CHRONICLING PROCESS INDUSTRY INNOVATIONS SINCE 1966
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WORLD
Engineering Procurement and Construction
VOL.54 | ISSUE 05 | MAY 2019 | TOTAL PAGES 74 | US $ 10 | ` 150
MAY 2019 VOL.54 ISSUE 05 Mumbai ` 150
Process Industry's Gateway to Indian Market
ChemTECH SOUTH WORLD EXPO 2019
International Exhibition and Conferences 4-6 December 2019 Venue: HITEX Exhibition Center, Trade Fair Office Building Izzat Nagar, Kondapur PO, Hyderabad, India
Concurrent Events
L AB ANALYTIX WaterEX
Industry
&
SOUTH WORLD EXPO 2019
Exhibitors Profile •
Chemical Processing
•
Pharma & Biopharma processing
•
Laboratory Technology
•
Measuring & Testing
•
Quality Control
• •
South World Expo 2019
SOUTH WORLD EXPO 2019
Visitors Profile
End User Industry Connect
Chairmen, MDs , CXOs, Directors, Presidents & Vice Presidents
•
Heads of : Technology, Operations, Manufacturing, Procurement, Purchase & R&D
•
Decision makers & representatives from State Governments, Industrial Development Corporations & Regulatory bodies
Analytical Instruments
•
Scientists, Lab Managers & Technicians
Lab Equipment
•
Quality Control /Assurance Managers
•
R&D Officers and Executives
•
Professors & Lecturers, Chemists & Bio Chemists, Microbiologists & Pathologists
•
Lab Directors, Purchase Managers, Analysts, Research Scholars, Scientific Officers
•
Representatives from Municipal Corporation, Water Bodies and Regulators
•
Environmental and Pollution Control Boards
•
Ministry of Rural Development and Drinking Water Mission
Pumps Valves & Fittings
•
Automation
•
Water & Wastewater treatment
•
EPCs
•
Engineering Consultants
•
Environmental services
•
Emission Control
•
Safety
Facts & Figures South 2017
& Control South 2019
SOUTH WORLD EXPO 2019
•
•
AUTOMATION
Pumps, Valves & Fittings
182
EXHIBITORS
5971 VISITORS
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
25
Pharma & Biopharma Bulk Drugs APIs Biotechnology Chemical Processing Chemicals & Petrochemicals Agrochemicals Fine & Specialty Chemicals Oil, Fats & Oleo Chemicals Food & Beverages Advanced Materials Material Testing & Inspection Contract Research & Manufacturing Research Laboratories Clinical Research Labs Government Agencies Municipalities & ETPs Pollution Control Boards Water & Waste Management
SPEAKERS
Organised by
128
DELEGATES
Supported by
Jasubhai Media Pvt Ltd Taj Building, 3rd Floor, 210, Dr. D N Road, Fort, Mumbai – 400 001, INDIA. Tel: +91-22-4037 3636, Fax: +91-22-4037 3635, Email: sales@jasubhai.com Web: www.chemtech-online.com • Ahmedabad / Vadodara - 09712148258 • Bangalore - 09444728035 • Chennai - 09176963737 • Delhi - 09818148551 • Pune - 09822209183
CHRONICLING PROCESS INDUSTRY INNOVATIONS SINCE 1966
Specialty Chemicals
ChemTECH SOUTH WORLD EXPO 2019
VOL.54 | ISSUE 05 | APRIL 2019 | TOTAL PAGES 74 | US $ 10 | ` 150
Chemical Engineering World
amol_ Ad Template.indd 3
August 2013 • 3
8/23/2013 10:41:13 AM
CEW
Contents CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WORLD RNI REGISTRATION NO. 11403/66 Chairman Publisher & Printer Chief Executive Officer
EDITORIAL
Editor Deputy Editor Editorial Advisory Board Contributing Editors
Maulik Jasubhai Shah Hemant K. Shetty Hemant K. Shetty
Sub Editor
Mittravinda Ranjan (mittra_ranjan@jasubhai.com) Sujatha Vishnuraj (sujatha_vishnuraj@jasubhai.com) D P Misra, N G Ashar, Prof. M C Dwivedi P V Satyanarayana, Dr S R Srinivasan, R B Darji, R P Sharma Bernard Rapose (bernard_rapose@jasubhai.com)
Design Team
Arun Parab, Shankar Joshi
Subscription Team Marketing Co-ordinator Production Team
Dilip Parab Brenda Fernandes V Raj Misquitta (Head), Arun Madye
Place of Publication: Jasubhai Media Pvt Ltd
210, Taj Building, 3rd Floor, Dr. D. N. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001, Tel: +91-22-4037 3636, Fax: +91-22-4037 3635
SALES
General Manager, Sales
