Dulux Paints in India, has launched Dulux Weathershield Next Gen, a water-based polyurethane, ultra high grade exterior wall paint. The paint has been developed using an innovative new generation PUMA technology that combines the high performance of solventbased polyurethane coatings with the low VOC content of water-based emulsions. Dulux Weathershield Next Gen has comprehensive per f or mance f eatures that provide enhanced durability and prevention
from atmospheric chemical corrosion. The film coating is twice as strong as compared to a regular exterior emulsion. These unique properties enable the paint to provide best-in-class performance along with making it environment-friendly by delaying the re-painting cycle of the project. In addition to the low VOC content in the paint, its application ensures
long-lasting protection to the exterior walls for up to 10 years as compared to 3-5 years that is offered by regular exterior emulsions. Manish Bhatia, General Manager, Decorative Paints (Dulux), Akzo Nobel India, said, “At Dulux, we care for the environment and endeavor to contribute towards a brighter and more sustainable future. Our core focus in innovation and product performance have led us to create technologically advanced products that fulfill customer expectations, enhance the quality of life and also help reduce carbon footprint.” Mahua Roy
Strategic Decision
Dupont exploring sale of performance chemicals unit DuPont is exploring the sale or spin off of its $ 7-billion/year performance chemicals unit as part of its transformation to a ‘higher growth, less cyclical company’. DuPont’s decision to exit performance chemicals segment follows the sale of its automotive coatings business earlier this year, and the acquisition of Danisco in 2011. “We have been carefully weighing the strong cash generation of our performance chemicals businesses against their cyclicality and lower
10 | Chemical & Process World | August 2013
growth profile, as well as where the power of DuPont’s science can be differentiated,” said Ellen Kullman, Chairman & CEO, DuPont. He added, “We are evaluating options for performance chemicals as part of our ongoing plan to deliver higher growth and greater value creation for our shareholders.” Options being considered include a full or partial separation of each of these businesses through a spin-off, sale or other transaction, the company said.
News, Views & Analysis
RESEARCH
Gujarat to house three CII centres of excellence The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will soon set up a green Nanotechnology Centre and a Knowledge Application Facilitation Centre in Gujarat. R Mukundan, Chairman, CII- Western Region and Managing DirectorTata Chemicals Ltd, said, “We have already made Intellectual Property Facilitation Centre operational in Gujarat. Now, Nanotechnology Centre and a Knowledge Application Facilitation Centre will start at Ahmedabad.
This will act as centres of excellence giving thrust to innovation in Gujarat, which is already a frontrunner in industrial development.” He added, “Skill development is the next big thing in India as we have many educated people, but very few skilled and trained manpower. As we are scaling up the annual capacity to train 1,500 youths, we are also replicating the same model in other states including Gujarat.”
SUSTAINABILITY
Praj’s breakthrough technology helps to resolve textile pollution issue at Tirupur Praj Industries announced repeat orders for Zero Liquid Discharge solutions for textile wastewater treatment. Tirupur, being a textile belt, faced the crisis of severe pollution of water bodies due to discharge of coloured effluent from the bleaching and dyeing units. More than 600 bleaching
and dyeing units remained closed for almost two years for want of a reliable solution. Praj successfully commissioned a 100 kilolitre per day ZLD system based on multi-effect evaporation technology at Veerapandi, Tirupur. The entire plant was designed, engineered, fabricated and erected by Praj
on a turnkey basis. The end products are process condensate and salts which are reusable in the textile dyeing units. Based on the successful operation of the first plant at Veerapandi Common Effluent Treatment Plant, Praj contracted a second order for treatment of effluent from the textile dyeing cluster.
AGROCHEMICALS
TSMG and FICCI present report on Agrochemicals
Manish Panchal, Head-Chemicals Practice, TSMG, and Indrajit Pal, Secretary - Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals Government of India
Tata Strategic Management Group (TSMG) published the 2013 ‘Agro Chemical’ report as knowledge and strategy partner for FICCI’s Third National Agrochemicals Conclave 2013. The report highlights the current scenario regarding the consumption patterns, future growth potential of crop protection industry in India, and the strategic imperatives for its growth. As per the report, Indian crop protection market was estimated at $ 3.8 billion in FY12 with exports constituting around 50 per cent
of the market. The market is expected to grow further at a CAGR of 12-13 per cent to reach around $ 6.8 billion by FY17. Raju Bhinge, Chief Executive Officer, TSMG, said, “This report focusses on agrochemicals market and highlights the future trends with focus on opportunities and challenges along with strategic imperatives for the industry players. We hope it acts as a guiding light for the players in the crop protection chemical industry in India.” The industry has shown an inclination towards adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approaches and use of biopesticides. TSMG analysed that Indian crop protection market is supported by strong growth drivers. Current low consumption of crop protection products in India is at 0.6 kg/hectare compared to world average of 3 kg/hectare; this offers immense opportunities for future growth. The sector is also driven by huge opportunity for contract manufacturing and research for Indian players due to large availability of technically skilled talent pool.
ETAD updates list of impurities for dyes in textile applications Ecological and Toxicological Association of D yes and Organic Pigments Manufacturers (ETAD) issued a fresh list of impurities for dyes used in textile applications. The substances identified include chlorobenzenes, chlorotoluenes, chlorophenols, organotin compounds, etc. These substances will be listed with recommended limits as well as with reference methods.
Aker Solutions acquires UK engineering company
Aker Solutions has acquired UK specialist engineering company International Design Engineering And Services Ltd (I.D.E.A.S) to boost its asset integrity management services. Scotland-based I.D.E.A.S. has developed software and technolog y that dr amatic al l y impro ves the quality and accuracy of integrity and lifetime analysis for oil & gas assets.
Cole-Parmer launches its 7th annual catalog Cole-Parmer recently released th its 7 annual catalog for the scientific and process industries. It has also released its second annual catalog dedicated to the food and beverage industry. Users can select from highly efficient laboratory essentials, lab equipment, fluid handling and process equipment and find exactly what they need for their application, right from R&D to pilot plants to scale-up.
August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 11
News, Views & Analysis
Rebranding
India Chem Gujarat 2013 to be held in Gandhinagar The third edition of India Chem Gujarat, jointly organised by Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Government of India, along with Government of Gujarat, iNDEXTb and Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) will be held from October 24-26, 2013, at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar. The highlights of India Chem Gujarat 2013 include more than 180 focussed exhibitors; structured buyer-seller meets; international conference and participation of Government of Gujarat and MSME Pavilions.
Clariant and Wilmar receive merger clearance
Clariant International Ltd, and Wilmar International Ltd, have received the relevant merger clearances for the establishment of their 50-50 joint venture called ‘the global amines company’, which will be headquartered in Singapore. This company will be the global platform for production and sales of fatty amines and selected amines derivatives.
Ashland inaugurates Changzhou gelcoats production facility Ashland Inc recently inaugurated its new gelcoats production facility in the chemical industry park of Changzhou Yangtze Riverside Economic Development Zone. Gelcoats are specialty resins that help improve the appearance of fiberglass products.
Ion Exchange unveils new corporate identity Ion Exchange (India) Ltd, specialists in environment management for over five decades, has recently launched their new corporate identity. Rajesh Sharma, Chairman and Managing Director, Ion Exchange, said, “In sync with the environmental transformation we strive to bring about, we have changed our logo and incorporated a positioning line ‘Refreshing the planet’, a move that accentuates our commitment to assume an ever greater responsibility to the cause of ecology and everything we stand for.”
He added, “The new Ion Exchange logo, with its hues of green and blue, celebrates the greenery and water around us and more cogently reaffirms our constant effort to make the earth a better place. The grey underlining signifies the strong foundation and base the organisation has built over five decades.” Ion Exchange (India) Ltd pioneered water treatment in India and is today the country’s premier company in water and environment management, with a strong international presence. It offers total water solutions for industry, homes and communities.
Financial Performance
Organic, fine and specialty chemicals infusing growth to DNL Deepak Nitrite Ltd (DNL) has witnessed healthy traction in organic chemicals and the fine & specialty chemicals segments. This has reflected in Q1 FY2014 results. Its revenues were up 25 per cent at ` 261.71 crore compared to ` 208.57 in Q1 FY2013. Strong demand in domestic markets has led to an increase in domestic revenues by 40 per cent on a year-on-year basis. The Dahej plant has commenced its first stream of commercial production of
Optical Brightening Agents (OBAs) on March 15, 2013, making DNL the only fully integrated manufacturer of OBAs in the world. The expansion at the Nandesari facility has been completed and commercial production has commenced from June 26, 2013. “We are pleased with the strong start to fiscal 2014. Volumes continue to trend upwards with healthy traction in our segments of organic chemicals and fine & specialty chemicals. Products
introduced by us over the last three years are seeing increased market acceptance and penetration, and have contributed the bulk of incremental volumes,” said Deepak C Mehta, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, DNL. “ W ith the par tcommissioning of Dahej facility in March and commissioning of the Nandesari expansion in June we have made significant progress on our expansion plans,” he added.
Policy decision
Anti-dumping duty on rubber chemicals extended for one more year The Government of India has decided to continue with anti-dumping duty on import of rubber chemicals from China and Republic of Korea for another one year up to 2014. The rubber prices could go up further due to this move. The anti-dumping duty was imposed earlier on this product in 2008, and then in 2011 up to May 2013. The rubber prices have been going up consistently in the domestic market since the beginning of June
12 | Chemical & Process World | August 2013
2013, and currently hovering around ` 190 per kg, up by eight per cent over one month. Rubber chemicals are used for processing of both synthetic and natural rubber for further use in manufacturing of articles like tyre and other elastic items. The Indian manufacturers of rubber goods, especially tyres, have been importing large quantity of the rubber chemicals, which would turn expensive post this duty imposition.
News, Views & Analysis
RECOGNITION
RGIPT to set up research centre in Bengaluru Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology (RGIPT) will be setting up a ` 355-crore research centre in Bengaluru. Karnataka Government agreed to offer 200 acre of land to set up the centre. D M Reddy, Director, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, said, “We are going to set up Asia’s first centre on fire and safety for oil & gas sector.”
GPCB serves notice to 60 polluting companies in Gujarat
The Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) has served notices to around 60 companies in the critically polluted zones of Vatva and Ankleshwar for not complying with environmental norms. Notices have been served for not discharging part of their highly concentrated waste streams to the Common Multiple Effect Evaporator.
GSFCL plans to raise DAP production Gujarat State Fertiliser and Chemicals (GSFCL) plans to invest ` 600 crore in capacity expansion of its Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) plant in the state. “We are planning to expand the DAP production facility at Baroda to 15 lakh tonne per annum from 10 lakh tonne per annum,” said V D Nanavaty, Chief Financial Officer, GSFCL
Unilever honours WACKER for delivering silicone solutions Unilever presented WACKER with this year’s ‘Partner to Win Award’ for its customer-oriented supply of silicone raw materials. WACKER helped to significantly reduce the cost for silicone emulsions for haircare products by expanding capacities and developing effective and affordable solutions at its site in India. The award ceremony took place during a supplier summit staged by Unilever in Singapore. Pier Luigi Sigismondi, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Unilever, said, “We are thrilled to award WACKER the ‘Partner to Win Award’ in the category ‘Joint Value Creation’
for its commitment to working with Unilever to grow our businesses sustainably together.” WACKER has been supplying silicone emulsions, primarily from its production facility in Kolkata, India, to Unilever in Southeast Asia for around ten years. “Unilever was expanding their business in India and in Southeast Asia and was looking for a supplier supporting this growth by providing high-quality products and sufficient capacities to meet their demand,” said Jörg Krey, Head - Performance Silicones business unit, WACKER.
EPC Contract
Essar Projects wins its maiden EPC contract from BPCL Essar Projects Ltd (EPL), a global Engineering, Procurement, Construction (EPC) company headquartered in Dubai, announced that it has secured a contract valued at over ` 550 crore from Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) to participate in its major refinery expansion project in Kochi. EPL has won the contract in a consortium with GR Engineering of Mumbai for the EPC of the Reactor Regenerator
Alwyn Bowden
package of 2.2 MMTPA Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCCU) at the Kochi refinery, which is set to expand to 15.5 MMTPA. The project is scheduled to
be completed in 24 months. M/s. Technip Shaw is the Process Licensor of this package. With this the total number of major projects secured by EPL, both domestic and overseas, has gone up to eight, taking the total order book to about $ 4.1 billion. Alwyn Bowden, President & CEO, Essar Projects said, “We are pleased with this significant first award from BCPL which further consolidates our position in the hydrocarbons sector in India.”
WATER MANAGEMENT
WBCSD to support effective water resource management The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has launched the India Water Tool to help companies better assess their water risks and manage their water use more efficiently in India. The tool is the first national customisation of the WBCSD’s widely acclaimed Global Water Tool launched in 2007. For the past year, a group of 14 companies in India (Co-Chairs: ACC and PwC, technology partner Infosys and Working Group comprising Ambuja, BASF, Bayer, BP, DSM, HCC, Jain Irrigation, ITC, Pepsi, Siemens, Vedanta), have worked together, with co-ordination from the WBCSD, to develop version 1 of the India Water Tool.
14 | Chemical & Process World | August 2013
The India Water Tool is a free IT-based resource integrating groundwater data from across India. Any company operating in the country can use the tool to input its location and water-use data, and it will automatically generate maps and charts displaying which of the company’s operations face the biggest groundwater availability and quality risks. The software was developed by technology partner, Infosys. Sushil Gupta, Chairman, Central Ground Water Board, said, “I am delighted to see that through the India Water Tool, data collected from the Central Ground Water Board has been combined and made accessible to companies so that they can take an evidence-based approach to inform their water management strategies.”
Technology & Innovation
Mouvex, a leading manufacturer of positive displacement pumps, vane compressors, screw compressors and hydraulic coolers, has upgraded its A Series eccentric disc pumps to meet the challenges of today’s global chemical and oil & gas markets. Mouvex A Series eccentric disc pumps, known for their reliability, have incorporated a variety of upgrades to meet growing global demand, including the implementation of ISO PN16/ANSI 150 flanges. The A Series has also doubled its maximum differential pressure from 5 bar (72 psi) to 10 bar (145 psi), enabling it to be used in the safe transfer of viscous, non-lubricating, volatile or delicate fluids in a variety of new applications.
Kaeser’s redesigned BSD Series rotary screw compressor saves energy Kaeser Compressors, Inc pushed the boundaries of compressed air efficiency with the newly redesigned BSD rotary screw compressors series. Available in 40, 50, and 60 hp with flows from 157-294 cfm and pressures to 217 psig, the new BSD compressors deliver high reliability, simple maintenance and sustainable energy savings. Kaeser has further enhanced the BSD Series’ energy-efficiency through a combination of true direct drive design, premium efficiency motors, lower internal pressure differential and optimised airends. Specific power is improved by up to 6 per cent. New features include an enhanced cooling design, eco-friendly filter element, integral moisture separator with drain, and an electronic thermal management system. BSD compressors also come standard with Sigma Control 2. This intelligent controller offers unsurpassed compressor control and monitoring, with enhanced communications capabilities for seamless integration into plant control, monitoring systems. BSD models are also available with an integrated dryer for premium compressed air quality.
Mouvex A SLL heat trace ideal for long Series pumps pipeline application enable product transfer up to 250°C “The Mouvex A Series pump remains one of the most robust and reliable pumps on the market,” said Paul Cardon, Product Manager, Industry, Mouvex. He added, “Now, the recent enhancements allow this long-lasting pump to be used in global chemical, food and oil applications where it previously could not.” The Mouvex A Series, previously available in cast iron construction, is now available in ductile iron construction – a critical upgrade as more companies in the petrochemical industry, for example, are integrating ductile iron systems into their processes. The upgraded A Series also features the availability of both Mouvex or standardised mechanical seals.
Chromalox launched a new heat trace cable product called Series Long Line (SLL) heat trace cable. This product is similar in construction to Chromalox’s current self-regulating heat trace, making it compatible with their current accessory offering. SLL heat trace is suited for use on extremely long pipelines where high temperature maintenance is critical for freeze protection and viscosity maintenance. This type of heat trace cable is ideal for use in the alternative fuels, power generation, oil and gas, chemical, food, and pulp & paper industries. Long pipelines are typically used in these operations to transfer
16 | Chemical & Process World | August 2013
liquids from the processing plants to the storage facilities, tank farms and transportation vessels. SLL heat trace cable is specifically designed with longer circuit lengths for these applications. It can be used for continuous circuit lengths up to 7,000 feet, powered from a single source with output ranges up to 12 w/ft and voltages from 120 V-600 V. By reducing the number of circuits, or power connections, on a long pipeline, significant cost savings can be realised by end-users. The series-resistance type heat trace cables can also withstand continuous exposure to temperatures up to 450°F. “The SLL cable allows users to minimise the number of power points that need to be provided over a long section of pipe, which will reduce installation time and cost. The addition of this line of heat trace cable enables Chromalox to be truly a turnkey supplier for larger, more complex trace heating projects,” said Chris Myers, Product Manager-Heat Trace Cable, Chromalox.
Technology Transfer
Technology Offered As part of our endeavour to spread the technology culture, this section provides a means to promote and facilitate exchange of select technologies. We strive to bring together suppliers of such technologies with suitable users for negotiations and industrial collaboration. Activated carbon
Phosphate esters
An Iranian firm is willing to offer activated carbon from coconut shells.
An Indian firm is offering technology for manufacturing phosphate esters like tributyl phosphate.
Areas of application
Food processing, pharmaceuticals, etc
Forms of transfer
Technology licensing
Specialty chemicals
Forms of transfer Joint venture
Ethanol An Iranian company is offering ethanol from molasses using the fermentation of sacharomyces cerevisiae.
Areas of application
Chemical and energy industries
Forms of transfer
Technology licensing
Sodium hydrosulfite An Iranian company is willing to manufacture sodium hydrosulfite using chemical compounds. It is widely used as a stripping agent in dyes and chemicals.
Areas of application
Chemical industry
Furfuryl alcohol technology An Indian firm offers technology for producing furfuryl alcohol from furfural by liquid hydrogenation as well as vapour hydrogenation, with a capacity of 6,000 tpa to 24,000 tpa.
Areas of application
Furan polymers, sealants & cements, urea-formaldehyde, and phenolic resins & foundry cores
Forms of transfer
Consultancy, technical technology licensing
Areas of application
services,
Forms of transfer
Technology licensing
Sodium silicate recovery from rice husk ash An Indian firm is offering technology to recover sodium silicate from rice husk ash. The technology claims to offer better return on investment than other processing methods.
Areas of application
Chemical industry
Forms of transfer
Consultancy, technical services, turnkey, etc
Precipitated calcium carbonate
Sodium sulfide
An Indian consulting company for the chemicals, minerals & food processing industries is offering precipitated calcium carbonate and turnkey projects for the same.
An Iranian firm is willing to offer sodium sulfide, which is used mainly in textile industry, paper mill, artificial silk and curriery.
Areas of application
Plastics, paper, paints, rubber, inks
Forms of transfer
Consultancy, technical services
Areas of application
Leather, textile, curriery industries, paper mills, etc
Forms of transfer Turnkey
18 | Chemical & Process World | August 2013
Synthesis routes for organic chemicals An Indian firm is offering consultancy in design of synthesis routes for organic chemicals.
Areas of application
Pharma industry, specialty chemicals, plant protection chemicals, etc
Forms of transfer Consultancy
Transformer oil unit An Indian company is willing to offer consultancy for making a transformer oil unit with domestic coal from its waste.
Areas of application Transformers
Forms of transfer Consultancy, technical services
Zinc phosphatiser/rust converter (Ferphos) An Indian firm offers technology to produce Ferphos – a unique chemical formulation that acts as a zinc phosphatiser cum rust converter. Ferphos is an innovation and improvement over existing phosphating products/technologies practised around the world. Ferphos solution does not die, ie even after prolonged use, and does not require daily addition of chemicals and hence it results in zero effluence. Ferphos solution also acts as a rust converter when brushed on rusted iron products.
Areas of application
All iron and steel products including aluminium, SS, GI products
Forms of transfer
Technology licensing
Technology Transfer
Technology Requested Activated carbon and sodium silicate A company from Thailand requires technology for manufacturing activated carbon and sodium silicate from rice husk & rice husk ash.
Areas of application
Manufacturing and construction industry
Forms of transfer Others
Glyoxal An Indian company is looking to switch the production technique for manufacturing 40 per cent glyoxal from its existing acetaldehyde-based method to the MEG-based glyoxal production.
Areas of application
Pharma and textile industries
Forms of transfer Others
Inorganic chemicals An Indian company is interested in seeking the technology and process know-how for production of potassium nitrate, chromium acetate, and magnesium hydroxide suspension. The company already produces inorganic chemicals and wants to add several other items.
Areas of application
Chemical industry
Forms of transfer Others
Lime
Silica gel
An Indian company seeks to adopt new cost-effective technologies, which can reduce carbon emissions and earn carbon credits, for manufacturing lime.
An Indian firm is looking for new technology for manufacturing silica gel in which the wastewater discharge is minimum.
Areas of application
Quick lime and hydrated lime
Areas of application
For various industries and most importantly breweries
Forms of transfer Others
Forms of transfer Others
Phenolic and phenol formaldehyde resin An Indian company needs the technical know-how for producing phenolic and phenol formaldehyde resins.
Areas of application
Foundry, rubber adhesives, rockwool, abrasives, plywood, etc
Forms of transfer
Small-scale environmentfriendly chemical technology An Indian company is looking out for an economically viable smallscale, environment-friendly chemical technology useful in the textile sector as well as in pharmaceutical sector.
Areas of application
Others
Textile and pharmaceutical industry
Forms of transfer
Quaternary ammonium chloride
Others
An Indonesia-based company is planning to diversify into manufacturing of quaternary ammonium chloride. It is seeking technology along with the supply of critical plant and machinery for the manufacture of the chemical 3-chloro-2hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride that is produced from epichhlorohydrin.
Areas of application
Chemical industry
Solvent dyes An Indian company has recently installed a manufacturing capacity of 2,400 mtpa and is looking to diversify its product range by including various solvent dyes in its product portfolio. The company is seeking process consultancy for this project.
Areas of application
Plastics, petroleum, solvents, etc
Forms of transfer
Technical know-how, consultancy
Forms of transfer Others
Information courtesy: Dr Krishnan S Raghavan, In-Charge, Technology Transfer Services Group, Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology (APCTT) of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), APCTT Building, C-2, Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi - 110 016, Tel: 011-3097 3758 (Direct), 3097 3710 (Board), Fax: 011-2685 6274, E-mail: srinivasaraghavan@un.org, Web: www.apctt.org, For more information on technology offers and requests, please log on to www.technology4sme.net and register with your contact details. This is a free of cost platform provided by APCTT for facilitating interaction between buyers and seekers of technologies across the globe. After submitting technology offer or request to this website, you are requested to wait for at least two weeks for receiving a response from a prospective buyer/seeker through this website, before contacting APCTT for further assistance.
