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August 2013 • 3

8/23/2013 10:41:13 AM

WHEN CONDITIONS HEAT UP DON’T LET CORROSION SHUT YOU DOWN Whether it’s higher temperatures, rising pressures or more acidic media, conditions in oil refineries have never been more extreme. Tube and pipe corrosion are a constant threat, causing as many as half of all major shutdowns. This is why hundreds of the world’s most demanding petrochemicals refiners are turning to the next generation of corrosion resistant alloys. Like one German oil refinery, which used Sandvik SAF 2707 HD hyper-duplex heat exchanger tubes to reduce the number of shutdowns from 8 to 1 over a period of four years. The result was massive savings on material replacement.

So as your tubes’ performance is pushed to new heights, find out how we can help keep corrosion from shutting you down.

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Effect of Tube Bundle Type on Thermal Design of Air Cooled Heat

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Chemical Engineering World

CEW Industry News Increase in the Import of Urea by 13%

Gulf Oil Lubricants to Expand

New Delhi, India: In the April – February period of 2014-15, the urea imports have gone up by 13 per cent to 78.3 lakh tonnes (LT) as against the previous period which had imports worth 69.27LT in 2013-14. Official data states that the total imports in the last fiscal stood at 70.88 LT. Three state stading Enterprises (STEs), viz, Indian Potash Ltd (IPL), MMTC and STC import urea to make up for the domestic shortfall on behalf of the government. The government also imports urea through OMIFCO which is a JV of IFFCO and Kribhco.

Mumbai, India: Gulf Oil Lubricants has plans of expanding its capacity to be one of the rising players in the lubricants business. The company wants to enter the industry oils market which has a potential of 1,200 thousand metric tonnes; so far almost 75 per cent of its portfolio serves the automotive sector. The capacity expansion is likely to take place at the Silvassa blending plant from its present 75 tmt to 95 tmt. It should be complete by March. The Silvassa facility is presently running to full capacity and additional capacbility additions will ensure de-bottlenecking.

Evonik Wants to Acquire Monarch Catalyst in India Mumbai, India: Evonik Industries AG, Essen (Germany) intends to strengthen its global catalysts business. On March 11, 2015, Evonik has signed an agreement with Monarch Catalyst Pvt, Ltd, Dombivali (India) to acquire 100 per cent of the company’s shares. The transaction is expected to close during the first half year of 2015 after the required approvals have been received. The parties have agreed to keep the purchase price confidential.

Evonik with its Business Line Catalysts is a global leader in producing specialty catalysts, custom catalysts and catalysts components for the Life Sciences and Fine Chemicals, Industrial and Petrochemical and Polyolefins market segments. This bolt-on acquisition in India with annual sales in the low double-digit million Euro range complements Evonik’s leading positions in activated base metal catalysts and precious metal catalysts. Monarch’s global oils and fats hydrogenation catalysts business is a broadening of the Evonik catalysts portfolio. Monarch Catalyst has about 300 employees.

GACL Celebrates MC1 Plant’s Silver Jubilee Ranoli, India: Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited (GACL) recently celebrated the Silver Jubilee of the successful operations of their Membrane Cell plant (MC1) which was converted from mercury cells at their Vadodara Complex in Ranoli, Guajrat. The company was the first in India to opt to convert their then 100 tpd Mercury Cell plant in 1988, when they selected the ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions’ Membrane Cell technology for the manufacture of mercury-free Caustic Soda.

In addition to impressive production and energy consumption figures, the plant has achieved a Zero Lost Time Incident ongoing record of over 4,300 days. In 1994, in reiteration of their successful operation of MC1 and proven association with the ThyssenKrupp Group of Germany and its Indian subsidiary ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions (India) – formerly Uhde India – the company opted for conversion of their MC2 plant to membrane cell technology. The Silver Jubilee was celebrated in Vadodara where GACL speakers presented their experience with the Membrane Cell technology and improvements carried out in-house, followed by presentations on the ‘Uhde’ Membrane Cell technology and recent developments in chlor-alkali technologies by the ThyssenKrupp Group.

6 • March 2015

In India, the lubricant demand is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.5 per cent in the next five years and the domestic auto sector will be the major growth driver since it accounts ofr 47 per cent of the lubricant demand.

India is the third largest lubricant market in the world after US and China having an annual consumption of less than 2.3 mt. Gulf Oil intents on capturing the opportunities in the industrial and auto segments through their innovative OEM tie-ups, brand development, targeting untapped verticals and strengthening the distribution network.

Singareni Collieries Approached to Partner in Ramagundam Urea Plant Hyderabad, India: Singaneri Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) has been given an offer to be an equity partner in the joint venture formed by National Fertilisers Ltd (NFL), Engineers India Ltd (EIL) and Fertiliser Corporation of India (FCI) for the urea and ammonia plant with ` 5,000 in Ramagundam. The respresentatives of the JV companies met with N Sridhar, Chairman and Managing Director, SCCL. NFL and FCI will constitute equity of 26 per cent each while EIL will have 11 per cent. The joint venture seeks to tie-up for the stake remaining. The ratio of debt:equity for the project is set at 70:30. The proposal states its fuel preference as gas instead of coal. The present capacity of the old FCI unit in Ramagundam is 4.95 lakh tonnes of urea which would be increased to 12.7 lakh tonnes.

Dissolve Anomaly in Gas Allocation to Urea and Fertiliser Units New Delhi, India: The policy proposed for the domestically-produced natural gas allocation has spurred the players in the fertiliser sector to remind the authorities to ensure they are on the top of the list since it downgrades the urea manufacturer’s position in the order. The Fertiliser Association of India (FAI) has set forth before the Fertiliser and Agriculture Ministries its demands that the fertiliser sector be given the top priority over the CNG and PNG sellers and atomic energy and space research sectors in a written statement. It has also asked that there should not be any differentiation in the allocation between the NP/NPK and urea fertilisers. The industry also explained that the re-allocation policy will be detrimental to the P&K fertiliser manufacturers even though it is essential to have high quality fertilisers and ‘balanced fertilisation’ is the mantra right now.

Chemical Engineering World

Chemical Engineering World

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October 2013 • 11

29-10-2013 10:51:19

CEW Industry News Honeywell’s Unisim Increases Console & Field Operator Capabilities Bangalore, India: Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) announced its new UniSim Competency Suite, which improves operator competency and helps prepare them faster through realistic training experiences for console and field operators in the process industries. Leveraging more than 30 years of experience in process simulation and operator training, Honeywell’s new suite of simulation software offers an integrated, robust training experience that will help industrial facilities address a growing shortage of trained operators.

“In the near future, many operators at industrial plants in developed countries will retire, while process industries in emerging economies will continue to face the challenge of critical skill shortages. The expanded UniSim Competency Suite helps our customers train its workforce faster in a more realistic environment to drive safe, incident-free, efficient startups and ongoing operations,” said Ali Raza, Vice President and General Manager, Honeywell Process Solutions’ Advanced Solutions business.

MRPL Increases its Stake in OMPL Mangalore, India: Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) Board has approved acquisition of major stake in ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals Ltd (OMPL), Mangalore, increasing the holding from 3 per cent to 46 per cent by purchasing fully paid up equity shares from individual shareholders. The Aromatic Complex of OMPL set up in the 442 acres of Mangalore Special Economic Zone (MSEZ) is situated adjacent to MRPL Phase III so as to receive feedstocks directly from MRPL. OMPL’s Aromatic complex is designed to produce 0.9 MMTPA of Paraxylene and 0.3 MMTPA of Benzene.

Asian Paints to Set-up Facility Worth ` 1,750 New Delhi, India: In the next 12 years, Asian Paints will be making an investment of ` 1750 by setting up a manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh. A MoU has been signed between the company and the state government for setting up a plant in Pudi Village in Vishakhapatnam district for paints and intermediates. This facility will have a maximum capacity of 4 lakh kilolitres per annum and the investments will be made by the company in several phases. The company stated that the manufacturing of paints and intermediates would be done using the latest concepts and it would be done in an environmentally friendly manner. For the period of 12 years, the state government has given an offer of reimbursing 100 per cent of the gross VAT/ State Goods and Service Tax. The condition here is that Asian Paints will have to achieve 70 per cent of the proposed investment amount of ` 1,750 in a period of five years and it would be subject to an overall cap of 100 per cent eligible investments. The company would also be eligible for other incentives according to the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Investment Promotion Policy 2010-2015.

8 • March 2015

GSFC will Expand Neem-coated Urea Production Vadodara, India: Gujarat State Fertilisers Company Limited (GSFC) has received an approval from the union government to increase the production capacity of need-coated urea production up to 100 per cent from its present 35 per cent. Sudeep Kumar Nanda, Chairman and Managing Director, GSFC said that the central government’s decision will ensure that the production of need-coated urea increases and it would stop diversification of urea fertiliser and prevent the misuse done by industrial units which require nitrogen and ammonia for their manufacturing processes. He further said that that the urea consumption can decrease if the utility factor of Nitrogen (through neem-coated urea) is increased.

Govt Considering Giving Fer tiliser Subsidy to Farmers New Delhi, India: The government is deliberating the direct benefits transfer of fertilisers subsidy to the farmers said the Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers, Ananth Kumar. In a response to a question in the parliament, Kumar said that the direct subsidy transfer proposal to farmers is being considered by the government and it should come through in a short time. He further added that the country does not have a shortage of fertilisers and that the states much keep a check on the black-marketing.

Grasim to Set-up VSF Plant Mumbai, India: Grasim Industries is to set up a new production line for manufacturing viscose staple fibre (VSF) at the Vilayat plant in Gujarat as the company is keen to expand the capacity for consolidating its position in the man-made fibre sector. In a BSE filing the company states that it has completed the last phase of its VSF greenfield plant in Vilayat for producing the specialty fibre by setting up the fourth line. This addition would increase the capacity to 120 kilo tonne per annum (KTPA) and would boost Grasim’s complete VSF production capacity to 498 KTPA.

Gulshan Polyols to Build a PCC Plant for Orient Paper Delhi, India: Gulshan Polyols Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Orient Paper and Industries Ltd (OPIL) for setting up a Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC) plant onsite. This would be required for making writing paper for OPIL’s paper mill which is at Amlai in District Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh.

This facility would be the sixth onsite plant to be built by Gulshan Polyols for production of specialty PCC/ Wet Ground Calcium Carbonate (WGCC) which is required in the paper industry.

The company has established onsite PCC plants for DSG Paper in Punjab, ITC Limited (Paper Division) in West Bengal and two others in Bangladesh Chemical Engineering World

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CEW Industry News Arkema to Expand Production Capacity of Specialty Polymer Paris, France: Arkema is actively developing its new Kepstan PEKK (Poly-Ether-Ketone-Ketone) ultra-high performance polymer with applications in the fields of carbon fibre composites and 3D printing.

Success in these fields has prompted Arkema to increase its production capacities in France now and in the United States in the near future.

In order to meet growing demand in carbon fibre composites and in 3D printing, Arkema announces that it is to double its production capacities in France by the first half of 2016. Furthermore, the Group plans to build a worldscale PEKK production plant on its Mobile site in Alabama, USA that would be scheduled to come on stream in the second half of 2018.

PEKK stands out from the PAEK (Poly-Aryl-Ether-Ketone) family by its extensive range of processing technologies and excellent thermomechanical behavior. PEKK complements Arkema’s range of thermoplastic resins and broadens their range of applications in the aerospace, energy and electronics sectors, in which Arkema is already highly present through its Rilsan (PA11) and Kynar (PVDF) specialty polymers, as well as its Elium acrylic resins.

Huntsman to Restructure Colour Pigments Business Texas, USA: Huntsman Corporation plans to restructure its Colour Pigments business, another step in its previously announced plan to significantly restructure its global Pigments and Additives business.

The restructuring of Colour Pigments includes an expected headcount reduction of 120 positions and will deliver USD 20 million by mid-2016 toward the total synergies expected of the global Pigments and Additives restructuring plan announced in December 2014. The initial phase of restructuring will include site closures, cost reduction initiatives and a move to centralised shared services, in addition to investment in customer focused R&D to secure future growth. Manufacturing sites to be closed by year-end 2015, all of which are leased, include Cartersville, Georgia; East St Louis, Illinois; and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania in the US, in addition to Hainhausen, Germany. Products produced by these facilities will be supplied by other Huntsman facilities including the company’s soon to be completed facility in Augusta, Georgia.

Cathay Investments Buys DSM’s Euroresins Heerlen, Netherlands: Royal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company, today announces it has finalised the sale of Euroresins to Cathay Investments. Euroresins is a distributor of products to the composite resins industry with activities in nine countries in Europe. Euroresins realises sales of approximately Euro 90 million with around 70 employees. Cathay Investments is the UK holding company for a group of companies engaged in chemical distribution and trading throughout the UK and Scandinavia. Since its establishment Cathay has grown its portfolio to six companies.

10 • March 2015

Solvay and 3A to Manufacture Specialty Foam Brussels, Belgium: Solvay and 3A Composites are joining forces to make innovative specialty foam materials for advanced transportation, offering for the first time on a large and worldwide scale a tailored, cost-effective substitute to traditional, labour-intense materials used to reduce the weight of applications. Their world-class manufacturing capability will combine 3A Composites’ unique know-how in industrial process development and high-volume fabrication of foams, with Solvay’s world leadership offering of high- and ultra-performing plastics materials.

The partners will first build on Solvay’s Radel foam and so-called sandwich materials, used on Airbus A350 and Solar Impulse, and will later expand to products that Solvay is developing. Transports like commercial aircraft or high-speed trains are increasingly seeking to replace heavier plastics and metal structures, which are more time-consuming to process and expensive to maintain, with specialty foams. Light-weighting applications range from the cabin to ducting and trolleys and help to improve energy efficiency.

The alliance secures global logistics and regional support through its manufacturing and workshop capabilities worldwide.

Ineos Acquires IGas Gas Assets Share Canton of Vaud, Switzerland: INEOS has announced a deal to acquire a 50 per cent interest in seven IGas shale gas licences in the North West of England. This consists of a 60 per cent interest in three Petroleum Exploration and Development Licences and a 50 per cent interest in a further four licences. In Scotland, INEOS will acquire IGas’ entire interest in Grangemouth which will give the company 100 per cent ownership of this asset. In addition, INEOS has the option to acquire 20 per cent in two IGas East Midland shale gas licences. INEOS is paying IGas a cash sum of £30 million and additionally committing to fund a two phase work programme of up to £138 million to develop the sites. IGas will reimburse its share of the work programme to INEOS upon commencement of commercial production. INEOS believes its knowledge and experience in running complex petrochemical facilities, coupled with its world class sub surface expertise, means that it will be seen by many shale gas communities as a responsible operator.

Johnson Matthey Completes Acquisition of Clariant’s Battery Material Business Royston, UK: Johnson Matthey, a global leader in sustainable technologies, has completed the acquisition of the batter y materials business of Clariant AG (Clariant) for USD 75 million.

This completes the transaction which was first announced on 29 th October 2014. Commenting on the transaction, Robert MacLeod, Chief Executive, Johnson Matthey said, “The further strengthening of our battery technologies capability is a key milestone in the development of our New Businesses Division. It marks an important step in Johnson Matthey’s long term strategy to establish new businesses in adjacent markets with strong growth potential that align with our technology competences.”

Chemical Engineering World

CEW Industry News BioAmber Commissioning Sarnia Commercial Plant Minneapolis, USA: BioAmber Inc, an industrial biotechnology company producing sustainable chemicals, has initiated commissioning activities for its 30,000 MT capacity bio-succinic acid plant located in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Commissioning and start-up is expected to take approximately five months, with the facility being in commercial operation in Q3 2015. The company expects construction to be completed in two months and it is carrying out commissioning and start-up activities in parallel. The cost of the project continues to track within the original budget estimate of USD 125 million +/- 10 per cent.

The Sarnia plant will be the world’s largest succinic acid manufacturing facility, with an annual nameplate capacity of 30,000 metric tons.

BioAmber has signed take-or-pay agreements with Vinmar and PTTMCC (a joint venture between PTT PLC and Mitsubishi Chemical) that represent sales volumes of over 5,000 metric tons in 2015 and 15,000 tons in each of 2016 and 2017. BioAmber has also signed a number of supply agreements with non-binding volume commitments that collectively exceed the available capacity in the plant.

Lygos Produces Malonic Acid in 1st Pilot-Scale Production California, USA: Lygos Completes First Pilot-Scale Production of Malonic Acid from Renewable Resources at Berkeley Lab’s ABPDU. Lygos Inc, has successfully achieved pilot scale production of malonic acid from sugar. Lygos’ novel manufacturing technology decreases CO2 emissions, eliminates toxic inputs and could replace the existing petroleum production process for malonic acid at lower cost and less energy.

Malonic acid is currently a high-value specialty chemical useful for production of a variety of pharmaceuticals, flavours, fragrances, and specialty materials. The petrochemical process to produce malonic acid requires chloroacetic acid and sodium cyanide, and is both costly and environmentally hazardous. Lygos’ fermentation technology is environmentally benign, scalable, and enables production of malonic acid at a lower cost than the current petrochemical manufacturing process.

A versatile compound, malonic acid was identified by the US Department of Energy as one of the ‘Top 30 Value Added Chemicals’ to be produced from biomass-derived sugar, instead of petroleum.

Lygos has identified over USD 1 billion in derivative specialty and commodity chemicals that can be accessed from malonic acid, and developing its fermentation technology is key to enabling these opportunities. The scale-up was performed at the Advanced Biofuels Process Demonstration Unit (ABPDU) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory The successful achievement of pilot scale manufacturing was completed in the research phase of a program funded in part by the Bioenergy Technologies Office, in the US Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).

14 • March 2015

PotashCorp will Fertilizantes Heringer

Acquire

Stake

in

Saskatoon, Canada: PotashCorp has signed an agreement to purchase 9.50 per cent of Brazil-based company Fertilizantes Heringer SA (Heringer) from the controlling shareholders for USD 55.7 million. The agreement is subject to regulatory approvals in Brazil and is expected to close during the second half of 2015.

Once finalised, the arrangement also paves the way for a long-term potash supply agreement which allows PotashCorp the opportunity to become Heringer’s principal supplier over time.

Fertilizantes Heringer SA has been in the market for 46 years and is one of Brazil’s pioneers in the production, marketing and distribution of fertilisers. As one of the largest fertiliser companies in Brazil, Heringer operates 21 production, marketing and distribution units, strategically located in the main consuming regions of the country.

The company delivered 5 million tonnes of fertilisers – including approximately 1 million tonnes of potash – in 2013, with net revenues of approximately USD 2.5 billion.

AkzoNobel Breaks Alkoxylation Facility

Ground

of

New

Amsterdam, Netherlands: AkzoNobel’s Specialty Chemicals business recently broke ground on a new alkoxylation facility in Ningbo, China, bringing the company’s total investment in the strategic multi-site to more than Euro 400 million. The new facility also creates a more sustainable footprint in the region and will enable the company to better serve its customers. The Ningbo multi-site covers around 50 hectares and accommodates production for chelates, ethylene amines, ethylene oxide, organic peroxides and Bermocoll cellulose derivatives. Surface Chemistry’s latest investment will increase annual capacity by nearly 18,000 tons, mainly catering for domestic demand in China. As well as contributing to AkzoNobel’s position as one of the leading surfactant producers in China, the new facility also creates a more sustainable footprint in the region. The added alkoxylation capacity (the process of reacting a fatty amine with ethylene oxide to make ethoxylated amines) will enable the company to better serve its customers in the agrochemical, oilfield and personal care markets.