Amit Bhalerao (amit_bhalerao@jasubhai.com) Prashant Koshti (prashant_koshti@jasubhai.com)
MARKETING TEAM & OFFICES Mumbai
Godfrey Lobo / V Ramdas 210, Taj Building, 3rd Floor, Dr. D. N. Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001 Tel: +91-22-4037 3636, +91-22-4213 6400 Fax: +91-22-4037 3635 E-mail: godfrey_lobo@jasubhai.com, v_ramdas@jasubhai.com
Ahmedabad
64/A, Phase 1, GIDC Indl Estate, Vatva, Ahmedabad 382 445 Tel: +91-79-49003636/627, Fax: +91-79-25831825 E-mail: sales@jasubhai.com
Vadodara
202 Concorde Bldg, Above Times of India Office, R C Dutt Road, Alkapuri, Vadodara 390 007 Tel: +91-79-49003636/627, Fax: +91-79-25831825 E-mail: sales@jasubhai.com
Bengaluru
Princebel M Mobile: +919444728035 E-mail: princebel_m@jasubhai.com
Chennai / Coimbatore
Princebel M / Yonack Pradeep 1-A, Jhaver Plaza, 1 st floor, Nungambakkam High Road, Chennai 600 034 Tel: +91-44-43123936 Mobile: +919444728035, +919176963737 E-mail: princebel_m@jasubhai.com, yonack_pradeep@jasubhai.com
Delhi
Priyaranjan Singh 803, Chiranjeev Tower, No 43, Nehru Place, New Delhi – 110 019, Mobile: +919818148551 Tel: +91-11-46745555, Fax: +91-11-26427404 E-mail: pr_singh@jasubhai.com
Hyderabad
Princebel M / Sunil Kulkarni Mobile: +919444728035, +919823410712 E-mail: princebel_m@jasubhai.com, sunil_kulkarni@jasubhai.com
Kolkata
E-mail: industrialmags@jasubhai.com
Pune
Sunil Kulkarni Suite 201, White House, 1482 Sadashiv Peth, Tilak Road, Pune 411 030 Tel: +91-20-24494572, Telefax: +91-20-24482059 Mobile: +919823410712 E-mail: sunil_kulkarni@jasubhai.com
Subscription Rate (per year with effect from 1st April 2013): Indian - ` 1620; Foreign - US$ 180 Student Concessional Rate: ` 800; Price of this copy: ` 150
The Publishers and the Editors do not necessarily individually or collectively identify themselves with all the views expressed in this journal. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited without written permission from the Publishers. Jasubhai Media Pvt. Ltd. Registered Office: 26, Maker Chambers VI, 2nd Floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021, INDIA. Tel.: 022-4037 3737 Fax: 022-2287 0502 E-mail: sales@jasubhai.com
6 • May 2019
VOL. 54 | ISSUE NO. 05 | MAY 2019 | MUMBAI | ` 150
NEWS Industry News
10
FEATURES Ease of Doing Business
28
Indian Chemical & Petrochemical Industry: Multiple Growth Avenues and Revenue Streams Krishanu Banerjee, Consultant, Public Sector Practice, Frost & Sullivan
35
CHEMTECH Specialty Chemicals 2019 Conference Throwback: Ideas, Moments, and Glimpses Building an Innovation Ecosystem in the Chemicals sector through Successful Industry-Academia Partnerships Dr Rahul Nabar, Adj. Assoc. Professor, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay
37 42
MARKET INSIGHT Modularization in Chemical Industry Abhijit Dani, Vice President & Business Unit Head Critical, Process Equipment and Modularization, Praj Industries Ltd
50
COMPANY PROFILE AKASH Blowers Pvt Ltd
53
PRODUCTS
54
EVENTS
65
PROJECT UPDATE
66
BOOK SHELF
68
INTERVIEW
‘Corrosion can be Effectively Controlled through Paints and Surface Engineering Technology’ Prof (Dr) A S Khanna, Chairman, The Society For Surface Protective Coatings - India
69
AD INDEX
72
Disclaimer: The Editorial/Content team at Jasubhai Media Pvt Ltd has not contributed to writing or editing “Marketing Initiative.” Readers would do well to treat it as an advertisement. Printed and published by Mr Hemant K. Shetty on behalf of Jasubhai Media Pvt. Ltd., 26, Maker Chamber VI, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021 and printed at The Great Art Printers, 25, S A Brelvi Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001 and published from 3rd Floor, Taj Building, 210, Dr. D N Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001. Editor: Ms. Mittravinda Ranjan, 3rd Floor, Taj Building, 210, Dr. D N Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001.