Share and Solicit Technology
The mission of Chemical & Process World is to spread the technology culture. Here is an opportunity to be a part of this endeavour by sending your technology on offer or technology requirements. If you belong to any of these two categories, you are invited to furnish the techno-commercial details for publication. The write-up needs to be as per the format of this section with information about the particular technology offered or requested, its areas of application and forms of transfer. Contact us: Chemical & Process World, Network18 Media & Investments Ltd, ‘A’ Wing, Ruby House, J K Sawant Marg, Dadar (W), Mumbai 400 028 Tel: 022-3024 5000, 3003 4683, Fax: 022-3003 4499, Email: chemedit@network18publishing.com
August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 19
In Conversation With | Daulat J Ramsinghani
In certain states, the demand for SSP is not growing, which causes stiff pricing competition
Photo: Kuldeep Chaudhari
…says Daulat J Ramsinghani, Chairman and Managing Director, Rama Phosphates Ltd. In an interaction with Prasenjit Chakraborty, he discusses different aspects of Single Super Phosphate (SSP) fertiliser industry and the significance of SSP in the agriculture sector.
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Daulat J Ramsinghani
How is the demand for SSP fertiliser in India?
What is the role of SSP in meeting farmers’ needs?
The total SSP fertiliser consumption across India mainly depends on seasonality factor. It ranges between 40 and 46 lakh MT, with major consumption in Madhya Pradesh (11-13 lakh MT), Maharashtra (7.5-9 lakh MT), and Rajasthan (4-5 lakh MT). On an average, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh consume 3.5-4 lakh MT each. Gujarat and Chhattisgarh approximately consume 1.5 lakh MT each.
SSP is the only fertiliser, which in addition to phosphorus (P2O5 - 16 per cent) has 11 per cent sulphur and 21 per cent calcium. Advantages of these nutrients to farmers are mentioned as follows: Phosphorus: It is the secondmost important ingredient, which is available for nurturing the crops after getting dissolved in water. Phosphorus ensures speedy growth of stem and root, thereby increasing nutrient absorbing capacity of plants. Sulphur: It helps faster root growth. It also increases crop yield by 15-20 per cent in sulphur deficient soils. Calcium: It removes acidity and soil compaction, and thus restores soil health.
How has been the growth of Rama Phosphates over the years? The company commenced business in 1984, with an initial capacity of 66,000 MT of SSP and 33,000 MT of sulphuric acid. From a single location, and a singleproduct company, today we have three business lines with three manufacturing facilities, and backward linkages like in-house sulphuric acid production, which is an integral component of SSP. The present installed capacity comprises 4,78,000 MT of SSP, 1,83,600 MT of sulphuric acid and 1,20,000 MT of solvent extraction plant. Now, the company is expanding its overall production capacity by 60 per cent, for which final approval is awaited from the concerned ministry.
How do you face the competition from unorganised players? There are several unorganised as well as small local players in this industry. They mainly compete on pricing, especially in their low-freight zone areas. As their overheads are relatively low, they have an edge over established players in the market. We operate in almost all major SSP consuming states, and hence we always face competition from these players. But, we have a definite advantage – the strategic location of our plants offers us the logistics advantage. At the plant level, we have integrated production facility, with sulphuric acid plant in Pune and Indore to provide one of the basic raw materials for manufacture of SSP. At the same time, we also generate power for captive use.
What is your marketing strategy? We have three SSP plants located at strategic locations in India, ie at Udaipur; Pune and Indore. Focus of supplies from Udaipur plant is mainly to northern and eastern states where SSP consumption is approximately 14.5 lakh MT. The Indore plant is located at the centre of SSP consuming states, with consumption in Madhya Pradesh alone at 12.85 lakh MT followed by Maharashtra (8.60 lakh MT) and Chhattisgarh (1.87 lakh MT), which helps us to achieve the desired marketshare. The Pune unit caters to the requirements in Maharashtra and Karnataka (0.50 lakh MT). Our SSP brands Suryaphool and Girnar, with their quality and continuous supply, are wellestablished and popular among dealers and farmers for years.
What is the outlook for SSP fertiliser demand in India? Sales of SSP, in spite of being lowvalue product with add-on advantage of availability of sulphur, calcium and phosphate, are not growing and remain static over the last two years. At the all-India level, five states constitute the largest marketshare (72.5 per cent) – Madhya Pradesh (27 per cent), Maharashtra (18 per cent), Uttar
Up close and personal What was the turning point in your career?
As such, there was nothing specific since I believe every opportunity is worth a try. When the government used to give step-motherly treatment to SSP segment, I took it as a challenge and established the company. Today, the government recognises the importance of the segment.
What is the business etiquette you value the most?
Hard work, and not leaving things half-way
How do you deal with a tough situation? By facing it, head-on
Pradesh (8.5 per cent), West Bengal (9 per cent) and Rajasthan (10 per cent). In other states, the consumption level is not growing due to various reasons, and this causes stiff competition with local players when it comes to pricing in these states, which ultimately reduces the company’s margins substantially. There is a need for concentrated efforts to promote the USP of this product not only by the industry but also by the government.
What are your future plans? The company has already embarked on expansion activities to capitalise on the burgeoning market demand for SSP. We are well entrenched in our area of operations and we would stick to our core business of phosphatic fertilisers (SSP) and mixed fertilisers (Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium - NPK). We aim at producing and supplying quality product in the market so as to match with our philosophy of ‘Sowing seeds for the growing needs’. Email: prasenjit.chakraborty@network18publishing.com
August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 21
Cover Story
Illustration: Sanjay Dalvi
Rakesh Rao
($ 175 billion), Brazil ($ 65 billion), the UK ($ 63 billion) and France ($ 62 billion). While China received 11 per cent more FDI as compared to 2011, the inflows to India, Russia and South Africa reduced by more than 15 per cent. Indonesia recorded its highest level of FDI inflows at $ 19.9 billion in the first three quarters of 2012, while Brazil maintained the same level of FDI inflows at $ 65 billion. So will Indonesia replace ‘I’ of BRICS in place of India in the future? Experts believe that India definitely has a strong case on account of its consumption story, demographic dividend and availability of low-cost, skilled labour. But, the country cannot take growth for granted. The government will have to take proactive steps to attract global investors. Dr Joerg Strassburger, Managing Director and Country Representative, LANXESS India Pvt Ltd, says, “Unfortunately, India is not rated highly as an investment destination by multinational chemical companies currently. In addition to the
In 2012, China received 11 per cent more FDI as compared to 2011, while inflows to India decreased by more than 15 per cent. So is India still a preferred destination for global chemical majors? While India offers a huge market for chemical companies, it still needs to prove its business dynamics. The government needs to take proactive measures to attract global and domestic majors to invest in India’s growth story. Recently, Ajay Vara Prasad, Joint Secretary, Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, disclosed that the chemical sector’s contribution to GDP has come down to 1.9 per cent from the highs of 2-3 per cent. In fact, growth rate of the Indian chemical sector has been on the slide from the earlier highs of 15 per cent. According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), which releases the data for industrial production, the industry group ‘chemicals & chemical products’ has shown growth of 3.7 per cent for 2012-13. “The chemical industry is a supplier to almost every sector and the demand for chemicals is linked to the requirements in the end-user segments. Hence, the demand
boost in this sector is theoretical. However, the government needs to streamline all intangibles associated with the setting up of projects, which continues to be a big challenge,” says Navroz Mahudawala, Founder, Candle Partners – a boutique investment bank, with sizeable focus on chemicals and life sciences sectors.
India’s relevance to global majors According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in 2012, 44 per cent of global FDI inflows were hosted by only five countries. China attracted the lion’s share of $ 253 billion (or 18 per cent of total) followed by the US
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increasing challenges of setting up and managing operations in India, demand has also fallen significantly. However, the long-term market opportunities here are undeniably attractive, even though the current levels of demand in Brazil and China are much higher. If the right measures are taken to facilitate investment, India could be a much more favourable investment destination in the future.” According to Mahudawala, “China continues to be the biggest threat judging from the level of imports of chemical raw materials from that country. It would continue to compete with India for investments in manufacturing wherein a criterion is cost-competitiveness. However,
The growth drivers
several global chemical companies, in the next few years, are likely to invest in the Indian market and explore possibilities, and thus the country could benefit.”
All is not lost Though there seems to be gloom in the market, the industry is optimistic. “We consider this slowdown as a short-term phenomenon, beyond which the market opportunity in India will definitely grow,” observes Dr Strassburger. Aashish Kasad, Tax Partner – Chemicals Practice, Ernst & Young Pvt Ltd, adds, “The Indian chemical industry, which currently accounts for about 3 per cent of global chemical industry sales, has the potential to enhance its share to 6 per cent of the global chemical industry sales in 2017. To achieve the same, in this period of slowdown, the government needs to focus on critical areas such as infrastructure and single-window clearances, R&D, feedstock allocation & availability at competitive price, etc for boosting growth in the Indian chemical industry.” In order to capitalise on this opportunity, experts feel that the government should implement the following measures:
Growth promoters According to Godiawala, the following sectors offer huge opportunities to the chemical industry: Agri-chemicals, due to growth in agriculture; increased R&D and use of technology; and interest of foreign players in JV with the Indian manufacturers to take advantage of lowcost production Specialty chemicals, as a lot of multinational companies are looking at India to cater to specific demands and applications Green/eco-friendly chemicals, as Europe and other developed nations are stressing more on reducing environmental damage
Navroz Mahudawala
for local but global investors. “For example, compliance issues should be dealt with in a stringent yet fair manner across China continues to be the biggest the board. The tax structure threat judging from the level of should not add to the burden imports of chemical raw materials of investors over and above the from that country. It would rise in raw material and energy continue to compete with India. costs. Other Asian countries are gearing up to tap the opportunity in these markets,” observes Dr Strassburger. Infrastructure support: Availability R&D: Kasad feels that R&D is of continuous power supply, good critical for the development of any connectivity to major industrial hubs and sector as it helps an industry to remain ports, dedicated road & rail for freight, competitive in the international arena. To adequate warehousing facilities, common meet the evolving consumer requirements effluent treatment plants, ensuring land as well as compete globally, the industry availability, etc are some of the major areas would need to increase R&D spending that call for action from the government. substantially from the existing 1-2 per “Also, in terms of obtaining licences and cent to at least 5-6 per cent. “To promote permits, the process needs to be much investments in upcoming technologies, faster and facilitated through a singlefiscal incentives such as accelerated window clearance, if possible. Accelerating depreciation, tax benefits, subsidies, etc the process of developing Petroleum, could be provided. The government should Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment facilitate technology tie-ups with global Regions (PCPIRs) could be a possible companies or bilateral exchange forums, solution,” opines Dr Strassburger. wherever needed. Such partnerships Government has been taking steps for will enable Indian companies to make a building the infrastructure like developing marked change in technology and sales PCPIRs and chemical parks in India and & marketing, thereby not only serving has shown its concern towards the need for the domestic market, but also increasing infrastructure development in the country competitiveness for exports,” says Kasad. in its ‘Five Year Plan for Indian Chemical Passing the feedstock test: Given Industry’ and ‘Draft National Chemical the fact that India will be dependent Policy 2012’ (DNCP). Kasad notes, on imports to meet its feedstock “While the reforms are encouraging to requirements even in future, India will attract major investments, both domestic have to find proactive solutions to emerge and foreign, it needs to be implemented as the leading investment destination for effectively and in a time-bound manner global chemical majors. Dr Strassburger with a single-window clearance to remove says, “Feedstock availability is key to the the bottlenecks faced by companies.” growth of chemical industry, especially Financial support: Dr Strassburger believes that it is important to attract for specialty chemicals and advanced investors and raw material suppliers, in polymers. It is indispensable as the raw particular, by encouraging them through material supply can only be assured if incentives and proposing a plan such that feedstock is adequate. We must find a way the investors can derive returns on their to ensure that there are several suppliers at investment. A Special Purpose Vehicle competitive costs.” (SPV) could be floated to set up and Kasad is of the opinion that the maintain common infrastructure facilities. government needs a policy for allocation Policy support: Favourable, investorof feedstock to best-suited products, friendly policies are important not only rather than based on priority sectors. For
Founder, Candle Partners
August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 23
The growth drivers
Dr Joerg Strassburger example, natural gas should be a become more sophisticated, Managing Director and Country priority for the fertiliser sector, these sub-sectors would continue Representative, LANXESS India Pvt Ltd naphtha for petrochemicals, etc. to show higher growth rates. “Further, government could serve Construction chemicals, food We consider this slowdown as a catalyst in securing feedstock ingredients, pharmaceuticals & as a short-term phenomenon, from gas and oil rich countries. agri-intermediates and coatings beyond which the market The government to government would continue to benefit from opportunity in India will agreements for long-term supply these factors.” definitely grow. at competitive prices would be a Growth story still on welcome sign,” she notes. It is evident that the Indian Adds Savan Godiawala, chemical industry, like many others, Senior Director – Deloitte Touche providers, logistics service providers etc, has not been spared from the brunt of Tohmatsu India Pvt Ltd, “India will and then invite proposals from all such the global economic uncertainty. Dr continue to be dependent on imports to companies. He adds, “A professional Strassburger says, “Demand levels have meet its feedstock for petrochemicals still company could be contracted for the gone down globally for key industries such there is a high potential for India to emerge management and marketing of the as automotive and construction; pricing as a leading investment destination for PCPIR, which could be paid partly pressures have increased, naturally making global chemical majors with the government through a success fee. This will attract it more difficult for small and mid-sized initiatives like PCPIRs, domestic gas find, more number of investors; hence, higher manufacturers to stay afloat. However, this and availability of talent pool.” will be the returns on investment. It will prevail only in the short- and midAccording to him, the government could possibly enter into international term as the buoyancy of our economy lies can attract investments in the chemical collaborations with countries having large in the ever-increasing demand from the industry by: world-class chemical parks.” Developing infrastructure on lines growing population of consumers and their Land acquisition is another major with PCPIRs increasing purchasing power. But benefits challenge for which solutions need to be Giving a boost to Special Economic from this upsurge in demand may not explored. “PCPIRs and similar chemical Zones (SEZs) by removing/reducing come easy without certain pro-active steps parks with access to ports and raw Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) both by the industry and the government.” materials, effluent treatment facilities, Setting up government-promoted Godiawala believes, “Long-term power plants could be the solution,” says common effluent treatment plant at outlook for chemical industry remains Dr Strassburger. an affordable cost robust. Exports of commodity chemicals, End-users propelling growth specialty chemicals are likely to remain Making PCPIRs a success The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) strong. Companies from Europe and the The PCPIR policy has failed to deliver data indicates that with the exception US are expected to invest more in India expected results. The government will of the auto sector, most other sectors due to the large talent pool, low cost of have to take corrective measures in order such as food & beverages (F&B), paper, production and qualitative output.” to make PCPIR a success. “Important electronics and leather products & textiles Despite the global slowdown, Indian issues to be addressed include speeding up have continued to grow at a rate higher chemical industry is likely to witness the development and announcement of than the overall index. Thus, growth in significant growth in coming years based tax sops,” opines Godiawala. major end-use industries is contributing on the macro-economic trends as well as Dr Strassburger feels that the significantly to sustained growth in low per capita consumption of chemicals government should help set up a master demand for chemicals. in India. Kasad says, “The government plan for each PCPIR where all factors Mahudawala says, “There are several has recognised this potential and started have been taken into consideration – the areas wherein from an application taking steps to crystallise its intention anchor investors, raw material suppliers, perspective India is still at a nascent stage. of making India a global manufacturing downstream investors, utility service By default, as applications increase and hub as may perhaps be evidenced by the reforms suggested in the DNCP. With Table 1: Manufacturing growth rate in India (%) significant investment in areas such as Sector Year 2011-12 Year 2012-13 infrastructure and R&D, the chemical Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 industry could record an increased growth Chemical and chemical products 3.5 -2.1 -0.5 -2.3 -1.2 6.4 3.0 rate in the years to come.” Courtesy: Ernst & Young; Source: Economic Survey – India (2012-13)
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Email: mahua.roy@network18publishing.com
Special Focus
Safety, Health & Environment Plant maintenance has become a regular feature in any chemical plant as it is prone to workplace hazards on account of demanding operating conditions. Of late, most chemical companies prefer outsourcing of maintenance services for their plants as it offers several benefits. Moreover, with growing awareness on Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) norms, today, leading companies are adopting IT solutions to address safety concerns. Last but not the least, when it comes to workplace safety, several measures need to be taken including the use of proper personal protective equipment to ensure employee wellbeing.
August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 25
Special Focus | Risk assessment
Maintenance made effective and easy Prasenjit Chakraborty
Plant safety and maintenance in the chemical industry has undergone drastic changes over the years. Today, IT & automation is being extensively deployed in this arena to weed out human errors. Besides, outsourcing of maintenance services has become popular in this industry, as it is cost-effective and yields better results. Maintenance is a significant and inevitable link in the productivity chain of every industry. Industries, in general, and chemical units, in particular, are prone to serious safety concerns with respect to the efficacy of maintenance. In a wider spectrum, maintenance encompasses a variety of activities – routine services, repair (minor or major), overhaul, cleaning of equipment from the inside (tanks, vessels, reactors), replacement of parts, accessories, ongoing addition, alteration work, breakdown fixation, emergency control, corrective action etc – most of which are handled by the organisation’s engineering and maintenance wings. There have been instances of serious mishaps or even disastrous, catastrophic incidents wherein unplanned, poorly documented, unscheduled, inappropriate, incomplete, below par or hastily, wrongly, poorly executed maintenance jobs have surfaced among the main causes of severe problems.
Risk management Risk Management (RM) has already replaced the conventional injury prevention-driven safety governance techniques in highly hazardous chemical processing units. “The proactive
approach of RM is getting duly reflected right from the conceptual stage of the plant through proper selection of technology, process, quality control, maintenance, etc,” says K N K Murthy, Safety Consultant. The technique and methodology of modern risk assessment studies include all the aspects of safety with reference to people, machines, production strategy, etc. The elementwise coverage pattern includes: People: This constitutes training, competency enhancement with respect to hazard identification, risk assessment, job safety analysis, standard operating procedures duly complemented by practical drills including execution of mock-up exercises. Machines: Herein selection of items having additional safety features including interlocks are preferred, along with those containing the documentation and issue of service manual highlighting safety features and standard operating procedures to maintain them. Process & operation (production): This revolves around selection of processes with inherent safety features such as use of less hazardous materials, processing of hazardous materials in less severe conditions by taking into account pressure, temperature, escape scenarios etc.
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Outsourcing of maintenance services The chemical industry has witnessed several changes in its functioning over a period, so have the advancements in the maintenance procedures of plants. Of late, most chemical companies prefer outsourcing of maintenance services for their plants. Maintenance is a regular feature in any chemical plant as it is more prone to damages on account of severe operating conditions such as physical damages, corrosion due to handling of materials, changing temperature and pressure levels, etc. Plant maintenance can be classified under two groups – preventive maintenance and breakdown maintenance. Breakdown maintenance leads to damages due to loss of production and materials. Hence, more emphasis needs to be given to preventive maintenance in any chemical plant. In order to manage this issue, a full-fledged maintenance team consisting of a foreman, fitters, welders, electricians, etc needs to be maintained in-house for conducting the regular maintenance. Many-atime, maintaining such a workforce is expensive, especially for SMEs. “In addition, a large force maintained for such jobs can remain idle, if the
Risk assessment
Sascha Maennl operations are smooth in convincing the SMEs to adopt Head-Vertical Sub Segments, normal conditions. Moreover, this process, even though it Process Automation South Asia, Siemens such a large workforce may lead may seem a little expensive. to undesirable labour issues. In The SMEs may also have to While the industry is quite view of the above problems, provide cause and effect matrix mature in terms of adoption of there has been a growing in order to effectively engineer automation, when it comes to trend, particularly in the SME the system. This again could safety, the use of automation is segment, to outsource such jobs be a challenge considering the still at an early stage. as and when required,” points skill requirement,” Maennl out Pravin Harlekar, Chairman points out. & Managing Director, Omkar IT solutions Speciality Chemicals Ltd. cold work. “Besides, computerisation In order to address the Total Cost of The benefits of outsourcing has helped in documentation and Ownership, Siemens offers a unique maintenance services are obvious. This preservation of equipment-wise history solution in integrated safety. “It is avoids the need for maintaining a specific data to strengthen the existing predictive possible to combine the standard workforce for maintenance in-house. In system,” says Murthy. and fail-safe modules in the same addition, professional teams can deliver Plants worldwide as well as in India rack controlled by a common better quality jobs when outsourcing are focussing on safety of personnel and Automation System (AS) station. The is done. It also avoids a prominent equipment, in addition to achieving communication, typically Prof ibus, recurring liability for conducting the improved productivity. If proper safety can also handle the safety signals via operations in-house. Outsourcing is precautions are not taken, there are PROFIsafe. Also in the Programmable usually cost-effective on account of the chances that reactions in chemical Logic Controller (PLC) area, the safety fact that the maintenance of a plant, plants go uncontrolled. Integrated features will soon be available in the unlike production, is not a continuous safety, therefore, plays a major role. recently launched SIMATIC S7 1500 requirement. Maintenance is required It can bring down the plant to an and TIA portal,” Maennl says. as and when the situation arises. Hence, acceptably safe condition. The only way Today, reputed chemical companies maintaining a prominent workforce to achieve this is through automation are adopting IT to address safety for taking care of these requirements with integrated safety. In addition to concerns. Take the example of Dow is certainly expensive and adds to safe shutdown, automation ensures Chemical. It follows the local area long-term liabilities for the company. registration of sequence of events with standards or the global standards, As against this, outsourcing does not timestamp so as to recreate the scenario whichever is higher. “At Dow India, impose any long-term liability for the for analysis. Undoubtedly, automation we effectively use IT solutions to company, and can be hired as and when is widely used in the Indian chemical enable faster implementation of many required for a specific purpose. industry. “However, the adoption varies of our stringent safety processes depending on the level of complexity Role of automation towards risk evaluation and risk involved in the processes. While the In fact, many of the existing maintenance management. IT solutions play a industry is quite mature in terms of techniques are fairly adequate and critical role in helping us arrive at Life adoption of automation, when it comes time-tested. However, they are being Critical Standards, which are a subset to safety, the use of automation is still reviewed, updated, amended and, of of the standards aligned under our at an early stage,” says Sascha Maennl, course, modernised through adoption Operating Discipline Management Head-Vertical Sub Segments, Process of new methods and technologies Standard (ODMS) responsible Automation South Asia, Siemens. coupled with the application of operations and are considered most Safety is not just about using specialised machinery, tools, systems important for worker protection,” automation. One has to evaluate the as well as better administrative controls, says Neeraj Jain, Responsible Care Safety Integrity Level (SIL) through procedures and practices. Examples Leader, Dow India. These standards Hazardous Operational (HAZOP) could be more scientific, remoteenable in effective management of study based on the process along with operated inspection; testing devices risks, estimating the size of risks and proper selection of instruments, which (laser technology for thickness survey); in the identification of the steps that conforms to the SIL. “There are few self-actuated or robotised welding should be taken in the event that a companies in the chemical industry, machines, and at times replacement risk occurs. which are capable of carrying out such Email: prasenjit.chakraborty@network18publishing.com of welding by safer and less intensive studies. The biggest challenge is in August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 27
Special Focus | Industrial cyber security
of security breaches are being reported all over the world and industrial control systems are becoming primary targets. In fact, there are suspected cyber attacks on critical industrial installations in some countries.” While traditional security solutions have been used for banking & financial institutions, these solutions cannot be used in the industrial control system environment such as refineries and chemical plants. “What works best is industrial cyber security that minimises vulnerability to cyber attacks, improves recovery, and reduces loss of view & control,” opines Baldi, who is also on the Board of International Society of Automation (ISA) Security Compliance Institute.