Wacker Chemie to Expand VAE Dispersions Production Munich, Germany: Wacker Chemie AG is expanding its existing vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer (VAE) dispersions production facilities in the United States. The Munich-based chemical company will add a new reactor with an annual capacity of 85,000 metric tons at its Calvert City site, investing an amount of around Euro 50 million in the site’s capacity and infrastructure. This makes the complex the largest of its kind in the Americas. The new reactor is scheduled to come on stream by mid-2015. WACKER has further added an ethylene pipeline to the Calvert City facility for increasing the long-term reliability of raw material supply at the site.

Chemical Engineering World

CEW Industry News Canada Fibers to Commission Plastics Material Plant

Shin-Etsu Chemicals will Expand Silicones Production

Toronto, Canada: Canada Fibers Ltd, (Canada Fibers) is commissioning a technologically advanced plastics recycling plant named Urban Polymers. The new venture will focus on creation of pure, homogeneous plastic materials from post-consumer and post-industrial waste, using state-of-the art equipment and additive formulations sourced globally.

Urban Polymers will commence operations this spring at a 160 thousand square foot facility located in North Toronto. During its initial phases of development, Urban Polymers will focus on production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) flake material, as well as production of compounded polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) in pellet form. Urban Polymers is configuring its operations to provide unrivalled purity and consistency for plastic processing customers. Urban Polymers will be capable of processing 25 million pounds per year of PET and 11 million pounds per year of PP/PE during its initial phases of development, representing a significant increment to recycling infrastructure in the country.

Tokyo, Japan: Aiming to expand its silicones business, one of the company’s main business pillars, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd, will greatly expand and strengthen the production capacity of its manufacturing plants in Thailand. At the same time, Shin-Etsu decided to establish a new Technical Centre in the State of New Jersey in the United States. Shin-Etsu Chemical has expanded its silicone business by developing and supplying products that meet the wide-ranging requirements of its customers. As a result, it has achieved the growth of its silicones business, reaching a market share of over 50 per cent in Japan.

Wood Group to Automate ExxonMobil’s Ethane Cracker Plant Houston, USA: Wood Group is providing process control systems detailed engineering, procurement and fabrication services for the multi-billion dollar expansion project by ExxonMobil Chemical Company at the Baytown and Mont Belvieu plants near Houston. The work is being performed by Wood Group Mustang’s (WG Mustang’s) Automation and Control business unit.

WG Mustang Automation and Control’s multi-million dollar project scope includes procurement, integration and packaging of the distributed control systems, safety instrumented systems, analysers, information and telecommunications systems, and other associated equipment that will help the expanded plants to run safely, efficiently and within environment regulations.

Axiall’s Specialty Phosgene Derivatives Business Acquired by Altivia Houston, USA: Altivia has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Specialty Phosgene Derivatives business’ assets from Axiall Corporation. The transaction includes Axiall’s chemical production facilities located in La Porte, Texas. As part of the acquisition, ALTIVIA will hire the 120 employees who operate the facility.

The La Por te chemical plant is the largest Nor th American production facility of merchant phosgene derivatives, including chloroformates and acid chlorides, which are products utilised in agricultural, pharmaceutical and industrial applications. The La Porte facility also includes several trains of specialised reactors to conduct continuous as well as batch reactions, utilising on site produced phosgene.

16 • March 2015

Shin-Etsu Chemical began global production of silicone monomer by establishing Asia Silicones Monomer Ltd, (ASM) in Thailand as a joint-venture company with General Electric Company (GE) in 2001.

In 2013, Shin-Etsu acquired the total shares held by GE, making ASM a wholly owned Shin-Etsu Group company.

With the implementation of this new expansion plan, Shin-Etsu Chemical will increase the silicone monomer plant’s production capacity by 50 per cent – from the present annual production of 70,000 ton to 105,000 tons. At the same time, Shin-Etsu will increase its silicone polymer production capacity by about 40 per cent– from 54,000 tons to 74,000 tons. Construction of this expansion project is scheduled to be completed in 2017, and the investment amount is estimated to be about ¥ 20 billion.

Sappi to Set-up Nanocellulose Pilot Plant in Netherlands Johannesburg, South Africa: Sappi Limited will build a pilotscale plant for low-cost Cellulose NanoFibrils (nanocellulose) production at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Sittard-Geleen in the Netherlands. The pilot plant is expected to be operational within nine months. Commenting on the decision, Andrea Rossi, Group Head Technology, Sappi Ltd, explained that the pilot plant will help with Sappi’s move into new adjacent business fields based on renewable raw materials.

Sappi’s strategy includes seeking growth opportunities by producing innovative performance materials from renewable resources. The raw material for the pilot plant would be supplied from any of Sappi’s Saiccor, Ngodwana and Cloquet dissolving wood pulp plants. The pilot plant is the precursor for Sappi to consider the construction of a commercial CNF plant.

The CNF produced by Sappi will have unique morphology, specifically modified for either hydrophobic or hydrophilic applications. Products produced using Sappi’s CNF will be optimally suitable for conversion in lighter and stronger fibre-reinforced composites and plastics, in food and pharmaceutical applications, and in rheology modifiers as well as in barrier and other paper and coating applications.

Chemical Engineering World

CEW Industry News Mitsui Chemicals to Build Polymeric Materials Unit

Citadel Plastics to be Acquired by A Schulman

Tokyo, Japan: Mitsui Chemicals Inc, announced the successful March start-up of Mitsui Chemicals Functional Composites (Shanghai) Co, Ltd’s plants for Milastomer and Admer in China’s Shanghai Jinshan District. In China, rapid growth continues in the automotive and packaging material markets. To capture share in these expanding markets, Mitsui Chemicals strategically situated its new company and manufacturing facilities to serve as its compound base and to support the group’s efforts as a central player in supplying manufacturers concentrated in Eastern China.

The start-up of the new plant underpins the Group’s aggressive efforts to strengthen and expand its functional polymeric compound business through intensification of manufacture, distribution, and technical service for its high quality, state-of-the-art products.

Ohio, USA: A. Schulman Inc, has executed a definitive agreement to acquire all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of privately held Citadel Plastics Holdings, Inc, (Citadel) for USD 800 million.

Based in West Chicago, IL, Citadel is a leading North American specialty engineered plastics company that produces thermoset composites and thermoplastic compounds for specialty product applications spanning multiple industries including transportation, industrial and construction, consumer, electrical, energy and healthcare and safety. In 2014, Citadel had approximately USD 525 million of pro-forma revenue (giving effect to their recent acquisition) and pro-forma earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of approximately USD 75 million. “Today’s announcement marks a significant strategic milestone as we continue to transform the Company beyond plastic compounding into a premier specialty plastics organization. In early 2014, we communicated our Expanded Vision which defined target areas to drive growth for A. Schulman beyond our traditional space. Citadel provides us a unique opportunity to enhance our future growth paths for A. Schulman,” said Bernard Rzepka, President and CEO, A Schulman.

SOCAR Awards Project Management Services Contract to Fluor Irving, USA: The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), awarded Fluor Ltd a contract to provide project management contractor services for its new oil-gas processing and petrochemical complex (OGPC) in Azerbaijan. The OGPC megaproject has multiple interfaces not only between process units, utilities and offsite facilities, but also between the new gas processing and petrochemical facilities. The complex will be located on a greenfield site 60 kilometres southwest of Baku.

As the project management contractor, Fluor will support SOCAR’s selection and management of future contractors that will perform detailed engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and start-up of the gas processing plant as well as front-end engineering design, detailed engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and start-up of the petrochemical plants including associated offsite facilities.

Sika to Acquire Axson Technologies Baar, Switzerland: Sika has agreed to acquire Axson Technologies.

The intended transaction was initially announced in January 2015.

With annual sales of CHF 75 million and 365 employees, Axson Technologies is a leader in the field of epoxy and polyurethane polymer formulations for design, prototyping and tooling, structural adhesives, composite materials and encapsulation products for the automotive, aeronautical, nautical, renewable energy, sports & leisure and construction markets. This acquisition will significantly broaden Sika’s product range in the global Tooling and Composites business.

By acquiring Axson Technologies, Sika is increasing its product offering and expertise in the Tooling and Composites business. The main technologies used are polyurethane and epoxy – also two of Sika’s core technologies – which will further complement and advance the future product offerings. Jan Jenisch, CEO, Sika said, “We are delighted to welcome all Axson Technologies employees into the Sika family. The acquisition will make Sika a strong player in the global Tooling and Composites business and will expand and complement our product range for a broad customer base.”

18 • March 2015

Freeport-McMoRan Awards Amec Foster Wheeler Two Contracts New Jersey, USA: Amec Foster Wheeler announces the award of two contracts by Freeport-McMoRan Inc. for the design and supply of a new wet flue gas desulfurization system at their existing copper smelter facility in Miami, Arizona, USA. The value of the contracts has not been announced. Under the contracts, Amec Foster Wheeler will provide a new scrubber vessel equipped with a dual flow tray to optimise sulphur dioxide reduction, spray nozzles, recycle pumps, and mist eliminators, as well as engineering and site supervision services.

Borealis has Signed Financing Agreement with BNDES Vienna, Austria: Borealis, a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilisers, announces the successful closure of a BRL 36.7 million financing agreement with BNDES, the Brazilian Development Bank (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social), for the financing of Borealis Brasil SA expansion. The transaction was formally closed with an Itatiba site visit and official closing ceremony. “The strong financing structure with a combination of the loans from BNDES and the flexible funding provided by Borealis were key for the project,” stated Leonardo Harsch, Managing Director, Borealis Brasil. The expansion project of Borealis Brasil concerns the compounding facilities in Itatiba with a total investment volume of around BRL 100 million.

It includes two new extruder lines, a new production building, new warehousing facilities and the expansion of the existing utilities.

Chemical Engineering World

CEW Technology News Heat Loving Bacteria can Convert Plant Matter into Biofuels North Carolina, USA: Unique proteins newly discovered in heatloving bacteria are more than capable of attaching themselves to plant cellulose, possibly paving the way for more efficient methods of converting plant matter into biofuels. The unusual proteins, called tapirins (derived from the Maori verb ‘to join’), bind tightly to cellulose, a key structural component of plant cell walls, enabling these bacteria to break down cellulose. The conversion of cellulose to liquid biofuels, such as ethanol, is paramount to the use of renewable feedstocks.

In a paper published online in the Jour nal of Biological Chemistry, researchers from North Carolina State University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory report the structure and function of tapirins produced by bacteria that live in hot springs across the globe, including Yellowstone National Park. These bacteria, called Caldicellulosiruptor, live in temperatures as high as 70 to 80 degrees Celsius – or 158 to 176 degrees Fahrenheit.

“These hot springs scavengers make proteins that are structurally unique and that are seen nowhere else in nature. These proteins bind very firmly to cellulose. As a result, this binding can anchor bacteria to the cellulose in plant biomass, thus facilitating the conversion to fermentable sugars and then biofuels,” said Dr. Robert Kelly, Alcoa Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NC State and the paper’s corresponding author.

Read more on https://news.ncsu.edu/

Molecule-making Machine Simplifies Complex Chemistry Champaign, USA: Chemists at the University of Illinois, led by chemistry professor and medical doctor Martin D. Burke, built the machine to assemble complex small molecules at the click of a mouse, like a 3-D printer at the molecular level. The automated process has the potential to greatly speed up and enable new drug development and other technologies that rely on small molecules.

“We wanted to take a very complex process, chemical synthesis, and make it simple,” said Burke, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Early Career Scientist. “Simplicity enables automation, which, in turn, can broadly enable discovery and bring the substantial power of making molecules to nonspecialists.”

‘Small molecules’ are a specific class of complex, compact chemical structures found throughout nature. They are very important in medicine – most medications available now are small molecules – as well as in biology as probes to uncover the inner workings of cells and tissues. Small molecules also are key elements in technologies like solar cells and LEDs. Read more about the research on http://news.illinois.edu/ 20 • March 2015

Aerogel Catalyst Shows Promise for Fuel Cells

An aerogel that combines boron and nitrogen molecules with graphene nanoribbons shows promise as a possible alternative to platinum in fuel cells, according to Rice University scientists.

(Credit: Ajayan Group/ Rice University)

Houston, USA: Graphene nanoribbons formed into a three-dimensional aerogel and enhanced with boron and nitrogen are excellent catalysts for fuel cells, even in comparison to platinum, according to Rice University researchers. A team led by materials scientist Pulickel Ajayan and chemist James Tour made metal-free aerogels from graphene nanoribbons and various levels of boron and nitrogen to test their electrochemical properties.

In tests involving half of the catalytic reaction that takes place in fuel cells, they discovered versions with about 10 per cent boron and nitrogen were efficient in catalysing what is known as an oxygen reduction reaction, a step in producing energy from feedstocks like methanol.

Ajayan’s Rice lab has excelled in turning nanostructures into macroscopic materials, like the oil-absorbing sponges invented in 2012 or, more recently, solid nanotube blocks with controllable densities and porosities. The new research combines those abilities with the Tour lab’s 2009 method to unzip nanotubes into conductive graphene nanoribbons. Read more on http://news.rice.edu/

New Material Captures Carbon at Half the Energy Cost Berkley, USA: UC Berkeley chemists have made a major leap forward in carbon-capture technology with a material that can efficiently remove carbon from the ambient air of a submarine as readily as from the polluted emissions of a coal-fired power plant.

The mater ial then releases the carbon dioxide at lower temperatures than current carbon-capture materials, potentially cutting by half or more the energy currently consumed in the process. The released CO 2 can then be injected underground, a technique called sequestering, or, in the case of a submarine, expelled into the sea.

“Carbon dioxide is 15 percent of the gas coming off a power plant, so a carbon-capture unit is going to be big. With these new materials, that unit could be much smaller, making the capital costs drop tremendously as well as the operating costs,” said senior author Jeffrey Long, a UC Berkeley professor of chemistry and faculty senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The material, a metal-organic framework (MOF) modified with nitrogen compounds called diamines, can be tuned to remove carbon dioxide from the room-temperature air of a submarine, for example, or the 100-degree (Fahrenheit) flue gases from a power plant. Read more about the research on http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/ Chemical Engineering World

Chemical Engineering World

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CEW Technology News

Electronic Waste has Energy Value

Joseba Andoni Salbidegoitia beside the equipment used in the research.

Vizcaya, Spain: Researchers at the UPV/ EHU-University of the Basque Country are developing systems to recover hydrogen using waste plastics from electronic boards.

Using discarded electronic boards, the UPV/ EHU researcher Andoni Salbidegoitia has, in collaboration with international researchers, developed a system for obtaining clean hydrogen that can be used as fuel. The researchers have already registered the patent of the process in Japan.

The Chemical Technologies for Environmental Sustainability (TQSA) Group of the Department of Chemical Engineering of the UPV/EHU’s Faculty of Science and Technology is aiming to make use of discarded plastic as effectively as possible from the environmental as well as energy and economic point of view. The researcher Andoni Salbidegoitia is developing alternatives for treating the plastic waste that is the most difficult to treat, either because of its composition or because it is so mixed up with other substances and separating them is very costly. Read more about the research on http://www.ehu.eus/

New Cost-effective and Efficient Electrodes to Split Water Sydney, Australia: UNSW Australia scientists have developed a highly efficient oxygen-producing electrode for splitting water that has the potential to be scaled up for industrial production of the clean energy fuel, hydrogen. The new technology is based on an inexpensive, specially coated foam material that lets the bubbles of oxygen escape quickly.

“Our electrode is the most efficient oxygen-producing electrode in alkaline electrolytes repor ted to date, to the best of our knowledge. It is inexpensive, sturdy and simple to make, and can potentially be scaled up for industrial application of water splitting,” says Associate Professor Chuan Zhao, UNSW School of Chemistry.

Inefficient and costly oxygen-producing electrodes are one of the major barriers to the widespread commercial production of hydrogen by electrolysis, where the water is split into hydrogen and oxygen using an electrical current. Unlike other water electrolysers that use precious metals as catalysts, the new UNSW electrode is made entirely from two non-precious and abundant metals - nickel and iron. Commercially available nickel foam, which has holes in it about 200 micrometres across, or twice the diameter of a human hair, is electroplated with a highly active nickel-iron catalyst, which reduces the amount of costly electricity needed for the water-splitting to occur. Read more about the research on http://www.eurekalert.org/ 22 • March 2015

Bioelectrochemical Processes can Pave the Way to Petrochemistry

Bioreactor with upgrade kit for the bioelectrochemical synthesis. Photo: André Künzelmann/UFZ

Brisbane, Australia: Researchers at Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ), Germany, and the University of Queensland (UQ), Australia, have found that the electrification of the white biotechnology is not merely a green dream, but an alternative to petrochemistry with realistic economical potential. Compared to classical sugar based bio-processes, bioelectrochemical processes promise improved yields, which could turn out to be a real game changer.

The next generation of bio-production facilities may not only become more environmentally friendly, but also more economically competitive, a conclusion drawn jointly by scientists at UFZ and the UQ. In a recently published study, the researchers analysed for the first time the economical potential of this new technology using the example of an existing bio-process. In contrast to the energy and fuel sectors that are influenced by government targets for green alternatives, the chemical industry is mainly driven by market mechanisms. Companies and consumers are generally not prepared to pay a green premium for products. This means that compared to classical petrochemical processes, bio-production of chemicals needs to be cheaper, or in case of comparable costs, offer added value for companies to take the risk of investment into a new production process. Nevertheless, it is expected that the share of bio-derived‚ green’ chemicals will significantly rise over the next decade. Read more about the research on http://www.ufz.de/

New Process to Make Better Graphene California, USA: A new technique invented at Caltech to produce graphene—a material made up of an atom-thick layer of carbon— at room temperature could help pave the way for commercially feasible graphene-based solar cells and light-emitting diodes, large-panel displays, and flexible electronics. “With this new technique, we can grow large sheets of electronic-grade graphene in much less time and at much lower temperatures,” says Caltech staff scientist David Boyd, who developed the method. Graphene could revolutionise a variety of engineering and scientific fields due to its unique properties, which include a tensile strength 200 times stronger than steel and an electrical mobility that is two to three orders of magnitude better than silicon.

The electrical mobility of a material is a measure of how easily electrons can travel across its surface. The ability to produce graphene without the need for active heating not only reduces manufacturing costs, but also results in a better product because fewer defects—introduced as a result of thermal expansion and contraction processes—are generated. This in turn eliminates the need for multiple postproduction steps. Read more on http://www.caltech.edu/news/ Chemical Engineering World

CEW News Features

Cloud Applications, Virtualisation Taking Industrial Automation to Higher Levels: Vikas Chadha India’s manufacturing sector is on a high growth trajectory. And if implemented to its potential, the ‘Make in India’ initiative will further transform the Indian economy for the better, developing India into a strong manufacturing destination in this century, says Vikas Chadha, Managing Director, Honeywell Automation India Limited (HAIL) and India Leader, Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS).

Harshal Y Desai further sought Chadha’s views on the growth of the automation industry in the wake of predicted development in the manufacturing sector, adoption rate of automation solutions among small and medium scale companies, the role of IT in automation industry, and more.

T

he automation industry, in any country, is directly related to the growth of the manufacturing sector.

It is further boosted with the desire to produce better products. Competition among the manufacturers compels them to adopt advanced automation solutions as they want to excel in their operations by producing optimum quality products in large number with less human intervention.

In India, many companies were not willing to expand their facilities till last year and it was affecting the automation industry to some extent. However, the scenario is likely to change in the near future. Both these elements - a strong manufacturing industry and - the desire to produce the best, will pave the way for the automation sector in India. Safety and sustainability are the other two components.