Chemical Engineering World
CEW Industry News In-sync with Robots: B&R software better has utilized the potential of robots
“The additional capacity in Ludwigshafen will primarily serve our strong European customer base”, adds Dr. Frank Stein, Senior Vice President, BASF Intermediates Amines Europe. “We have highly efficient manufacturing processes, and with this investment, we provide our customers greater flexibility and reliability of supply than before.” The versatile Alkylethanolamines are mainly used as precursors for flocculants applied in water treatment and in the coatings industry where they act as binders between pigments and resins. Other applications include gas treatment, fabric softeners, lubricants in metal working fluids and polyurethanes.
mapp Motion makes it easy to synchronize the movements of robots with gantry systems or tool tables with no additional programming.
Pune, India: B&R has added new functions to its mapp Motion software package. It is now possible to represent the actual structure of a complex machine intuitively in the configuration. The various subsystems of a machine can simply be linked together. The movements of robots can be easily synchronized with gantry systems or tool tables with no additional programming. The "Frame hierarchy" function can be used to represent the actual structure of a machine. Coordinate systems can be positioned at key points, such as the tool mounting flange. Each coordinate system can be assigned a name that identifies it within the application. This ensures clearly organized, easily readable code – even in complex applications. Optimized robot movements: The "Programmed moving frame" function couples a coordinate system to an axis and defines an additional degree of freedom. This allows optimized movements and better utilization of robot dynamics. The function incorporates the movement of the gantry system into the path calculations of the robot. The programmer doesn't need to coordinate the movements of the gantry system and robot manually. The same applies in cases where robots or CNC machines are combined with moving workpiece tables. General path planning: Only one controller is necessary for the machine, robot, and other moving components. The robot and additional components act as one unit. Coordinated path planning allows optimal utilization of the dynamic limits of the individual components. It also guarantees that all specified process parameters are adhered to, such as the relative speed between tool and work-piece.
BASF to increase capacity for Alkylethanolamines in Ludwigshafen Ludwigshafen, Germany: BASF will increase the production capacity of Alkylethanolamines (AEOA) by 20 percent at the BASF Verbund site in Ludwigshafen, Germany. After the start-up in 2020, BASF’s global annual nameplate capacity of AEOA will be more than 110,000 metric tons per year at its production facilities in Ludwigshafen, Germany; Geismar, USA; and Nanjing, China. “As one of the world’s leading suppliers of amines, we continue to support the fast-growing customer demand for products of our Alkylethanolamine portfolio by increasing our capacity. The demand is particularly high for highperformance products in the Water-and-Gas Treatment industries”, said Dr. Andrea Frenzel, President, BASF Intermediates Division. 10 • May 2019
With about 300 different amines, BASF has the world’s most diverse portfolio of this type of chemical intermediates. Along with alkyl-, alkanoland alkoxyalkylamines, the company offers heterocyclic and aromatic as well as specialty amines. The range is completed by an expanding portfolio of chiral amines of high optical and chemical purity. The versatile products are used mainly to manufacture process chemicals, pharmaceuticals and crop protection products, as well as cosmetic products and detergents. They also serve to produce coatings, special plastics, composites, and special fibers.