Shielding against online threats Rakesh Rao
As the chemical industry becomes more integrated through the Internet, cyber threat has become real. There has been an increase in the number of cyber attacks on industrial control systems, thus jeopardising manufacturing processes. While there are numerous methods to prevent such attacks, one has to consider multiple solutions for better industrial cyber security. In February 2013, the US Government issued a Cyber Security Executive Order for addressing security issues related to specific types of critical infrastructure, including chemical facilities. American Chemistry Council (ACC) promptly welcomed the executive order and stated that it complements ACC’s Responsible Care Security Code. This illustrates the importance accorded to threat of cyber attack by the world’s largest economy. While countries across the world are aware of terrorism and its destructive consequences, the awareness about cyber attack that can have crippling effects on the critical services such as water, electricity, etc is yet to cross the minds of government officials. Though cyber security has been well-accepted by the financial institutions across the world, chemical companies are still not giving adequate importance to securing industrial IT infrastructure from cyber attacks.
Securing networks Cyber security was not considered a serious issue in the manufacturing industry until 2010, when a new computer worm Stuxnet was unleashed on certain industrial control systems. According to a report by security firm Symantec Corp in 2011, at least 48 chemical and defence companies were victims of a cyber attack in which computers belonging to these companies were infected with a malicious software known as PoisonIvy, which was used to steal information such as design documents, formulae and details on manufacturing processes. All these incidents point to one fact – ‘one does not need an army of men to destroy infrastructure, if it can be done from a distance using cyber arsenal’. Mike Baldi, Chief Cyber Security Architect, Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS), says, “Today, several instances
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Cyber threats to industrial environments Today’s cyber security threats mean that industrial control system users and suppliers alike must be increasingly vigilant against current and future intrusions, as human safety and environmental impacts are directly at stake. According to McAfee’s recent threats report, cyber crime, hacktivism and cyber warfare are on the rise worldwide, which are getting more sophisticated. While today’s process control systems can take advantage of advanced IT to reduce costs, improve performance, enable interoperability with Advanced Process Control (APC), Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), and other systems, and add other important new capabilities, the same technologies have made today’s industrial control systems increasingly vulnerable to security intrusions – malicious or otherwise – from
Industrial cyber security
Mike Baldi both within and outside the Whitelisting solutions have Chief Cyber Security Architect, plant. Organisations tasked with been deployed in business IT Honeywell Process Solutions running critical infrastructure environments for years, but their such as oil & gas pipelines, introduction into automation Antivirus works against known chemical plants, power stations control systems is relatively new. threat of malware but it has and water treatment facilities Hence, application whitelisting limitations. While antivirus can must look at holistic security can complement the antivirus limit virus attack, it cannot prevent systems across two disparate, yet software and provide additional attack from unknown or new virus. interconnected zones, enterprise protection to the system against IT and industrial control systems. known as well as unknown One will require a virus/malware,” he explains. combination of technologies to secure IT whitelisting has been recently introduced But do not expect any one tool to do infrastructure. Baldi says, “For instance, to industrial cyber security solutions, the whole job. Whitelisting is not always if you are in the baking industry, the risk and this enables in providing protection practical, and despite frequent criticisms, to your site is low, and hence would not to each individual node, which was not an updated antivirus tool is an effective way require an elaborate cyber security system. possible by only using an antivirus. to block a large number of active attacks. But if you are involved in manufacturing Whitelisting solutions have been There is a grey area between the two chemicals or running refineries, threat deployed in business IT environments techniques that should be occupied with perceptions are higher, in which case you for years, but their introduction into intrusion detection, behaviour analysis and will require multi-layered cyber security industrial automation control systems other monitoring & blocking technologies. to protect it from virus attacks.” is relatively new. Baldi says, “Antivirus Agrees Baldi, “Just having whitelisting and works against known threat of malware antivirus are not enough. They should be Whitelisting as a solution but it has limitations. While antivirus combined with other protection solutions The main objective of any industrial can limit virus attack, it cannot prevent depending on the need.” cyber security solution is to safeguard attack from unknown or new virus. Even A step-by-step approach industrial control systems, which are if one changes the signature of known In order to implement industrial cyber installed in places such as chemical virus, antivirus will not be able to detect security system, chemical manufacturers plants, refineries, mills, etc. Traditional the threat.” need to adopt a step-by-step approach. security solutions that are deployed in But application whitelisting First, they need to assess the threat financial institutions are designed to does the opposite. “It protects from perception to their infrastructure and secure information against theft; but in unwanted intrusions by permitting only depending on it, they should implement case of industrial security solutions, the applications and executable files that are cyber security system. Baldi says, “For systems to be secured actually controls considered safe and on an ‘approved list’ carrying out assessment of a plant, the entire operations of a plant. Application to run, while blocking everything else. company can appoint an IT security expert who understands process control environment; risks involved in such setups; and also find out security lapses in The chemical industry must work together to help identify current threats and mitigation strategies the existing set-up. After the assessment to protect against a security breach of Industrial Control Systems (ICS). This requires increasing is done, depending on the existing security awareness, education and communication among the engineering, security, information technology, process safety and manufacturing operations communities. The ultimate responsibility set-up and requirements of additional for securing a specific ICS environment lies with the owner/operator. Given below are some of the protection to fill the need gap, one can steps that can be taken by chemical manufacturers to prevent or reduce cyber attacks on their ICS: incorporate more security programs.” Ensure one person takes ownership of ICS security and is accountable He adds, “Also, it is important that Open the lines of communication among engineering, security, IT, process safety communities, users who find faults in their control and manufacturing operations communities within your own company systems (ie if they are at risk or have Conduct an audit of current ICS security measures and implement obvious fixes faced virus attack) should contact their Follow-up with an ICS security vulnerability analysis (risk assessment) for a complete vendors to fix the problem, because identification of vulnerabilities and recommendations for corrective actions vendors understand the process control Implement an ICS security management program that is integrated with existing company environment and are in a better position management systems for security, safety, quality, etc to solve the cyber security challenges.”
Preventive steps
Sources: Chemical Sector Coordinating Council (CSCC), USA
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Email: mahua.roy@network18publishing.com
Special Focus | Personal protective equipment
Donning the armour for protection Vinay Pathak
The chemical industry is viewed with a high degree of apprehension on the pollution and sustainability fronts. The general perception is that it affects public health and the environment due to the hazardous substances involved. The players in this industry need to take stringent measures for ensuring worker safety by adhering to safety guidelines and promoting the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Though the products offered by the chemical industry play a major role in fulfilling one’s day-to-day requirements and have dramatically altered the quality of life the world over, the industry has a negative image when it comes to environmental pollution and public health issues. However, with changing perception, this image is expected to transform for the better in the near future. In India, environmental rules and regulations are more stringent as compared to other developing and some of the developed countries. Furthermore, even though many rules such as identification, notification and development of landfill sites were prescribed in 1989 under The Hazardous Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, the state governments are still unable to identify, notify and develop the required sites even today. However, an amendment enacted in 2000 placed the responsibility on industry associations as well as the government. Presently, there is little institutional impetus provided for the adoption of cleaner technologies and waste minimisation techniques. Process technologies, however, have their own economic returns that mitigate the need for extensive regulatory interference. In addition, companies that are leaders on the environmental front do not currently receive any specific advantages. No special consideration is given for processing their application for consents/authorisations. Consequently, there is no real driving force for the industries to adopt cleaner
technologies and implementation of Environmental Management System standards ISO-14000.
Policies and regulations The National Environment Policy (NEP) 2006 focusses on policy issues such as: Conservation of critical environmental resources Intra-generational equity – securing livelihood for the poor Integration of environmental concerns in economic and social development Efficiency in environmental resource use Environmental governance Enhancement of resources for environmental conservation The National State of the Environment (SoE) Report of India 2001, in turn, focusses on the current state of the environment. The report has identified five key issues for India that include: Land degradation Biodiversity Air pollution control with special
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reference to vehicular pollution in cities Management of fresh water resources Hazardous waste management. Legislation alone does not guarantee sustainable development. The situation is tricky in a country like India, where implementation is difficult. Rules, however, can work as a driver for conservation measures – it can force industries to take environmental issues into consideration. Some of the major health and safety-related problems associated with this industry are discussed here and an attempt has been made to offer solutions to deal with the risks associated with chemical plants.
The problem Chemicals used, stored and handled in the chemical industry are often treated in a way that exposes employees and the environment to risks. For example, cleaning agents or organic solvents such as white spirit alcohol, etc can be inhaled, swallowed or absorbed through the skin. Excessive exposure to such agents can cause headache, nausea, lack in concentration, intoxication, tiredness and damage to the central nervous system. A large number of cleaning agents, blanket wash, fountain solution, alcohols, etching solutions etc are highly flammable. Therefore, there is a risk of fire or explosion if flammable liquids are not stored and handled in an appropriate manner.
Personal protective equipment
Managing risks in workplace Some of the measures to prevent mishaps in a workplace are as follows: Know exactly what chemicals are used in your workplace by creating a register – include Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and risk assessment results in the register Only use dangerous goods-approved containers for decanted chemicals, and label containers with the correct name and risk & safety phrases. Do not use containers meant for storing food or drink Keep lids on solvents to reduce wastage and evaporative emissions Place solvent-soaked rags in an isolated covered bin Provide and maintain suitable PPEs Keep minimal quantities of chemicals at a site Provide spill containment (eg bunding, spill pallets). Ensure a spill kit as well as procedures in place to manage spills Where possible, substitute dangerous substances with less hazardous alternatives
Be aware that some so-called natural
solvents can be as toxic as normal solvents and they can have the added problem of auto ignition when placed on a rag due to oxidative reaction Substitute organic solvents with vegetable cleaning agents (vegetable cleaning agents are virtually free of volatile organic solvents) Use aqueous- or water-based varnishes The list does not end here. It is important to keep work areas well-ventilated – use local exhaust ventilation with appropriate capture hoods on equipment that releases solvent vapours into the work environment. It is essential to have adequate firefighting equipment throughout the workplace; use water-cooled or cold-cure UV lamps to prevent ozone build-up as well as provide extractors to remove ozone from UV presses (UV curing lamps convert oxygen in the air to ozone); replace deletion fluid with deletion pens. Moreover, care needs to be taken to store flammable liquids away from ignition sources and combustible materials; keep flammable liquids storage cabinets free
Effective tips for PPE selection Hazards PPE solutions Chemical or metal splash, radiation, Safety glasses or goggles, face projectiles, debris, gas, vapour shields, visors Head Impact from falling or flying objects A range of safety helmets and or debris; risk of head bumping; bump caps hair entanglement Lungs/breathing Dust, gas, oxygen, vapour, oxygen Respirators or disposable filtering deficient atmosphere face piece, half or full face respirators, breathing apparatus, air-fed helmets Body Chemical or metal splash, Boiler suits, conventional or temperature extremes, contaminated disposable overalls, high visibility dust, adverse weather, spray from clothing, special protective pressure leaks or spray guns, clothing, chainmail aprons excessive wear or entanglement of own clothing Hands and arms Chemicals, abrasion, temperature Gloves, mitts, gauntlets, wrist extremes, electric shock, cuts and cuffs, armlets punctures, impact, skin infection, disease etc Feet and legs Abrasion, wet or cold weather, Gaiters, safety boots and shoes electrostatic build-up, slipping, cuts with protective toe caps and and punctures, metal and chemical penetration resistant soles, splash, falling objects leggings, spats
Body parts Eyes
from other classes of dangerous goods. Further, do not store rags or rubbish in the storage cabinet. Last but not the least, it is mandatory to have an emergency plan in place.
A safer workplace An adequately equipped workplace confirms the safety and health of employees. PPE plays an important role here. PPE includes gloves, goggles, high visibility clothing, safety helmet, footwear, harnesses, respirators etc. The nature of job decides the allocation of a PPE. Its use starts with the assessment of all different hazards in the workplace. Further assessment should be done to ascertain which types of PPE are suitable to protect against the hazards linked to each job. An employer must see whether the supplied PPE are compatible with each other. For example, a particular type of respirator may make it difficult to get eye protection or ear protection to fit properly. More the pieces of PPE needed by an individual, more the number of potential problems. Along with the usage of the PPE, its maintenance also plays a vital part. The PPE should be well-maintained and properly stored while not in use. It should be kept clean and in good condition. Manufacturer’s maintenance schedule should be followed regularly. Simple maintenance can be done by the trained wearer but in case of complicated repairs, it should always be carried out by a specialist. In a nutshell, use of PPE has become an indispensable aspect at workplace as it helps both the employer and the employee to maintain a healthy and safe work environment. Vinay Pathak is the Lab Head at 3M’s R&D Centre in Gurgaon. He has been actively involved in establishing and launching new and advanced products for the Indian market, including the localisation of 3M’s Personal Protective Equipment products. For more details contact on email: sruthi.vijayachandran@bm.com
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Special Focus | Safety compliance
Safety norms are getting stricter day by day in the chemical industry. And as a result, various methods are being adopted to ensure safety in chemical plants. There is not even an iota of doubt that the Indian chemical industry has come a long way in implementing safety measures to avoid any untoward incident. However, there is a long way to go. According to K N K Murthy, Safety Consultant, with respect
Another conceptual myth is that certain organisations (especially in less organised sector) equate maintenance with statutory compliance and wait for a reactive alert from regulatory authorities. “The need of the hour is to establish an effective maintenance system and make all stakeholders aware about its significance. It will be possible to sustain such a system by proper formulation of
HSE implementation According to Pravin Harlekar, Chairman & Managing Director, Omkar Speciality Chemicals Ltd, traditionally Indian chemical manufacturers had a more lenient approach towards meeting HSE standards. The measures taken by them in the area of HSE implementation were minimal. However, there has been increasing awareness about the need for
Implementing actionable HSE strategies in a global marketplace
Prasenjit Chakraborty
In view of the rising need to comply with Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) norms in manufacturing plants, Indian chemical companies are making all-out efforts to effectively implement HSE. Export-oriented companies have to be extra cautious while implementing HSE. to desirable linkage with maintenance practices, a lot remains to be done in terms of adequacy of the measures being taken. “Wherever centralised engineering services are not being provided, it has been observed, by and large, that the services of the plant maintenance department are not being rightly used. There are cases of equipment not being offered for regular testing, examination or certification by suspending the routine operational functions. In some cases, the maintenance department comes for aid only during breakdown situations or emergency scenarios,” he points out.
a maintenance policy, the compliance strategy and enforcement through issue of responsibility matrix among all concerned agencies,” says Murthy. The services of reliability study and expertise can be sought for appropriate justification of lower operational cost by adequate investment on regular maintenance and upkeep of the units. A lot more requires to be done to maintain establishment maintenance standards at par with a plant’s operational standards followed by checking and certification of equipment that have undergone maintenance.
Measures for efficient HSE implementation It is essential to ensure that the availability and usage of spares, accessories are as
recommended by Original Equipment Manufacturers There is a dire necessity for more regular field monitoring on the quality of maintenance,
since it is being observed nowadays that supervisors in most of the organisations are heavily loaded with computer data entries, reviews, retrieval exercises etc, and hence do not find adequate time to monitor the areas where maintenance jobs are going on The lifecycle study of equipment must be given priority to facilitate decisions to go for repeated maintenance or replacement of equipment, spares or accessories Maintenance activities must be duly planned and scheduled Source: K N K Murthy
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stringent standards in this regard. The parameters for HSE are being upgraded mainly on account of the following: The Governments (Central and State) have been making safety regulations more stringent, which has forced chemical companies to adhere to these requirements. Companies that are export-oriented – supplying materials to international customers – are required to strictly adhere to HSE norms since their facilities are periodically audited by the international customs. In view of this, there is growing awareness about HSE norms, and chemical manufacturers in India will have to comply with the necessary requirements for HSE in the near future. And HSE compliance has become the need of the hour. “However, there is a need for uniformity in complying with the HSE requirements across all countries. This is because, if a country like China, for example, by-passes these requirements, they will have to have an upper edge in competition,” opines Harlekar. Email: prasenjit.chakraborty@network18publishing.com
Facility Visit | A Schulman Plastics India (Pvt) Ltd
Giving a master’s touch to masterbatch manufacturing
Avani Jain
With increasing demand for masterbatches in various industrial applications, which are in essence, the ingredients that make all the difference to processability and functionality of a polymer, the Indian masterbatch industry is scaling new heights. It is for the same reason that multinational companies like A Schulman Inc have started their masterbatch manufacturing operations in India. The last 15 years have witnessed an extensive use of masterbatches in applications such as antistatics, foaming agents and flame retardency. The Indian masterbatch industry has been growing at a steady rate of 15 per cent in the last few years, and a healthy growth rate is projected in the future too. This has strengthened the scope for expansion of masterbatch manufacturing facilities in India. Not only are new domestic masterbatch manufacturing companies surfacing on the scene, but many multinationals have also entered the market. One such company is A Schulman Inc, which has inaugurated its plastics masterbatch manufacturing facility in India this year. S Mannar Manan, Country HeadIndia, A Schulman Plastics India (Pvt) Ltd, says, “The masterbatch industry in India is growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 16-18 per cent and we expect the growth to continue at the same rate. Our new facility will manufacture masterbatch products, especially for India’s
surging food packaging industry and will particularly cater to the flexible packaging market. At a later stage, we will also be targeting other segments.”
The new venture Tapping on the rising demand for masterbatches, A Schulman Plastics India (Pvt) Ltd has inaugurated its plant in Vadodara, Gujarat, in April, this year. This plant is the company’s first manufacturing facility in India and its fifth in the Asia-Pacific region. Manan notes, “The facility is spread over an area of 50,000 sq mt, of which 12,000 sq mt is the constructed area. Nearly, ` 40 crore has been invested in the plant and machinery.” He adds “We are currently manufacturing white and additive masterbatches. In additive masterbatch category, we have two segments – valueadded masterbatches that involve high technology and formulation, and normal commodity masterbatches.”
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While elaborating on the reasons behind commencing operations in India, Manan states, “The first and foremost reason behind setting up a manufacturing plant in India was the country’s fast-paced growth, which would open up several opportunites for us. Second, it is always better to come closer to the customers. Third, we were mainly into exports earlier; but then when one exports, one cannot cater to a large number of customers. Fourth, there are not many multinational companies in India manufacturing masterbatches, especially white and functional masterbatches; so there is a huge scope for growth for us. Fifth, we chose Gujarat in particular, as it is the only state, which has surplus electricity. Lastly, strategic location and proximity to all the suppliers, customers and ports are the other reasons for establishing this plant in Gujarat.”
Manufacturing at its best The manufacturing facility has been divided into raw materials warehouse,
A Schulman Plastics India (Pvt) Ltd
S Mannar Manan manufacturing bay, finished the central R&D units in Country Head-India goods warehouse, trading North America and Europe. warehouse, dispatch and quality Manan notes, “Presently, section. Manan claims, “We are we are not carrying out any We are the only company, which the only company, which has a major R&D activity here. has a single line to manufacture single line to manufacture 10,000 However, a little modification, 10,000 tonne annually. We have tonne annually. Further, in order whenever needed, might high-tech feeding systems within to maintain Schulman’s standards, be done for customisation the shop floor area. we have high-tech feeding so as to suit the Indian systems and various automatic market needs.” systems within the shop floor Ensuring quality area. Thus, our aim is to install better The amount of material is computer Talking about quality, Manan avers, “As technology and infrastructure at the plant.” controlled, hence potential errors are per our policy, we are bound to test the raw A global software system, consistent avoided. Then the materials are conveyed materials and finished goods thoroughly. to all Schulman facilities worldwide, is through a conveyor to the mixer.” The quality control parameters and the installed at this facility as well. So, India During the conveying process, the specifications are all uniform throughout is linked globally to all plants of this various materials get physically blended. the world. Every plant has to use the same company. Further, elaborating on the Later in the mixer, the mixture is mixed testing equipment and procedures. We will manufacturing process, Manan explains, at a very high speed and this then goes also soon acquire ISO 9002 certification.” “Our product involves 5-6 ingredients. to the extruder. In the extruder, they Safety is a part of the company’s core For example, when it comes to are melted, mixed, compounded and strategy. The company also recognises its producing white masterbatch, the main then passed through the dye. Before the duty towards environment. He notes, raw materials include Polypropylene mixture comes out of the dye, it passes “Safety of men, machine and materials is (PP) and titanium dioxide. In addition, through a filtering system, where any our main concern. We emphasise on the supporting chemicals such as lubricants, unwanted particles are screened and usage of personal protective gears for the anti-oxidants, stabilisers are used in the eliminated. After screening, the melt safety of employees. And for addressing the production process.” comes out of the dye and it goes for environmental concerns, we will soon acquire He adds, “These ingredients, on passing under-water palletising, which is a system ISO 14,000 and 18000 certifications.” the quality control test, are stored in silos. possessed by few Indian companies. So, Later, based on the individual grades to one gets spherical granules and not Envisioning growth be manufactured, these ingredients are cylindrical ones. The finished products The future of the masterbatches industry brought to the feeding stations. In the are then tested and dispatched. in India appears bright. Manan states, “In feeding station, as per the recipe, these The recipes for manufacturing the coming years, we want to expand our 5-6 ingredients are fed into the feeders. specialised masterbatches come from masterbatch capabilities and manufacture high-tech & coloured masterbatches. The company board has already sanctioned for another manufacturing line. The infrastructure at the shop floor is ready. Hence, we just have to bring in the equipment and install it.” He concludes, “As and when the demand increases, we can install more manufacturing lines at this facility. There is lot of scope for further expansion at this facility, and more manufacturing lines can be installed. My vision is to create a sense of confidence among customers when it comes to the products that we supply to the market.” Manufacturing bay
Photo: Saloni Agarwal
Email: avani.jain@network18publishing.com
August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 37
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Insight & Outlook
Bulk/Base Chemicals Bulk chemicals sector is one of the leading contributors to the Indian chemical industry, as it provides basic raw materials for several user-industries. In India, with recent changes in world macroeconomics, the BRIC countries have grown more than their developed counterparts and, hence, demand for commodity chemicals has been growing rapidly in the emerging markets. In recent years, Indian manufacturers of bulk chemicals (also known as commodity chemicals) have been facing challenges such as rising input cost and inadequate infrastructure.