According to Chadha, as the world economy evolves into a global marketplace, competition presents itself in the form of both domestic and international players, requiring discrete and process manufacturing industries to work hard to gain a competitive edge.

“Firms are continuously striving to increase their productivity, safety, sustainability and expand sales. And as competition increases, companies willing to invest in various automation solutions will likely be more successful in the long-term,” he adds.

Plenteous Potential There is a strong potential for growth in the Indian industrial automation segment, 26 • March 2015

asserts Chadha; however, he feels that in India, levels of automation in most industries are far from their respective global norms. “Sectors like power, oil and gas and automotive industries have always been leading adopters of improved automation technologies. The complexity of processes and the need to optimise plant operations as well as expand sales has resulted in oil and gas being at the forefront of automation adoption.

Investing in intelligent automation and control systems to optimise manufacturing, plant optimisation, and control and process monitoring systems, is the way forward for the Indian manufacturing industry. “In this increasingly competitive and globalised environment, India continues to experience inertia in keeping up with global trends or in adopting new technological innovations,” Chadha comments.

He strongly emphasises that as India progresses in its pursuit to become one of the preferred manufacturing destinations, current practices have to make way for adoption of ‘everything smart’.

Medium and small manufacturers will play a significant role in the demand chain.

Chadha agrees that automation is gaining

Vikas Chadha importance even in small and medium units, which contribute a huge amount in overall GDP of the country. With a growing need for maintaining the profitability of operations and remaining competitive in today’s business, mid-sized process plants are looking to adopt the latest automation technologies that are relevant to their growth.

Are they not reluctant to invest in new technologies due to the cost involved?

“Yes,” he agrees, “When it comes to mid– sized companies, the plant operators are sometimes resistant to investing in new technologies or infrastructure as it involves

Honeywell offers ‘PlantCruise’ by Experion, a proven, purpose built and easy to use DCS (Distributed Control System) for mid size applications. It is designed and manufactured using Honeywell’s core technology, derived from the award winning Honeywell Experion PKS. This solution helps mid sized applications maximise performance and plant uptime, improve reliability, provide lower cost of ownership, and enhanced operator effectiveness. The company has seen good traction for the solution in India since it was introduced.

Chemical Engineering World

CEW News Features cost… but they are always on the lookout to adapt new technologies, provided they can be implemented quickly and with the least impact on the existing infrastructure in order to lower cost but at the same time provide safety, reliability, efficiency and better output.”

When asked about the other measures that needs to be considered to increase the adoption rate of advanced automation technology in Indian manufacturing sector, Chadha reveals that the competitiveness at a global scale and the thrust to address local demand, especially in an Indian industry where consumption of finished goods is high, are significant factors prompting plants to adopt modern process automation technologies.

“Industrial automation plants and projects are also facing numerous challenges especially as implementations become larger and more complex while still needing to be completed quickly.

These requirements are making plant operators adopt technologies which can do more with less, generating demand for solutions that can work seamlessly with any control application and system,” he adds.

Rupee fluctuation has also been reported as one of the major challenge for players in the Indian automation market. According to Chadha, Many companies had started looking for cheaper solutions even at the cost of quality to a certain extent, which can be detrimental in the long-run. Hence there is a strong need for innovative solutions suitable to the Indian industry conditions and environments, which can increase plant safety and security, increased productivity, as well as enable cost efficiency.

Chadha further illuminates that as targeted by the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC), India’s manufacturing sector is set to contribute 25 per cent to the GDP by 2025 as compared to the current share of nearly 16 per cent. He also lists down the steps that the government is taking to increase 28 • March 2015

As the growth of industrial automation clearly lies in some of the technology trends, Honeywell is focused on utilising these trends to deliver tangible results for customers: Transforming Data into Meaningful Information: Organisations are struggling under the sheer volume of data their operations generate. There is a need for a solution that can help anticipate, collaborate and act with confidence on data.

Virtualisation: Virtualisation solutions offer significant benefits when implemented at new as well as existing plants and help users reduce the lifecycle management costs as much as 30 per cent, improve productivity, reduce set-up time, increase energy savings and reduce facility footprints.

Remote Collaboration: Remote collaboration is a great means to address the shortage of process control skills in remote locations. Process control systems will move towards remote collaboration centers where expert skills clustered in a single location can address the needs of plants regardless of their remote location or skill availability Wireless: A growing number of power, oil and gas and chemical facilities are recognising the potential of wireless systems today. These systems can effectively reduce costs and improve efficiency across the plant and business enterprise by providing accurate real-time data, improving personnel safety and increasing asset life.

Cyber Security: There is a need for industries to evaluate their cyber vulnerabilities and implement a robust security strategy to computer cyber-attacks. Companies need to focus on removing risks from control systems environment and networks to protect their automation investments and intellectual assets. Technology is a great enabler and risks must be managed from three perspectives: people, process and technology and we refer to these as the best practice pillars of security. Insufficient attention to one or more of these pillars can result in risk exposure that is detrimental to the control system environment.

- Vikas Chadha

investment in this sector, which are: • Investing in infrastructure development in sectors such as defense, health and education • Forming a National Power Commission (NPC) which would facilitate the acceleration of electricity capacity additions, securing fuel supplies and improving efficiency for production, transmission and distribution of electricity • Providing opportunities for Small Scale Industry (SSIs) to develop into large scale industries The IT Connexion Chadha states that automation solutions might cater to the basic needs of plant requirements like increased product flexibility, higher product quality, decreased delivery time, more efficient process etc, but these alone cannot fulfill

all the demand to achieve scale economics.

“We need a system which can increase the level and quality of productivity to the desired level and for this, timely information is key to meeting these goals,” he comments.

“Advancements in IT have brought radical shift in data transmission from conventional wired networks to wireless transmissions.

New technologies are driving significant advances in industrial automation. Cloud applications, virtualisation and wireless are transforming manufacturing and taking industrial automation to higher levels,” Chadha confirms.

So, Information Technology (IT) will go hand in hand with automation. According to Chadha, today’s large scale industrial automation projects are expensive and timeChemical Engineering World

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CEW News Features consuming. Hence, industrial plants need new cloud-based automation architecture that can achieve significant cost and time benefits through lower hardware cost and associated labour.

“More companies are leveraging cloud computing to become more agile, innovate, faster, make quicker decisions and create greater value, whether through business process transformation and innovation, or by modernising their application platform or data centre architectures. Through the cloud, companies can optimise their capital and operational expenditures, lower hardware and software costs,” he asserts.

Industrial plants will certainly need to utilise the power of process control automation solutions with that of the advances that IT brings – especially in the areas of cloud

computing, virtualisation, data security and analytics – to be able to reap the benefits of both worlds and maintain technology competition.

When asked about the other emerging trends within the industry, Chadha reveals, “Technological change is a crucial driver of competitiveness in the manufacturing industry, and is thus of particular interest for both business leaders and customers.

Today most plants in India have a basic level of automation solutions but can further improve efficiency and reliability with advanced solutions that can help them realise the true potential of automation.” He puts down some of the technology trends which are listed in the fact box on the precious page.

Honeywell has an extensive customer base in verticals including oil and gas,

chemical and petrochemical industries, power, mining, minerals, paper and pulp, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, mining, infrastructure, IT/ITeS, telecom, banking, healthcare, hospitality, automobiles, defense, aerospace, transportation, and the residential sector.

“Since its beginning in 1987, Honeywell Automation India Limited has grown to a ` 1,800 crores company listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India.

HAIL is a unique listed company with a diversified automation portfolio. Our six business units deliver environmental controls, sensing, scanning and mobility products, and building and process solutions for India – making homes, offices and industrial facilities safer, secure, more energy efficient and productive,” Chadha states.

FORM IV Statement about ownership and other particulars about newspaper CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WORLD to be published in the first issue every year after the last day of February

1.

Place of Publication

Mumbai

2.

Periodicity of its Publication

MONTHLY

3.

Printer’s Name Nationality 1 [(a) Whether a citizen of India? (b)If a foreigner, the country of origin] Address

MAULIK JASUBHAI SHAH INDIAN YES NOT APPLICABLE 26, MAKER CHAMBERS VI, NARIMAN POINT, MUMBAI 400 021

4.

Publisher’s Name Nationality 1 [(a) Whether a citizen of India? (b)If a foreigner, the country of origin] Address

MAULIK JASUBHAI SHAH INDIAN YES NOT APPLICABLE 26, MAKER CHAMBERS VI, NARIMAN POINT, MUMBAI 400 021

5.

Editor’s Name Nationality 1 [(a) Whether a citizen of India? (b)If a foreigner, the country of origin] Address

MITTRAVINDA RANJAN INDIAN YES NOT APPLICABLE 3 RD FLOOR, TAJ BLDG., D N ROAD, FORT, MUMBAI 400 001

6.

Names and Addresses of individuals who own the newspaper and partners or shareholders holding more than one per cent of the total capital

JASUBHAI MEDIA PVT LTD. 26, MAKER CHAMBERS VI, NARIMAN POINT, MUMBAI 400 021 Jasu Ramniklal Shah, Maulik Jasubhai Shah, Maulik Business Services Pvt. Ltd, (1100, Shanudeep, 10, Altamount Road, Mumbai 400 026), Jasubhai Business Services P Ltd., (26, Maker Chamber VI, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021)

I Maulik Jasubhai Shah, hereby declare that the particulars given above are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Date: 15th February 2015 30 • March 2015

Signature of Publisher Chemical Engineering World

CEW Features Technical Article

What Unnecessary Risks are You Taking?

What would you think if you saw someone using a shopping trolley as a car jack? Or a newspaper and sunglasses as an improvised welding mask? You would probably ask yourself why anyone would put themselves in that kind of danger. Here, the author explains why companies should never take any chances, especially where testing and analysis are concerned.

S

trict Legislation The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (DSEAR) of 2002 and the Explosive Atmosphere Directive (ATEX 137) set the minimum requirements for protection against risks from fire, explosions and similar events arising from dangerous substances used or present in the workplace. The legislation introduced more rigorous testing for operators, including regular and representative analysis of thermal fluids.

Respecting The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (DSEAR) guidelines helps companies identify early warnings regarding process problems, helps maintain a safe and efficient working environment and save costs. Preventative maintenance and

frequent testing can also help extend the life of thermal fluid. More importantly, a timely reaction to early warnings can help you avoid replacement of costly equipment and even save lives. In environments where the risks are so high, no expense should be spared to ensure legislation is respected and thorough efforts are made to keep employees and premises safe.

What Risk?

In a nutshell, the dangers caused by the lack of preventative maintenance are rooted in the degradation of thermal fluid. Over time, heat transfer fluid breaks down through a process called ‘thermal cracking’. The fluid’s molecules are broken down into smaller particles and several types of fractions are released from this chemical reaction. The first side products of thermal cracking are light ends that have a low boiling point and are very volatile.

The second category of thermal cracking decomposition products are heavy ends, which recombine to form heavy polyaromatic molecules that usually cause fouling of the heat transfer system.

As a result, carbon molecules will stick to the system internals and reduce process efficiency, unless cleaned and flushed in time.

Preventive maintenance and frequent testing helps maintain a safe and efficient working environment, save cost and extend the life of thermal fluid.

32 • March 2015

It is crucial to remember that thermal fluid does not go from being fit for use to needing replacement overnight.

There is a grey area where fluids can be managed against what specialists call ‘the degradation curve’. Degradation is steady if a system is operated properly.

Only as the fluid approaches the end of its practical working life, there is a gradual curve which eventually drops off very sharply. This sudden change in the quality of thermal fluids is one of the reasons why regular and preventative maintenance is so important.

Diluting the thermal fluid by topping up is a cost effective and durable option only while the fluid is in the early part of the degradation curve. After the condition of the fluid has significantly deteriorated, dilution is no longer a viable alternative.

It would have the same effect as putting a new torch battery into a two battery torch alongside a battery that has already been used for some time. It would not be a long term solution and would result in the system not operating at optimum capacity. That being said, the best thing to do when the thermal fluid reaches the end of its lifespan is to flush and clean the system, prior to refilling it with a fresh charge of heat transfer fluid.

Hot, Closed and Circulating Despite the clarity of existing legislation and the dangers of neglecting thermal fluid analysis, companies often fail to perform the sampling DSEAR requires and carry out irrelevant tests, including ‘lube oil tests’. These are sometimes nonapplicable and do not always provide the necessary information.

Sample methodology is crucial – incorrect sampling give inaccurate flash point results, which can have very dangerous consequences. Unless the fluid samples are collected when the oil is hot and circulating, they will reveal artificially Chemical Engineering World

CEW Features this spread takes place is the sample’s flash point. Because closed cup tests give lower flash point values (between five and ten degrees Celsius difference), they are a better approximation to the temperature at which the vapour pressure reaches the lower flammable limit. To ensure final result accuracy, a Seta open cup flash test is also performed on the fluid sample.

An acidity level test identifies the amount of additive depletion, oxidation or acidic contamination, in a thermal fluid sample.

The acid number is determined by the amount of Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) base required to neutralise the acid in one gram of an oil sample.

It is crucial to remember that thermal fluid does not go from being fit for use to needing replacement overnight

high flash point values. This incorrect sampling will lead to the conclusion that the system is safe, when in reality it might not be. Inaccurate samples can have negative consequences, including decreased energy efficiency, unmanageable flash points and a dangerous working environment with risks of explosions.

The sample also needs to be ‘closed’ so that no potential atmospheric particles can contaminate it or distort the results.

An open sample would also allow light ends to flash off to the atmosphere, instead of remaining in the sample, which produces unreliable readings.

Test Often and Well Frequent sampling is crucial. DSEAR says manufacturers must show they are taking appropriate measures to mitigate health and safety. GHT encourages its clients to perform the eleven point test at least twice a year, every three months ideally, and even more frequently than that in some applications.

Finally, testing in an accredited lab, in the correct conditions is the key to getting accurate results. As with general maintenance, identifying a problem early helps avoid complications without excessive cost or efforts.

34 • March 2015

Best Practice Sampling After the samples have been taken correctly, the interpretation of data is essential and this is where Global Heat Transfer’s experience and eleven-point test takes the best-practice cake. As opposed to most companies, that only provide a seven point test, GHT looks in detail at key data to ensure the results completely reflect reality.

The three main checks that Global Heat Transfer focuses on are carbon level and amount of insoluble particles, a closed flash point test and the acidity level (TAN).

The Ramsbottom Carbon Residue test (RCR) is a method of calculating the carbon residue in a fluid. If the carbon level (heavy ends) is too high, build-ups can occur, which will reduce the efficiency of the system, make pumps work harder and result in higher running costs for the company.

Global Heat Transfer performs both types of flash point measurement: open and closed cup. The Pensky-Martens closed flash test involves the heating of test specimens in a covered brass cup at regular intervals until a flash point that spreads throughout the inside of the cup is identified. The temperature at which

These three main areas of testing are complemented by additional checks, including appearance, viscosity, water and ferrous content, particulate quantities and fire point testing. The data from the eleven tests forms the basis of a holistic analysis based on trend data, which results in an accurate thermal fluid evaluation. Parameters for action, caution and satisfactory levels are the key factors when conducting the result analysis.

The complexity of thermal fluid testing might seem intimidating, but the importance of the process cannot be stressed enough. Respecting legal regulations, performing preventative maintenance and frequent testing are the best ways to ensure your company is not taking any unnecessary risks. Otherwise, you might as well be using newspaper and sunglasses instead of personal protective equipment.

Author’s Details Andy Burns Technical Business Manager Global Heat Transfer carolinel@globalgroup.org Chemical Engineering World

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CEW Features Technical Article

Enhancing Capacity of Existing Column Energy conservation is the absolute need of the hour in today’s world. Engineers thus look for ways and means to get the best out of the given systems. So, when it comes to a Packed Tower then a Liquid Distributor and Feed Device play an indispensable role to get an optimised solution.

W

e are in times where energy conservation is the absolute need of the hour – as much for mother earth’s survival, as our very own. One thus looks for ways and means to get the best out of the given systems, without changing much and with least possible investment. So, when it comes down to more for less, in a packed tower system, the first thing which comes to the mind of any engineer seeking to increase capacity of the plant is to go for a larger diametre column.

However, when the user is introduced to high capacity packing (be it random or structured), which saves one from the need to change the tower itself, the user is delighted beyond expectation and starts believing that the problem is solved. Therein lies the fallacy, as while high capacity packing is a good solution, it is definitely not a complete one. While selecting mass transfer equipment, one needs to be correct, and often the cumulative accuracy lies in the finer details.

Let us examine the typical sequence adopted by the designer of packed tower system. Once the simulation of the system is done and the stages required for carrying out the separation or absorption is ascertained, the next focus is on selection of the packing. One assumes that once the packing is selected, the task is done and the results are assured. In particular, the confidence gets compounded especially when one plans to employ the high capacity packing over the conventional type. But, for the best results, high capacity packing also demands deployment of complementary well designed high performance internals for achieving the optimum results. Inside a packed tower, all hardware other than packing are known as internals and some of the key ones are – feed devices that introduce the fluids inside the 36 • March 2015

tower, distributor for distribution of fluids, bed limiters as an insurance to retain the packing within its intended location, support plate for supporting the packing, collector trays to take partial or total draw offs, etc. (See Figure 1) Here, we shall examine at length the most critical internals to bring out their salient features, namely the feed devices and the distributors.

Liquid and Gaseous Feed Devices (Predistributor) The first and foremost are the feed devices that inject the liquid at the very top of the tower or the gas/vapour at the very bottom of it. These have to be designed carefully so that they are not only compatible with the mouth of the external pipelines and their orientation for ease of installation but also the next tower internal to which they introduce the fluid to.

tower internal above the feed device. Also, they must be so located from the elevation point of view, that they allow some time for the gas/vapour exiting it, to adequately spread before encountering the equipment next in line above.

Liquid Distributors (Main Distributor) The liquid distributor is extremely critical and difficult to design. The distributor, as the name suggests, distributes the liquid and irrigates the packed section below it through delicately placed and sized openings from which the liquid exits out and on to the packing below.

Before the same is done, the distributor

The top liquid feed device feeds the top distributor. It must be so sized that the optimum pressure is maintained in it to prevent any back flow, while at the same time ensuring the liquid reaches the far end and is released at the optimum velocity. They must further be designed in conjunction with the distributor so that the liquid introduced from the feed pipe does not fall atop the gas risers located on the distributor below.

Similarly, we have gas or vapour feed device at the bottom of the tower. Though these are relatively less sensitive to operation than liquid feed device, nevertheless, they can create tower malfunction if poorly designed.

These are placed below the support plates or support grids that hold up the packing or sometimes below the collector trays. Care must be taken in their design to ensure that the gas/vapour do not enter with such a velocity that they blow away or dislocate the

Figure 1: Packed tower system

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CEW Features are provided on the distributor for gas/vapour flowing upwards.

When the distributor is located between two beds for collecting the liquid raining from the packed bed above and then re-distributing the liquid to the packed bed below, it is called a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;redistributorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

(See different types of distributors in Figure 3) Importance of Liquid Distribution: Packed tower design is based on the fundamental concept of equal liquid and gas superficial velocity across the column section. The pressure drop across the packing provides an impetus for the upward flowing gas to become uniformly distributed across the column area. The liquid flows down the packed bed by gravity and unlike a gas, the liquid has poorer cross-mixing tendencies. It is therefore imperative to manage and ensure very uniform liquid distribution at the top of the bed.

Distributors are internals installed above a packed bed, which perform the job of providing a finite liquid distribution over the packed bed.