Nirmal has been awarded ‘Star Performer Award’ from Engineering Export Promotion Council of India (EEPC India) for the Significant Contribution in Export Segment
Mumbai, India : Nirmal Industrial Controls Pvt. Ltd. proudly announced their being awarded as the ‘Star Performer Award’ by Engineering Export Promotion Council of India (EEPC). Since last 10 years Nirmal has been bagging this Award by Engineering Export Promotion Council of India (EEPC). This year the 35th EEPC India Western Region Export Awards for the financial year 2016-17 was held on 03rd February 2019 at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai. During this award distribution ceremony, Nirmal was presented with the “Award for Export Excellence” for the significant contribution towards exports segment for the Financial Year 2016 – 2017. Mr. Prakash Desai was delighted and honoured to receive the trophy on behalf of ‘Nirmal Industrial Controls Pvt Ltd’ from the Hon`ble Minister of Finance & Planning and Forests, Govt of Maharashtra – Mr. Sudhir Mungatiwar. Mr. Prakash Desai is the Director of Mumbai-based Nirmal Industrial Controls Pvt. Ltd, which is one of India’s leading manufacturer and supplier of Self Actuated Pressure Control Valves, Safety Relief Valves, Tank Protection Devices, Gas Conditioning Regulating and Metering Skids & Equipments. Established in 1973, Nirmal is a solution provider to all major industries namely Oil & Gas, Petrochemical & Refineries, Pharmaceutical, Steel & Power, Food & Dairy, Plastic, and Nuclear Power Industries. Chemical Engineering World
CONNECT TO HIGHER COOLING EFFICIENCY AND CONTROL
UP TO
30% REDUCED OPEX
GRUNDFOS
iSOLUTIONS
UP TO
70% ENERGY SAVINGS
FULL CONTROL
A SMART SOLUTION FOR YOU
TAKE FULL CONTROL AND OPTIMISE COST SAVINGS In almost every industrial cooling application, there are significant process optimisation potentials to be realised. With Grundfos iSOLUTIONS and E-pumps, you can achieve substantial savings in energy, water and other operational costs, while gaining greater system overview and control. So, if your daily operations includes a pump system for industrial cooling, Grundfos iSOLUTIONS can help you connect to higher cooling efficiency and control. Read more about the benefits of Grundfos iSOLUTIONS and the cases to prove them at grundfos.in/industrialcooling
Trademarks displayed in this material, including but not limited to Grundfos, the Grundfos logo and “be think innovate” are registered trademarks owned by The Grundfos Group. All rights reserved. © 2019 Grundfos Holding A/S, all rights reserved.
INDUSTRIAL COOLING:
CEW Industry News Controller and multi-touch HMI in one device: B&R's new Power Panel has offered a dedicated processor for HMI P u n e , I n d i a : The Power Panel C50 has provided the combined advantages of a powerful controller and a modern projected capacitive touch screen in a single HMI device. The Power Panel is equipped with a dedicated processor To allow optimal use of this performance, the Power for the HMI application, and is Panel C50 has a wide range of integrated interfaces, therefore an optimal solution for including POWERLINK, Ethernet, and USB.or tool mapp View HMI applications. It tables with no additional programming. can be used at temperatures ranging from -20oC to +60oC and does not require a fan. The modern multi-touch HMI is available with clear or anti-reflective glass, and is ideally suited for premium machine designs. The touch screen reacts precisely and reliably even when operated with thick leather gloves. Gestures such as zoom or swipe provide an intuitive user experience. The Power Panel C50 is available in widescreen format in four different sizes from 7.0" to 15.6". Compact and maintenance-free: This Power Panel has an extremely compact design, minimal installation depth and an intelligent cable outlet arrangement, making it an easy-to-mount space saver. With no hard disks, fans or batteries, it is also maintenance free. The front of the panel provides IP65 protection, making it extremely well-suited for harsh industrial environments. Numerous interfaces: To allow optimal use of this performance, the Power Panel C50 has a wide range of integrated interfaces, including POWERLINK, Ethernet and USB. I/O modules; axes and safety components can also be connected directly to the panel. There's no need for additional controllers. Using the advantages of mapp view: The high-performance Power Panel C50 is ideal for running mapp view HMI applications. With the mapp view software package, B&R offers direct access to the world wide web technology right from the engineering environment. Automation engineers have all the tools they need to create powerful and intuitive HMI solutions. There is no need to deal directly with HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript technology. Mapp view is based entirely on web standards, ensuring optimal viewing on any device. Content of multiple screens can be customized for specific users or user groups.