August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 39
Insight & Outlook | Indian surfactant industry
Mahua Roy
With the demand from the Home & Personal Care (HPC) sector soaring, the surfactant industry in India is seeing major growth potential. This spells good news for the Indian surfactant industry in terms of both volume and revenue growth. Pegged at a whopping ` 2,00,000 crore by Chemexcil and set to grow 15 per cent year-on-year in the next five years, the HPC industry is seeing unprecedented activity in India. Forming an integral part of the growth of this industry is the surfactant sector, which is seeing reasonably healthy double-digit growth numbers. Globally, the surfactant market is expected to grow from $ 27,040 million in 2012 to $ 36,518 million by 2017, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6.19 per cent. Within this industry, synthetic surfactants are expected to occupy a major share as compared to the upcoming range of biobased surfactants, during the next five
years. However, it is interesting to note the consumption of bio-based surfactants, which is predicted to show a significant growth by 2017. “As of 2012, the European region is estimated to be the largest consumer of surfactants, and is poised to remain the top consumer by 2017. North America was the second-largest surfactant consumer in 2012, whereas Asia-Pacific was the third-largest consumer in the same year. However, going by the growth trend, it can very well be predicted that by 2017, Asia-Pacific region will be the second-largest consumer of surfactants, which would be pursued by North America as the third-largest surfactant
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consuming region. Considering surfactant consumption by product type, anionic and non-ionic surfactants are estimated to constitute the largest share in 2012 and are expected to be the largest segment by 2017. From the view point of surfactant consumption by applications, soap and detergent are the largest markets for surfactant consumption, and is estimated to remain the highest surfactant consuming segment by 2017,� says a spokesperson from Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd.
Dynamics in India The Indian surfactant consumption is just over 5,00,000 tonne as of 2011. The
Indian surfactant industry
U Shekhar Indian market is dominated octocrylene ranges, which are Managing Director, Galaxy Surfactants Ltd by Galaxy Surfactants, with essentially ultraviolet absorbers. Godrej, Reliance and Clariant It is identifying new customer being some key participants. base for fatty alcohol sulfates As most of the HPC products meet India’s personal care industry is that are used in oral care and the everyday needs of the people, the characterised by high volumes detergents in Europe, Asia and demand for these products is nonand low margins of cosmetic Americas; and for its range of cyclical. This has facilitated a high products. “Many traditional betaines in the Americas. degree of innovation in end-products. commodity chemicals, including According to AC Nielsen, sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium the fairness cream market in lauryl ether sulfate, are used in India stands at ` 2,200 crore. formulations. There has been less demand and conditioning. This led to the focus Besides, a niche sector is springing out for specialty surfactant chemicals and the on ‘mildness’ and ‘natural’ ingredients in of this segment – that of special men’s majority of the existing demand is met the early 2000s. Today, this segment is full fairness creams. Attracting the attention through imports. However, an increasing of targeted products for colour/textureof big and small players alike, though number of personal care products now specific hair. In oral care, improved valued at just ` 186 crore, it shows a incorporate specialty ingredients in their education has led to oral hygiene and staggeringly high growth rate of 31 per formulations,” says the spokesperson from economy brands have been introduced cent. The category of fairness is not solely Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd. in this category. The focus has shifted related to receiving the fairness attribute. Although anionic surfactants continue from anti-cavity to whitening, and today The consumers want added properties to remain the most widely used surfactant improved versions of the same called along with static fairness; they want the type, largely due to the use of Linear Alkyl ‘oxy’ derivatives are available. The need results to be rapid and visible; and they Benzene Sulfonate (LABS), non-ionic for mild (soft, less toxic to skin, suitable want long-term authentic fairness. Other surfactants are expected to be the fastest for everyday use) products is increasing. important features expected are those of growing category in the near future. Many “Two to three decades back, one used anti-ageing, acne cleansing, etc. This has major industry players including P&G, to apply shampoo may be once a week; led to development of several technologies L’Oreal and Unilever are strengthening today it is used once a day. Manufacturing revolving around nanotechnology their presence in Asia, to capitalise on and technologies have to focus more on for delivery systems as well as operate close to the escalating markets. ‘concentrated’ products. It all depends on microencapsulation, microemulsions how we pack more power into a product,” involving specialty chemicals. Greener, milder, more functional says Shekhar. As per a recent study by the The demand trends in the HPC Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Sector to watch out: Skincare industry are continuously evolving in the overall Indian skincare market has As steadily increasing disposable income terms of superior, economical as well as been increasing for the last two years levels continue to change the spending environment-friendly products. Surfactants and has recorded a growth rate of 20 per habits of the country’s sizable population, play a major role in contributing towards cent in 2010. At trade fairs customised and awareness on new formulations product integrity and functionality. “As for the HPC industry, representatives grows, India has the potential to become most of the products from the HPC from this industry exclaim how even one of the major consumption markets industry such as soaps, shampoos, SMEs are keen on collaborations with for personal care ingredients. The highest toothpastes, etc meet the everyday needs big players for product development. This volume growth is expected for emollients, of the people, the demand for these is a good sign for the revolutionisation with a projected 11.3 per cent increase products is non-cyclical. This is a unique of the domestic HPC industry. In a by 2014. The addition of UV protection characteristic of HPC industry, which has recent development, petrochemical to skin products has also seen a boost, facilitated a high degree of innovation in major, Reliance announced its foray into establishing UV absorbers among the most end-products. Also, these ingredients must the surfactant sector. It already has an rapidly expanding product categories. contain the ‘green’ factor, ie, they need ethoxylates, sulphur and LAB project in As per a recent report on the to be environment-friendly and derived the final stage, while the other elements skincare industry, AC Nielsen projected mainly from vegetable sources,” says of the plan are at the concept stage. The the sunscreen industry to grow at 15 U Shekhar, Managing Director, Galaxy company plans to enter the surfactants per cent till 2014. Galaxy Surfactants Surfactants Ltd. market through both organic growth and is heavily concentrating on its octyl In the 80s and 90s, the haircare mergers & acquisitions (M&A). Email: mahua.roy@network18publishing.com methoxycinnamate (OMC) and segment centered mainly on cleansing August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 41
Insight & Outlook | Synthetic fibre industry
Mahua Roy
The demand for synthetic fibres is on the rise, and thus the prospects for the feedstock are fairly bright. Also, with the government propelling new-age technical textiles sector, the synthetic fibre industry will seek new innovations in processing and technology adoption. Trends in the consumer industry are skewing more towards the demand for synthetic fibres. Replacing a portion of cotton content in products with rayon, polyester or Lycra is the strategy followed by most companies. Besides, the Indian technical textile industry is expected to grow to a value of ` 1,58,000 crore by 2017, a huge opportunity area for the synthetic fibre industry. In its 12th Five-Year Plan, the government has allocated funds for the development of Centres of Excellence (CoE) for the various technical textiles sectors such as Medical (Medtech), Geo-Textiles (Geotech), Protective Textiles (Protech) and Agricultural Textiles (Agrotech). However, struggling to keep up the margins is one constant challenge faced by the synthetic fibre manufacturers. The global oil price fluctuation directly impacts this industry. Caprolactam, acrylonitrile, Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA), Monoethylene Glycol (MEG) are few of the major feedstocks for the synthetic fibre industry and these have seen a 20-25 per cent price increase in the last five years. China,
the leading Asian producer for synthetic fibre feedstocks, is continuously reducing acreage of cotton crop and concentrating more on production of synthetic fibres. To be globally competitive, India needs to adopt best-in-class industrial standards to make a mark in this industry. It is expected that by 2018, 60 per cent of the petrochemical growth, of which
synthetic fibres form a large part, is likely to take place in Asia. However, the Indian industry faces huge competition from hubs in China, Singapore and the Middle
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East. By maintaining a certain level of competitiveness and cost-effectiveness, India can tackle this challenge. The domestic industry is already seeing huge investments in terms of capacity-building and expansions.
Nylon dynamics Global demand for caprolactam has been steadily increasing over the last decade, rising from 35,03,390 tonne in 2000 to reach as high as 41,64,201 tonne in 2011, and this figure is expected to hit 59,92,732 tonne by 2020, as per a recent industry report released by GBI Research. “Caprolactam is a versatile petrochemical with usage across various industries. However, it is more precisely the principal raw material for nylon-6. Besides major applications in apparel, nylon fibres find immense usage in furnishing textiles, industrial yarns, carpets, which have tremendous market demand in India,� says Karen Jones, Service Leader – Fibre & Feedstocks, Market Advisory Services, CMAI Global. Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals (GSFC) and Fertilizers & Chemicals Travancore (FACT) are the
Synthetic fibre industry
principal producers of caprolactam in the country. The total installed capacity of caprolactam in GSFC is 70,000 TPA and in FACT is 50,000 TPA for the Financial Year (FY) 2010-11. GSFC plans to further strengthen its presence in nylon, and is looking to expand its nylon-6 capacity by 15,000 tonne per annum at Vadodara, Gujarat. For this unit, the company has entered into technology tie-up with M/s Lurgi, Germany. This project is planned to be operational in the last quarter of FY 2013-14. “However, volatility in crude oil prices is constantly threatening the profitability of caprolactam producers, as the relevant feedstock is derived from crude oil. Within the highly competitive global environment, any price volatility in crude oil cannot be directly translated into end-use prices, and this is potentially reducing the profitability of manufacturers,” adds Jones.
Continued strong demand for polyester, which grew from a relatively small base, is expected to sustain India’s relatively high growth rates into 2015. Polyester market scenario PTA and MEG are the key feedstocks used in the production of polyester. Worldwide, around 65 per cent of PTA goes into polyester fibre. The current PTA capacity in India is 3,850 KT and is projected to grow to 7,130 KT by 2014-15. The demand trend in India has shown a consistent growth of 8-10 per cent and future growth projections are 12-13 per cent, driven by downstream investments in polyester capacities. Continued strong demand for polyester, which grew from a relatively small base, is expected to sustain India’s relatively high growth rates into 2015. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has already made significant investments in the polyester feedstock chain PXPTA-MEG at Panipat, and has chalked further plans in Gujarat. MRPL has planned PX-PTA complex as part of its downstream investment at the Mangalore refinery. Reliance Industries Ltd also has planned capacity expansion from 2,050 KT in 2011 to 4,330 KT in 2016. However, India’s polyester producers have long been sufferers of variable feedstock PTA supply. “Intermittent production challenges at Mitsubishi PTA plant in Haldia have forced India to compete with other Asian countries for imported PTA. India’s reliance on PTA imports is expected to rise further because of massive planned polyester capacity expansions in the country,” adds Jones. A total of 1.9 million tonne/year of new capacity is set to come on-stream, thus boosting the country’s polyester capacity to 7.8 million tonne/year in 2013. Email: mahua.roy@network18publishing.com
August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 43
Insight & Outlook | Carbon black sector
According to a recent study by consulting firm Tech Archival, sales volumes of carbon black in the Indian market have seen a rise, recording revenues of more than $ 300 million in 2012. This comes as good news for the industry that has been plagued by sluggish demand in recent times, owing to the global slowdown. The report states that the major reason behind this exponential growth in numbers is the soaring demand arising from the tyre industry, which constitutes nearly 68 per cent of domestic carbon black market. The Indian tyre
Heading for a revival
in China and India. Asia-Pacific represents the largest market for carbon black in the world, with a stronghold of 37 per cent share. “The production and consumption of carbon black has gradually shifted towards Asia, which accounts for almost more than 60 per cent of global production and consumption. Most of this growth comes from a growing automobile industry in China and India, and stringent laws forcing the closure of older carbon black capacities in developed regions,” observes Bhattacharya. The study by Tech Archival further estimates
Mahua Roy
The global slowdown took a perceivable toll on the carbon black industry, which is a major vendor sector for the automobile industry as it is used in the manufacture of tyres. Most big names in this sector divested their carbon black assets. But with a recent report projecting 10 per cent demand growth in this industry, is the carbon black sector back to a revival of sorts? industry is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 15 per cent from 2012 until 2018. Besides, most of the tyre companies have announced expansion plans in terms of manufacturing capacities. The demand for tyres is rising as a large number of automobile manufacturers are considering India as their export hub, thereby fuelling the demand for tyres. A backward demand analysis translates into healthy figures for the carbon black sector. Carbon black imparts anti-abrasion attributes and enhances the tensile strength of rubber. The automotive tyres use the N220 and N330 grades of carbon black in the tread and the N550 and N660 grades in the carcass of the tyre. There are other grades in use such as N234 or the N375 that are used in radial tyres. “Besides, carbon black is also used in industries such as automotive parts, construction and few consumer products. It has applications in printing inks, coatings, electrical cables, plastic films, pipes and sealants segments. It is also used to manufacture dry-cell batteries, electrodes and carbon brushes. Another emerging application area for specialty carbon black is metallurgy,” says Biswanath Bhattacharya, Director, KPMG India.
Manufacturing dynamics The carbon black industry has seen a recent shift in the manufacturing capacities, which are being diverted to Asian countries, thus fuelling the growth of new avenues, especially
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that domestic sales volumes of carbon black will experience a first rate growth by the end of 2018, which is expected to drive the market to reach total sales volume of more than 900 thousand tonne. The Indian market is dominated by the top three players in the industry – Phillips Carbon Black, Indian Rayon and Cabot India.
Backward integration The carbon black industry is, however, dependent on net imports owing to the shortage of raw materials domestically. Its base material supplied by oil refineries (in the form of carbon black feedstock) is low in carbon content and high in sulphur and hence, does not measure up to international specifications. The industry has to, therefore, resort to importing the base material.
Sustenance in future In the future, silica and other silanes are expected to give tough competition to carbon black. These are fast emerging as major substitutes to carbon black due to better performance and environment-friendly attributes. These products reduce rolling resistance in tyres and, at the same time, improve fuel efficiency. Hence, these are increasingly finding usage in the tyre market. Now, it all depends on the innovations carried out by the carbon black industry to combat tough times in the coming years. Email: mahua.roy@network18publishing.com
Insight & Outlook | Titanium dioxide market
With nearly 4 million tonne consumed per year in the Western markets alone, the titanium dioxide (TiO2) industry qualifies as one of the largest inorganic chemicals sectors. Three major factors are changing the structure and competitive state of affairs of this specialised industry: recent acquisitions that are rapidly consolidating the industry into fewer global suppliers; technological developments that have created a new fast-growing market scenario for nanoparticles; and economic forces that continue to shift the position of low-cost as well as marginal-cost producers. Significant structural changes began to be witnessed in this industry with the acquisition of Tioxide by Du Pont, which further enhanced Du Pont’s position as the largest supplier of TiO2 pigment in the world. More recent acquisitions, such as Millenium’s takeover of Rhone-Poulenc’s plant in France, and Kerr-McGee’s purchase of Bayer’s manufacturing site, indicate a trend towards future acquisitions as medium-sized producers attempt to gain critical mass in this niche industry.
Tough times to continue? According to Du Pont, during 2009, the industry witnessed a sharp fall in TiO2 demand due to global economic downturn that led to the closure of several manufacturing facilities across the world. By 2011, the prices of the white
On the pricing front The latest price forecast released by TZ Minerals International reports that TiO2 producers will come under significant pressure in the next two to three years to maintain satisfactory margins in the face of rising costs. However, this will be quite manageable since the demand is further reaching stability. “Although there has been some pick up in demand for TiO2 pigment in Q1 2013, it is not enough to reset the high inventory levels held by producers to seasonal norms and the decline in production as utilisation levels remain low. We expect that producers will continue to restrict output until inventory levels are reduced to a normal level, most likely into Q3 2013,” says Bender. Recently, the industry saw price hike announcements from a number of TiO2 producers like Du Pont and Tronox, globally. “TiO2 producers are expected to increase prices in the second half of 2013, in addition to the price increases already announced in Q1 and Q2 2013. However, the demand is expected to recover to some extent in North America, China and emerging economies in Asia-Pacific,” adds Bender.
Mahua Roy
With an increased demand in the Asian and other emerging countries, it is expected that the titanium dioxide industry will experience significant growth in the near future. But, the current economic condition is plagued with a price hike, which is affecting the margins of the paints and coatings industry. However, experts believe that the price rise will reach manageable levels soon. pigment soared by around 60 per cent, partly due to artificial demand from paints and coatings companies as they bought the pigment ahead of demand amid soaring prices, and this consequently led to a massive inventory overhang. “Slowdown in the pigment’s demand during 2012, driven by ‘cooling’ of the real estate market worldwide led to a sharp decline in prices. As customers and manufacturers continued to reduce their inventory levels, volumes dropped significantly as well. However, we expect volumes to pick up as inventory levels bottom out during 2013, and prices are likely to increase during the latter half of the year led by rise in demand,” notes Eric Bender, Senior Consultant, TZ Minerals International.
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Silver lining Closer home, Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd recently announced its plans to raise production capacity of TiO2 pigment by 20,000 tonne to reach 60,000 tonne per annum. This has been finalised in order to address the pent-up demand for 2 lakh tonne (domestic) and 65 lakh tonne (international) of the inorganic chemical. Overall, the market outlook for this industry points towards continuous growth at compound annual rates in excess of 3 per cent, globally, with certain countries in Asia growing at over twice that rate. Email: mahua.roy@network18publishing.com
Roundtable | Insight & Outlook
Specialty or bulk chemicals, which is the best bet for the Indian chemical industry? India is becoming an upcoming destination for the sourcing and R&D of specialty chemicals, whereas its expertise in the field of bulk chemicals is renowned. But what would be the best strategy for the chemical industry? With more and more bulk chemical companies repositioning themselves as specialty chemical providers, is this the way forward? Mahua Roy tries to find out.
Dr Kishore M Shah
President, Indian Speciality Chemical Manufacturers’ Association
Savan Godiawala
Senior Director, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd
David Anil Kumar
Senior Research Analyst - South Asia & Middle East, Chemicals, Materials & Food, F&S
Globally, commodity chemicals constitute the largest segment, accounting for about 43 per cent of the total market value. In India, it accounts for over 50 per cent of the entire chemicals market. With companies such as Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) active in the petrochemicals space, commodity chemicals form the leading sector. The Indian commodity chemicals market was valued at $ 55.3 billion in 2011. While considering volume growth, commodity or bulk chemicals have been driving the prospects of the chemical industry in India.
As specialty chemicals are meant for specialised use, they are produced in lower volume than bulk chemicals. Multinational chemical companies’ share in the burgeoning specialty chemicals market in India has doubled in the last decade, and those companies are looking to strengthen their presence in the country. The specialty chemicals segment is expected to be one of the fastest-growing segments within the Indian chemical sector and likely to grow at a rate of 11-12 per cent in 2013. The margins in the specialty chemicals industry are higher. However, for sustenance of this industry, a healthy feedstock of bulk organic compounds and other petrochemicals is needed.
The Indian specialty chemicals industry is poised to grow at doubledigit figures in the next decade, driven mainly by expectations of increase in per capita consumption and higher growth among enduse industries. This industry has the potential to touch $ 80-100 billion by 2020 from the present $ 22 billion. Consumers’ preference for value-added products that use specialty chemicals has also increased significantly. In the past five years, several multinational companies in the specialty chemicals arena have used the acquisition route to establish their presence in India. Most companies in this space are restructuring their product portfolio and branding to be known as specialty chemical majors. Of course, this segment will drive revenues due to the higher margins.
While specialty chemicals help deliver higher margins and ensure product differentiation, the sustenance of these is largely dependent on bulk chemical feedstocks. With an optimistic outlook driven by the demand for specialty chemicals, one can predict a bright future for both these sectors.
August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 47
Insight & Outlook | Caprolactam industry in Asia-Pacific
35,03,390
41,64,201
59,92,732*
Global demand for caprolactam (in tonne)
2000
2011
2020
*: Estimated Source: GBI Research
Rakesh Rao
Production of caprolactam, a chemical primarily used in the production of nylon fibres and resins, is rising in Asia as industrial demand grows, according to a new report by research firm, GBI Research. Though India’s share in the global caprolactam industry is low, the rising need from textiles and packaging industries is expected to give a thrust to the demand in future.
The growing demand for nylon fibre and resin and films applications in Asia is driving the requirements for caprolactam on a large scale in the region. The global demand for caprolactam has been steadily increasing over the last decade. As demand in developed economies has matured, growth in Asia-Pacific economies has become the main driver for global caprolactam demand. “In 2000, global caprolactam demand stood at 35,03,390 tonne, before increasing to 41,64,201 tonne in 2011. A significant portion of the increase in demand for caprolactam was from the Asia-Pacific region, and the same trend is expected to continue till 2020. The Asia-Pacific region will continue to account for more than 61.3 per cent of global caprolactam demand in 2020. This demand is expected to rise at a CAGR of 4.1 per cent between 2011 and 2020, to reach 59,92,732 tonne in 2020,” observes Ganesh Dabholkar, Analyst, GBI Research. Caprolactam is used for the manufacture of textiles, carpets, industrial yarns and films, while nylon resins are also used in engineering
plastics, and their resistance to oils and greases has led to their utility in engine covers, gears and bearings.
Emerging Asia The emerging Asian economies are reportedly driving the global caprolactam market. According to Dabholkar, the reasons for this are as follows: Healthy demand from the Chinese textiles sector: According to a 10-year plan announced by China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC), Chinese textile producers plan to double the country’s textile output by 2020 from the 2010 level. The textile industry is planning to increase textile and clothing exports by an annual rate of about 7 per cent, and boost the export value of fibre products to $ 400 billion by 2020. Rising demand for fibre products will accelerate the upgrading and transformation of the textile industry, and further boost innovation and branding to drive high-end industrial development. This increase in demand coupled with healthy export potential is likely to drive demand for caprolactam in the region towards 2020.
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Huge demand from other Asian countries: The Chinese economy has emerged as a global petrochemical products manufacturing hub. Production in China has the advantage of lower cost coal-based feedstock compared to many other countries. China is a large-scale producer of caprolactam, but at the same time imports a considerable amount to satisfy its domestic demand. The demand in China is driving the Asia-Pacific market’s requirement for caprolactam. South Korea, India, Thailand, Malaysia and other Asia-Pacific countries are also seeing a huge rise in demand for caprolactam. The same trend is expected to continue in the near future. Low per capita consumption of caprolactam from downstream: Compared to North America and Europe, Asia-Pacific has a lower per capita consumption of caprolactam from downstream sectors. This means there is scope for further penetration of these petrochemicals. Due to this, the market for caprolactam in Asia-Pacific is still in the growth stages and has good growth potential. It is set to grow substantially over the forecast period.
Caprolactam industry in Asia-Pacific
China adding capacities China has recently been witnessing developments in various manufacturing sectors, which require caprolactam, and the country’s low operating costs encourage local caprolactam production to meet this need. As a result, there have been huge caprolactam capacity additions in the country. So is China looking to export caprolactam to other Asian countries such as India, as the Chinese economy witnesses a slowdown? Dabholkar answers, “China’s caprolactam producers have plans to expand caprolactam capacities. This will lead to an increase in exports of caprolactam from China towards 2020. In 2011, Malaysia, Kenya, Sri Lanka and Pakistan were the leading importers of caprolactam from China; although China could look to export caprolactam to other Asian countries too.”
Demand gearing up in India The expected improvement in downstream demand from the textile and packaging sectors is likely to drive the caprolactam demand in India by 2020. “The demand for caprolactam in India stood at 1,12,236 tonne in 2011, of which supply by Indian caprolactam imports stood at 3,240 tonne in 2011,” says Dabholkar. India’s large population, coupled with the current low per capita consumption of caprolactam, gives it the potential for future growth in consumption and demand for caprolactam. He states, “The demand growth for caprolactam from India is expected to be 1.9 per cent in the next decade. From 2011-2020, caprolactam production is expected to grow at a CAGR of 1.4 per cent, to reach 1,34,484 tonne in 2020. This will be supported by positive consumer sentiment from caprolactam end-use consumers, which is likely to drive the operating rates during the period that could drive investments by Indian companies.”