A distributor allows liquid to be distributed over the packed bed in discrete streams. This can be done either through orifices or V-weirs located on/in the distributor. Distributors also provide a separate passage for the upward flowing gas.

Figure 2: Liquid feed pipes, vapour feed pipes and plates

Figure 3: Types of distributors

collects the liquid from the liquid feed pipe above and typically allows (not always) the liquid to build up into a reservoir on its deck or in its troughs. This provides a calming zone of sorts for the liquid, before allowing it to exit from the openings. The liquid which was until now constantly moving (horizontally) at a higher velocity, is somewhat made stationary in the distributor, relatively speaking. It also ensures the liquid, as far as possible, moves slowly downwards (vertically) only, as it exits the distributor under the hydrostatic head of the built up reservoir. Thus an attempt 38 â&#x20AC;˘ March 2015

is made to ensure a steady state flow downwards and no liquid gradient is formed on the distributor. The said liquid reservoir also cushions the flow from the exit openings, from the possible vigorous flow variations in the feed lines and the feed device above the distributor. The idea is to distribute the liquid evenly across the cross section of the tower, with as far as possible, each exit opening of the distributor receiving the same amount of liquid stream. To prevent entrainment or upward carry-over of the liquid by the force of the gas/vapour, separate channels

Once liquid enters the packed bed, the packing tends to redistribute the liquid by virtue of dispersion and after some height, the liquid profile adapts to the natural distribution tendency of the packings, which generally, is worse than the initial liquid distribution provided by the distributor. Because of this, liquid distribution in packed beds tends to break down after fixed heights and liquid redistributors are provided to collect all the down flowing liquid and redirect it uniformly into next packed bed.

A packed bed irrigated by a very good distributor allows one to realise the full separation potential (number of stages) of the packed bed.

Categories of Liquid Distributors The liquid distributors are divided into two broad categories - gravity type and pressure type. The models under gravity type feed are pan type, deck type, trough type, V-weir type, etc. The models under pressure type feed are spray nozzle type, pipe arm distributor type, etc.

Chemical Engineering World

CEW Features Distributor Testing • Liquid distributor testing is also done to ensure the proper distribution. It is found that the tested distributors at shop facility also perform very well in actual service condition. To carry out the distributor testing appropriate test facility shall be available with sufficient size for entire distributor.

• The test facility should comprise of the following features: -Feed system with different pumps -Freshwater inlet and recirculation system -Flowmeter system -Support structure for mounting and levelling of distributors -Collecting funnel, measuring vessels, scale, stop watch, etc -For testing purpose, water is used as testing fluid

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Pre Arrangements for Distributor Testing After liquid distributor is mounted on test ring, it should be levelled properly. The test instrument shall be calibrated. After starting the test system, keeps the system running for a minimum of 15 minutes to ensure steady flow from feed pipe or pre distributor.

Testing Methods • For good performance of liquid distributor within given operating range, it is tested for maximum and minimum liquid loads. Checking of the liquid head is done across the distributor/different channels of distributors.

• When specific guarantees are to be maintained, then actual outflow from multiple point is collected using funnels and measuring vessels and the coefficient of variation is checked.

• The large distributors can be checked partly considering the size of distributor. A distributor test facility with upto 500 m3/hr (17,500 ft3/ hr) and upto 8 metre (26 ft) diametre testing is not uncommon.

Design of Liquid Distributor/Redistributor • Select suitable type of distributor/redistributor: based on various parametres like column diameter, service, flowrates, range of flowrates to be handled, installation feasibility, fouling service etc suitable type eg, deck, pan, trough, flow multipliers, weir, with/without drip tubes etc is selected.

• Once the type is finalised number of irrigation points are decided based on the type of the packing. More numbers of points are provided for packings with higher surface area. Moreover, traditional packings require comparatively lesser number of distribution points than modern/third generation packing. Selection also depends upon type of packing viz, random or structured.

Author’s Details

Sameer Mehta Manager – Process Kevin Enterprises Private Limited sameerm@kevincpp.com 40 • March 2015

Chemical Engineering World

Features CEW Technical Article

Waste Heat Recovery from Refrigeration Systems Energy conservation is a major focus point towards sustainable development and waste heat recovery is a very useful energy saving technique when a major part of energy is being wasted as heat in maximum household and industrial energy consuming units. Refrigeration has become a way of life in modern lifestyle and from small scale household units to industrial scale units, there is a large scope of waste heat recovery potential. To meet the demand of sustainable development with energy conservation and less environmental pollution there is a need to develop new technologies to recover and utilise waste heat from refrigeration systems (small or large).

This article briefly highlight the need of waste heat recovery, potential of waste heat recovery in refrigeration units and introduce the latest technological developments towards waste heat recovery and utilisation from refrigeration systems.

W

aste Heat from Refrigeration Refrigeration from small scale household units to industrial scale units has a large scope of waste heat and scientists and engineers, to meet the demand of sustainable development with energy conservation and less environmental pollution, are developing new technologies to recover and utilise waste heat from refrigeration systems (small or large). The process of refrigeration has traditionally involved a substantial use of electric energy. Energy recovery has become incredibly important in all aspects of the commercial refrigeration industry in recent years. Supermarkets in particular comprise a significant proportion of energy use as well as heat waste disposal. Supermarkets, ice rinks, and warehouse food storage facilities have each drawn the attention of concerned consumers and environmental protection agencies. Many companies have addressed these concerns with the state of art development of their energy recovery systems for refrigeration.

Waste Heat Recovery Energy conservation is a major focus point towards sustainable development and waste heat recovery is a very useful energy saving technique where the heat that is removed by the refrigeration systems or other processes can be utilised for various applications as opposed to this heat just being wasted, as is normally the case. Considerable energy savings can be achieved by re-using heat

Chemical Engineering World

from the refrigeration plant or any other process present on a site. Depending on the specific temperature requirements of other cooling and heating loads throughout the facility, recaptured heat can be re-used directly, boosted through a heat pump to a higher temperature, used in an absorption chiller to satisfy another cooling requirement or stored for later use. Through extensive expertise with refrigeration and other thermal systems, one can identify and assess the viability of a waste heat recovery system, design a practical and sustainable solution and manage the project through the implementation. Energy recovery is accomplished when traditionally discarded heat is rerouted for other uses in the production process. Energy recovery ventilation systems are widely popular among owners and operators of existing refrigeration equipment. Virtually any existing equipment can be modified or adapted to accommodate green standards of energy recovery. Energy recovery ventilation systems are extremely adaptable, and can be customised to suit nearly any existing equipment. These energy recovery systems are extremely useful and efficient for reducing the hazardous impacts of heat waste upon the environment. They also preserve the use of expelled energy and conserve by efficiently distributing derived resources with those that are implemented.

Although compressor-driven refrigeration is far more dominant in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s market,

absorption chillers are slowly gaining more attraction in a variety of applications.

Using heat instead of electricity to drive the cooling system, the absorption refrigeration cycle provides a way to make use of waste heat when another cooling load is present. Having much less moving parts then conventional compressor-driven chillers, an absorption chiller can be seen as a static system that runs noise free and has low maintenance and service costs.

Absorption chillers operate on two fluids, an absorbent and a refrigerant. Commercially available absorption chillers either run on the LiBr-Water or Water-Ammonia working fluid pair. Each project needs to be specifically assessed to determine project feasibility. Further, introducing the use of compound refrigeration systems with integrated heat pump function has further improved its energy efficiency.

The compound refrigeration systems use the entire waste heat from a commercial refrigeration installation to heat the store in winter. Up to an outside temperature of zero degrees Celsius no additional room heating is required. The compound refrigeration system is fitted with two additional compressors to ensure that this principle even functions on cold winter days when outside temperatures plunge below zero. These compressors work in winter as heat pumps and in summer function as refrigeration systems.

Technological Developments The heat generated from a compressorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activity during refrigeration process has long March 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ 41

CEW Features Because of the single screw’s compressor-balanced design, a factory also benefits from lower maintenance and operational costs because of their decreased strain on the compressor’s bearings.

Figure 1: Refrigeration unit

Figure 2: Waste heat recovery setup

been emitted into the atmosphere. A simple change in technology, however, can make these compressors more powerful and efficient, and therefore able to divert that once-wasted heat for additional uses. Refrigeration technology really had not changed much in 150 years, with the result that no process had existed to convert heat released by compressors into other heating or cooling uses.

Most refrigeration compressors use a traditional male-female rotor alignment to compress gas. While this ensures a smooth operation and seamless processing of gases, there is a limit as to how much pressure such a system can handle. Refrigerants such as ammonia are one option for companies to consider, both for its efficiency and the fact it does not contribute to ozone depletion or greenhouse gas emissions. But, for demanding industrial heating and cooling applications, plant managers had shunned ammonia because no compression pumps could handle this refrigerant at high pressure levels. The solution was a single screw compressor system. The mechanism looks simple: it is simply one main rotor that intermeshes with two gate rotors on both sides. The compressor’s design actually allowed gases to be processed at very high pressures – and higher differential pressure ranges – while offering low life-cycle costs.

42 • March 2015

Energy recovery is one of the most prominent concerns for consumers and corporations, particularly in the commercial refrigeration industry.

Energy recovery equipment has been made available by several companies in recent decades. Industry leaders have accomplished with single units what companies earlier have tried to revolutionise in years past. Energy recovery is accomplished in two major ways.

Heat is absorbed during the process of cooling, and released at high pressures through stainless steel pipes. This effectually reduces the impacts of harmful waste, and utilised the absorbed heat as a form of energy. Energy derived from the absorption process can be derived to other components as heat recovery. Energy recovery is accomplished, and energy recovery units are efficient in reducing cost and harmful output. This allows the entire facility to function on far less energy than traditional with systems. Energy efficiency is a key issue for every facility where new refrigeration equipment is being installed. Recent developments in heat recovery systems offer the potential for reducing energy bills. Energy recovery units in refrigeration require the knowledge of experts from the initial model to the implementation process. Maintenance, modification and adaption procedures for virtually any part of the energy recovery process are offered by the innovative engineers. The model with the latest technology and system management has brought a new frontier to the refrigeration industry, particularly for commercial endeavors. Supermarkets, ice rinks, and storage warehouses are now extended accessibility to the benefits of energy recovery units for commercial refrigeration. Energy recovery ventilation systems bring a new aspect of environmentally friendly processing to the refrigeration industry.

GEA Refrigeration Netherlands N.V. won the Dutch Refrigeration Prize last month for technology that combines a refrigerating plant and a heat pump. The Energy Enhancer, the name given by GEA to this refrigeration-heat solution, convinced the contest jury of its energy-savings potential. The Energy Enhancer raises exhausted heat — which is often dissipated into the environment without being used in conventional refrigeration units — to a higher temperature, where it becomes useful energy. This can eliminate the need to produce heat by gas-fired, hot-water heaters or steam generators.

The solution uses an ammonia heat pump to raise the temperature of the heat exhausted from refrigeration compressors (originally emitted at about 35 0C) to a level of 80 0C, which can be effectively used as a heat source for processes throughout the plant. This enables efficient use of heat in, for example, milk pasteurisation, French fries production (blanching) and meat processing (cleaning machines). The heat can also be used anywhere else it’s needed, such as in heating the plant’s environment. This enables not only significant reduction in operating costs, but also leads to a large reduction in CO2 emissions.

Waste Heat Recovery System for Domestic Refrigerator An attempt has been made to utilise waste heat from condenser of refrigerator. This heat can be used for number of domestic and Chemical Engineering World

Chemical Engineering World

March 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ 43

44 â&#x20AC;˘ March 2015

Chemical Engineering World

Features CEW industrial purposes. The study has shown that such a system is technically feasible and economically viable. Refrigerator which is been previously made exert a lot of amount heat through condenser to overcome this wastage of heat. This heat is utilised for heating water. A standard topology shows the unit connected to an existing hot water tank (pump, controls & special fittings are not shown). The unit uses the recovered heat to keep the water temperature above the tankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s thermostat set-point so that the tank heating element or burner does not need to operate. Hot refrigerant gas from the compressor enters and flows in the opposite direction as the water flow. The water picks up the heat from the refrigerant gas, cooling the gas and heating the water. The excess heat that previously would have been thrown away by the condenser is recycled. The remote unit mounts outdoors (or indoors if desired) and will usually be installed on an exterior wall somewhere near the compressor.

There are two pairs of inlet/outlet connections on the unit. One inlet/outlet pair is for the compressor side and the other pair is for the hot water side. Inside the unit there is a small pump, sensor controls and a double helix all-copper vented double-wall heat exchanger that transfers the heat from the refrigerant (compressor side) to the hot water side. The system connects to the compressor through standard refrigeration lines, and connects to the hot water tank through standard insulated plumbing pipe, PEX etc. The pump circulates water from the tank, through the heat exchanger, and then back to the tank. The heat exchanger efficiently transfers the compressors high temperature waste heat to the water circuit of the unit. Dual-circuit units operate the same way, except they can connect to two adjacent compressors at the same time while connected to a single hot water tank.

Waste Heat Recovery with Industrial Heat Pumps Industrial refrigeration systems reject a significant quantity of waste heat to the atmosphere. Heat pumps can capture this waste heat efficiently and use it to reduce the fossil fuels consumed to heat water.

Industrial heat pumps are environmentally friendly and economical, allowing end-users to make the most of their energy resources.

Industrial ammonia heat pumps offer end-users a comprehensive sustainable solution by reducing energy consumption, water, waste

water, CO2 emissions and operating costs. They are environmentally friendly as ammonia is a natural refrigerant with an Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) of zero and a global Warming Potential (GWP) of zero. Industrial heat pumps provide energy conservation, by converting the heat energy removed by ammonia refrigeration systems and transforming it into beneficial heat for use in satisfying plant hot water requirements. This source of energy is renewable as the heat is naturally occurring within food products and is made available through food preservation by the process of refrigeration, a reusable energy source. Ammonia heat pumps reduce operating costs. Ammonia refrigeration systems absorb heat from products, processes, equipment, people, building heat gains and infiltration, and then reject it as waste heat to the atmosphere through, typically, evaporative condensers. The majority of the heat delivered by heat pumps comes from the heat extracted from these cooling loads. An incremental amount of heat delivered by heat pumps comes from the electric energy consumed in converting the low grade waste heat into high temperature useable heat. An additional benefit of industrial heat pumps, applied as retrofits to existing systems, is that they add condensing capacity to systems. Industrial heat pumps divert load away from evaporative condensers, allowing existing system compressors to operate more efficiently at lower condensing pressures.

Conclusion Heat recovery is the collection and re-use of heat arising from any process that would otherwise be lost. The process might be inherent to a building, such as space heating, ventilation and so on, or could be something carried out as part of business activity, such as the use of ovens, furnaces and the like. Heat recovery can help to reduce the overall energy consumption of the process itself, or provide useful heat for other purposes. Waste heat recovery has emerged as an effective way of increasing energy efficiency at factories where refrigeration is crucial. Any energy savings is important because even though commonly used refrigerants such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) do not deplete the ozone level as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) did a generation ago, HFCs still pose GWP. Acknowledgement: The use of information retrieved through references/sources of internet in this article is highly acknowledged

.

various

Authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Details

Figure 3: Waste heat recovery pump

Chemical Engineering World

Dr S S VERMA Department of Physics SLIET, Sangrur, Punjab ssverma@fastmail.fm March 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ 45

CEW Features Case Study

Effect of Tube Bundle Type on Thermal Design of Air Cooled Heat Exchanger Tube Bundle types and allocation of tube side passes plays a vital role in Thermal Design of ACHE. Out of various options available for Tube Bundle types, some are widely used as a hereditary engineering practices while some are paid less attention. This case study evaluates the effect of Tube Bundle type selection on Thermal Design and also an attempt is made to select an optimum Thermal Design based on Overall Cost Factors.

I

n the areas of heat transfer operations, to deliver the best thermal design of Air Cooled Heat Exchanger (ACHE), many EPC companies are extensively using thermal design software. Typically, these heat exchanger design software have Tube Bundle type as an input required under Tube Bundle geometry.

This input makes an ACHE specification more correct in terms of tube side pass arrangement and enables an ACHE vendor to fabricate tube bundles and their partitions with better understanding.

In thermal design, number of tube side passes is an important factor for tube side performance and its allocation plays vital role in optimising designs. To define tube pass configuration, various options are available in thermal design software for selection of Tube Bundle types: Rows: The tube side passes are allocated row wise. Extra rows, if any, will be allocated to first pass. Design software selects this type by default if specified passes are less than or equal to number of tube rows.

if any, will be allocated to first pass.

Design software selects this type by default if specified passes are more than number of tube rows.

Convection: It is commonly seen in Economisers than ACHEs. Rows with Defined Passes (User defined): This is an alternative means of specifying different tube pass configurations in which tube pass configuration is maintained even when the number of tubes per row is modified.

It provides complete view of bundle cross section, which can be utilised to change type of tubes for a selected row. However, this option is rarely seen in thermal designs as a preliminary selection of Tube Bundle type.

Out of the various Tube Bundle types, ‘Side-by-Side’ and ‘Rows/Side-by-Side’ are

seldom used by Engineers in thermal designs with a consideration that these Tube Bundles types are difficult to fabricate. However, most of the ACHE vendors give guarantee to fabricate all types of Tube Bundles. On the other hand, Tube Bundle types – ‘Rows’ and ‘Equal Count’ are widely used as a hereditary engineering practice in numerous thermal designs and also observed in many vendors’ technical offers. In this context, a Case Study has been carried out to understand the effect of Tube Bundle type selection on various parameters which contribute to an optimum thermal design and how the best thermal design can be identified based on CAPEX and OPEX of ACHE. CASE STUDY Quench water is to be cooled from 127oC to 60oC in ACHE with an ambient air temperature of 36oC. Quench water flow

Figure 1: Tube Bundle and Tube Rows

Side-by-Side: The tube side passes are allocated in vertical planes and in a side-by-side manner.

Rows/Side-by-Side: 2 nd to ‘N’ number of passes are arranged in last row in side-by-side manner. And rest of the rows will form first pass.

Equal Count: This configuration keeps equal tube count per pass. Extra tubes, 46 • March 2015

Figure 2: Tube Side pass arrangement in Tube Bundles

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Features CEW is 1,40,000 kg/hr. Fouling resistance of 0.00018 m 2-hr-C/kcal is considered. The allowable tube side pressure drop is 0.7 kg/cm 2.

Basic Geometry Following basic geometry is kept identical for all thermal design runs of various Tube Bundle types for performance comparison of ACHE. No. of Bays

2

No. of Tube Bundles / Bay

2

No. of Fans / Tube Bundle

2

Fan arrangement

Forced draft

Tube OD, mm Tube Pitch, mm

25.4 60

Fins per unit length

394

Fin Height, mm

12.7

Table1: Basic Geometry Details

Steps Followed in Thermal Design Commercial Thermal Design software is used for Thermal Design and verifying the performance of design parameters.

Tube Bundle Type

Following step by step approach is followed throughout this Case Study: 1. All Process data and Basic Geometry details (Table 1) are input to thermal design software.

2. As a preliminary selection, Tube Bundle type is specified as ‘Equal Count’.

3. Number of tube rows is specified and tube side passes are allocated with some initial design judgment and trial and error method till there are no warnings and any runtime errors in output summary.

4. The output parameters such as HTC, tube side ∆P, tube count, power consumed, cost factor and ratio of HTC to tube side ∆∆P are noted.

5. Tube Bundle type is then changed for another option and thermal design is further carried out by repeating steps 1-4.

6. From above steps, thermal design results for different Tube Bundle types having same heat exchanger geometry are populated in table 2 for comparison.