Arkema selects Singapore for the production of its Rilsan® high-performance bio-sourced polyamides Jurong Island, Singapore: Arkema has chosen the location of Jurong Island in Singapore to build its new world-scale plant dedicated to the manufacture of the amino 11 monomer and its flagship Rilsan® polyamide 11 resins. With this 50 per cent increase in its global capacities announced in July 2017, the Group supports strong demand from its customers in Asia for high-performance bio-sourced solutions addressing the major opportunity of light weight material in particular. Arkema has chosen the Jurong Island site in Singapore to set up its new biosourced polyamide production site. This location offers many advantages in terms of infrastructure, logistics, industrial integration and operational excellence, as well as optimization of the activity’s carbon footprint. 12 • May 2019
"This major investment bolsters our global presence in bio-sourced materials while bringing us significantly closer to our customers in Asia. Singapore’s industrial and innovation-friendly environment is, we believe, a key asset for our project.", mentioned by Mr. Erwoan Pezron, Global Group President for Arkema’s Technical Polymers business line. Rilsan® polyamide 11 is derived from castor oil and so is the only 100 per cent bio-sourced polyamide approved for many of the most demanding applications, in particular in the electronics, 3D printing, oil and gas extraction, and automotive markets, as a substitute to metal. This project is part of the Group’s exceptional investments totaling some 500 million euros earmarked for the 2018-2021 period essentially. Construction is scheduled to be completed by late 2021.
BASF’s light stabilizer for greenhouse films has helped Vietnam farmers to increase crop yields, to reduce waste Hong Kong, China: BASF and Tân Hùng Cơ Masterbatch Manufacture Co. have been working to help farmers increase their yields and save resources with more durable greenhouse films. Tân Hùng Cơ, a leading manufacturer of additive masterbatches for plastic films in Vietnam, is now using BASF’s plastic additive Tinuvin® NOR™ 371 to increase durability and lifespan of plastic greenhouse films made from low density polyethylene. With Tinuvin NOR 371, greenhouse films can withstand weathering for at least three to four years. The government of Vietnam has announced a VND100 trillion (approximately $4.4 billion) package to develop hi-tech agriculture. Better flower and fruit varieties are being developed, and field production is gradually moving towards protected cultivation, precision and automatic irrigation, computerized crop management systems, and applying greenhouse technologies. To get the most out of greenhouse technologies, light stabilizers need to be added to the polymer during manufacturing of greenhouse films. These stabilizers make the films resistant to the intense sunlight and heat that develop at the contact points with the metallic greenhouse frame. If not, plastic films can become brittle and can break within a few weeks. “Natural weathering conditions affect the durability of polymers used outdoors, and greenhouse film poses an additional challenge because of the crop protection agents used in greenhouses,” said Hermann Althoff, Senior Vice President, of BASF’s Performance Chemicals unit in Asia Pacific. “Our Tinuvin NOR 371 light stabilizer lives up to the greenhouse challenge and extends the useful film life thus reducing cost for the growers and waste for the environment.” Tinuvin NOR 371 provides durability to greenhouse films by preventing degradation from ultraviolet (UV) rays, thermal stress, and oxidation. With durable films that last for several seasons, farmers can cover greenhouses for growing chrysanthemums, roses, and strawberries for the export market – thereby increasing yields of profitable crops while saving resources and reducing waste. Additionally, Tinuvin NOR 371 helps to ensure greenhouse films can be used in a variety of growing conditions. Although the sulfur compounds approved as agricultural products to prevent and combat fungal diseases, they are ecologically safe; chemically they deactivate the light stabilizers and accelerate their breakdown. To counter this deactivation of light stabilizers, stabilizers for greenhouse films – based on BASF’s NOR technology – are added which are particularly resistant to sulfur compounds and other agrochemicals. As a result, Tinuvin NOR 371 offers stability that enables farmers to produce profitably for several growing seasons. Chemical Engineering World
AN-Radar-4S-EN-IN_Eis_210x270
SOMETIMES THE CHOICE IS DIFFICULT …
… THE CHOICE FOR LEVEL 80 GHZ RADAR!
One radar sensor for liquids.
M
L
AN-Radar-4S-EN-IN_Eis_210x270
MEASUREMENT IS EASY: One sensor for bulk solids. Sounds simple, is simple!