Ganesh Dabholkar Analyst, GBI Research
A significant portion of the increase in demand for caprolactam was from the Asia Pacific region, and the same trend is expected to continue till 2020. Supply chain constraints Benzene, one of the key raw materials for caprolactam, has seen a spike in prices in 2012. This adversely affected the margins of caprolactam producers. However, prices of benzene have witnessed a decline in 2013, much to the relief of the manufacturers. “Benzene prices have slightly declined in 2013 over the previous year. Volatility in crude oil prices has always affected the profitability of caprolactam producers, as the major types of feedstock used for caprolactam are benzene and toluene, which are derived from crude oil,” avers Dabholkar. Caprolactam feedstock prices are therefore linked to international crude oil prices, and any volatility in crude oil prices has a direct impact on caprolactam prices. In a highly competitive global environment, any price volatility in crude oil cannot be directly translated into end-use prices, which reduces the profitability of manufacturers. At the same time, lower demand for nylon fibres is also impacting the caprolactam industry. “Nylon fibres used for textile manufacturing being the major end-use segment for caprolactam, The global caprolactam market (in 2020)
17%
1% 13%
69%
Europe North America Asia-Pacific South & Central America and the Middle East & Africa
Source: GBI Research
the lower demand (due to economic slowdown) has been impacting the caprolactam industry,” he observes.
Slow and steady rise
The global demand for caprolactam is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.1 per cent from 2011 to 2020. “The global caprolactam market is expected to increase to 59,92,732 tonne by 2020, with Asia-Pacific continuing to account for the majority of demand (69.5 per cent), followed by Europe with 16.6 per cent,” says Dabholkar. The demand in the North American and European markets is expected to increase slowly due to the maturity of the markets, high per capita consumption and increased manufacturing costs. In 2020, North America will hold a share of 13.1 per cent of the global demand. The remaining 0.8 per cent will be held by South and Central America and the Middle East and Africa collectively. Dabholkar observes, “With 32,29,487 tonne of demand, nylon fibre is expected to be the leading global end-use market for caprolactam in 2020. The nylon fibre application sector will be followed by nylon resins and films, with demand for 19,62,536 tonne in 2020. Industrial applications and other end-use segments will account for 5,05,802 tonne and 2,94,907 tonne of demand for caprolactam, respectively, in 2020. Nylon fibre will continue to be the leading end-use segment over the coming decade, with a CAGR of 4.3 per cent towards 2020.” India’s share of the caprolactam demand in Asia-Pacific is expected to be 3.2 per cent in 2020. The expected improvement in downstream demand from the textile and packaging sectors is likely to drive the caprolactam demand in India towards 2020. Email: mahua.roy@network18publishing.com
August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 49
Insight & Outlook | Material resources deployment
A novel concept for optimising resources Rakesh Rao
In his latest book, ‘The MRD Concept’, author N Satishkumar describes how every organisation can and should use Material Resources Deployment (MRD) to restore its health and profitability in uncertain economic times. So how useful is MRD concept for the chemical industry? Let’s find out… As organisations across the globe attempt to pick up the pieces and any product is about 70 per cent materials cost of the and assess the damage done by the recent economic slowdown, it selling price.” becomes clear that a shift in thinking and in managing is imperative. A one per cent saving in the maintenance expenses of The book ‘The MRD Concept’ offers fresh and practical advice materials resources and procurement cost of the input materials to all those in the workforce (especially business owners) who adds directly to the profit! “Therefore, the focus must be here and are interested to learn about how companies can reduce waste if it is not so, one cannot imagine the lost profits,” he adds. and increase profits by becoming more aware of their materials According to him, the MRD concept delivers an all-round management process. “The MRD benefit for every organisation as Concept suggests a paradigm follows: When one focusses on shift in the management’s focus POLLUTION CONTROL the materials resources-related from marketing, finance or functions under the MRD manufacturing to the materials concept such as operations/ resources of an organisation,” manufacturing, engineering, says the author of this WASTE materials & sales, and book, N Satishkumar, who ELIMINATION reorganises and works the MRD currently heads the Materials COST SAVINGS way, it will actually improve the Management Division at a BENEFITS performance of finance (Return chemical company in Kuwait, OF MRD on investment) and marketing and has over 25 years of CONCEPT (more orders) resulting in experience in the materials and more profit. supply chain management field. A major aspect under the The concept MRD concept is that the supply BUSINESS PROCESS Under the MRD concept, the chain within the organisation IMPROVEMENT EMPLOYEE materials resources referred to gets dissolved giving way to the INTEGRITY are not just the input materials MRD department, which is a for production in case of cohesive group that eliminates manufacturing, or goods and the drawbacks faced by supply finished products in case of a trading business. These also include chain within the organisation. This improves the business the finished products, plant and machinery. The concept suggests process, thereby increasing the efficiency of the organisation. The MRD department is a sure shot way by which an looking at the entire materials resources of an organisation, their organisation can reduce wastage of materials and avoid procurement, maintenance, usage, reuse and disposal through a pollution because the actual designers and users are all in one focus on materials resources deployment plan. team. Satishkumar opines, “Presently, management in any The MRD concept enables the suppliers and customers to organisation focusses mainly on marketing, finance and get direct response, attention and service from the MRD manufacturing. There is no direct focus on the materials department, as this department has all the functions they resources. Any organisation is 100 per cent materials resource
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Material resources deployment
deal with, thereby improving the supplier and customer relationships vastly leading to the ‘profitability continuum’. MRD concept brings in the philosophical aspect in management, thereby developing integrity in employees and creating a new role for HRD as an agent of the organisation to contribute to social causes.
A paradigm shift In business management, one has innovative business tools, strategies, concepts that address a particular business function such as marketing or manufacturing of the whole organisation. Satishkumar opines, “MRD redefines the supply chain within an organisation by bringing all the supply chain-related functions under one head enabling the MRD Head to co-ordinate and direct all the functions. Therefore, the supply chain link collapses to form a cohesive, seamless function. This improves the business process.” So how can chemical manufacturers benefit from the MRD concept? Besides the major benefits mentioned above, according to Satishkumar, the specific benefit to the chemical industry can be as follows: Chemical companies have plants that are continuously running and, are therefore highly maintenance-
MRD advantage Working the MRD way frees: Marketing, from looking after dayto-day sales to focus on marketing activities of getting more orders Finance, from accounting of incoming materials, sold products and debtors follow-up CEO, from co-ordinating on a daily basis with various department heads as the MRD Head becomes the onepoint contact for all information, implementation and actions of the materials resources-related activities.
N Satishkumar
Author - The MRD Concept
A time has come now when we need to preserve our natural resources, save our planet from pollution and do business in new ways in order to survive in business. intensive. Operations personnel rely on engineering department to keep the plant up and running, and the engineering department depends on materials department to provide equipment & spare parts. Generally, when there is a plant breakdown, each one blames the other. Engineering section blames operations team for not running the plant properly and materials department for not keeping adequate stock of spare parts. Operations blame engineering for lack of preventive maintenance. Materials section blame operations and engineering personnel for not planning in advance and not giving enough time for procurement. The MRD Head will have all these functions directly under him who will co-ordinate the requirements for all these functions and ensure smooth running of the plant. The MRD Head plays the role of synergising by bringing all the concerned together to decide as a team and take ownership of whatever decisions are made. The plant in this way runs as one team rather than in a compartmentalised way. The most critical aspect of the chemical industry is that its processes are prone to pollution in all three forms – gas, liquid and solid. This can be only resolved when all the three main functions are brought to work together. When processes are synergised under a MRD Head, solutions for eliminating pollution in any form starts emerging and this will give maximum results.
Also, since MRD concept is easy to implement, it can offer benefits to the smalland medium-scale chemical manufacturers, who play a dominant role in the industry.
Reducing waste
The MRD concept also leads to the control/elimination of waste in any form. This is because the actual designers, planners, users of the materials resources come together as one department under one head, says Satishkumar. What are the pre-requisites for implementing MRD concept by a company? “The function of the MRD Head is specific as this position requires him/her to be thorough with the organisation’s manufacturing process, engineering, materials, marketing requirements apart from having a business management background. This will help the MRD Head to lead the MRD functions,” says Satishkumar. Therefore, appointing a MRD Head from within the organisation or outside becomes one of the pre-requisites for implementing the MRD concept.
The survival tips As manufacturers across the globe seek to stay afloat during tough times, find ways to recover and make profits, they will need to look at new and innovative ways of doing so. By changing the way one approaches business goals and shifting the focus of management by using the innovative MRD concept, manufacturers can not just survive in these tough economic times, but also can thrive. “The MRD concept is a universal business management concept that can be adopted by service, trading or manufacturing units of any size in any industry. A time has come now when we need to preserve our natural resources, save our planet from pollution and do business in new ways in order to survive in business. The MRD concept provides solution for all the three,” concludes Satishkumar. Email: mahua.roy@network18publishing.com
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User-industry Monitor | Home care products
Specialty chemicals delivering gentle care Prasenjit Chakraborty
With dramatic lifestyle changes across the world, the demand for home care products is rising. Today, consumers want more functionality in products – laundry care, toilet cleaner, surface care, dishwash etc. To achieve this, specialty chemicals play a crucial role, thus making home care products a lucrative proposition for specialty chemicals manufacturers. Nowadays, detergents, dish wash, laundry care and disinfectants find extensive use in households the world over. Dubbed as home care products, these are being used on a daily basis, and hence competition is rising among manufacturers. Today, there is a plethora of such products, which are differentiating themselves by focussing on aspects such as quick cleaning, complete removal of stains from clothes etc. Interestingly, the functionalities are achieved due to the use of specialty chemicals. Specialty chemicals play an important role while manufacturing home care products. Hence, the home care products segment has emerged as a lucrative proposition for specialty chemicals players.
Home care products gaining popularity Home care is undoubtedly an important segment for any company that manufactures specialty chemicals. This segment has continued to grow, even amid the economic slowdown in India as rural consumers started to switch to branded products. While rural consumers supported volume sales, acceptance of high-value products by urban consumers drove value sales in 2012. “However, these days there are many challenging factors that are of major concern to us, and we
result of mass marketing campaigns, creating increased awareness among consumers about the importance and benefits of elementary home care products, etc. “With growing urbanisation coupled with increasing Western lifestyles, consumers increasingly traded up to high-value lifestyle products in 2012. Rapid growth is expected to arise mainly from the rural segment, which offers tremendous growth opportunities for the specialty chemicals sector in India and also provide a platform for innovations,” points out Dr Snell.
Role of specialty chemicals take utmost care as far as environment is concerned, without compromising on R&D, cost and quality. Being present in the market for so many years, we have been able to design and manufacture chemicals, which position us as a leader in the specialty chemicals segment. It has also taught us the art of making our product ‘the best’ in the market,” claims Dr Alexander Snell, Head, Industrial & Consumer Specialties Business, India Region, Clariant Chemicals (India) Ltd. The company’s home care segment mainly comprises detergents, dishwash, laundry care and disinfectants. This segment recorded a steady growth, and this momentum will continue as a
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Specialty chemicals play a crucial role in bringing about various functional and performance features in home care products. For instance, in the laundry segment, specialty chemical additives are used for bleaching, pre-treatment and softening. These chemicals not only enhance the cleaning performance but also help in easier and quicker washing, colour protection, and prevent soil re-deposition. In the dishwashing segment, chemicals are used to bring in various special effects of wetting, foaming power and emulsification, which enhance the cleansing efficacy of dishwashing detergents. This can then be formulated in various formats such as liquids, pastes, tablets etc.
in products logistics Home IT care
this process going wrong become much higher. All the work Strategies to increase marketshare needs to be lucrative balanced market in a hierarchical order too. Doingsotasks India offers for any product category, is the like these manually is difficult and is much prone to mistakes. case with home care products and specialty chemicals. Naturally, For example, if a chemicals specialisedmanufacturers storage vessel are is double-booked, reputed specialty leaving no stone itunturned could result in delay of a customer order,” to augment their marketshare by explains adoptingGupta. different For chemical shippers, technology key to reducing strategies. “Through our wide spectrumisofthe customers, we reach transportation and logistics costs. Transportation out to end-consumers and are able to touch theirManagement lives in many Systems (TMS), in particular, can provide chemical companies ways,” says Dr Snell. the Clariant’s visibility they need tofor manage with andetergents, eye for technologies laundrylogistics and household efficiency cost-effectiveness. TMS provides industrial and institutional cleaning products are atthe thegranular forefront detail that helps chemical shippers make decisions on how of supporting innovation by the major consumer goods’ to manage the supply chain in the face of rising costs. companies and specialised producers to optimise washing To and better coordinate and other operations, cleaning results. Atloading, Clariantunloading in India, through innovation new most companies now cost-effective turning to TMS to optimise products that are are not only but also known fortheir their transportation networks. productsare automate keyClariant elements environmentally effectiveTMS performances provided. has of a company’s shipping infrastructure, strategic introduced Texcare Soil release polymersincluding for detergents thatand help operational execution to effectivelyplanning, remove network soil fromdesign, clothes,transportation maintain whiteness and and monitoring, invoicing,“We billing andrecently settlements. Gupta ensure colour retention. have worked on afurther special elaborates without in-depth the demand visibility, backed by aof surfactant that blend that enhances rheology and detergency complete overview of the status of all the equipment difficult-to-thicken toilet cleaner formulations with ourneeded product to produce a particular chemical, thethus salesproviding team simply cannotto Hostagel PH1 & Genaminox series, solutions provide accuratesegment forecastthat of when to the toiletancleaner has a customers big marketcan in expect India with receive orders. This could result in customers choosing various their multinational companies (MNCs) and local brands another manufacturer who can guarantee when the products competing with each other,” he says. they want will be delivered. And, this might severely hit production R&D focusand revenues. “While many manufacturers might feel working effectively without a specialised The that homethey care are market in India is becoming efficient and highly system, the initial investment will be repaid many by competitive as MNCs and local manufacturers aretimes focussing the increasesdevelopment in efficiencytodelivered. So to To ensure that you on business a large extent. be competitive, excel in the future, it is important that technology you invest in the right manufacturers are financing product, development technology and foresee its benefits,” adds Gupta. and improvement through R&D activities. R&D provides manufacturers with cutting-edge Ensuring productivity technologies to achieve their business objectives and also to fulfil Besides, IT preferences can significantly hasten theproducts process that of scaling consumers’ for value-added provide the intermodal networks – for example, efficiency and enhanced functionality and multiple benefits at lower prices. risk-based network design. It also helps in accelerating “We, at Clariant, continuously aim to develop innovativethe and operationalisation of products warehouses, integrating for performance-oriented to serve the homeprocesses care segment. execution enablinginhigher productivity and We have and our co-ordination, global R&D facility Germany and technical throughput, lowering unit costand by India,” optimising assetInutilisation application labs in Shanghai he says. India, the and cargois planning, company focussed onenhancing leveraging operational its technicalcontrol expertisebyto generating to consignments and their status. serve and continual reach outvisibility to customers’ requirements by focussing “We can expect to see the Indian pushing on prototype formulations, troublechemical shooting,industry cost cutting and for more global products to reduce portfolio complexity, optimising product performance. and customers from emerging markets will expect Western standards of product quality and sophistication. Successful Outlook for home care segment logistics providersmarket, will have provide advanced storage, In the evolving hometo care products are witnessing product handling They will also huge demand. In and this transport backdrop, equipment. specialty chemicals that are have to supply cleaning functionally facilities in line with producers’ global environment-friendly, suitable with additional SHE policies support local production and imported flowsas benefits have toample opportunities for growth in India, of product. This can be ensured deeper penetration of IT consumers are always seeking with innovative, high-performance solutions,” concludeswith Behera. products combined ease of usage. mahua.roy@network18publishing.com Email: Email: prasenjit.chakraborty@network18publishing.com
July 2013 | CHEMICAL August Chemical & PROCESS Process WORLD World | 53
Automation Trends | Case Study - Jesons Industries Ltd
Established in 1972, Jesons Industries Ltd is one of India’s largest manufacturers of industrial adhesives and emulsions. The company has a multi-location manufacturing set-up, which includes two plants at Daman and two at Rourkee, to cater to the demands from different geographies. Headquartered in Mumbai, Jesons has a national network of distributors and dealers. The company
The company needed to keep records of precise usage and billing of equipment and human resources deployed in various fields along with the fixed and variable overheads involved with it. But the extensive monitoring and tracking of resources were not defined in the legacy system. “Our systems were not suitable for audit purposes and, thus, it created problem areas when audits took place,” commented
inefficiency. To meet the ongoing challenges, the company wanted to implement a standard management software solution to meet the business requirements. It was decided that a centralised Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution would be deployed that would give the headquarters visibility, insight and control over all the locations and their respective departments.
Embracing customised solution for real-time process monitoring
Jesons Industries Ltd, a leading manufacturer of industrial adhesives and emulsions, lacked a streamlined monitoring and tracking system for its processes. Due to inadequate real-time information, it was not able to match its supply with demand. With the help of Robosoft Solution Pvt Ltd, Jesons deployed Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 for its incredible tracking and customisation abilities along with options for Indian localisation. has been a market leader in the Pressure Sensitive Adhesive (PSA) segment for the past decade with a dominating 70 per cent marketshare. It provides PSA for tapes, stickers, stock labels and specialty tapes, and offers a wide range of products for paint, construction chemical, furniture, textile industries etc. The legacy system at Jesons constituted accounting package Tally from local vendors along with Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheets for maintenance of records. Both being standalone applications with limited features, these required manual consolidation by the employees.
Benefits of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 in a nutshell Real-time critical business
decision-making Simplified financial information Effective production and sales
monitoring Inventory and maintenance
records validating new purchases
Dhiresh Gosalia, Chairman and Managing Director, Jesons Industries Ltd. Jesons has many manufacturing locations and thus managing the inventory involved complexities. Also with respect to the geographical location of manufacturing, the company was finding it difficult to work out the exact precise profitability. With manual intervention of the employees, every process was getting time-consuming and thus, productivity level was decreasing. Moreover, every time employees needed to call their manufacturing plants asking for the production update – those ongoing and those completed – and maintain separate records. This simply made their data redundant, and it got difficult for them to decide which one was accurate. With changing demands and the time involved in the supply chain, there was a huge gap in terms of demand and supply. Simply put, this was affecting their flow of processes involved in the business. And, with growth in business, Jesons could not afford to struggle with a slow-paced system and its underlying
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Solution implemented Jesons decided in favour of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 due to its Indian localisation abilities. Robosoft Solution Pvt Ltd, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, assisted Jesons in initially implementing MS NAV 2009. The solution was deployed in Mumbai, at factory locations and branch offices. Jesons has currently purchased 32 user licenses. Robosoft deployed financial management, fixed assets, purchase and payables, taxation module, import-export modules, and inventory modules. These were further customised to meet Jesons’ business sensibilities. The solution was customised to obtain various details such as salesman-wise, region-wise, itemwise profitability and so on. The reports on resources extracted from the system become the basis for invoice generation. Customisation of the solution resulted in efficiency in work processes. Gosalia noted, “The professionalism and commitment of Robosoft is truly exceptional. The company’s dedication
News, Views & Analysis
Case Study - Jesons Industries Ltd
IT SOLUTIONS to beating deadlines and yet delivering get real-time information and analysis service tax calculation using service tax series of new module products global standards is unmatched. TheAspen team’s Technology report, whichlaunches support better decisionsaves the company from huge Technip receives contract Aspen Technology Inc (AspenTech), a leading range of users to tap theproficiently power of AspenTech understanding of and expertise in our making. And with all the branches, losses. NAV 2009 deals with software and and manufacturing services to the process in Iraq impressed us deeply. Theprovider software – allissue without specialised product training industry ERP of depots units using forex and generates the invoices Technip, reputed company in industries, launched series of products such or desktop installation. Similarly, Aspen PIMS was madea live in just eight weeks and did one ERPa application, data duplication in desired currency. It also facilitates project management, engineering as aspenONE Aspen resulting PIMS Platinum, Platinum software ofprovides refinery planners not disturb our business processes.” is Exchange, eliminated in more conversion multiple international and Complex constructioncurrency for the energy at OPTIMIZE 2013and - a faster conference organised with an intuitive, web-based interface that allows conversions for efficient processing of order currency rates. industry, contract by AspenTech – in Boston, planners to evaluate and multiple scenarios records quickly. invoices was andawarded service atax calculations are to invoice cycle. USA. The new Inventory maintenance by Oil Projects Company aspenONE is aSimplifying web-based user interface that Versionvalidate 8.2 of Aspen Platinum Microsoft adds the alsothe facilitated through the ERP solution. financial information: new PIMS purchases: (SCOP) foralso the confronted constructionthe of solution allows industry professionals to work with offers abilityDynamics to run planning cases keeps and modify Jesons has forprocess Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 NAV 2009 a trackdata of the Karbala Refinery, Iraq. aspenONE software anytime, anywhere. Working directly in flowsheet views to easily identify partial payment of service tax liabilities as effective tools to support financial inventory and maintenance records. Thus, from one display, usersand cancost workcontrol. with AspenTech marketitopportunities. can allocation now visualise permissible under the act. analysis Consolidated helps Jesons Planners in uniform of Damco’s revenue up by products as financial easily as accessing a web constraints, and see the reports from allpage the and sites and variousevaluate machineseconomics, and related equipment 6Benefits per centreaped in Q1 with the simplicity immediate impactsites. of adjustments to the plan to locations ofaremulti-touch extracted gestures. by unifying at various The outsourcing, repair Damco, of the world’s can nowreports empower Some of one the advantages offered byEnterprises NAV make more profitable decisions. costs of the accounts, and the otherbroadest master data. and other miscellaneous leading freight 2009 are as follows:forwarding This improves the accuracy of financial equipment for consecutive years are ENERGY STORAGE and Timely, logistics service criticalproviders, business decision reports. NAV 2009 has reduced the time upheld. This justifies the cost and quantity EnerG2 Mastersizer 3000 month-end for developing nanostructured carbon reported 6 percentralised cent increasedatabase making:a The in uses to produce the consolidated of ordering or buying new equipment. EnerG2, which is working on developing nanostructured carbons for energy storage, is using a in Q1 net revenue with a total Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 shares all reports from 15 days to 7 days. The With streamlined business and Mastersizer automated 3000the laser diffraction particle size analyser Malvern measureDynamics and characterise its of 773 million, compared to across the $project-related information solution simultaneously dealsfrom with all Instruments workflows, to Microsoft NAV 2009 high performance products. Particle sizeregulations distribution and directly impacts thethe energy storage characteristics of $offices 728 million in 2012. EBITDynamics and sites. Microsoft is mandatory government harnesses maximum efficiency from the carbon and the Mastersizer high resolution capability designers to manufacture ended $ 9 millionadaptable for the business a line upof atintegrated, ensures compliance3000’s with relevant industrysizingpeople andallows machines. materials tostandards. exactly meetThe stringent customerexchange requirements. “The benefits of Mastersizer 3000 have first quarter, compared to $ that 13 management solutions enables fluctuating exceeded ourcurrency expectations and have helped usaffect achieve in creating precise, Pvt stable million in 2012. Courtesy: Robosoft Solution Ltd particle size companies to make business decisions rate does not adversely theour goals distributionsefficiency across all our product department. lines,” said Chad Goodwin, Engineer, EnerG2. ForResearch more details email: info@robo-soft.net with greater confidence. The managers of finance Timely
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August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 55
Sustainability Mantras | Wastewater treatment technology
The effective solution for saving the precious drop Rakesh Rao
Water is already a scarce resource in most parts of India. Hence, every industry has the moral obligation to minimise water usage and also treat effluents. To achieve this objective, chemical manufacturers across India are adopting novel wastewater treatment technologies.