7. Note that, table 2 results are not yet optimised thus, they are used for basic

judgment and preliminary selection of Tube Bundle type.

8. Once preliminary selection of Tube Bundle type is done with basic judgment, thermal designs from table 2 are optimised by varying Heat exchanger geometry ie, number of tube rows, number of tube side passes, tube length and bundle width by repeating steps 1 to 4 till percentage overdesign is 10 per cent. Special attention is provided on tube side ∆∆P while optimising the thermal designs, since it is recommended to utilise allowable Tube side ∆∆P as fully as possible for minimal tube side fouling and thereby less maintenance cost.

9. These optimised thermal Designs for different Tube Bundle types are populated in table 3 for the finalisation of design.

Analysis and Results Selection of the most optimised design from the various Tube Bundle types is carried out on the basis of overall cost of ACHE, which includes both CAPEX

Table - 2

Table - 3

Thermal Designs with SAME Geometry

Thermal Designs with DIFFERENT Geometry

Option - 1

Option - 2

Option - 3

Option - 4

Option - 1

Option - 2

Option - 3

Option - 4

Equal Count

Rows

Rows / Side-bySide

Side-bySide

Equal Count

Rows

Rows / Side-bySide

Side-bySide

6

6

6

6

4

5

6

5

Input Summary No. of Tube Rows = No. of Tube side Passes =

4

4

4

4

6

5

4

8

Tube Bundle width, mm =

2850

2850

2850

2850

2730

2350

3000

2770

Tube Length, mm =

8000

8000

8000

8000

8500

8500

8500

8500

HeatTransferCoefficient,(U), kcal/m 2-hr- oC

21.6

28.79

24.12

29.91

34.78

33.56

23.23

33.61

Tube side Pressure Drop, (∆∆P) kg/cm2

0.111

0.133

0.696

0.105

0.391

0.23

0.561

0.611

Ratio of U / (∆P)

194.59

216.47

34.66

284.86

88.95

145.91

41.41

55.01

279

279

279

279

178

193

294

228

Output Summary

Tube Count Power Consumed per Fan, kW

15.1

15.46

15.52

15.59

16.02

16.15

13.9

15.15

Cost factor

166.15

166.15

166.15

166.15

140.08

134.5

179.91

156.55

Effective Heat Transfer Area, m 2

11265

11265

11265

11265

7670

8304

12630

9808

% Overdesign

41.28

26.93

0.47

8.12

~

10

~

10

~

10

~

10

Table 2 & 3: Thermal Design Comparison for Different Tube Bundle Types

Chemical Engineering World

March 2015 • 47

CEW Features and OPEX. Note that following points are taken into consideration for estimation of CAPEX and OPEX. CAPEX: It includes cost of all exchanger geometrical parameters such as Bundle Width, Tube Length, Tube Count and Tube Metal Cost etc.

OPEX: From Power Consumption per fan, OPEX can be determined by multiplying with electricity cost.

Note that, the Cost Factors reported in above tables are selected from Thermal Design Software results and are only indicators of CAPEX and excludes OPEX. Selection of Best Thermal Design 1. Preliminary selection for suitable thermal design is made on the basis of results populated in table 2 for different tube bundle types having same exchanger geometry. Though these designs are not optimum, % overdesign factor gives first path forward towards optimisation.

2. It is observed from table 2 that the power consumption and cost factor for various tube bundle types are almost in the same range irrespective of Tube Bundle type selection. However, % overdesign varies significantly. For Option -1 (Equal Count), it is ~ 41 per cent, whereas for Option – 3 (Rows/ Side-by-Side) it is only 0.5%. Thus, selection of Tube Bundle type plays vital role. In this scenario, thermal designs with bundle types of Equal Count and Rows can be further shrank to get nearly 10 per cent overdesign which will be the cost and performance effective heat exchanger.

Thus, from Table 2, ‘Equal Count’ and ‘Rows’ are the preliminary selections of Tube Bundle types.

3. From optimised thermal design results populated in table – 3, Option 3 (Rows/ Side-by-Side) can be eliminated from discussion, since it offers considerably low HTC as compared to other designs.

Even though power consumption is minimum in this case, due to very low 48 • March 2015

HTC, it demands higher exchanger area and hence highest cost factor.

Further it is also not a good practice to specify Rows/Side-by-Side as a Tube Bundle type for sensible cooling applications but recommended for condensing services, in which vapour volumetric flow rate is higher at inlet hence, more number of tubes per pass are allocated to have less ∆∆P. Once vapors get condensed its volumetric flow rate reduces so number of tubes per pass can be lowered to get better HTC. 4. Selection of best design from remaining options is slightly tricky.

The ratio of HTC to Tube side ∆∆P is considered for this selection since it is one of the best indicators to judge the most optimised thermal design. Higher ratio tends to reduce the heat transfer

area and thereby CAPEX. 5. Thus, Option – 2 (Rows) with higher ratio of HTC to Tube side ∆P seems to be the optimised design amongst all.

Further, its minimum geometry in terms of the Tube Bundle width leads to lowest Cost Factor.

The only limitation of Option – 2 (Rows) is the number of tube side passes. Typically, even numbers of tube side passes are recommended in Air Cooled Heat Exchanger, in order to avoid the routing of outlet piping all along the length of the heat exchanger.

However, such layout constraints shall be finalised based on concurrence with layout/piping engineer.

In the view of above analysis, best thermal design on the basis of overall cost of an exchanger can be determined as follows:

Option - 1

Option -2

Option -3

Option -4

Equal Count

Rows

Rows / Side-bySide

Side-bySide

Cost Factor

140.58

134.5

179.91

156.55

Relative %

1.0452

1

1.3376

1.1639

Tube Bundle Type

Table 4: Comparison for Relative percentage Cost Factors (CAPEX)

Option - 1

Option -2

Option -3

Option -4

Equal Count

Rows

Rows / Side-bySide

Side-bySide

Power Consumption per Fan, kW

16.02

16.15

13.9

15.15

Relative %

1.1525

1.1619

1

1.0899

Tube Bundle Type

Table 5: Comparison for Relative percentage Power Consumption per fan (OPEX)

Tube Bundle Type Overall Cost Factor

Option - 1

Option -2

Option -3

Option -4

Equal Count

Rows

Rows / Side-bySide

Side-bySide

1.2049

1.1619

1.3376

1.2685

Table 6: Comparison for Relative overall cost factors

Chemical Engineering World

Features CEW Reported cost factors from table-3, are compared for their relative percentage, by assigning lowest cost factor as 1 and other cost factors as percentage of 1 as shown in table 4. These relative percentage cost factors are helpful in basic judgment of relative CAPEX. Similarly, for OPEX, power consumption per fan from table 3, are compared for their relative percentage.

Now, the relative overall cost factor can be determined by multiplying their relative percentages of CAPEX and OPEX as shown in table 6. As a result, on Overall cost basis, Option 2 (Rows) with lowest overall cost factor, seems to be best thermal design amongst various Tube Bundle types for a given sensible cooling applications.

Conclusion While defining Tube Pass configurations for sensible cooling services, it is observed through this Case Study that ‘Rows/ Side-by-Side’ and ‘Side-by-Side’ as Tube Bundle types are not viable options due to the lower heat transfer coefficient and higher heat transfer area. On the other hand, ‘Equal Count’ and ‘Rows’ type of Tube Bundles were found to be suitable during preliminary selection using basic judgment. Further, on optimisation of exchanger geometry, higher ratio of HTC to Tube side ∆∆P, was a key parameter in deciding the optimized thermal design.

Thermal designs were further analysed for their relative CAPEX, OPEX and best Thermal Design is selected on overall cost basis.

Thus, a systematic and comprehensive approach is essential keeping in mind the impact of all design parameter on the CAPEX and OPEX of the ACHE. Therefore, instead of following the hereditary engineering practices, there is a need to understand all the Tube Bundle type configurations before finalising on an ACHE design.

Abbreviations ACHE – Air Cooled Heat Exchanger; EPC – Engineering, Procurement & Construction; CAPEX – Capital Expenditure; OPEX – Operating Expenditure; HTC – Heat Transfer Coefficient; and ∆ P – Pressure Drop.

References 1. Practical Thermal Design of Air Cooled Heat Exchangers; R. Mukherjee.

2. Wolverine Tube Heat Transfer Data Book.

Authors’ Details Pratik G Bhagat Engineer - Process GS Engineering & Construction Mumbai Pvt Ltd pratik_bhagat@gsconst.co.kr Ashwini A Tawade Assistant Manager - Process GS Engineering & Construction Mumbai Pvt Ltd ashwini_tawade@gsconst.co.kr Chemical Engineering World

March 2015 • 49

CEW Features Forward Focus

Green Chemistry, the Rebirth of Bio n-Butanol The growing popularity of ‘Green’ consumer goods is driving manufacturers to take another look at their basic product inputs and sources. Chemical formulations that serve as the building blocks for finished goods are sourced almost exclusively from the petro-chemical industry. But it was not always that way. With a commercial scale project under way, Green Biologics makes the technology leap and reintroduces the sugar pathway.

John Warren Director, Government Affairs, Green Biologics

T

hrough a combination of micro-organism development and process engineering improvement, Green Biologics Ltd (GBL) has been able to re-open the door to a long-practiced process for n-butanol production.

GBL is embarking on the final phase of commercial scale-up. The project to repurpose the facility with GBL’s advanced fermentation and advanced solvent recovery ABE platform is well underway and scheduled for completion in 2016.

The Clostridia Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol (ABE) process was developed in Britain in the early part of the 20th century by Chaim Weizmann and became a well-understood and reliable process. Prior to the US petrochemical industry boom beginning in the 1940’s, n-butanol was sourced through sugar fermentation pathways, primarily molasses. Economics drove the industry to shift to petrochemical sources, which has prevailed within the industry for nearly 75 years. Until recently, attempts at improving industrial fermentation economics including the technology needed for commercial scale competitiveness have been elusive, but GBL has solved the scale-up challenge. Through transformational biology and innovative fermentation advancements coupled with solvent recovery processes that elevate yields and conversion ratios to cost competitive levels, GBL stands on the verge of transition from a biotechnology development firm into a green chemical manufacturer. With the December 2014 purchase of an operational fuel ethanol plant in Minnesota (MN), USA,

Scale-Up GBL has experienced success at every level on the way to commercially viable performance.

At their UK labs, GBL has developed strains specifically engineered for superior ABE performance, providing sustained highlevel productivity and enabling technology scale-up. GBL’s strains can handle a broad

50 • March 2015

range of substrates including C5 sugars, with the ABE clostridia micro-organisms representing just a sample of GBL’s library of over 400 solventogenic microbial biocatalysts.

GBL has developed a broad portfolio of wholly-owned, product distinct property rights, consisting of know-how, patents, patentable technology, and biological assets focused on the strain development and advanced fermentation process configurations needed to make scale-up possible and profitable.

A key GBL process development enables high productivity (grams per litre hour) over extended fermentation cycles. Strain

Figure 1: A key GBL process development enables high productivity (grams per litre hour) over extended fermentation cycles.

Chemical Engineering World

Features CEW

Figure 2: GBL invested in facilities in Iowa, USA, that facilitated extensive process trials at a 40,000 litre fermentation scale.

robustness allows typical batch cycle times to be extended by orders of magnitude. A combination of strain improvement, media optimisation and improved process control result in 3X productivity over typical batch processes. (See Figure 1) For scale-up validation, GBL first tested the performance of their micro-organisms in commercial scale fermentation trials in China. Trials included the fermentation of C5 sugars derived from corn waste and demonstrated strain stability at commercial scale. At their pilot plant in Ohio, USA, GBL conducted approximately 77 pilot runs to develop the advanced fermentation process while developing operating conditions to maximise the ABE productivity.

This pilot process scale is 150 litres. For demonstration scale validation, GBL invested in facilities in Iowa, USA that facilitated extensive process trials at a 40,000 litre fermentation scale, a significant milestone on the way to commercial scale of 1M litre fermenters.

The completed trials included a series of metric batches to validate process viability, scalability, and effectiveness at achieving target production rates. Process conditions were analysed, optimised, and proven to replicate the output at the pilot scale. Key productivity parameters for the advanced fermentation process were ‘%’ conversion, ‘%’ n-butanol, and hours of operation. The sugar uptake and productivity results were at the target level and provide commercial scale confidence.

Chemical Engineering World

Commercial Scale Market Entry: De-risking Plant 1 Plant 1, a repurpose of an ethanol plant in Minnesota represents GBL’s commercial launch. Project strategy and priority was to focus site selection on the distressed US ethanol industry. Supply and demand factors are driving the need for structural change in the ethanol industry, leaving a select number of small to midsize corn-based plants attractive targets for a conversion project.

GBL is planning for Plant 2 and beyond call for cellulosic and waste derived feedstocks.

But for Plant 1, starting with an existing plant and reliable corn sugar supply removed the feedstock risk, a major challenge in raising capital, deploying technology enhancements, and gaining market entry. By targeting existing US ethanol production, site options included ethanol plants that were not only attractive buy opportunities, but that offered similar process design and assets to those required for n-butanol. In carefully selecting the MN, USA location, GBL eliminated a number of risks common to commercial scale-up. In addition to feedstock supply and reduced capital exposure through repurpose of a distressed asset, the project inherited access to a skilled workforce, an established network of service providers and vendors, and ample utility infrastructure.

Moving Forward With commercial market entry strategies in motion, GBL is turning focus to the long term commercial strategy of deploying projects that use alternative (non-grain) bio-based and industrial derived sugars.

Organic feedstocks and advancements in pre-treatment processes will soon offer lowcost sugar options, opening the door to a wider range of inputs. GBL has worked with a wide range of lignocellulosic feedstocks, including agricultural wastes such as bagasse, corn stover and woody biomass, as well as organic municipal solid waste (MSW). Bench scale results have generated encouraging and commercially viable yields for both total solvent and butanol:solvent yields. Competing best-practice processes deliver butanol:solvent ratios of 0.6 (60%).

GBL biocatalysts have demonstrated butanol:solvent ratios of 0.75 at pilot and demonstration scale, and 0.83 and higher at laboratory scale.

Both n-butanol and acetone are currently petroleum-based, commodity chemicals produced by large global players in the chemicals market including Dow, BASF, Eastman, and Oxea. However, there are no major producers currently manufacturing n-butanol on a commercial scale via a bio-based process. While there are several smaller bioproducts companies showing interest that have developed processes at pilot and demonstration scale, there are no companies who appear to be as far along in their commercialisation efforts as GBL. Through deployment of the MN, USA project, GBL appears poised to capture a leading position in the renewables chemical industry.

GBL is marketing their products as renewable chemicals that can be used as ingredients in a diverse range of green consumer goods.

GBL is engaging a select list of companies involved in the upstream products used in the manufacture of consumer goods that can gain advantage through the use of biobased inputs. GBL is providing campaign trial material for customer trials in cosmetics, food ingredients, industrial cleaners, and paints. GBL products will ultimately be used in green versions of these consumer goods. The GBL Marketing Strategy Quick List includes: architectural paints, inks and toners, household cleaners, adhesives and sealants, charcoal lighting fluids, cosmetics, food ingredients/flavours, plasticisers, lubricants and additives.

Global Strategy An advantage of the GBL technology is the ability to be replicated in a broad range of applications. The technology can be developed stand-alone, but GBL envisions production plants that leverage existing assets and feedstocks (eg, ethanol, sugar, pulp mills, bagasse, MSW). Employing a capital-efficient, margin-diverse operating model with a focus on low-cost, sustainable non-food feedstocks will allow GBL to build momentum and expand into international markets. With a history of success in China, and offices in the UK, US, India, and Brazil, GBL seeks global deployment opportunities that provide fast track routes to the manufacture of green chemicals.

March 2015 • 51

CEW Features Technical Article

Manufacture of Sulphamic Acid Sulphamic Acid (SMA) is the synthesis of Ammonia and Sulphur trioxide. Sulphamic Acid (Amido Sulphuric Acid), HSO3NH2, molecular weight 97.09 is a monobasic, inorganic, dry acid and the monoamide of Sulphuric Acid. In other words, you can hold sulphuric acid in your hand! The following article explains how SMA is manufacturered.

S

ulphamic acid is produced and sold in the form of water-soluble crystals. This acid was known and prepared in laboratories for nearly a hundred years before it became a commercially available product. The first preparation of this acid occurred around 1836. Later work resulted in identification and preparation of sulphamic acid in pure form. In 1936 a practical process, which became the basis for commercial preparation was developed. This process involving urea with sulphur trioxide and sulphuric acid continues to be the main method for production of sulphamic acid.

NH 2CONH 2 + SO 3 + H 2SO 4 2NH 2SO 3H + CO 2 Sulphamic acid has a unique combination of properties that make it particular well suited for scale removal and chemical cleaning operation, the main commercial applications. Sulphamic acid is also used in sulphonation reactions, pH adjustment, preparation of synthetic sweeteners and a variety of chemical processing applications.

Salts of sulphamic acid are used in electroplating and electroforming operations as well as manufacturing flame-retardants and weed-cum-brush killers.

Process Description Urea and 23-25 per cent oleum are fed at controlled rates to series of reactors, which are cooled by chilled water/brine and cooling water. The reactions products are diluted by mixing with recycled mother liquor (available after separation of crystals of Sulphamic Acid). Temperature is controlled during mixing by chilled water/brine. Dilute acid stream (70% 52 • March 2015

Sulphuric Acid) is separated after the mixing operation and is sold to SSP/Alum manufacturers. Following suggestions of BAUMGARTNER, equimolar quantities of urea, sulphur trioxide, and sulphuric acid are reacted directly to sulphamic acid.

NH 2CONH2 + SO 3 + H 2SO4 2NH 2SO3H + CO 2 This is a strongly exothermic reaction.

The process is carried out in two stages, based on the following reactions: NH2CONH2 + SO3NH2CONHSO3H NH2CONHSO3H + H2SO42NH2SO3H + CO2 Sulphamic acid crystal (slurry) is dissolved in recycled mother liquor and makeup water is added as per need.

Recrystallisation is carried out by further chilling and crystals of sulphamic acid are separated out (which are dried by hot air), sieved and bagged. Fines obtained during sieving are redissolved and crystallised again.

Mother liquor obtained during separation of sulphamic acid crystals is recycled as stated above.

Raw Material Required Per tonne of sulphamic acid: Urea (technical grade) 335 kilos 23-25 per cent oleum, 3350 kilos of which 2500 kgs will be recycled as 70 per cent sulphuric acid Urea 335 Kgs/Ton 25 per cent Oleum, 3350 Kgs/Ton Byproduct, 2500 Kgs/Ton Recycled

See the Physical and Chemical Properties on next page Uses It is estimated that world annual production is approximately 60,000 tonne. Most of this is used in cyclamate production (sweeteners). The use of sulphamic acid in cleaning agents for carbonate and phosphate containing deposits, eg, boiler scale, is based on its ability to form readily soluble salts and its relatively low corrosive effect on metals.

Sulphamic acid is widely used for cleaning machines and instruments in the paper, sugar, dairy and brewing industries, and for removing deposits in evaporation plants, heat exchangers, and cooling systems. In some countries, a process involving the treatment of fatty or ethoxylated alcohols with Sulphamic acid to produce raw materials for waxes is used on an industrial scale.

Paper Pulp Bleaching: Sulphamic acid additions to chlorination bleaching stages are effective in reducing pulpstrength degradation associated with high temperatures. Other benefits are noted when sulphamic acid is added to the hypochorite bleaching stage, including reduction of pulp-strength losses as a result of high temperature or low pH; increased production by means of higher temperatures and lower pHs at the same pulp-strength level; savings in chemicals costs, eg, Lower consumption of buffer, caustic soda, and higher priced bleaching agents; improved efficiency through reducing effects of variation in temperature and pH. Chemical Engineering World

Features CEW Chlorine Vehicle and Stabiliser: Sulphamic acid reacts with hypochlorous acid to produce N-chlorosulphamic acids, compounds in which the chlorine is still active but more stable than in hypochorite form. The commercial interest in this area is for chlorinated water systems in paper mills, ie, for slimcides, cooling towers and similar applications.

Physical Properties Property

Value

Mol. Wt

97.09

Mp, C

205

o

Decomposition temperature, oC Density at 25 C,g/cm o

209 2.126

3

Refractive indexes, 25 +/- 3 oC A

1.533

B

1.563

T

1.568

Analytical and Laboratory Operations: Sulphamic acid has been recommended as a reference standard in acidimetry.

It can be purified by recrystallisation to give a stable product that is 99.95 wt % pure. The reaction with nitrite as used in the sulphamic acid analytical method has also been adapted for determination of nitrites with the acid as the reagent. This reaction is used commercially in other systems for removal of nitrous acid impurities, eg, in sulphuric and hydrochloric acid purification operations.

Solubility, wt% Aqueous At 0 oC

12.08

20 oC

17.57

40 C

22.77

60 oC

27.06

80 C

32.01

o

o

Sulphation and Sulphamation: Sulphamic acid can be regarded as an ammonia- SO 3 complex and has been used thus commercially, always in anhydrous systems. Sulphation of mono, ie, primary and secondary; polyhydric alcohols; unsaturated alcohols; phenols; and phenol ethylene oxide condensation products has been performed with sulphamic acid.

The best-known application of sulphamic acid for sulphamation is the preparation of sodium cyclohexylsulphamate, which is a synthetic sweetener.

Non-aqueous, at 25 oC Formaldehyde HCHO

16.67

Methanol CH 3OH

4.12

Phenol C 6H 5OH

1.67

Acetone CH 3COCH 3

0.40

Ether CH 5OC 2H 5

0.01

71.8% Sulphuric acid H 2SO 4

0.00

Economics According to the current market price a 10 TPD plant will cost ` 7 to 8 crores and will have a sale price of ` 14 to 16 crores. Based on the unit price of raw materials, there will be a clear margin. At the current price of oleum between ` 7 to 8 per kg requiring 850 kgs/ tonne and urea at ` 10 per kg 335 kgs will be 3350. Based on 3300 TPY, raw materials cost will be ` 3.34 crores per year. Hence, net margin will be ` 10-11 crores. Hence, ROI will be less than one year.

For sale price based on information from Chemical Weekly ` 42 per kg is considered. In 2013 -14 exports were 133 tonnes and imports of 193 tonnes.

Chemical Properties Property

Value

Dissociation constant, at 250C

0.101

Heat of formation, kl/mol

-685.9

Heat of solution, kl/mol

19.10 pH of aqueous solution, at 250C

1.00 N

0.41

0.75 N

0.50

0.50 N

0.63

0.25 N

0.87

0.10 N

1.18

0.05 N

1.41

0.01 N

2.02

100 Days Metal corrosion Rates in Aqueous Acid, mm Sulphamic Acid

Hydrochloric Acid

200C

400C

200C

400C

Iron

0.78

2.42

3.5

7.4

304 stainless steel

0.0001

0.0001

0.11

0.40

316 stainless steel

0.0000

0.0000

0.02

0.25

Copper

0.013

0.036

0.53

1.63

Aluminium

0.04

0.22

3.04

3.24

Brass

0.014

0.032

0.098

0.037

Gunmetal

0.002

0.022

0.29

1.40

Metal

Chemical Engineering World

Conclusion This paper highlights the properties, uses and manufacturing of sulphuric acid. Currently, there is a gap between demand and production and hence it would be attractive for putting up a plant in India and abroad.

Authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Details N G Ashar Managing Director Navdeep Enviro & Technical [NEAT] Services Pvt Ltd navdeepenviro@gmail.com March 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ 53

CEW Market Insights

Chryso India: Aiming to be a Technological Leader The last two years have been cumbersome for the manufacturing sector across all industries including construction chemicals. But with the positivity around the Union Budget and new investments planned, the sector may see a high growth in the next five years. Giles Everitt, Managing Director, Chryso India speaks to Girija Dalvi about the market scenario till 2020, the factors that would spur growth, the challenges that lie ahead and how Chryso would like to be the technological leader instead of being just a dominant player in the Indian market.

T

he manufacturing sector has seen turbulent times in the last two years which is evident across all industries including the construction chemicals industry. A recent report by FICCI and Tata Strategic Management (TSMG) has projected the construction chemicals market to reach ` 7000-8000 crores by FY 2018 at a growth rate of 15-16 per cent which can be attributed to the conducive environment that the present Government is creating to push the infrastructure growth which will provide impetus to the growth of the construction chemicals industry in India. “Now that there is so much optimism regarding the growth of construction chemicals segment, I feel the industry needs to take up a more active role to put itself on the right growth trajectory,” Everitt expresses.

Lack of education across the end user segment of construction chemicals is one of the biggest lacunae according to Everitt which can be addressed only through educating the targeted user sector. “I believe that addressing this challenge will go a long way in evolution of the construction chemicals industry,” he adds. Everitt emphasises on the need of the industry to come together to provide greater stress on producing quality construction chemicals which would further catalyse the growth of industry.

Penetrating Indian Construction Chemicals Market Chryso entered Indian market in 2006 through a 50:50 joint venture with Structural Waterproofing Company Pvt Ltd (SWC) and two years later acquired SWC, which is now a subsidiary company of group, Everitt notes. “For us, technology has been the key differentiator and we aim to become a technological leader in the market rather one of the dominant market players,” he reveals.

In 2014, cement consumption in India stood at 240 million tonnes per annum which is expected to grow at 10 per cent CAGR per annum and forecasted to reach 500 million tonnes per annum by 2020. Ad mixtures constitute for the highest share of 42 per cent of the total market share.

54 • March 2015

Over the years, Chryso India has strengthened its position in the Indian market and built a strong team, set up industrial sites and has research and development facility to offer customised solutions to the market. “We continually invest in recruitment and training programs to hire right people to drive the business forward,” Everitt says.

Technology: Key Driver and Differentiator According to Everitt, technology has been the key driver and differentiator for the company’s growth. Chryso India has made significant investments in research and development in India and commissioned the first R&D centre in Navi Mumbai towards the end of 2012. Apart from the R&D centre in its headquarters in France, Chryso India is the only subsidiary with the advanced R&D centre amongst total of 17 group subsidiaries, which is a testimony of its commitment to the Indian market.

Chryso believes in working on different niche technologies to enhance the performance with the varied raw materials available in India. Some of those technologies are the delta range of products that work very well for the ready mix industry which is one of the fast growing sectors within concrete in the country. Chryso’s core strength lies in the new generation super plasticiser technology and the company manufacturers its own polymers in France giving the company access to know-how and an edge in the Indian market. The innovation in cement grinding aid is in respect to the early and late activation.

Everitt elucidates that this offers a big benefit to the cement industry in increasing its clinker factor and it is another growth arena for Chryso in India. The company has a specific cement

Cement consumption...is expected to grow at 10 per cent CAGR per annum and forecasted to reach 500 million tonnes per annum by 2020. Ad mixtures constitute for the highest share of 42 per cent of the total market share.

Chemical Engineering World

Market Insights CEW grinding laboratory here and the cement grinding aids business has seen a strong growth in the last one year.

Reserch undertaken by Chryso India encompasses entire product basket offered by the group and not confined to any particular product. The group has strong focus on research and invests 3 per cent of its turnover into research and innovation. R&D is a crucial part of the company’s business and there is constant evolution through new product development.

Everitt opines that Chryso is a technological leader in all of its niche arenas and the company aims to further strengthen the position as the technology leader though innovation and constantly bringing new technologies to the table through extensive research and development.

“We constantly align the new technologies with the changing market demands to support the customer demand and even offer technical support after commercialisation of technologies.

35 per cent of our company’s turnover comes from products that are not even five years old,” Everitt states.

Factors Spurring Growth Everitt opines that infrastructure is going to be a key driver for growth in the next financial year driven by the growth in real estate where the growth was on a hiatus. He foresees strong sustainable growth for the construction industry over the next five years in India.

Everitt quips that in addition to the government initiatives and investments, there has to be a committed effort from the industry as well on working at penetrating the arena of mechanised

concrete. Presently, the mechanised concrete is at a very low point in India.

He adds that mechanisation of concrete will allow consistency, right quality and optimisation to achieve better efficiency from an economic perspective; and construction chemicals will definitely have a large role to play. For instance, the delta range of products which are robust and versatile that would prove to be the catalysts to ensure quality concrete, he notes.

He observes, Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) guidelines, which factor heat, temperature control, power consumption, etc. as another catalyst for the growth of the industry. Chryso along with the partner Lafarge is working on the technological advancements one of them being a new roofing system as far as ECBC guidelines are concerned.

Concrete is a great absorber of heat as a thermo mass index and if concrete can be made attractive through superior finishes which is possible through

A recent report by FICCI and Tata Strategic Management (TSMG) has projected the construction chemicals market to reach ` 7000-8000 crores by FY 2018 at a growth rate of 15-16 per cent.

Chemical Engineering World

various technologies linked to Chryso’s new generation super-plasticiser, de-moulding works and surface treatment, it would provide a scenario conducive to growth.

Organic Growth & Future Plans Everitt explains that India has a noteworthy contribution to play in the Chryso global financials and the company is making considerable investments here and the company is witnessing significant year on year growth in the Indian market.

Chryso has already built Greenfield capacity in Alwar and is close to commissioning of facilities in Alwar and Kolkatta. The company is also expanding the R&D centre in Navi Mumbai. Indian market is an emerging one for Chryso but vital to group’s global growth strategy. In the years to come, Chryso India will have a greater part to play in the future financial performance of the Chryso group.

The company is undertaking capacity expansion, improving the operation efficiency and sustainability as well. Even as the global market has experienced tough times, Chryso is committed to the Indian market and has elaborate plans to maintain the competitive edge to stay ahead of competition.

March 2015 • 55

Marketing Initiative

Dry Lubrication Coating Techniques To improve efficiency of plant equipment and reducing machine down time Dry Lubricant Coating is one of the techniques used to reduce friction of components and increase its life as well. This coating enables reduction in friction between two surfaces during sliding between each other without the need for a liquid medium.

P

lant engineer’s key target is to reduce maintenance down time and ensure maximum utilisation of the machine and equipment.

This can be achieved by reducing the WEAR of the components fitted in the plant equipment. Some of the components include Bearings, Valves, Shafts, Fittings, Connectors and Fasteners, Linear, Sliding and Rotating Components, and latching and locking mechanisms etc.

The lubricity of many solids is attributable to a lamellar structure. The lamellae orient parallel to the surface in the direction of motion and slide easily over each other resulting in low friction and preventing contact between sliding components even under high loads.

Popular dry lubricant coatings available are DICRONITE, PTFE and Molybdenum di sulphide. While each technique has its advantages and limitations its success results through proper selection and application of the technique for the required part/component.

Today, Dicronite Dry Lubrication coating is a proven technology for most of the critical applications at severe working conditions.

S M Kanakaraj Technical Consultant Mark TechPro & Consultants Pvt Ltd raj@mark-consultancy.com 56 • March 2015

Thin film Dicronite Dry Lubrication reduces friction and wear with an extremely low coefficient of friction (0.030) in a very thin film (0.5 microns) that is extremely stable under a wide temperature range (cryogenic to +650 C), under ambient to hard vacuum conditions and has Load carrying capacity of 3,50,000 psi.

Common applications include bearings, valves, shafts, fittings, connectors and fasteners, linear, sliding and rotating components, and latching and locking mechanisms.

Dicronite dry lubrication is compliant with SAE-AMS2530, biocompatible per ISO-10993, RoHS compliant and is applied by facilities that hold SAE-AS9100/ ISO-9001 quality certifications and also NADCAP accreditations.

When applied at near ambient temperatures, Dicronite dry lubrication is generally inert, unaffected by oils and solvents and provide best results.

This is widely used across many industries in order to: • Increase service life and performance through friction and wear reduction • Enable faster assembly and permit disassembly/maintenance by eliminating seizing and galling • Lubricate in vacuum or high/low temperature situations • Extend service intervals and provide backup or co-lubrication with oils and greases.

Many manufacturers and plant owners are still exploring different techniques and successfully adopting the right techniques for their components.

Dry Lubrication Coating Technology is worth a solution for the long pending problem of improving life of machine parts and a handy tool for engineers’ right from design stage.

Chemical Engineering World

Marketing Initiative

Programmable Logic Controllers

A

TRIAC control for A/C power control, special modules are used. PLCs are used for both open loop and closed loop control applications.

Programmable Logic Controllers commonly known as PLCs are used basically to automate the process control in chemical plants, steel plants, nuclear plants, transportation and building automation etc. PLCs have three basic functions of control, input and output. The PLC has a control programme resident in the memory and the programmes are executed as part of repetitive process referred to as PLC Scan Cycle. PLC Scan Cycle begins with the PLC reading the status of its input.

ECIL's Contribution ECIL has been in the forefront of indigenous development of PLC systems for Industrial Automation and has been supplying the PLC systems for nuclear power plants, steel plants and oil & gas pipelines. Based on its four decades of experience in building high reliability automation systems, ECIL has come out with the state-of-the-art PLC system under the brand name 'MPROGICON 5000 Series Programmable Logic Controllers' and the same was launched on 18 th May 2012 by Dr Anil Kakodkar, Member AEC and Dr Homi Babha Chair Professor.

truly indigenous design with form and features comparable to international PLC brands, ECIL's PLC is IEC 61131-2/3 compliant and amenable to independent verification and validation.

The application programme is executed and based on this information the values of output are generated. The PLC then performs internal diagnostics and communication tasks. The scan cycle gets completed by setting the outputs and the cycle starts all over again. The cycle time of a PLC scan depends on the size of PLC programme, the no. of 1/0s and the amount of data exchanged during communication phase. PLC mainly performs function such as logic sequencing, timing, counting and arithmetic control and process control.

PLC hardware generally consists of Processor Card known as CPU module, Digital Input and Output modules and Analog Input and Output modules.

Several optional modules are provided to process special process inputs like Thermo­ couples, RTDs, Strain Gauges, Pulse Inputs, Position Sensing of Stepper Motor shafts etc. Similarly to drive outputs for special applications like Solenoid drive, Pulse-Width modulation, Chemical Engineering World

MPROGICON 5000 PLC System Features MPROGICON 5000 Series Programmable Logic Controllers offer next generation PLC systems for process control automation. Designed and developed indigenously, these PLC systems will set new price/performance benchmarks in Industrial Automation.

MPROGICON 5000 Series of PLCs are targeted to serve critical applications where safety and security are a concern.

Coupled with ECIL's philosophy of certainty of supply and support, protection against obsolescence and nation-wide service network, MPROGICON 5000 Series PLC system provide scalable solution to varied needs of the customers.

Technology The MPROGICON 5000 Series PLC Systems hardware construction enables System Integrators to build he PLC system to meet varied system

requirements.

All the hardware modules are manufactured with low power industrial grade components and are qualified for operating in severe environmental conditions. The MPROGICON 5000 Series PLC Systems are designed to comply with the IEC 61131-2, Third Edition, 2007-07, a standard for PLCs which include the specifications for EMI/EMC, shock and vibration, storage, operating temperature and humidity etc. The MPROGICON 5000 Series PLC uses industry standard and familiar programming interface (IEC 61131-3), integrated development environment (IDE) and field engineering standards.

These features substantially reduce integration issues with thirdparty hardware and serves to minimise system design time and project risks.

Scalability The MPROGICON 5000 Power Series PLC system has compact and modular construction that adapts to the varied needs of Industrial Automation. The MPROGICON 5000 Series PLC systems portfolio encompasses stand-alone and Redundant/fault-tolerant PLCs, SCADA MMI and distributed control systems spanning wide ranges in 1/0 capacity I size and geographical extent. For PLC requirements that demand high 1/0 count or 1/0 devices distributed over a geographical area, MPROGICON 5000 Series PLC system also support remote 1/0 configuration. All the MPROGICON 5000 Series PLC systems have extensive online diagnostic features which facilitate easy maintenance and troubleshooting.

March 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ 57

Marketing Initiative

Figure 1: Programming Software

Figure 2: ECSCADA - HMI

Figure 3: MPROGICON 5200

Graphical User Interface for PLC Programming To fulfill the need to have a programming system for control and operation of the MPROGICON 5000 Power Series PLC system, ECIL is providing a GUI based Programming Software (PS) based on MS-Windows/Linux operating system running on an off-the-shelf PC. The Programming environment is fully compliant to IEC 61131-3 and supports all the five languages defined by the standard namely Ladder Diagram (LD), Function Blocks Diagram (FBD), Instruction List (IL), structured Text (ST) and Sequential Function Chart (SFC). (See Figure 1) In addition, the PS supports all the standard libraries mandated by the IEC 61131-3. The PS enables the 58 • March 2015

MPROGICON 5000 Power Series PLC system user to configure, design, develop, compile, load, debug and document the control application logic and view PLC diagnostics. The PS also provides means to monitor control application logic variables, force the variables to any given state and maintain the MPROGICON 5000 Power Series PLC system. The PS also provides simulation facility to test the user application programme without PLC hardware.

Human-Machine Interface The MPROGICON 5000 Series PLC systems provide Modbus Server Interface via Modbus/TCP, Modbus Serial protocol and OPC Server so that third party HMI packages can be seamlessly interfaced to the MPROGICON 5000 Series PLC system.

Key Features of PLC ECIL's in-depth experience in indigenous development and integrating the systems around third-party products has been brought to bear in designing a state-of-the-art MPROGICON 5000 Series that can be summarised below: • Truly Indigenous Design • Scalable and Economical to meet varied process automation needs • Modular and Rugged construction • Low power consumption and Lower Temperature rise over ambient • Nationwide network to provide complete life-cycle support • Obsolescence management to protect customer investments • Independent Verification & Validation of the design process.

SCADA Package Recognising the current trends in Industrial Automation, ECIL offers an indigenously developed SCADA package named ECSCADA. Easy to install and configure, ECSCADA is ideal for a HMI that needs integrated logging and data processing functions, trending and reporting functions.

By seamlessly supporting the MPROGICON 5000 Power Series PLC system of ECIL, the ECSCADA provides an open window to the operation of the control system based on ECIL's MPROGICON 5000 Power Series PLC system.

MPROGICON 5000 Series PLC Models MPROGICON 5100: MPROGICON 5100 is an IEC 61131 compliant Modular Power Series PLC System with Local I/O sub-system and Integrated CPU subsystem. (See Figure 2) MPROGICON 5200: MPROGICON 5200 is a Fault Tolerant, Modular Dual CPU Redundant IEC 61131 compliant Power Series PLC System with Remote 1/0 sub-system. (See Figure 3)

Author’s Details

G Narayan Gopalakrishnan (G Narayan Gopalakrishnan, AGM, ECIL, has been leading the design and development of Programmable Logic Controllers for industrial automation, application support and business development for the last 30 years.

His other areas of interest include Embedded Systems Development.)