Photo: Nikhil Patel; Location courtesy: Novel Spent Acid Management, Vatva in Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Scarce fresh water resources and rapidly deteriorating quality of water resources due to discharge of untreated or non-compliant treated effluents are compelling industries across the world to adopt effective technologies for treating wastewater. Situation is more critical for countries such as India and China, which have large population and where agriculture accounts for a major share of GDP. Hence, industries are under increased pressure to treat their effluent and wastewater for minimising usage of water. “Yes, day by day effluent discharge norms for the chemical industry are getting more stringent, thereby putting pressure on chemical manufacturers to treat their effluents for complying with the discharge norms. This means that they are forced to employ treatment chemicals and
processes, thus increasing opportunities for us,” says Navalkishore Kadwani, Industry Technical Consultant, Nalco Water India Ltd – which provides specialty chemicals for managing cooling water systems, boiler water systems and wastewater systems and also offers tailored solutions to wastewater management in terms of equipment, chemicals and services.
Water treatment market According to a recent report by Frost & Sullivan, the Indian water and wastewater treatment market earned revenues of over ` 6,300 crore in 2011 and it is estimated to reach ` 10,230 crore in 2016. Industrial sector is growing at a higher rate than that of the municipal sector, the report said, adding that power, food & beverage, pharmaceuticals, refineries and textiles
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are generating immense opportunities in the water and wastewater treatment equipment market. These industries prefer advanced treatment technological systems such as Reverse Osmosis (RO) membranes for treating their wastewater, and their growth is expected to drive equipment sales. Several industries are pursuing highly cost-effective options to recycle their treated effluent and reduce their dependence on the dwindling fresh water supplies. Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR), Moving Bed Bioreactor (MBBR) and Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) are some of the proven technologies being used for effective treatment of industrial wastewater in India. Kadwani says, “Industries are nowadays employing processes such as Ultrafiltration (UF), RO, MBR, etc for wastewater treatment in order to reduce waste and recycle majority of it for reuse within the complex. This not only reduces the quantity of waste discharged but also brings down the cost of raw water intake due to the reuse of wastewater.” The industrial market has seen the adoption of hybrid technologies such as chemical treatment/pretreatment along with equipment technologies such as MBR + RO, Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD), etc for wastewater reuse. In many cases, the industrial markets are opening up to the process/specialty chemicals too. These solutions have been driven by increasing need for conserving and reusing water in industrial processes.
Wastewater treatment technology
Water recycling, a viable option? So is water recycling a viable option for the Indian chemical industry? Experts believe that water recycling is not an option but a must for the chemical industry as availability of potable water is becoming scarce for human consumption and agriculture purposes. “As the water availability in many of the industrial belts reduces, the cost of raw water is increasing. This makes water recycling and reusing a viable option in many of the places,” observes Kadwani. It is now possible to use the recycled water in production process. This requires additional polishing treatment steps such as second pass RO, mixed-bed demineralisation unit or Electro Deionisation (EDI) to meet specific process water quality requirement. Kadwani opines, “Yes, recycled water can be used in the production process after suitable treatment.” Hoshang Subawalla, Business Leader, GE Water & Process Technologies adds, “As regulations become more stringent, manufacturers need to adopt advanced technologies to treat wastewater, either for safe discharge or reuse. Reuse could be a viable option even for complex wastewater as manufacturers can reliably secure a part of their freshwater needs. With appropriate process design and use of advanced technology, wastewater can be reused for industrial processes, non-potable domestic applications and indirect potable reuse.”
Leading by example In fact, many companies are using technologies to use treated water in their processes. For example, Aquatech has successfully implemented treated
effluent recycle system in several chemical manufacturing facilities in India with Reliance Refineries at Jamnagar being one of the largest capacity recycle system (total recycle capacity of more than 25 MLD) in operation for more than six years in different phases. In India, a key challenge is the slow adoption of new technologies. But this is changing with many new plants incorporating green technology to achieve their sustainability goals. At the new plant of Indo Baijin Chemicals – a JV between Indofil Industries Ltd and Shanghai Baijin Chemical Group of China – at Dahej in Gujarat, the company has adopted the technology to channelise used water through cooling plants. The green technology adopted will recycle 300 cubic metres of water everyday, and the company expects to benefit from 25,000 tonne (estimated) carbon credits per year, which can be traded in carbon exchanges. Similarly, in November 2012, LANXESS, the global leader in specialty chemicals, opened a new wastewater post-treatment plant at its Nagda site, Madhya Pradesh. This plant, built with an investment of nearly ` 35 crore, will treat the discharge from the existing Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) in a manner that virtually no liquid effluent is discharged from the site. The water recovered from the wastewater post-treatment plant can be used for production processes.
Effective water treatment technologies Keeping in mind the outlet of wastewater, where human habitation might be present downstream or close to its vicinity, it
Solving complex issues In general, for specific chemical contaminants that may pose challenge to biological treatment technologies, treating the waste within process unit itself is the norm. For example, spent caustic waste stream originating in refinery and petrochemical plants is treated via wet air oxidation system before it is allowed to be discharged to central wastewater treatment plant. The discharge standards, in future, may be aimed at certain refractory chemical contaminants, such as dioxins, Polychlorinated Biphenyls, heavy metals etc, to achieve very low levels in Part Per Billion. This may require addition of specific advanced treatment technologies such as Advanced Oxidation Processes, advanced chemical precipitation processes as polishing treatment to meet trace level discharge standards.
Chemicals for special needs The shift in wastewater treatment is towards the concept of Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD). This has led to process and system design with equipment such as MBR, RO, UF and evaporators with chemical treatment/ pre-treatment. Increasingly, the shift in chemicals is towards: Polymers that are much easier to handle Metal removal applications for environment Process & specialty chemical applications for specific needs in different industries becomes pertinent for chemical industry to adopt effective treating technologies. Also, chemical industry in India has to treat effluent so as to recycle water and achieve zero wastewater discharge for obtaining Environmental Clearance (EC) from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to set up the project as well as for expansion activities. Hence, having a right water management strategy is important. “Cooling & boiler water form the core of any chemical industry. Whether it is fertiliser, petrochemicals or pharmaceutical segments, majority of the production process involve heat, which needs to be carried away by the cooling water. Therefore, having the right water management strategy is imperative for chemical manufacturers, else it can impact the plant performance in terms of productivity, heat transfer efficiency, as well as downtime,” says Kadwani. According to Subawalla, other innovative technologies include Electro Dialysis Reversal (EDR) that combine electrolytic separation and membrane filtration to achieve high reclamation from wastewater. Customers are adopting a combination of technologies to recover maximum possible ‘reusable’ water from available wastewater. The adoption of these technologies in the industrial sector and then in the municipal sector will define the scope of wastewater treatment. Email: mahua.roy@network18publishing.com
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Policies & Regulations | Inverted duty structure
Inverted duty structure is one in which the duty on raw materials and feedstocks is higher than the duty on finished products. Such duty structure impacts the domestic industry adversely as a manufacturer has to pay a higher price for raw material in terms of duty, while the
fermentation and distillation of molasses, and find its usage as potable alcohol (ENA), as well as in fuel blending and manufacturing Monoethylene Glycol (MEG), acetic acid, ethyl acetate and acetic anhydride etc,” says H S Karangle, Director General, Indian Chemical Council (ICC).
competitiveness!
advantage. “The rising costs of power and energy, capital equipment etc are adding to the woes. Against this background, the Indian chemical industry is seeking rationalisation of duty structure to put brakes on low-cost imports and facilitate better off-take from domestic markets,” says Karangle. If the anomaly in import duty structure that is affecting the competitiveness of domestic firms is removed by reducing levies on a number of intermediate products to bring them at par with duties on finished goods, then this can give a big boost to the chemical manufacturing sector. A reduction in duty on inputs will help domestic firms by bringing down input costs. Consumers also stand to benefit from lower prices. According to Karangle, Indian chemical
Prasenjit Chakraborty
The existence of inverted duty structure in India is having a huge impact on the competitiveness of the chemical industry. Due to this duty structure, imported finished goods become cheaper, which is detrimental to the growth aspirations of domestic chemical manufacturers. finished product lands at lower duty and costs less. Imported raw material users in a range of manufacturing industry verticals are rendered uncompetitive due to inverted customs duty structure that makes import of finished goods cheaper and discourages domestic value-addition. The chemical industry has been facing the adverse impact of such an inverted duty structure in many product segments.
Gauging the impact A glaring example of the adverse effect of the inverted duty structure can be seen in a section of chemical manufacturing industry, where the feedstock used is ethanol. Higher customs duty on alcohol for production of chemicals is detrimental to the growth of green chemicals. “Since ethanol is derived from renewable sources to promote green chemistry, it is desirable to eliminate customs duty on this important feedstock for the chemical industry. Ethanol is manufactured in domestic market by
Deficit in ethanol availability is faced by the chemical sector as liquor and fuel blending sectors get maximum share of domestic availability. Basic customs duty on MEG is 5 per cent whereas that on ethanol is 7.5 per cent. “It is desirable that for the growth of green chemicals sector, duty on ethanol should be made nil and MEG customs duty needs to be increased to 7.5 per cent,” exhorts Karangle. Similar inverted duty structure can be seen in various sections of chemical manufacturing such as crude and liquefied natural gas, linear alkyl benzene, etc.
Benefits of removing inverted duty structure Currently, the Indian chemical industry is facing constraints due to the rising problem of dumping. Chemical, petrochemical manufacturers from Middle East (with feedstock cost advantage) and China are aggressive in the Indian market due to low tariff
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and petrochemicals industry contributes about 3 per cent to the GDP of the country and constitutes about 14 per cent of the domestic industrial activity. There is even more growth potential, given the geographical advantage of India, with respect to the emerging economies. “Elimination of customs duty and clean energy cess on coal for captive power generation, and elimination of customs duty on fuel oil will help generate power at reasonable cost,” he points out. India, with its huge potential consumer base and their unique needs, would need products specifically developed for Indian consumers. “So, it is imperative that we give a boost to product development in India. Taxfree imports of R&D equipment and consumables to a certain percentage of export earnings can be permitted to provide a fillip to new product development,” concludes Karangle. Email: prasenjit.chakraborty@network18publishing.com
Strategy | SME development
understand customer requirements and offer products & services accordingly. Regarding this strategy, Wagh says, “In turbulent times, the development of any industry depends upon how well it understands the consumer needs and how effectively the companies position their products. So, the SMEs must focus more on R&D activities so as to address the needs of customers successfully.”
Exploring sustainable strategies
towards success Avani Jain
The Indian chemical industry is highly fragmented, of which Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) constitute a major part. Unlike large enterprises, SMEs often face problems of limited resources and funds. And when it comes to the present challenging market situation, this problem becomes all the more rampant. Hence, it is important for the chemical manufacturers to devise success strategies for surviving tough times by focussing on long-term goals. The Indian chemical industry is the third-largest in Asia and holds sixth position globally in terms of volume. Growing at an average rate of 12.5 per cent, it contributes 5 per cent to the country’s GDP. Despite the growth, the industry is facing problems. The current uncertainty in the global economy leading to market slowdown is casting dark shadows on the Indian chemical industry. And among all, the SMEs are the most affected by this challenging market scenario. This is because of several reasons such as small size, lack of funds and technology etc. Hence, it becomes imperative for them to explore strategies to survive the market slowdown. Satish Wagh, Chairman and Managing Director, Supriya Lifescience Ltd, and Chairman, Chemexcil, notes, “There cannot be any standard business plan for companies in India to sustain growth during the slowdown. However,
the basic strategies remain the same – strong green approach, robust R&D, etc. Taking into account these factors, companies need to build their own strategy for sustaining during slowdown.” Some of the focus areas for the SMEs to emerge a winner amid competition are mentioned below. Innovating for the domestic market: With dwindling exports to developed markets, chemical companies, especially SMEs, need to explore the potential in domestic markets instead. Wagh avers, “The opportunities for the chemical industry in India are huge. With the increasing purchasing power, consumers are demanding good quality products. This offers tremendous scope for innovations. If SMEs come up with innovative products, then they can easily beat the slowdown.” Addressing customer needs: During challenging times, customer retention is crucial. Hence, companies need to
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Minimising process losses: SMEs need to be well aware of the fact that minimising or eliminating process losses can help them gain more output from limited resources. The cost associated with process loss is called ‘process loss cost.’ These losses are wastage that add to one’s cost and reduce output levels. High process losses consume more resources and inputs for desired production (output) level. Thus, in difficult times, the companies can try to minimise these losses by use of advanced technology, best work practices and eliminating/ reducing speed losses. Ensuring availability of resources: The SMEs need to ensure high availability of resources and better time utilisation by reducing start-up, set-up, changeover times, besides unplanned breakdown times and planned downtimes, eg, tea breaks, lunch breaks, meeting breaks, etc. Higher availability
SME development Bio-refining of resources means higher output biofuels for transportation is around 100 through efficient time management. million tonne, and production of pulp proofing: Mistakes forMistake papermaking is almost 200 million are inevitable in any manufacturing tonne. In addition, recently, governments industry, to rework around thewhich world lead (including India) and have additional expenses. Thus, SMEs made strong mandates for increasingcan the adopt mistake of proofing bySuch design, which consumption biofuels. mandates isand a key element for improving quality related incentives are promoting the and reducing cost levels. This practice expansion of biorefining. However, the can promote more role of advancedsafer, biofuels using efficient cellulosic processes, biomasses with as rawminimal materialwastage. is still expected single-piece flow: to Adopting grow. Currently, first such kind of Single-piece flow is the heart of production facilities are being builtlean and manufacturing. is brought on-lineIn inthis, thethe USproduct and EU; transferred to the next process when but the progress has been slower than one personfew completes the work. Singleexpected years ago. “Governments piece flow helps in reducing inventory, have created certain incentives for the eases movement the should plant is production, but the(as support be uncluttered), quality, clearly stronger improves to enable advanced enhances or product biorefining flexibility as an essential tool for change, enhances safety andRousu. makes sustainable development,” says the organisation more responsive to the delivery In times Where Indiacommitments. stands of slowdown, single-piece flow India is facing energy crisis duecanto help SMEspopulation in realising hidden increasing andthe hence, the
capacity of one’s plant, and thereby dependence on imported foreign fossil meeting the increasing demand without energy sources is also increasing. New adding newenergy, capacity. renewable fuels and non-fossilMulti-tasking: In times of based chemicals are needed to meet the slowdown, all companies including economic growth. The current situation SMEs often aresort to thisshare method to consuming significant of the reduce their cost. However, reducing Gross National Product (GNP) for the head count most dangerous import of is oilone is of notthesustainable in any ways to eliminate avoidable cost.it way. “India is a rich country when This is because one thinks that by comes to the availability of residual reducing thesuch number of people, rest biomasses, as straw and the bagasse. ofThese the biomasses team will are share the workload. generated annually But, this million is justtonne wishful thinking. over 400 in India. Using Instead of this approach, companies 30 per cent of these available residues in should look atwould multi-skilling and 3G biorefining enable bioethanol multi-tasking, which helps in increasing production of 20 million tonne per the output annum,” notes with Rousu. less manpower. Multi-tasking can be carried if the The possibilities toout choose work content of each task is logically environmentally benign alternatives broken into manageable smaller must be made easy and attractive. This tasks, and if one reduces the skill can be enabled by governmental policies, requirements for the subsidies, job and/or imparts such as feed tariffs, grants and multiple skills to people. These activities tax incentives. Educating people about help optimising clean inenergy benefits productivity in day-to-dayand life decreasing costs. is important. “We expect a tremendous
Following the ‘5 biofuel S’ method: Theto change in advanced business SMEs should follow the ‘5 S’ methodology take place in near future. 1G ethanol –has sort, shine, standardise and to systematise, give place for non-food solutions, sustain – to gain profits. This methodology and usage of molasses just cannot fulfil isthethetargets. bedrockWeof offer any quality initiative a 3G non-food, and is critical for any improvement an biorefining platform, which produces organisation attempts. An uncluttered pure cellulosic sugars, biochemicals and workplace will lead to uncluttered solid biocoal,” he points out. thinking process for improvement. Biomass is selectively fractionated with a recyclable biosolvent while all
Transforming challenges the biomass components areinto processed opportunities into valuable products. When it comes to
During turbulent it is important to India, the main times, challenge for advanced look at domestic market and consolidate biorefining is to establish first reference one’s presence. Chemical companies, projects of commercial production. “India especially SMEs, need to change their has several advantages and it certainly approach so as to emerge successful in can be at the forefront of biorefining, these challenging times. They should because Indian companies already have focus more on quality and consider a tradition to the utilise residual biomass this period as a learning phase. SMEs from agriculture, especially combustion should constantly focus on innovation, of sugarcane bagasse and production of so that when market in electricity. The the country also resumes has existing full swing, they can emerge with better production of ethanol and related products and services. infrastructure,” points out Rousu. Email: avani.jain@network18publishing.com Email: prasenjit.chakraborty@network18publishing.com
August | Chemical & Process World | 61 July2013 2013| CHEMICAL & PROCESS WORLD | 55
Tips & Tricks | Use of chromatography
Guidelines to select right solvent for fast-track analysis In chromatographies – column chromatography, Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and Gas Chromatography (GC) – a mixture is separated by distributing the components between a stationary phase (a solid or a liquid) and a mobile phase (a gas or a liquid). Separation of chemical components of a mixture in chromatography is achieved due to the selective interaction of chemicals with both the stationary and mobile phases. Here are some tips on how to effectively use chromatographies.
1
Normally, column chromatography is used to separate and purify components of a mixture. However, TLC and GC are usually used only to analyse mixtures: to determine the number of components and to check whether a desired component is present.
2
In GC, the determining factor in how fast a component travels is usually (but not always) the boiling point of the compound. If a polar high-boiling liquid adsorbent is used in the GC column, the polarity of the components determines the elution order.
solvent) to develop a TLC plate or chromatography column loaded with an unknown mixture, vary the polarity of the solvent in several trial runs – a process of trial and error. Carefully observe and record the results of the chromatography in each solvent system. It has been observed that as one increases the polarity of the solvent system, all the components of the mixture move faster (and vice versa with lowering the polarity). The ideal solvent system is simply the system that separates the components.
5
In column chromatography and TLC, the stationary phase (the adsorbent: silica gel or alumina) is polar, and the polarities of components of the mixture and the solvent used in the mobile phase are the determining factors in how fast the compound travels.
Because of toxicity, cost, and flammability concerns, the common solvents are hexanes (or petroleum ethers, ligroin) and ethyl acetate (an ester). Diethyl ether can be used, but it is flammable and volatile. Alcohols (methanol, ethanol) can be used. If two solvents are equal in performance and toxicity, the more volatile solvent is preferred in column chromatography because it will be easier to remove from the desired compound after isolation from a column chromatography procedure.
It is important to ensure right solvent systems for TLC and column chromatography. When one wants to determine the best system (a ‘system’ means the eluting
One can mix a non-polar solvent (hexanes, a mixture of 6-carbon alkanes) with a polar solvent (ethyl acetate or acetone) in varying percentage combinations to
3 4
62 | Chemical & Process World | August 2013
6
make solvent systems of higher and lesser polarity.
7
One can also use Hildebrand solvent scale – a list of common solvents used in liquid chromatography in the order of increasing energy of adsorption on alumina – for selecting the solvent.
8
W hen using Hildebrand solvent scale, the starting solvent selected for a given separation can be chosen by matching the relative polarity of the solvent to that of the sample. This is done as a first approximation by selecting the solvent to match the most polar functional group on the sample molecule. Solvent gradients should be generated on the same basis of no more than doubling the energy of the starting solvent. When changing solvents or when regenerating after a gradient, a minimum of 5-10 column volumes of the new starting solvent should flow through the system before making another sample injection.
Reference University
of Colorado, Boulder, Chemistry and Biochemistry Department UC Davis ChemWiki, University of California
Your favourite Indian dish… Tandoori jhinga (prawns) The Indian holiday destination you admire… Udaipur, especially right after the monsoon when the lakes are full and hills are green The most prized possession on your desk… Pictures of my wife and two daughters Last motivational movie you appreciated... Guru (Bollywood) Other than work, what do you use your smart phone for… Listening to music Your dream car… Any 4-seater convertible Your favourite motivational book… The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey
Frank Lelek
President, India Region, Evonik Industries AG
A social cause close to your heart… www.laadli.org (Population First’s campaign against sex selection and falling sex ratio) If not in the chemical industry, your alternative profession… Professional athlete How do you like to spend your Sundays… By the pool with my family As told to Mahua Roy
August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 63
Projects
Caustic soda-chlorine
Construction chemicals
Petrochemicals
K P R Industries
Sika India Pvt Ltd
Bharat Petroleum Corporation
Project type
Project type
Project type
New facility
New facility
New facility
K P R Industries Ltd is setting up a grassroots 200 tpd caustic soda-chlorine plant at Balabhadrapuram. Uhde India has bagged the contract. The project has a completion period of 22 months.
Sika India Pvt Ltd is setting up a construction chemicals manufacturing unit in Bharuch. The plant will manufacture waterproofing products. As of now, the civil work is going on in full swing and the construction work is scheduled to be completed in September 2013.
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd is planning to set up a petrochemical plant near its crude oil refinery in Kochi, Kerala. The petrochemical fluid catalytic cracker plant will have the capacity to produce 5,00,000 tonne of propylene. It is expected to be completed in 2017.
Bharuch, Gujarat
Project cost
Project news
Project location
Andhra Pradesh Project cost
Not available
Implementation stage
Planning Contact details: K P R Industries Plot no 472, HSIIDC Rai Industrial Estate Sonipat, Haryana Tel: 011-65028982 Email: info@kprindustries.com ................................................................
Project news
Project location Project cost
Not available
Implementation stage
Ongoing
Project news
Project location
Kochi
Not available
Implementation stage
Planning
Contact details: Sika India Pvt Ltd 301, Interface Building, no-16 Off Link Road Malad (West) Mumbai - 400064 Tel: 022-27580679 Email: info.india@in.sika.com ................................................................
Contact details: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd Bharat Bhavan 4 and 6 Currimbhoy Road Ballard Estate Mumbai - 400001 Tel: 022-22713170 Fax: 022-22713688 Email: ssc@bharatpetroleum.in ................................................................
Larsen & Toubro Ltd
Nagarjuna Oil Corporation
Project type
Project type
New facility
Capacity expansion
Medak, Andhra Pradesh
Larsen & Toubro Ltd is planning to build up a para-xylene plant in India. The cost of the project is ` 10 billion.
Not available
Not known
Planning
` 10-billion
Nagarjuna Oil Corporation is planning to expand its refinery capacity from 6 million tpa to 15 million tpa in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu. The company will have joint venture with Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation for the plant.