Chemical Engineering World

Products CEW Wiped Film Evaporator Dalal wiped film evaporator is used for evaporation of heat sensitive materials under vacuum conditions using thin film technology. Thin film yields high heat transfer coefficients, making the process highly effective. This equipment is designed to be cost-effective, with guaranteed performance.

The temperatures are low, residence time short and the operation is continuous with single pass evaporation, thereby considerably improving product yield and avoiding residue and colour formation. An internal condenser is usually provided so that pressure drop is minimised and vacuum maintained.

The evaporator is used for concentration, stripping, distilling, deodorisation and dehydration of products, which are heat sensitive or viscous.

For details contact: Dalal Engg Pvt Ltd Kavesar Thane Ghodbunder Road Thane Maharashtra 400 607 Tel: 022-25976201, 25976203 Fax: 91-022-25976207 E-mail: dalalfac@vsnl.com / sales@dalalengineering.com or Circle Readers’ Service Card 1

Walking, Jumping, Hopping Robot MapleSim, the system-level modeling and simulation platform from Maplesoft was used to design the biologically analogous humanoid robot leg integrating a novel actuator, studying its static and dynamic stability, and building the designed leg to determine strategies for its control.

Byrun, the latest Engineered Arts endeavour. Using MapleSim, Byrun’s designers and engineers have developed a biologically analogous leg design, which will give Byrun the ability to walk, run, jump and hop. Byrun will be a new kind of full-scale dynamic humanoid that will take social robotics to the next level.

With a faster, stronger, more dexterous upper body, a virtually infinite array of facial features (courtesy of his projective head display), and the same speaking and singing abilities as his predecessor, RoboThespian, Byrun has the potential to revolutionize human-robot interaction.

For details contact: Maplesoft 615 Kumpf Drive Waterloo ON N2V 1K8 Canada Tel: +1 519 747 2373 ext 352 E-mail: tgoerge@maplesoft.com or Circle Readers’ Service Card 2

Chemical Engineering World

March 2015 • 59

CEW Products Portable Turbidity Meter

Marimex ViscoScope

To make turbidity analysis easy and simple Rakiro Biotech Systems Pvt Ltd offers portable meter, which enables a user to analyse turbidity on site with higher accuracy.

Marimex Industries GmbH & Co KG, Bottrop Germany offers their Marimex ViscoScope for real-time measurement of dynamic viscosity.

They are provided with large LCD display and advance memory storage functionalities.

The company can offer custommade sensors to suit all kinds of application and vessel/ reactor design. This sensor can be mounted free of dead space into vessels reactors, pipes and flow chambers, and can measure viscosity ranging from 0.1 cP to 2,500,000 cP for applications ranging up to 450 oC and pressure up to 450 bar.

The sensor can be used for chemical, petrochemical, food and pharmaceutical applications.

For details contact: Rakiro Biotech Systems Pvt Ltd R-466 TTC Indl Area MIDC Rabale Navi Mumbai 400 701 Tel: 022-27642236, 27642237 Fax: 91-022-27600815 E-mail: enquiry@rakiro.net

For details contact: Concord Instruments Pvt Ltd No: 23/11, F-4 Maanasarovar Perumal Koil Street Arumbakkam Chennai 600 106 Tel: 044-23637464, 23638084 E-mail: concordchn@eth.net / concordchn@gmail.com

The meter is supplied in a hard plastic case with all the accessories which are required to carry out test on site. The meter have a weather-proof case and are ultra light to carry on site.

or Circle Readers’ Service Card 3

or Circle Readers’ Service Card 4

Hand-held Pressure Calibrator A new hand-held pressure calibrator that delivers deadweight tester accuracy in an on-site instrument has been introduced by Crystal Engineering, a unit of AMETEK Test & Calibration Instruments. The versatile HPC40 Series calibrator is designed for process control applications, such as verification or calibration of pressure gauges, transducers, transmitters, pressure switches and safety valves. It is suitable for pressures ranging from vacuum to 15,000 psi with accuracy of 0.035% of reading for all ranges.

The HPC40 Series is the world’s first mA loop calibrator that is fully temperature compensated from -20 o to 50 oC. This enables it to deliver the same accuracy whether measuring pressure, current, voltage or temperature. A single HPC40 Series device can typically replace several gauges or calibrators. Its single layer user interface has no deep menu structure, allowing tasks to be performed quickly and intuitively.

The HPC40 Series can be used as an individual calibrator or combined with AMETEK pressure generating products into a complete ready-to-use calibration system. Crystal Engg produces field-grade testing and calibration equipment for measurement applications in oil and natural gas, power generation, wastewater, water supply, manufacturing, aerospace and aircraft maintenance.

For details contact: AMETEK Instruments India Pvt Ltd 601 Raj Chambers, Old Nagardas Road, Mogra Pada, Andheri (E) Mumbai 400 069 Tel: 022-61968200 E-mail: vivek.bandekar@ametek.com or Circle Readers’ Service Card 5

60 • March 2015

Chemical Engineering World

Products CEW Temperature Controller Xinmeiya Technology offers Oven Industries’ 5R7-001 temperature controller. It creates a seamless transition between heating and cooling devices, as it serves as the commander of thermoelectric modules. With a bidirectional or unidirectional H-bridge configuration, the temperature controller has many benefits. The included, user-friendly PC software makes it quick and simple to change any temperature control configurations, which eliminates signal interference or errant signals. The software also enables the temperature controller to operate as a stand-alone unit. A computer can also be connected to the device, for retrieving data. The 5R7-001 offers temperature setting and control through the remote potentiometer and the optional display.

Delivering a load current of 0.1 to 25 Amps, the controller has several other features, including being RoHS compliant, allowing for a set temperature range of -40 to 250 oC, having a large program memory space for customization, being PC programmable and having 0-36 V DC output using a split power supply system.

For details contact: Xinmeiya Technology Bldg 3, Modern Manufacture Hatcher City industry Dihou Street, Baishazhou Wuchang District, Wuhan 430000, China E-mail: aileen.sun@xinmeiyatech.com or Circle Readers’ Service Card 6

Shredder-cum-Conveying Blowers Vacunair Engg Co Pvt Ltd offers energy savings shredder-cumconveying blowers with fans utilizing variable inlet vanes.

Specifically designed to handle material to flow across, can handle higher GSM paper, cartoon, plastic and metal foil comfortably.

Blower impeller is lifted with shredder blade to cut trim in pieces for easy conveying and supply enough air at specific pressure to transport trim to longer distance.

Shredder blade are made from hardened material and adjustable to set desired clearance and are replaceable type.

For details contact: Vacunair Engg Co Pvt Ltd Nr Gujarat Bottling, Rakhial Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380 023 Tel: 079-22910771 Fax: 91-079-22910770 E-mail: info@vacunair.com or Circle Readers’ Service Card 7

Chemical Engineering World

March 2015 • 61

CEW Products Non-clog Sewage Submersible Pump KBL’s “i-NS” pump is an innovative non-clog sewage submersible pump. The compact size of the pump helps in minimizing submergence and it comes with an aesthetically-improved design for maintenance-free work. KBL’s “i-NS” pump’s stationary installation arrangement is simplified with single guide pipe system. It introduces the innovative modular concept for interchangeability of components. Its cable bracket design for wrapping the cable around the body helps in avoiding cable damage and its potting cup design helps in restricting the entry of water inside the pump. Its integrated design also eliminates most of the potential leakage and short-circuit issues typically faced by the end-users in the water and wastewater treatment industries, sewage, building and construction and other allied segments. Its integrated design for major components (stator housing/upper bearing holder, mechanical seal housing/lower bearing holder and motor end cover/cable gland) reduces the total number of parts and minimizes the fasteners. This integrated design product has 13 models, 49 hydraulics and 206 frames.

For details contact: Kirloskar Brothers Ltd Udyog Bhavan, Tilak Road, Pune, Maharashtra 411 002 Tel: 020-24440770 E-mail: kblin@kbl.co.in

New Software Extends Operating Range of SINUMERIK 828D The compact CNC is now equipped with the new software version 4.7 and the powerful PPU 2xx.3, and can control up to ten axes/ spindles. SINUMERIK 828D offers a second machining channel for simultaneous machining with two tools. The update also widens the range of use of the SINUMERIK 828D, which, for the first time, can not only control turning and milling machines but also grinding machines. The standardized SINUMERIK Integrate RunMyRobot/EasyConnect interface also allows robots to be connected to machine tools quickly and easily via the CNC. First of all, this further development of the compact SINUMERIK 828D offers higher productivity and better machine tool performance to the user. The SINUMERIK 828D V4.7 provides the option of running two machining channels in turning and circular grinding machines.

Users can execute two NC programs simultaneously in independent channels or synchronize them in the simplest way with Program Sync.

For details contact: Siemens India Ltd 130 Pandurang Budhkar Marg, Worli, Mumbai 400 018 Tel: 022-39677000, 39677537 Fax: 91-022-39677500 E-mail: Bijesh.kamat@siemens.com

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or Circle Readers’ Service Card 9

Metering Pumps, Fertigation & Chemigation Systems Neptune Chemical Pump Co’s Series 500 hydraulic diaphragm metering pumps improve the accuracy and reliability of drip and center-pivot irrigation systems by applying fertilizers and chemicals in the most precise, timely and costeffective manner. Neptune Fertigation and Chemigation systems have been designed for the application of fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and other strong chemicals. The chemical tanks have a sloped bottom for complete drainage. All tanks larger than 55 gallons are fitted into double-wall containment and with double wall injection lines to protect the environment. In addition, Neptune Series 500 pumps are highly accurate, repeatable and provide flow rates that are easily adjustable. Series 500 pumps feature EZE-CLEAN valve cartridges that can be removed for cleaning without disturbing the piping to the pump and a Variable Oil By-pass stroke adjustment that allows for better valve performance than traditional variable-linkage designs. This allows the valve checks extra time to seat even in heavy liquids since they are idle during the by-pass portion of the suction and discharge strokes. Series 500 pumps are available with special pump heads to allow for pumping thicker liquids and suspensions. The pumps have capabilities to 100 gph simplex and 200 gph duplex at pressures up to 3,000 psi.

For details contact: Dover India Pvt Ltd – PSG 40 Poonamallee By-pass, Senneerkuppam, Chennai 600 056 Tel: 044-26271020, 25271023 E-mail: sales.psgindia@psgdover.com or Circle Readers’ Service Card 10

62 • March 2015

Chemical Engineering World

Products CEW Powder Characteristics Tester The Hosokawa Micron powder characteristics tester uses the methods developed by Ralph L Carr (Carr Indices) to determine the flowability and floodability of dry powder solids.

Features automated vibration with electronically controlled vib sensor for repeatable results; optional integrated HEPA filter dust protection; test sieve identification measure by recording test sieve serial number; complete powder characterisation in one instrument; reduced operator intervention insuring analysis accuracy and repeatability; user-friendly software reduces analysis time; etc.

PTX can be used to measure the angle of repose, cohesion, particle sizing, angle of fall, compressibility, dispersibility, angle of spatula, angle of difference, aerated density uniformity, etc.

For details contact: Hosokawa Micron India Pvt Ltd 2112, 13 th Main Road, Anna Nagar Chennai 600 040 Tel: 044-26211257, 26211286 E-mail: mail@hmindia.hosokawa.com or Circle Readersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Service Card 11

Hot Oil Pump The JEC HTP Series pump is a horizontal volute casing, single stage centrifugal pump manufactured in accordance with DIN 24256 (ISO 2858) Standard.

Designed for thermic fluids and hot water process conditions, sturdy discharge cover designed for high stiffness, optimised heat barrier and low wear. Design variant with bearing for high resistance, reinforced deep groove ball bearing with special grease fill for long service life, optimised shaft contour ensures reliable removal of leakage, highly effective venting contour ensures optimum venting, confined gaskets, design variant with mechanical seal in tandem arrangement.

Anti-seize plain bearing lubricated by the fluid handled, optimised hydraulic system yields high efficiency, impeller trimmed to match the specified duty point, suitable for variable speed operation and equipped with motor standard. Easy to maintain for its back pull-out design, which allows the pump to be dismantled without disturbing the suction and discharge pipework.

Ideal for thermal fluids at 350 oC high temperature without needing any type of external air conditioning.

For details contact: Jay Ambe Engg Co 1 Shree Jay Laxmi Indl Estate CMC Compound GIDC, Odhav, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 382 415 Tel: 079-22894562, 22874508 E-mail: sales@jecwoodland.com or Circle Readersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Service Card 12

Chemical Engineering World

March 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ 63

CEW Products Twin Screw Extruder Gearbox

Safety Relief Valves and Safety Valves

Elecon Engg Co Ltd offers the ETS Series twin screw extruder gearbox, which offers dual shaft counterrotating extruder drive. ETS Series twin screw extruder gearbox is developed by featuring high torque and high speed output rate. The gearboxes are embedded with excellent high dissipation and oil lubrication system to provide stable output under heavy loading force. The axial thrust is supported by axial roller-type swivel thrust bearing coupled with thrust bearing assembled in tandem way.

For all your needs, including the most critical safety applications, do not trust anything less than a Forbes Marshall safety valve.

Elecon’s range of special gears support a wide range of applications of single and twin screw extruder drives.

For details contact: Elecon Engg Co Ltd Anand Sojitra Road Vallabh Vidyanagar Gujarat 388 120 Tel: 02692-238701 Fax: 91-02692-227484

Constructed from carbon steel, alloy steel and stainless steel material combinations, their range of full lift safety valves can accommodate set pressures from 0.50 to 500 bar, with a wide range of temperatures as extreme as 196 to 550 oC. The smaller model VSEO takes care of small discharge capacities while the large model VSR handles large capacities with extreme ease.

These valves are available in conventional 4 bellow seal type designs.

For details contact: Forbes Marshall Mumbai-Pune Road, Kasarwadi Pune, Maharashtra 411 034 Tel: 020-27145595 Fax: 91-020-27146413 E-mail: corpcomm@forbesmarshall.com

or Circle Readers’ Service Card 13

or Circle Readers’ Service Card 14

Plate Heat Exchanger The heart of a PHE is a pack of embossed plates with apertures. The plates are assembled in a 180o angle to each other, resulting in flow gaps on each side. Each plate is provided with a gasket, which securely seals the flow gaps from the atmosphere and separates the two media used in the heat exchange. The gasketed plate pack is mounted in a rack and is compressed with tightening bolts between the fixed plate and the movable plate. To guarantee maximum heat transfer, warm and cold media are normally fed through the PHE in one-pass or multi-pass counter flow. Connections are on the fixed plate, but can also be on the movable plate for multipass flow. All plate heat exchangers look very similar at first glance. But the difference and the secret of efficient heat transfer cannot be seen from the outside. It is the wave pattern. Its performance depends on many factors, including size and number of plates. Altogether, these factors determine the size of the plates heat exchangers and the operating costs. A crucial factor, eg, is that plates with different plate corrugation angles (in relation to the flow direction) can be combined. Obtuse corrugation angles result in longer thermal paths (H) and higher heat transfer rates but also lead to higher pressure drops. Acute corrugation (L) angles are chosen if the pressure drop must be kept low. Welded cassettes (Series FPG) design special media, such as ammonia in cooling applicatons, flows through welded plate pairs. On the water side between the cassettes, specially designed gaskets are used. In double-wall plates (Series FPDW), plates provide maximum protection against the mixing of media used in the heat exchange process. Two simultaneously embossed plates are laser welded at the port holes. If there is a leak, fluids can escape at the edges of the plate pair. FUNKE plate heat exchangers offer more advantages by combining different plate corrugations with the unique offset profile even asymmetrical flow gaps can be formed.

For details contact: HRS Process Systems Ltd 201/202 Karan Selene, 851 Bhandarkar Institute Road, Pune, Maharashtra 411 004 Tel: 020-25663581, 66047894 | Fax: 91-020-25663583 E-mail: phe@hrsasia.co.co.in or Circle Readers’ Service Card 15

64 • March 2015

Chemical Engineering World

ChemTECH Chennai 2015

Petroleum Istanbul

Dates: 10-12 December, 2015 Venue: TNTPO, Exhibition Ground, Chennai Details: World meet of chemicals, petrochemicals, pharma and process industry in India encompassing exhibition and conferences.

Contact: +91 22 40373636 Email: sales@jasubhai.com Website: www.chemtech-online.com

Dates: 2-5 April, 2015 Venue: Tuyap Fair Convention & Congress Centre, Istanbul, Turkey Details: Expo for Upstream/Downstream Equipment,/Technology and Services Organiser: Hannover Messe International Istanbul Limited Contact: +90 216 466 74 96 Email: petroleum@efo.com.tr Website: www.petroleumistanbul.com.tr

ChemTECH Gujarat 2016 Dates: 10-12 February, 2016 Venue: Ahmedabad, India

Process Intensification Congress Dates: 27 Sept - 1 Oct, 2015 Venue: Nice, France

Details: World meet of chemicals,

Details: 5 th Conference in the series

petrochemicals, pharma and process

of European Process Intensification

industry in India encompassing exhibition

Conferences

and conferences.

Organiser: EFCE, ESBES, SFGP

Contact: +91 22 40373636

Contact: ++33 4 78 176 176

Email: sales@jasubhai.com

Email: clementine.nicollet@gl-events.com

Website: www.chemtech-online.com

Website: www.ecce2015.euk

Watertech India 2015 Dates: 2-4 September, 2015 Venue: Pragati Maidan, New Delhi Details: International Trade Fair for Water & Wastewater Treatment & Management Organiser: Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India Pvt Ltd Contact: +91 22 6757 5940

Biorefinery I Dates: 27 Sept - 2 Oct, 2015 Venue: Chania (Crete), Greece Details: An event on chemicals production from renewable resources Organiser: Engineering Conferences International

Email: nidhi.agrawal@india.

Contact: 1 212 514 6760

messefrankfurt.com

Email: info@engconfintl.org

Website: www.watertechindia.com

Website: www.engconf.org

Chemspec India 2015 Dates: 16-17 April, 2015 Venue: Bombay Convention & Exhibition

Plastics Recycling Show 2015 Dates: 25-26 November, 2015 Venue: Belgium

Centre (BCEC), Mumbai

Details: European exhibition &

Details: Event for the Indian fine, custom

conference for plastics recycling

and speciality chemicals community

Organiser: Engineering Conferences

Organiser: Quartz Business Media Ltd

International

Contact: +91 99 204 74017

Contact: +32 2 742 96 82

Email: rohit@chemicalweekly.com

Email: info@plasticsrecyclers.eu

Website: www.chemspecevents.com

Website: www.plasticsrecyclers.eu

Chemical Engineering World

March 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ 65

CEW Project Update

New Contracts/Expansions/Revamps The following list is a brief insight into the latest new projects by various companies in India.

• CHEMICALS Adi Finechem is planning a 40-TPA specialty product manufacturing project on a 2 acre land at a cost of ` 400-million in village: Chekhala, district: Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The project is waiting for environmental clearance.

Lakhani Dyestuffs is implementing a 100-TPM reactive dyes manufacturing project in MIDC Ambernath (W), district: Thane, Maharashtra. Environmental clearance has been received for the project. Land has been acquired, civil work is in progress and the project is scheduled for completion in H2 2015.

RSPL is planning a 1,500-TPD soda ash plant and 50-MW of captive power project in village: Kuranga, district: Jamnagar, Gujarat. Land acquisition is in progress. 85 per cent of land has been acquired. The project is waiting for environmental clearance. The entire project is planned for completion in 5 years from zero date.

Superhouse is planning an expansion of its chemical mixmanufacturing project in UPSIDC Industrial Area, district: Unnao, Uttar Pradesh. The capacity is augmented from 200-kg/day to 500-kg/day. The project will involve installation of containers.

The project is in planning stage.

Stellar Chemical Laboratories is planning an expansion of its organic chemical manufacturing project from 7.1-TPM to 84.1-TPM in village: Derol, district: Panchmahals, Gujarat: Machinery is yet to be ordered. Work on the project is expected to commence after receipt of environmental clearance and the completion date is yet to be finalized.

Shimoga Life Sciences is planning a 300-400-TPA synthetic organic chemicals and herbal products manufacturing project at a cost of ` 50-million in village: Attivaram, district: Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore, Andhra Pradesh. Work on the project will start after receipt of environmental clearance.

DCM Shriram is planning an expansion of its chloroalkali manufacturing project from initial 450-TPD to 915-TPD in Jhagadia, district: Bharuch, Gujarat. The project will come up along with an expansion of its power project at a total cost of ` 5,340-million. The Board of Directors of the company at its special meeting held in October 2014 have approved the project.

India GCI Resitop, a subsidiary of Gun Ei Chemical Industry Company, is planning a resin-coated sand and phenolic resin manufacturing project in Oragadam, district: Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. Land acquisition is in progress. The project is planned 66 • March 2015

Nadu. Land acquisition is in progress. The project is planned for completion in 3 years from zero date.

Bhuruka Gases, belonging to the Bhuruka Group, is planning a compressed oxygen project in district: Pune, Maharashtra.

The project is in initial stage. Land is yet to be acquired.

Vasudha Pharma Chem is planning a chemical manufacturing project spread over 26-acre of acquired land in village: Atchutapuram, district: Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Work on the project commenced in August 2014 and is planned for completion in 2016.

Sayona Colors, belonging to the Sayona Group, is planning an expansion of its dyes and colours manufacturing project in Navrangpura, district: Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The project will involve capacity expansion of products like synthetic organic dyes, food colours and cosmetic colours. The project is waiting for international collaboration.

Punjab Chemicals & Crop Protection is planning a thiamethoxam manufacturing project in villages: Kolimajra and Samalheri, district: Mohali, Punjab. The project which is in planning stage will come up at the company’s existing plant premises.

S K Solvochem Private Limited is planning a 2,500-TPA synthetic organic chemicals manufacturing project - dye and dye intermediates, bulk drug and intermediates excluding drug formulations, synthetic rubbers, basic organic chemicals, other synthetic organic chemicals and chemical intermediates at a cost of ` 20-million in village: Nimbua, district: Mohali, Punjab.

The project is waiting for environmental clearance.

• MINING Barmer Lignite Mining Company, a JV between Rajasthan State Mines & Minerals and Raj West Power, a subsidiary of JSW Energy, is planning an expansion of the Kapurdi Open Cast Lignite Mining project from 3.75-MTPA to 7-MTPA in Kapurdi, district: Barmer, Rajasthan. The project cost is estimated to be ` 18,000-million inclusive of a new lignite mining project at Jalipa mines. The project is waiting for environmental clearance.

• NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY Shri Shivsagar Sugar & Agro Products is planning an 18-MW bagasse-based co-generation power project in village: Udpudi, district: Belgaum, Karnataka. The project will come up in the existing 150-acre sugar plant premises. The project is planned for completion in 12 months from zero date.

Chemical Engineering World

Project Update CEW Siddheshwari Paper Udyog is implementing a 6-MW rice huskbased captive power project in Kashipur, district: Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand. The project is coming up with an expansion of its kraft paper manufacturing unit. Civil work is nearing completion and machinery has been ordered.

The Jeypore Sugar Company Limited is planning an expansion of its bagasse-based co-generation power plant from initial 0.5-MW to 8.5-MW in village: Chagallu, district: West Godavari. Andhra Pradesh.

As of January 2014, the project will come up along with a new 120-KLD grain-based distillery.The project is waiting for environmental clearance.

• POWER GENERATION KPR Sugar Mill, a subsidiary of KPR Mill, is planning an expansion of its bagasse-based co-generation power project in village: Almel, district: Bijapur, Karnataka.The project will come up in the existing sugar plant premises. Out of 34-MW, 6-MW will be for captive consumption and remaining will be sold out. The project will come up along with a modernization-cum-expansion of its sugar manufacturing project and a new 90-KLD molasses-based distillery in the same location.

Environmental clearance has been received for the project. Consent for Establishment (CFE) has been applied for. Work on the project is expected to commence this year.

Pashamylaram Common Infrastructure is planning a 1-MW coalbased co-generation power project on a 15-acre land in village: Pashamylaram, district: Medak, Telangana. The estimated cost of the project is ` 860-million inclusive of a common effluent treatment plant, which is also in planning stage. The project is waiting for environmental clearance.

Atria Power Corporation, belonging to the Atria Group, is planning a 375-MW mega solar thermal power project in Karnataka. Land identification is in progress in Tumkur, Bijapur, etc. Land has been identified in Basavana Bagevadi, district: Bijapur. The project will come up in 13 districts. In each location, maximum 25-MW and minimum 5-MW will be allocated according to land availability. The project is scheduled for completion in 2016.

• FERTILISER Shree Pushkar Chemicals & Fertilisers is planning to modernize its 0.2-million litres/day effluent treatment plant in taluka: Khed, district: Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. Modernization work will involve change of old machinery and installation of new machinery to make zero discharge unit. The plant is located at the existing acids, dyes and intermediates manufacturing Unit-I. The project is waiting for Government clearance. Land has been acquired and work on the project commenced in January 2015.

• PETROLEUM Indian Oil Corporation is planning an ethylene derivative plant at a cost of ` 40-billion at Paradip Refinery Complex, district: Jagatsinghpur, Odisha. The plant will provide products that will facilitate manufacturing of polyester chips, fibers, PET bottles, Chemical Engineering World

PET chips, polyester yarn, etc. The corporation is evaluating the feasibility for setting up the plant.

Zydex Industries Private Limited is setting up bitumen manufacturing project in Gavasad, district: Vadodara, Gujarat.

As of January 2014, civil work is in progress.

• CEMENT Ultratech Cement is planning an expansion of its integrated cement project in village: Hirmi, district: Baloda Bazar, Chhattisgarh. The expansion will involve capacity augmentation of the clinker plant from 2.2-MTPA to 6.75-MTPA, cement from 6,000-TPD to 8,000-TPD and the coal-based captive power project from 50-MW to 100-MW and a new 15-MW waste heat recovery-based captive power project. The project will come up in the existing land. The total estimated project area is 167.1-hectare and the estimated cost of the project is ` 20,000-million. The project is waiting for environmental clearance. Further details of the project are yet to be finalized.

JSW Cement is planning an expansion of its cement grinding unit from 1.2-MTPA to 2.4-MTPA in Govil, district: Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. The project is in initial stage. Other details are yet to be finalized.

My Home Industries is planning a por tland cement manufacturing project in district: Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. The project is in planning stage.

Ultratech Cement, belonging to the Aditya Birla Group, is planning an integrated cement plant in tehsil: Nawalgarh, district: Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan. The project will be spread over an area of 1,000-hectare of land. The plant will comprise of a 5.5-MTPA cement plant, a 4.08-MTPA clinker plant and a 75-MW captive power plant. The captive power plant will use coal and other waste as fuel. The project is waiting for environmental clearance. Work on the project will commence soon and is planned for completion in 2017.

Tamilnadu Newsprint & Papers is planning an expansion of its cement manufacturing project from 600-TPD to 900-TPD in Kagithapuram, district: Karur, Tamil Nadu. The estimated cost of the project is ` 300-million. The cement plant will use mill wastage materials, viz, lime sludge and fly ash. The project is planned for completion in December 2015.

JR Super Cement is planning a 200-TPD cement grinding unit and 5 to 6-MW captive power plant in village: Jaliber, district: Bagalkot, Karnataka on a 4-acre of acquired land for the proposed project. The project is waiting for environmental clearance. Work on the cement grinding unit is expected to commence in Q1 2015 and work on the power project is expected to commence in 2016.

March 2015 • 67

CEW Ad Index Sr. No.

Client’s Name

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68 • March 2015

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Chemical Engineering World

Book Shelf CEW Principles and Modern Transfer Operations

Applications

of

Mass

Author : Jaime Benitez Price : USD 105.63 Pages : 648 (Hardcover) Publisher : Wiley-Interscience About the Book : A problem-solving approach that helps students master new material and put their knowledge into practice. The second edition of the acclaimed Principles and Modern Applications of Mass Transfer Operations continues to provide a thorough, accessible text that gives students the support and the tools they need to quickly move from theory to application.

This latest edition has been thoroughly revised and updated with new discussions of such developing topics as membrane separations, ion exchange, multistage batch distillation, and chromatography and other adsorptive processes. Moreover, the second edition now covers mass transfer phenomena in biological systems, making the text appropriate for students in biochemical engineering as well as chemical engineering. Complementing the authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clear discussions are several features that help students quickly master new material and put their knowledge into practice, including: Twenty-five to thirty problems at the end of each chapter that enable students to use their newfound knowledge to solve problems, examples and problems that help students become proficient working with Mathcad Figures and diagrams that illustrate and clarify complex concepts and processes.

Diffusion: Mass Transfer in Fluid Systems Author : E L Cussler Price : USD 88.99 Pages : 647 (Hardcover) Publisher : Cambridge University Press About the Book :This overview of diffusion and separation processes brings unsurpassed, engaging clarity to this complex topic. Diffusion is a key part of the undergraduate chemical engineering curriculum and at the core of understanding chemical purification and reaction engineering. This spontaneous mixing process is also central to our daily lives, with importance in phenomena as diverse as the dispersal of pollutants to digestion in the small intestine. For students, diffusion goes from the basics of mass transfer and diffusion itself, with strong support through worked examples and a range of student questions.

Mass Transfer: Numerical Analysis with Measurements Authors : Price : Pages : Publisher :

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Authors : James Welty, G L Rorrer, D G Foster Price : USD 216.51 Pages : 768 (Hardcover) Publisher : Wiley

Since mass transfer is a primeval phenomenon, it plays a vital role in the scientific researches and fields of mechanical, energy, environmental, materials, bio and chemical engineering. The chapters have been grouped under a section advances in numerical analysis and measurement.

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About the Book :Fundamentals of Momentum, Heat and Mass Transfer, Revised, 6th Edition provides a unified treatment of momentum transfer (fluid mechanics), heat transfer and mass transfer. The new edition has been updated to include more modern examples, problems, and illustrations with real world applications.

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The Future of the Chemical Industry by 2050

Chemical Engineering World

March 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ 69

CEW Interview

Interview CEW

Reaping Benefits of Backward Integration De-licensing, which allows the private players to by-pass the tedious process of taking permissions to expand product basket and setting up new facilities, is the best thing to have happened to the chemical industry, says Rajendra Gogri, Chairman & Managing Director, Aarti Industries Ltd. He talks exclusively to Mittravinda Ranjan about the growth of his organisation from small scale manufacturer of one chemical in 1975 to a producer of over 150 chemicals that are supplied to more than 800 customers in domestic and international markets.

70 â&#x20AC;˘ MarchEngineering 2015 Chemical World

March 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ 70

Interview CEW Aarti Industries has come a long way since its inception in 1975. Please tell us about the early years of company.

Well! This is a milestone year for us as we complete 40 years of our journey. In the year 1975, my elder brother Chandrakant Gogri, a qualified Chemical Engineer and his financial partner, set up a small scale unit in Dombivali under the name - Alchemie Labs to manufacture a single product - Dimentyl sulphate. This was the period of license raj and the government was feeling the need to step up indigenous chemical manufacturing and encouraging entrepreneurship through various schemes to set up small scale units with the aim of increasing import substitution. I joined the business in 1983 after completing my Masters in Chemical Engineering from USA and two years later, in 1985, we formed Aarti Industries Ltd. Over the years, we started more such small scale units across the industrial belts like Tarapur MIDC and later in Gujarat in the backward areas to take advantage of the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s schemes to expand the business. We set up a facility in Vapi, where we did not receive any benefits from the government since the location was not considered as the backward area, but this place offered huge advantage in terms of infrastructure.

All these facilities were planned as a part of backward integration to secure the feedstock supplies for the existing units, which has continued to be our philosophy of expansions. We have expanded our product basket with the help of our in-house R&D team and now supply intermediates for dyes, pigments, agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals and rubber chemicals across 800 valued customers from India and overseas.

Why did the group restrict itself to small scale in the initial years; for almost fifteen years? When did the management start thinking about economies of scale?

Pre 90-91 was the licensing era. While the government allowed private players to set up small scale manufacturing units, the license raj restricted them from setting up

Chemical Engineering World

large scale plants or expanding the product basket. From the early years, we were very keen on having large scale production units and applied for license in the year 1984 to set up a large scale unit for chemical products which were produced only by 1 chemical manufacturer and were in huge demand but its supply was scarce. We were using this chemical in our Tarapur facility and applied for license to set up a large scale unit as it augured very well as the backward integration for our existing plant and we saw huge opportunity as the import substitute in Indian market.

However, we were denied the license and were compelled to set up 2 small scale units Alchemie Organic and Aarti Organic instead. This product was consumed in paracetamol and was in acute shortage in the following years and the government granted license to us in1989 and we were able to put up our first large scale plant in 1990 in Vapi.

Later, in the following year de-licensing came into play which turned out to be a boon for the chemical industry. Chemical manufacturers could now add more products to the product basket without the hassle of getting license for each and every product. This allowed the private players the freedom to plan their future growth strategies and decide upon adding new products, scaling up and take other key decisions for future within the existing regulatory framework. De-licensing opened up the chemical field thus creating immense opportunity for the manufacturers.

Later in 1992, we went for the first public issue and went on to further expand our business. Today, we have 16 manufacturing units spread across Gujarat and Maharashtra supported by strong research and development with sophisticated instruments and pool of scientists.

What are the other in-house capabilities that the group has developed?

Our in-house research and development team is our greatest strength and enabler of our growth. We also have our engineering and fabrication unit which caters to the

demand of process equipment required only for our group. This unit does not supply services outside our organisation. Initially, we had set up this vertical with the aim to reduce lead time to procure equipment and enjoy the low cost advantage. However, as we have grown, we have developed a strong vendorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; network to meet the growing needs.

We are living in the times when many companies are apprehensive about investing in innovative technologies despite this being need of the hour, while Aarti Group has gone ahead and taken several path breaking initiatives to introduce as well commercialise innovative technologies. Where does this come from?

Innovation has been one of the cornerstones and strongest pillar of growth. The credit goes to both the founders - the accomplished technocrats with strong business acumen, who could foresee the changing market trends and nurtured the culture of research and development in the DNA of the organisation. R&D has been a key driver for our business which has enabled us to carve a niche for ourselves in the market space and become a preferred business partner for organisations of high repute not only from India but also from across the globe.

Our team developed the process to produce dry HCl to produce chlorosulfonic acid, a reactive dye intermediate which has huge demand. We were producing chlorosulfonic acid at our facility using conventional process earlier which mandates the manufacturers to have HCl and H2SO4 plants next to each other. This new process offered two major advantages as it allowed us to utilise Dry HCl gas that was generated as the by product and eliminated the restriction of limiting capacity as there was no water. This technology picked up very fast since it allows the manufacturers to set up standalone plant with sulphur trioxide (SO 3) and there is no restriction on capacity due to lack of water content which are the major advantages of this process. Similarly we introduced various process innovations

March 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ 71

CEW Interview We are the pioneers in introducing various technologies in India, such as Commercialising Continuous Loop reactor for Eco-friendly Hydrogenation Process and have become a key global player for various hydrogenated products. for the first time in India, especially for by-product recovery and reduction of effluent.

We introduced hydrogenation process in India which is a clean technology with the aim to move to an environment friendly process which incurred no wastage and offered huge scope for capacity augmentation. We had purchased this technology from Switzerland and as the parent company upgraded the technology to continuous loop reactor process, we followed suite. Our group has carried out significant work on energy restoring and chilling from other sources. Lot of work was done on energy part.

We are the pioneers in introducing various technologies in India, such as Commercialising Continuous Loop reactor for Eco-friendly Hydrogenation Process and have become a key global player for various hydrogenated products. Though this technology is expensive, it is a clean technology over traditional and sludge producing iron acid technology.

There are two distinct phases in the growth of Aarti Industries – one from the year 1992 to 2006 and then 2006 onwards till now. Please comment.

As I have already said, 1991 was the turning point for the growth of chemical industry when the government abolished the licensing policy which allowed ample opportunities for the growth of chemical industry. We had the permission to set up our first large scale facility in 1989 and were reaping the benefits. We launched our first IPO in 1992 to further expand and scale up our operations.

By 2006, we had significantly expanded our footprint in the domestic as well as international markets. Being a backward integrated company provided us with a wider market opportunity across the 72 • March 2015

customers who were constantly looking out for suppliers with a strong financial background and R&D competence. During the last 8 years, Aarti has grown from turnover of ` 700 Crores (2006-07) to ` 2633 Crores (2013-14) with exports of ` 300 Crores to ` 1281 Crores during the corresponding period.

Aarti Industries Ltd and Aarti Drugs Ltd - two Group companies are listed on Stock Exchange with approximate combined market cap of ` 5000 Crores. Our Group turnover in the year 2014-15 is also expected to be around ` 5000 Crores.

How has your experience of working in international markets been?

Well! It has been very good, I must say!! We export almost 50 per cent of our products to various markets. If I talk about the key markets for us, I would say one third to North America, one third EU countries and then the rest of the world.

Developed countries prefer buying from the developing nations especially India and China because of the cost advantage offered by these two countries. Moreover they always look out for suppliers who have the ability to deliver large volumes according to required specs in compliance with the regulatory standards.

Initially, it was only the dye stuff intermediates that were being exported, as the dyeing industry moved from West of Suez to the East, the exports of dyeing intermediates saw a sharp decline. But our business remained immune to the market shift since we still had the same clients who had set up their facilities in India and had continued buying from us.

Moreover, there was thrust on the other sectors such as pigments, polymers, additives, agrochemicals where the developed nations started looking at India as a key supplier for products which is what

gave the push in the last 10 years to our business as well.

Globally, crop protection companies are very bullish as far as growth is concerned and in the years to come we are witnessing a strong demand from this sector. Worldwide, there is a strong shift from metals to innovative engineering polymers on the materials side driven strongly by the applications in the space of electrical and electronics sectors.

What are your views on ‘Make in India’ campaign?

It is indeed a very good initiative, and with the new stable government in place, Indian market has already attracted lot of international attention. In my view, the government will have to address issues like creating conducive policies, simplification of the taxation structure, easing out the bottlenecks for approvals, etc, to further attract international interest in the chemical sector.

How do you react to the slide in crude oil prices and the shale gas boom in the USA which has completely disrupted the market dynamics for the downstream business?

Specialty chemicals businesses will continue to be immune to the crude oil prices since we are in further downstream side of refining and the impact of price fluctuation gets diluted as you go further down the value chain. Same goes with the shale gas as well.

However, fluctuations in gasoline prices can significantly impact the overall energy costs for operations.

What are your plans for the future?

Through various continuous improvement and innovation drives, we are continually trying to making a significant impact of growing with sustainability for sustainable growth. Over the next five years, we plan to invest ` 800 - 1000 crore in India and further expand our market here as well as overseas.

Chemical Engineering World

R.N.I. No. 11403/1966 Date of Publication: 29 th of every month. Postal Registration No: MCS/095/2015-17 Posted at Patrika Channel Sorting Office, Mumbai 400001, on 29th & 30th of every month. Total Page No.:74