Contact details: Covalent Laboratories Pvt Ltd No 8-3-677/18, 2nd floor S KD Nagar Yellareddy Guda Hyderabad - 500073 Andhra Pradesh Tel: 040-23738492/93/94 Fax: 040-23738496 Email: info@covalentlab.com
Planning
Cuddalore (South Arcot)
Contact details: Larsen & Toubro Ltd L&T House Ballard Estate P. O. Box 278 Mumbai - 400001 Tel: 1800-2094545 Email: infodesk@larsentoubro.com
Not available
Cefuroxime sodium
Covalent Laboratories Pvt Ltd Project type
New facility
Project news
Covalent Laboratories Pvt Ltd is planning to set up a new chemicals plant at Medak in Andhra Pradesh. The project involves manufacturing of cefuroxime sodium. Project location Project cost
Implementation stage
Para-xylene
Project news
Project location Project cost
Implementation stage
64 | Chemical & Process World | August 2013
Refinery
Project news
Project location Project cost
Implementation stage
Planning Contact details: Nagarjuna Oil Corporation MD Chambers, Old no 31 New no.53, Dr Radhakrishnan Salai
Management degree Projects out of the current work position, are honed in an MBA degree Satindra Sen Mylapore Project location Project news one may want to consider an programme,” Co-Founder Gujarat and Director, Macro Polymers Pvtsays LtdDrisRay. planning Chennai - 600004 Exper Executive Education Pvt Ltd MBA degree. Taking the decision of Project cost to set up synthetic resin manufacturing Tamil Nadu Having already obtained whether to get an advanced $ 330 million unit. The plant will have a capacity Tel: 044-28431000 The strong analytical capability aFax: technical degree, an MBA engineering degree or an to MBA Implementation stage of 15,000 TPM and expected be 044-28119002 completes one’s education in will mean taking a hard look that engineers possess is highly Planning operational by April 2014. Email: corpcomm@nagarjunaoil.com the wider areas of management at personal goals. An MBA valued in the business world; but itProject is location ................................................................ that usually includes subjects complements Soda ash Chacharwadi, Gujaratmost other degrees. Contact details: imperative that they also understand such as finance, marketing, However, the reality is that most Rohit Surfactants Pvt Ltd Project cost Rohit Surfactants Pvt more Ltd qualitative aspects. the other, human resource management, individuals feel like they are time Project type ` 250 million 109/366 organisational behaviour and or resource constrained and can New facility Implementation stage R K Nagar management strategy. This is only afford one advanced degree. Project news Planning G T Road, Kanpur - 208012 management also important because thePvt role ofLtd the In that situation, the answer to the question Rohit Surfactants Uttar Pradesh degree lies solely with a person’s future goals. If one plans a startengineer is changing; within an industry, regarding whether engineers should obtain (RSPL) is planning to set up Contact details: Tel: 0512-2551201/06 up of consulting or manufacturing, an an engineer is likely to be a manager an MBA versus an engineering greenfield soda ash plant in Gujarat. Macro Polymers Pvtadvanced Ltd Fax: 0512-2550832/33 MBA degree could be a valuable asset. who has to implement new practices and degree is completely dependent on future It includes construction of a 50 MW 165, Maha Gujarat Industrial Estate Email: info@gharidetergent.com An engineer will now need to understand technologies, or manage a set of people in aspirations. Sen concludes, “The strong captive power plant, production Opp. Nova Petrochem ................................................................ more than just technical architecture. the field, be it sales or even manufacturing. analytical capability that engineers possess Synthetic resin unit, recycling unit, storage space, Sarkhej - Bavla Road “He/she will need to know how to look Thus, the engineer often becomes the is highly valued in theGujarat business world; but Macro Polymers Pvt Ltd water tanks, installation of chillers, District Ahmedabad, at his/her technical skills from a business primary manager of change within the it is imperative that they also understand Project type machinery, and other related Tel: 09228010801 perspective, modern organisation, which again requires the other,sales@synresin.com more qualitative aspects. These New facility and how to channelise infrastructure facilities. Email: the knowledge into profitability and specific skills and learning. qualitative skills are what engineers productivity. An engineer will learn how stereotypically lack; we like black and courtesy: Tendersinfo.com Seek your future goal to Information market his/her skills to prospective white answers, but in the business world, 1, Arch Gold, Next toof MTNL Exchange, Poisar, Road,to Kandivali (W), finances Mumbai - 400 067, Indiathat simple.” The answer to the crucial question customers andS Vhow manage it isMaharashtra, not typically Tel: 022 28666134 • Fax: 022 28013817 • Email: parmeet.d@tendersinfo.com Email: mahua.roy@network18publishing.com choosing between an engineering and when he/she is on a job. These skills
July 2013 & PROCESS WORLD | 59 August 2013 || CHEMICAL Chemical & Process World | 65
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66 | Chemical & Process World | August 2013
Event List
National Pune
Maharashtra October 18-21, 2013 India’s premier industrial trade fair on products and technologies related to Machine Tools, Hydraulics & Pneumatics, Process Machinery & Equipment, Automation Instrumentation, Packaging & Auxiliaries, IT Products, Electrical & Electronics, Material Handling and Safety Equipment.
Chennai
Tamil Nadu November 14-17, 2013
Aurangabad Maharashtra January 10-13, 2014
Indore
Madhya Pradesh Jan 31-Feb 03, 2014
Jaipur
Ludhiana
Kolkata
Ahmedabad
Punjab Rajasthan Nov 29 - Dec 02, 2013 December 20-23, 2013 West Bengal February 21-24, 2014
Gujarat March 7-10, 2014
For details
Network18 Media & Investments Ltd
Ruby House, 1st Floor, J K Sawant Marg, Dadar (W), Mumbai 400 028. • Tel: 022 3003 4651 • Fax: 022 3003 4499 • Email: engexpo@network18publishing.com
PetroWorld India What : An event showcasing novel technologies in oil & gas sector When : August 22-24, 2013 Where : Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai
For details contact: Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry Tel: 011-23738760/8770 Email: ficci@ficci.com ...........................................................................
For details contact: Inter Ads Exhibitions Pvt Ltd Tel: 0124-4524200/4201 Email: siddharth@interads.in ...........................................................................
What : International trade fair for laboratory technology, biotechnology & diagnostics When : November 12-14, 2013 Where : Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai
INDIA OIL AND GAS REVIEW SUMMIT AND INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION
analytica Anacon India 2013
For details contact: MMI India Pvt Ltd Tel: 022-42554710 Email: avisha.desai@mmi-india.in ...........................................................................
When : January 12-15, 2014 Where : India Expo Centre and Mart, Greater Noida For details contact: Petrotech Society Tel: 011-23355072 Email: info@petrotechsociety.org ....................................................................
WORLD PETROCOAL CONGRESS What : The event will discuss the sustainable usage of the non renewable resources like coal, petroleum and natural gas When : February 15-17, 2014 Where : Convention Centre-NDCC, New Delhi For details contact: Energy And Environment Foundation Tel: 011-24538318/22758149 Email: dranilgarg@ee-foundation.org ...........................................................................
PROCESS ENGINEERING EXPO What : An international exhibition and conference on process technologies When : September 04-06, 2014 Where : Hyderabad International Trade Exposition Centre (HITEX), Hyderabad
What : An event that will highlight the latest developments in anti-corrosion & corrosion control systems, compressors, exploration and production technology, environmental engineering, systems & equipment, fire prevention, gas processing equipment etc When : September 03-04, 2013 Where : Taj Lands End, Mumbai
What : An event for chemical equipment, environment & safety, plastics & packaging, electric & electronics, petroleum & gas, etc When : December 07-10, 2013 Where : AIDS Ananpura, Ankleshwar, Gujarat
For details contact: Oil Asia Publications Pvt Ltd Tel: 022-66814900 Email: info@oilasia.com ...........................................................................
For details contact: Better Deal Tel: 09979871798 Email: info@chemicalexpo.in ...........................................................................
India Chem Gujarat
PETROTECH
What : An international exhibition on chemicals, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, technologies, process plant machinery and control & automation systems When : October 09-11, 2014 Where : Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai
What : The exhibition will showcase the latest products, machinery, equipment and developments in the chemical industry When : October 24-26, 2013 Where : Gandhinagar, Gujarat
What :
For details contact: Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry Tel: 011-23738760/8770 Email: ficci@ficci.com
CHEMICAL EXPO
68 | Chemical & Process World | August 2013
The event will showcase power generation tools, oil and gas machinery, engineering equipment and pollution control tools etc
For details contact: HITEX Tel: 040-23112121/2122 Email: pr@hitex.co.in ...........................................................................
INDIA CHEM 2014
Event List
interNational VEHIGAS What : A specialised international event on natural gas and liquid petroleum gas organised every two years When : August 21-23, 2013 Where : Jockey Plaza Convention Center, Lima, Peru For details contact: Thais Corporation S. A. C Tel: +(51)-(13)-4443860 Email: thais@amauta.rcp.net.pe ...........................................................................
OFFSHORE EUROPE What : Focussed event on the ever changing technology requirements of the world’s petroleum industry When : September 03-06, 2013 Where : Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre, Aberdeen,United Kingdom For details contact: Reed Exhibitions Tel: +(1)-(203)-8404800 Email: ask_bj@reedexpo.com.cn ...........................................................................
crop protection, biofuels, biodiesel, coatings, paints etc When : September 09-11, 2013 Where : Hilton Wilmington Riverside, Wilmington, USA For details contact: American Chemical Marketing Tel: 1-215-8829100 Email: tom.leahy@chemicalsamerica.com ...........................................................................
NEFTEGAS EXPO What : An international event for process industries that will showcase the latest trends and developments in the sector When : September 10-13, 2013 Where : Lenexpo Exhibition Centre, St.Petersburg, Russia For details contact: Restec Exhibition Company Tel: +(7)-(812)-3206363 Email: main@restec.ru ...........................................................................
ASIA PACIFIC COATINGS SHOW
Where : Istanbul Fair Center (CNR Expo), Istanbul For details contact: Artkim Group Tel: +(90)-(212)-3240000 Email: bilgi@artkim.com.tr ...........................................................................
China Adhesive What : Exhibition focussing on adhesive and sealant products When : September 25-27, 2013 Where : Shanghai Everbright Convention & Exhibition Center, Shanghai
For details contact: CCPIT Sub-Council of Chemical Industry Tel: +(86)-(10)-64275419 Email: contact@chinaexhibition.com ...........................................................................
GASSUF 2013 What : Focussed event on gas and gas filling technology When : October 15-17, 2013 Where : VVC Exhibition Centre, Pavilion no 75, Moscow
What : International exhibition on dyes and fine & specialty chemicals When : September 05-08, 2013 Where : Bangabandhu International Conference Centre, Dhaka, Bangladesh
What : Leading coating show of Southeast Asia that will focus on raw material supply for plastics, inks and adhesive manufacturers When : September 12-13, 2013 Where : Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC), Bangkok,Thailand
For details contact: CEMS-Global Asia Pacific Pte Ltd Tel: + (65) - 6829 - 2144 Email: contact@cems-dyechem.com ...........................................................................
For details contact: Quartz Business Media Lted Tel: +(44)-(1737)-855000 Email: kezchen@quartzltd.com ...........................................................................
SPECIALITY & AGRO CHEMICALS AMERICA
TURKCOAT
What : An exhibition that will showcase process plant & technology for chemical industry, process control instrumentation, etc When : December 10-12, 2013 Where : Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York, USA
What : An international event focussing on water and solvent-based paints, powder coatings, decorative paints etc When : September 12-14, 2013
For details contact: International Exposition Company Tel: +(1)-(203)-2219232 Email: rhalligan@h-a-intl.com
Dye+Chem Bangladesh 2013
What :
The event will showcase the latest and advanced products & services including adhesives, sealants, resins, agriculture,
For details contact: MVK International Tel: + (7) (495) 9358100 Email: satarova@ite-expo.ru ...........................................................................
CHEM SHOW
The information published in this section is as per the details furnished by the respective organiser. In any case, it does not represent the views of Chemical & Process World August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 69
Event Report | ARC India Forum
ARC Advisory Group’s eleventh India Forum took place from July 11-12, 2013, in Hyderabad. The theme of the forum was ‘Achieving Breakthrough Performance through New Processes and Technologies’. This two-day forum attracted over 230 delegates comprising thought leaders and key decision makers from industrial segments, end-users and technology solution providers, among others. It provided an excellent opportunity for disseminating valuable information and sharing of industry best practices. The forum brought together stakeholders from chemical, oil & gas; electric power
and growth. There were close to 30 presentations – the core of which was implementing new technologies to forge ahead in a competitive market. N Murugesan, Director General, CPRI, was the chief guest at the event. In his inaugural address, he said that the present economic scenario is beset with challenges and uncertainty at the global and domestic levels. But these challenges can be surmounted, if new technologies and best practices are adopted to curtail costs and enhance productivity. Andy Chatha, President & CEO, ARC Advisory Group, made a video presentation
made a presentation on automation megatrends, which are evident in control, electrical and safety systems; distributed devices; application software; infrastructure, engineering; and workforce. The invited speaker from TCS spoke about the factory of the future and the emergence of an era of smart manufacturing. He said that India’s manufacturing sector is becoming more innovative and competitive as it strives for operational excellence. B&R Automation made a joint presentation with its customer Alstom Power. The core was integrated automation
Aiding process industry for breakthrough performance ARC’s eleventh India Forum highlighted that investing in right technologies can result in increased productivity and ensure quick return on investment. Besides, the event brought together key decision makers and leaders from across industries, which helped in effective exchange of ideas and valuable knowledge sharing. including renewable energy; cement, metals & mining; food & beverage; and pharmaceutical industries, along with suppliers of automation systems, enterprise solutions, and manufacturing IT solutions.
Event at a glance The forum’s focus was on maximising productivity and increasing Return on Investment (ROI) by investing in technologies. And this was effectively brought out in the topics discussed at various sessions, which encompassed automation trends; energy optimisation; asset performance; operational excellence and cyber security; control strategies; and enterprise & network security strategies for sustainability
on breakthrough technologies and interconnected processes & devices that are dramatically altering the way businesses are conducted globally.
Knowledge exchange While delivering a keynote addresses Arundhati Bhattacharya, General Manager, NTPC, said that automation has moved from being a problemsolver to a full-fledged business tool. The presentation highlighted the importance of automation in the plant lifecycle as an effective tool for analysis, process control, plant operation, process monitoring for actionable information, fault tolerance, and safety functions & diagnostics. G Ganapathiraman, Vice President & General Manager, ARC,
70 | Chemical & Process World | August 2013
and networking through Ethernet Powerlink in power plants. The speaker from ONGC spoke about the types and classification of drilling rigs and the parameters that need to be monitored. The representative from Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd spoke about achieving excellence in refinery operations through automation technologies. At the end of ARC’s two-day forum, it was clear that there are several roadblocks to industrial growth. However, these barriers can be overcome by adopting new processes and technologies. Both sponsors and delegates gave positive feedback about the forum. Email: prasenjit.chakraborty@network18publishing.com
Book Review
Prudent practices in the laboratory Compiled by: National Research Council of the National Academies (United States) Price: ` 5,850
This book by experts from academia and industry, with specialisation in areas such as chemical sciences, pollution prevention and laboratory safety, provides guidance on planning procedures for the handling, storage and disposal of chemicals. It offers prudent practices designed to promote safety and includes practical information on assessing hazards, managing chemicals, disposing of wastes, and more. The updated edition responds to societal and technical developments that were driving significant changes in the laboratory culture and laboratory operations related to safety, health & environmental protection. This book serves as the leading source of chemical safety guidelines for people dealing with laboratory chemicals, research chemists, technicians, safety officers, educators and students. It also provides information on new topics such as emergency planning, laboratory security, handling of nanomaterials, and expanded discussion on environment, health and safety management systems.
Available at: Wisdom Book Distributors, Hornby Building, 1st floor, 174, D N Road, Mumbai – 400001 Tel: 022-22074484/66318958, Telefax: 022-22034058 Email: thadam@vsnl.com
The fourth edition of this book includes significant developments in protective group chemistry since 1998. In addition to incorporating new protective groups now available to the synthetic organic chemist, such as the uniquely removable 2-methoxybenzenesulfonyl group for the protection of amines, it also covers new techniques for the formation and cleavage of existing protective groups. The content is organised around the functional group to be protected, and ranges from the simplest to the most complex highly specialised protective groups. New features of this edition include, addition of numerous new protective groups such as the fluorous family; new methods for the cleavage and introduction of many classic protective groups highlighting selectivity issues when reported in the literature, expanded coverage of the unexpected side reactions that occur with protective groups, etc. Besides, there is a new chart covering the selective deprotection of silyl ethers. Hence, this book is quite helpful for both synthetic organic and medicinal chemists who want to control the reactivity of the most common functional groups during a synthetic sequence.
Reviewer: Tejas Padte, Lecturer, Department of Chemistry, Ramnarain Ruia College, Mumbai
Greene’s protective groups in organic synthesis Authors: Peter G M Wuts and Theodora W Greene Price: ` 2,195
August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 71
Products
Cyanoacrylate industrial grade adhesive Cyanoacrylate industrial grade adhesive can be used for a wide variety of industrial assembly applications. It is triple distilled to provide the highest industrial strength and consistent performance. It is available from 20 gm bottle to 200 kg drum packing. Accelerators, primers and de-bonder for cyanoacrylate adhesives are also available. Accelerators are designed to increase the cure speed and gap-filling capabilities of cyanoacrylate adhesives. It is formulated to harden CA in less than ten seconds and it also helps to cure excess CA that oozes out of joints during assembly. It can be applied to one surface and can be applied to the opposite surface, which will bond instantly when brought together. Other products available are anaerobic adhesives, acrylic and methacrylate adhesives, UV curable adhesives, epoxy and polyurethane adhesives, impregnation sealant and silicone sealant. Parson Adhesives India Pvt Ltd Vadodara – Gujarat Tel: 0265-2972191/6541638, Mob: 09428511765/09825299551 Email:sales@parsonadhesives.in, bijay@parsonadhesives.in Website: www.parsonadhesives.in
Silicone grease Silicone grease is a single component modified silicone system. It does not harden, dry out or melt even after 1000 hours at 200°C, showing good di-electric and lubricating properties. It wets and adheres to dry surfaces of metals, ceramics, plastics, etc. providing high surface resistivity under moisture condensing conditions. Anabond Ltd Chennai - Tamil Nadu Tel: 044-24402311/13, Mob: 09825688244 Email: marketing@anabond.com Website: www.anabond.com
Twin screw pump This pump consists of one set of shafts – one driving and one driven with two screws mounted and keyed onto each shaft. Liquid entering the pump is divided into two parts, each part going to the outer end of screws. The pump holds a given volume of fluid, moving axially as the screws rotate. UT Pumps & Systems Pvt Ltd Mumbai - Maharashtra Tel: 022-32992488 Email: info@utpsl.in
August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 73
Products
GPC/SEC light scattering detector
Digital magnahelic gauge
The SEC-MALS 20 is designed to measure absolute molecular weight for a range of macromolecular applications and to supply superior radius of gyration (Rg) measurements for molecules larger than 10-15 nm. This increased level of detection, particularly at lower angles, gives the best possible data fit for the extrapolation of molecular weight and size. Consequently, there are significant gains in accuracy, even at high molecular weights. It features the incorporation of a vertical flow cell with radial optics rather than the more conventional lateral flow cell for increased sensitivity and accuracy for low angle detection. It also allows the use of a variety of mobile phases without the need to alter the optical properties of the detector. The Viscotek SEC-MALS 20 detector runs with Malvern’s established OmniSEC software. It is compatible with any commercially available SEC instrument and is available both as a standalone unit or integrated within Malvern’s multi-detector Viscotek GPC/ SEC systems.
This digital magnahelic gauge is used for pressure/ vacuum measurement in the magnahelic pressure range. The instrument is capable of measuring differential pressure (two ports), gauge and vacuum measurement for all ranges. Also available is the standard pressure measuring range of 0 to 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 40, 100, 400, 700 bar gauge pressure indicator and 0.0 to -760.0 mm hg vacuum range indicator. It finds applications in cleanroom pressure measurement, HVAC equipment, Hepa filters, boiler equipment, air handling units, etc.
Malvern Aimil Instruments Pvt Ltd Vashi - Navi Mumbai Tel: 022-39183596 Fax: 022-39183562 Email: stuart.wakefield@malvern.com Website: www.aimil.com
Fasteners and steel metal components The fasteners and sheet metal components are useful in plastic injection-moulding machines and rubber industries. The components include full thread spindle, HTS hex head bolt, nuts, washers, spiral pin, plugs, etc. These materials are offered as per ISO, DIN, IS, BS, JIS and ASTM standards. The materials are made from MS, carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless steel, brass, copper, PVC, nylon, fibre and spring steel. These components are used in hydraulicpneumatic pumps & valves, electrical, electronics, machine tools, materials handling equipment, home appliances, washing machines, refrigeration and air-conditioning plants, etc. Zenith Industrial Products Mumbai - Maharashtra Tel: 022-28470806 Email: zenith@zip-india.com Website: www.zip-india.com
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Ace Instruments Hyderabad - Andhra Pradesh Tel: 040-23078848, Mob: 09394030848 Email: sales@aceinstrumentshyd.com
Food and pharma formulations A wide gamut of chemicals procured from renowned importers, distributors and exporters across the globe comprising premium grade construction chemicals, flavour and fragrance chemicals, fine chemicals, specialty chemicals, electroplating, metal surface chemicals, electronic chemicals, pharmaceuticals formulation chemicals, drugs intermediates, food chemicals/ingredient/additive and industrial chemicals are available. Some of the salient features of this chemical range include purity, exact formulation, flexible concentration, pH value, stability under various conditions, etc. Alliance India Mumbai – Maharashtra Tel: 022-28659196/28013855 Email: alliance.india@mtnl.net.in Website: www.allianceindia.co
Wastewater treatment system This wastewater treatment system employs pulsed electric field processing. The operations of a pulsed electric field (PEF) wastewater treatment system are based on the process of electroporation in cells to accelerate predigestion. This results in up to 80 per cent less solid waste output. The wastewater treatment PEF system destroys cell membranes by applying 1-20 microsecond, 35-50 kV/cm high voltage pulses at a frequency of up to 2 kHz to the wastewater stream. This system facilitates the anaerobic digestion process of cells and is available in size beginning from 10,000 lph and reduces the solid waste up to 80 per cent. Diversified Technologies Inc Massachusetts - USA Tel: +1-781-2759444 Email: kempkes@divtecs.com
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Products
Cable carrier The cable carrier requires no separate motor/power for operating. A single system can be used for conveying data, power and hydraulic hoses. It has no direct exposure of cables to environment as the cables are covered and secured inside the chain. The carrier has no contact with coolants, oils, chips etc and no running or maintenance cost as it is fully integrated to the moving part of the machinery or the equipment. It is easy to assemble/ disassemble and the shut-down time is very less. It also ensures reduced noises as compared to other cable management systems. Different routing of cables such as circular, vertical, lateral, etc is possible. Kabelschlepp India Pvt Ltd Bengaluru - Karnataka Tel: 080-41158997 Email: gm@kabelschlepp.in Website: www.kabelschlepp.com
Centrifugal air blower It features energy savings with fan variable intel vanes, high pressure atomisation/combustion air as per specific requirement to suit burners, highly efficient design impeller fabrication in aluminium/MS riveted high strength construction fitted with hub, minimum overhung and weight design for low starting inertia. Different drive offer for direct coupled/directly mounted on motor shaft/ VEE belt and optional accessories like inlet/outlet silencer, air control devices are available. Other applications are cooling, air knives, fluidising system, glass blowing, drying and various process system. Capacity is up to 75,000 M3/hr. Pressure is up to 1,500 mm WG. Vacunair Engineering Co Pvt Ltd Ahmedabad - Gujarat Tel: 079-22910771, 09824036375 Email: info@vacunair.com, Website: www.vacunair.com
Desiccant air dryers The desiccant air dryer provides energy-efficient heatless design and low noise levels. Its features include corrosion resistant body, less space and light weight. It also saves energy, ensures depressurisation safety with minimal serviceable spares. The desiccant media can be replaced. Din-Tech Control Pvt Ltd Ahmedabad - Gujarat Tel: 079-22820008/22821417 Email: info@dtcpl.in, Website: www.dtcpl.in
August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 77
Products
Anaerobic adhesive Anaerobic adhesive is pre-applied to threaded parts, which forms a unique coating that converts ordinary fasteners into self-locking and self-sealing fasteners. The pre-applied threadlocker becomes an integral part of the fastener and stays inert until parts are used. During assembly process, the pre-applied threadlocker is activated by assembly forces, releasing anaerobic adhesive that locks and seals parts securely. Sonlok pre-applied products may be used successfully, without solvents, in extreme temperature and pressure environments to lock and seal against air, steam, most fluids and lubricants. These are available in a wide range from 1 ml capsule to 10 ltr carboy. Parson Adhesives India Pvt Ltd Vadodara - Gujarat Tel: 0265-6541638, 2972191 Mob: 09428511765, 09825299551 Email: bijay@parsonadhesives.in Website: www.parsonadhesives.in
Formaldehyde analyser The formaldehyde analyser measures absolute concentrations of formaldehyde (HCHO) in aqueous solution. It has a RS232 serial port for computer interface The measurement ranges from 0 to 5 Âľg/ml. The analyser finds numerous applications in various segments and hence has a huge market demand. It is available in varied specifications as per requirements and needs. The equipment is available at pocket-friendly price. Uniphos Envirotronic Pvt Ltd Mumbai - Maharashtra Tel: 022-61233500, Mob: 9909994063 Email: gasdetection@uniphos.com Website: www.uniphos-she.com
Flange facer The electro-mechanical flange facer is offered for ID clamping or OD clamps or face clamping, depending upon the job requirement. The flange facer consists of a rotary drive unit, horizontal arm, electrical control panel and operator’s console. Powered quill mechanism is optionally offered for depth of cut setting and for boring operations. The spindle (rotary drive shaft) is supported by a pair of heavy duty taper roller bearings in the front and by a pair of ball bearings on the other end. Bearings are lubricated for life with molybdenum sulfide grease. The rotary movement ranges from 2 to 20 rpm in a step-less range through
78 | Chemical & Process World | August 2013
vector VFD. The spindle is made of EN-24, hardened and ground. The box type ram and the ram housing are made of high grade CI. Shenoy Engineering Pvt Ltd Bengaluru - Karnataka Tel: 080-28361767 Email: shenoyengg@gmail.com Website: www.spm-india.com
Network gas chromatograph The Agilent 7890A is a state-of-the-art gas chromatograph that provides superior performance for all applications. Key to its performance is the use of advanced electronic pneumatic control (EPC) modules and high performance GC oven temperature control. Each EPC unit is optimised for its intended use with a specific inlet and detector option. State-of-the-art detector electronics and the fullrange digital data path enable peaks to be quantified over the entire concentration range of the detector in a single run. Agilent Technologies India Pvt Ltd New Delhi Tel: 011-46237100 Email: agilent@agilent.com Website: www.agilent.co.in
Fluid bed dryer This fluid bed dryer is ideal for rapid and even drying of chemical, pharmaceutical and food products. Its salient features are 65 per cent open perforated air distribution plates along with Dutch weave mesh, on line sampling port, 2.5 kg to 500 kg batch capacity, explosion relief disc, uniform drying at low temperature, top mounted pneumatic cylinder (directly coupled) for shaking (without wire rope system), intrinsically safe earthing system which ensures complete elimination of static charge, heating mode electrical/steam/thermic fluid, pneumatically operated inflatable seals provided for filter bag and product container sealing with pressure switches & FRL to ensure failsafe operation. All contact parts are SS 316 as per GMP standard. The machine finds application in chemicals, pharmaceutical and food products industries. Fluid bed dryer comes along with all documentation like DQ, IQ, OQ, and FAT as part of standard procedure. Jay Pharma Equipments Mumbai - Maharashtra Tel: 022-32155790 Email: jkpharm1@gmail.com Website: www.jaypharmaequipments.com
Products
Tube expander
Stainless steel seamless and welded pipe
Tube expander forms a perfect mechanical seal between the tube and the tube sheet. The tube expander produces a smooth, unrigged surface in heat exchangers and condenser, oil and air cooler, pre-heaters, super heaters, radiators, boilers, economisers, juice heaters, evaporators, etc. It is designed for long service and it features an adjustable ball bearing thrust collar to eliminate frictional heat. Rolls have gradually tapered noses to eliminate sharp offsets in the rolled tubes and ensure uniform tube tightness throughout the thickness of the tube sheet. Adjustable tube expanders are available with 6.3-102 mm OD tubes of various sheet thickness and fixed roller length tube expanders with 20-102 mm OD tubes and 26-95 effective expansion. The device can be used manually, with electric or with a hydraulic tube expansion equipment.
Stainless steel seamless and welded pipe, tube, ‘U’ tube and large diameter welded pipe in various sizes, grades and specifications as per customer requirements are available. The material used is all austenitic, ferritic, duplex and super duplex stainless steel and as per ASTM, ASME, DIN, NFA and JIS Standard. The size for welded pipes ranges from 6.0 mm OD to 1016 mm OD and for seamless pipes from 6.0 mm OD to 323.9 mm OD. The pipe is available in lengths up to 20 mtr long having thickness ranging from 0.6 mm to 25 mm. It is used in heat exchangers, heating elements, surface condensers, evaporators, digesters, instrumentation tubing and fluid piping. It finds applications in refinery, petrochemical, food, pharmaceutical, fertiliser, oil and gas, breweries, sugar, ship building and other industries.
Airxpa Engineers Mumbai – Maharashtra Tel: 022-25966053, 67993503 Email: sales@airxpa.com, airxpa_engineers@vsnl.net Website: www.airxpa.com
Suraj Ltd Ahmedabad – Gujarat Tel: 079-27540720/21 Email: suraj@surajgroup.com Website: www.surajgroup.com
August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 79
Products
Air monitor The air monitor developed by UEPL is a microprocessor-based, non-dispersive spectrophotometer tailor-made for the analysis of the five pollutants SO2, NO2, NH3, Cl2, O3 at parts per billion levels. The instrument is light-weight and moderately priced. Ambient air is sampled for the required time duration, eg 4, 8 or 24 hours. The Uniphos air sampler can sample three different gases simultaneously using three impingers filled with recommended gas absorbing solvents. The solutions from the impingers are further treated with other reagents to form coloured dyes. The measurement of absorbance on this coloured dye is made on the Envirotrack. The analysis is simple and all the calculations are done by the microprocessor with results displayed on the instrument. The results can also be transferred to a computer or laptop with date, time, location and other identification using GUI software, which can be separately bought with the instrument. Uniphos Envirotronic Pvt Ltd Valsad – Gujarat Tel: 260-2730156/158 Email: cel@uniphos.com Website: www.uniphos.com
Flexible screw conveyor The helix flexible screw conveyor has only one moving part. The conveyor can be disassembled in less than 20 minutes for cleaning and maintenance. It can achieve lengths up to 80 ft long. A wide range of auger styles and sizes ranging from 2 to 8 inches in diameter is offered. The product meets stringent standards and has USDA certifications. It is one of the most economical conveyors and can be used in many applications. Hapman Systems Pvt Ltd Vadodara – Gujarat Tel: 0265-2517505 Email: info@hapman.in, Website: www.hapman.in
Automotive paints The NC automotive finish is a single component, air-drying and nitrocellulose based paint. Refinishing coating is ideal for auto car and other vehicle to get good abrasion resistance, petrol and oil resistance with better polishing property. The NC super finish is economical single component, air-drying,
80 | Chemical & Process World | August 2013
nitrocellulose based paint.Refinishing is coating ideal base coat for auto car and other vehicle to get good abrasion resistance, petrol & oil resistance with better polishing property. The paint is also good for furniture and appliances coating where fast drying is required. Emperol Colours Pvt Ltd Mumbai - Maharashtra Tel: 022-2506 5576, 09869711706 Email: emperol@rediffmail.com Website: www.emperolcolours.tradeindia.com
Fractional electro-deionisation With patented dual voltage technology, the Fractional Electro-Deionisation (FEDI) technology is the next generation EDI technology for production of high purity water. Developed taking into account the limitations of conventional EDI, FEDI improves the reliability of EDI for the production of high purity water for power and semiconductor applications. Unlike conventional EDI, FEDI stacks are able to tolerate hardness in the feed water. As a result, FEDI can be used after single pass RO without the need for softening or second pass RO, on most feed waters. FEDI’s dual voltage technology allows for a higher flexibility to inlet water conditions, thus lowering the risk of scaling and improving reliability. Aquatech Systems Asia Pvt Ltd Pune - Maharashtra Tel: 020-66547000/7269, Mob: 09890343114 Email: waghn@aquatech.com Website: www.aquatech.com
Paint spray rooms The paint spray rooms help to improve painting quality and maintain a pollution-free environment. Vacuum is created with the help of axial flow fan, and thus air is sucked from outside. Paint trap filters can be replaced periodically, which separates painting zone from other departments. Synco Industries Ltd Jodhpur - Rajasthan Tel: 0291-2741571, Mob: 09829022258 Email: synco_2000@yahoo.com Website: www.synco.co.in
Products
Valve positioning sensor The valve positioning sensor F31K2 does valve position sensing for hard outdoor use. It is especially designed for use in harsh environments. The new sensor series F31K2 opens solutions for valve position sensors on actuators with inductive double sensors. It can be easily mounted, has high impermeability and is extremely robust with a high U/V temperature and salt water resistance that can handle any outdoor situation. Its use in explosion-proof areas distinguishes the F31K2, especially for applications in the chemical, petrochemical, oil and gas industry. It is an ideal choice for requirements of process automation. Pepperl+Fuchs Gurgaon - Haryana Tel: 0124 - 3894000 Email: fa-info@in.pepperl-fuchs.com Website: www.pepperl-fuchs.in
Diesel and gasoline nozzles The diesel and gasoline nozzles are designed for use on farm and consumer pumps. The lightweight tensalloy aluminium diesel nozzle provides high flow capacity required by truck stops and terminal operations. Microtouch valve provides smooth operation and exceptional flow control. Super tough nylon hose guard and hold-open clip and easy-to-change lockout style spout assembly are other important features. The lightweight diesel nozzle offers efficient refuelling. Dixon Asia Pacific Pvt Ltd Mumbai – Maharashtra Tel: 022-40931555 Email: salesindia@dixonvalve.com.au Website: www.dixonvalve.com.au
Digital test gauge Digital test gauge for pressure measurement and calibration in process monitoring and control application is ideal for calibrating pressure transmitters, switches and gauges. It offers outstanding accuracy, resolution and stability for pressure measurement and calibration requirements. Accu-Cal Plus is ideal for calibrating pressure transmitters, switches and gauges. It is housed in waterproof casing of polished stainless steel and rated IP65/NEMA4. Accurate stainless steel pressure sensors offer models to cover from vacuum up to 10,000 psig with accuracy up to 0.05% of full scale. It provides numerous user-configurable features including adjustable sample rates, dampening, tare, custom engineering units, min/max and password-protected field calibration. A five digit
rotating backlit display with oversized digits, 20 segment bar graph and high contrast provides superior resolution and excellent readability in poor light conditions or bad viewing angles. Temperature compensation circuitry and multi-temperature calibration provides outstanding accuracy over a temperature range of 0° to 50° C. Cole-Parmer India Pvt Ltd Mumbai - Maharashtra Tel: 022-67162209/2222 Email: response@coleparmer.in Website: www.coleparmer.in
Digital magnahelic gauge This digital magnahelic gauge is used for pressure/vacuum measurement in the magnahelic pressure range. The instrument is capable of measuring differential pressure (two ports), gauge and vacuum measurement for all ranges. Also available is the standard pressure measuring range of 0 to 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 40, 100, 400, 700 bar gauge pressure indicator and 0.0 to -760.0 mm hg vacuum range indicator. It finds applications in cleanroom pressure measurement, HVAC equipment, Hepa filters, boiler equipment, air handling units, etc. Ace Instruments Hyderabad - Andhra Pradesh Tel: 040-23078848, Mob: 09394030848 Email: sales@aceinstrumentshyd.com
Corrosion inhibitor The corrosion inhibitor Biotech SPL 6000 is specially formulated to protect the closed circuit cooling system from corrosion. It is a molybdite ‐ nitrite‐based corrosion inhibitor specially designed for use in closed re-circulating cooling water systems under high heat transfer conditions. It helps provide an economical complete program for control of corrosion on ferrous and yellow metals, effective corrosion protection for steel and most other metals in continuous steel casting, mould cooling and other high heat transfer service systems. It works at low dose rate leading to cost- effective operations. The Biotech SPL 6000 dosage varies as a function of feedwater quality. Ultima Chemicals Mumbai – Maharashtra Tel: 022-28702390 Email: marketing@ultimachem.com Website: www.ultimachem.com The information published in this section is as per the details furnished by the respective manufacturer/distributor. In any case, it does not represent the views of Chemical & Process World
August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 81
List of Products
Product
Pg. No.
Acoustic enclosure......................................45, BC
Product
Pg. No.
Pump.................................................... 13, 45, 73, BC
Filter press...............................................................84
PVC flexible braided hose.......................................35
Filter plate...............................................................84
Air-cooled steam condenser................................. FIC
Filter press terminology...........................................84
Alumina coat.............................................................3 Anaerobic adhesive..................................................78 Analytical instrumentation......................................31 Automatic filter press..............................................84 Automation.............................................................17 Automotive paint.....................................................80 Ball check valve................................................. 65 Ball valve........................................................... 55, 65 Ball valve - Teflon lined.............................................4 Bellow and dip-pipe..................................................4 Bend .......................................................................55 Bush .......................................................................65 Butterfly valve.................................................... 55, 65 Butterfly valve - Teflon lined.....................................4 Cable carrier..................................................... 77 Centrifugal air blower..............................................77 Ceramic coating........................................................3 Check valve - Teflon lined.........................................4 Chemical process equipment...................................53 Chemical pump.......................................................73 Chemical Supply Chain Forum...............................72 Chemical tank.........................................................77 COD analyser..........................................................43
Fitting.....................................................................65 Flange facer.............................................................78 Flexible screw conveyor...........................................80 Flow indicator.........................................................55 Fluid bed dryer........................................................78 Food and pharma formulation.................................74 Foot valve................................................................55 Formaldehyde analyser............................................78 Fractional electro-deionisation................................80 FRP underground fuel tank.....................................77 Fully automatic robotic cloth washing system.........84 Fume hood..............................................................81 Gasket.............................................................. 65 GMP and non-GMP..............................................53 GPC/SEC light scattering detector........................74 Heat exchanger................................................. 53 High speed mixer....................................................53 HPLC.....................................................................31 Hydraulic filter press...............................................84 Impeller............................................................ 55 Informatic................................................................31 In-line helical gearmotor.......................................BIC Insulated box...........................................................77
Column and chemistries..........................................31
Large diameter welded pipe............................... 77
Continuous nitration system...................................53
Lined valve and pipe fitting.......................................4
Container................................................................77 Cooling tower....................................................... FIC
Pg. No.
Filter cock................................................................55
Air cooled heat exchanger.................................... FIC Air monitor.............................................................80
Product
Limit switch............................................................73
Pump solution.........................................................13 PVDF pump............................................................73 Reactor............................................................. 53 Reducer...................................................................55 Rod .......................................................................65 Roots blower.....................................................45, BC Rotary gear pump.............................................. 61, 73
Rotary jocketed pump.............................................61 Rotary main oil pump.............................................61 Rotary monoblock pump.........................................61 Rotary tracodial pump.............................................61 Rotary twin gear pump............................................61 Sampling valve - Teflon lined............................... 4 Scoop.......................................................................55 Seamless pipe..........................................................77 Self priming mud pump..........................................73 Self priming sewage pump......................................73 Shaft mounted gearmotor....................................BIC
Sheet .......................................................................65
Showel.....................................................................55 Silicone grease.........................................................73 Slipon flange............................................................55
Solution and servo drive.......................................BIC Spade.......................................................................55 Stainless steel pipe...................................................77 Stainless steel seamless and welded pipe..................79 Storage tank............................................................53
Long neck pipe end.................................................55
Strainer......................................................................4
Material handling container....................................77
Tee ................................................................ 55
Monoblock pump....................................................73
Tefzel HHS isotactic PP material.............................8
Nitrogen plant manufacturer...................................15
Trunkey lab setup....................................................81
Non-return valve................................................. 4, 55
Tube expander.........................................................79
Paint spray room......................................................80
‘U’ tube............................................................. 77
Manual filter press............................................ 84
Swing check valve....................................................65
Monitoring relay......................................................17
Teflon lined valve and pipe fitting.............................4
Network gas chromatograph.............................. 78
Thermoplastic valve...................................................8
Non-metallic pump.................................................73
Tube ................................................................. 65, 77
Drive ....................................................................BIC
P/P positioner................................................... 73
Twin screw pump....................................................73
Dry van pump..................................................45, BC
Pallet .......................................................................77
Corrosion inhibitor..................................................81 Custom moulding....................................................77 Cyanoacrylate industrial grade adhesive..................73 Desiccant air dryer............................................ 77 Diaphragm valve................................................ 55, 65 Diesel and gasoline nozzle.......................................81 Digital magnahelic gauge...................................74,81 Digital test gauge.....................................................81 Drum and carboy.....................................................77 E/P positioner.................................................. 73 ECP process pump..................................................13 Empower.................................................................31
Pipe .......................................................................65 Piping system from polypropylene............................8 Planetary gearbox.................................................BIC
End cap...................................................................55
Plate and membrane type filter press.......................84
Exhibition - Plastivision 2013.................................59
Pole ring..................................................................55
EPC partner............................................................29 Exhibition - Watertech India 2013.........................67 Fab furniture..................................................... 81 Fasteners and steel metal component......................74 FEP/PFA/PVDF material......................................65
Plug valve................................................................65 Polypropylene process pump...................................73 Pressure vessel..........................................................53 PTFE......................................................................65 PTFE lined valve and pipe fitting.............................4
BC - Back Cover, BIC - Back Inside Cover, FIC - Front Inside Cover
82 | Chemical & Process World | August 2013
UPLC......................................................................31 Vacuum booster pump.................................45, BC Vacuum system.................................................45, BC
Valve ................................................................. 55, 65 Valve positioner.......................................................73 Valve positioning sensor..........................................81 Vertical glandless pump...........................................73 Washer............................................................. 55 Wastewater treatment system..................................74 Welded pipe............................................................77 ‘Y’ type strainer................................................. 55
List of Advertisers Advertiser’s Name & Contact Details
Pg No
All India Plastics Mfrs Association
59
T: +91-22-28217324
Advertiser’s Name & Contact Details
Pg No Advertiser’s Name & Contact Details
Kamikaze B2B Media
72
Siemens 17
T: +91-22-61381800
E: pvi13@plastivision.org
E: lvsgr-mktg.india@siemens.com
W: www.plastivision.org Bonfiglioli Transmissions (Pvt) Ltd
Pg No
W: www.siemens.com/industry
W: www.kamikaze.co.in BIC
Kwality Process Equipments Pvt Ltd
53
Sintex Industries Ltd
77
T: +91-44-67103800
T: +91-250-2453438
T: +91-2764-253500
E: sales.buins@bonfiglioli.com
E: pdmakwana@vsnl.net
E: icontainers@sintex.co.in
W: www.bonfiglioli.com
W: www.chemicalequipments.com
W: www.sintex-plastics.com
CRI Pumps (Pvt) Ltd
13
Labguard India Pvt Ltd
79
Supremo Polymer Industries
65
T: +91-422-3027000
T: +91-07498757409
T: +91-79-22205282
E: corp@cripumps.com
E: sales@labguard.biz
E: supremoproduct@gmail.com
W: www.cripumps.com
W: www.labguard.biz
W: www.supremoproduct.com
Del PD Pumps & Gears Pvt Ltd
61
Messe Frankfurt Trade Fair India Pvt Ltd 67
Suraj Ltd
77
T: +91-2752-243047
T: +91-11-41326666
T: +91-79-27540720
E: rotodel_ad1@sancharnet.in
E: anand.nair@india.messefrankfurt.com
E: suraj@surajgroup.com
W: www.delpump.com
W: www.watertechindia.com
W: www.surajgroup.com
Dev Engineers
73
Paharpur Cooling Towers Ltd
FIC
Swam Pneumatics Pvt Ltd
T: +91-79-26403839
T: +91-33-24792050
T: +91-120-4696222
E: info@devpumps.com
E: pctccu@paharpur.com
E: sales@swamatics.com
W: www.devpumps.com
W: www.paharpur.com
W: www.swamatics.com
Everest Transmission
BC
Parth Poly Valves Pvt. Ltd
55
UHDE India Private Ltd
45
29
T: +91-11-45457777
T: +91-79-22200198
T: +91-22-40478308
E: info@everestblowers.com
E: sales@parthvalves.com
E: uhdein@thyssenkrupp.com
W: www.everestblowers.com
W: www.parthvalves.com
W: www.uhdeindia.com
Flucon Automation
73
PSA Nitrogen Ltd
15
Uniphos Envirotronic Pvt Ltd
T: +91-79-65722609
T: +91-08471021444
T: +91-22-61233500
E: sales@fluconautomationinc.com
E: cms@psanitrogen.net
E: singhrv@uniphos.com
W: www.fluconautomationinc.com
W: www.psanitrogen.net
W: www.uniphos-she.com
Hi-Tech Applicator
4
Sachin Industries Ltd
84
UNP Polyvalves India Pvt Ltd
T: +91-79-25833040
T: +91-79-25832204
T: +91-265-2649248
E: hitech@ptfeindia.com
E: exports@sachininternational.com
E: mktg@polyvalve.com
W: www.ptfeindia.com
W: www.sachininternational.com
W: www.polyvalve.com
Jyoti Ceramic Industries Pvt Ltd
3
Samson Extrusion Ind Pvt Ltd
35
43
Waters (India) Private Ltd
8
31
T: +91-253-2350120
T: +91-22-23422238
T: +91-80-28371900
E: info@jyoticeramics.com
E: samson@vsnl.com
E: waters_india@waters.com
W: www.jyoticeramics.com
W: www.samson-grp.com
W: www.waters.com
Our consistent advertisers
Not applicable
BC - Back Cover, BIC - Back Inside Cover, FIC - Front Inside Cover
August 2013 | Chemical & Process World | 83