RADAR LEVEL MEASUREMENT WITH 80 GHZ Industrial processes are becoming increasingly customized and complex. Now it’s even easier to select the right level transmitter for your needs. For a reliable non-contact level measurement solution, just choose VEGAPULS 64 for liquids or VEGAPULS 69 for bulk solids.
DYNAMIC RANGE
120 dB
Poorly reflecting media? Dust, condensation, or buildup? Radars with best-in-class dynamic range deliver constant visibility of your process levels.
PROCESS FITTINGS FROM
¾"
With small connections and a compact design, VEGAPULS 64 is the perfect fit in the smallest liquid containers.
FOCUSING
3°
No interfering signals from internal installations. A radar beam angle from 3° for liquids and 4° for bulk solids.
ACCURACY
+/-1 mm
Every drop counts with VEGAPULS 64. It really scores points for accuracy, especially with high value liquids.
ADJUSTMENT 80 GHz radar sensors can be adjusted wirelessly with a smartphone or tablet. Did you know? All VEGA level sensors since 2002 can also get Bluetooth. Just click-in a new PLICSCOM display and adjustment module and it’s done!
More information: www.vega.com/radar Phone +91 20 6731 4000 | E-mail info.in@vega.com
CEW Industry News Evonik has Reorganized its Polyamide Business
of organic substances on the approximately 16-hectare site which is one of the major production sites of raw materials for the paints, coatings, and adhesives industry. In 2018, the group’s new production plant for specialty copolyesters at the Witten site went on stream. Biopolymers complement the product portfolio Biobased polymers from the Terra series remain in the business portfolio and will continue to complement Evonik’s now reorganized range of high-performance polymers.
Grauer & Weil (India) Paint division President Sujit Sinha has been honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award
Marl Chemical Park, Germany: Evonik has been reorganizing its business for high-performance polymers within the polyamide group. This specialty chemical company has already begun construction of a new polyamide 12 (PA 12) facility complex and is expanding its production of transparent polyamides at the Marl Chemical Park, and, in so doing, is concentrating its activities on high-performance materials for attractive growth markets such as the automotive, oil and gas, 3D printing, and optics industries. As part of the reorganization process, Evonik will withdraw entirely from the polyphthalamide (PPA) business at the Witten site. Focusing on specialty materials: “Reorganizing our polyamide business will concentrate our production and innovative strengths on specialty materials for promising applications in attractive markets such as lightweight construction, additive manufacturing, and composites. This, in turn, will give us a solid foundation for continuous growth,” says Dr. Ralf Düssel, the head of the High Performance Polymers Business Line at Evonik. “For our customers, the move will mean a more intense focus on developing sophisticated specialty solutions.” Evonik’s roughly € 400 million investment in Germany will increase the company’s overall capacity for PA 12 by over 50 per cent. The project will complement existing PA 12 production at the Marl Chemical Park in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with additional plants for the polymer and its precursors. The facility complex is scheduled to go on stream in the first half of 2021. At the same time, Evonik will also be expanding production of transparent polyamides in Marl. Production expansion is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2020. The change will double the specialty chemical company’s overall capacity for the high-performance material. In another step in the process of reorganizing its polyamide business, Evonik will be discontinuing the production and sale of polyphthalamide at its Witten site by the end of the first quarter of 2020. Evonik will transfer employees from the PPA plant to its Marl site, where they will work at the new PA 12 production plant. “As we focus our marketing activities on high-performance polymers, we will be utilizing internal synergies to accommodate our long-serving Witten employees with secure jobs at the new polyamide 12 production facility in Marl, where we will be able to draw upon their decades of proven experience in polymer production and compounding,” says Dr. Iordanis Savvopoulos, Head of the Product Line Granules & Compounds at Evonik. Evonik currently employs almost 300 people in Witten. This specialty chemical company operates several production facilities for the production 18 • May 2019
Mumbai, India: Mr Sujit Kumar Sinha, President, Paint division, Grauer & Weil (India) Ltd was recently honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award by The Society for Protective Coatings (SSPC). Mr Sinha received the award for his seminal contribution in promoting corrosion protection through specialised coatings and growing the business to a higher scale. He has also been recognized for his efforts in bringing about improvements in paint systems in the country with new technology. SSPC India, was founded in July 2004, as a non-profit professional society concerned with the use of coatings to protect industrial steel structures. SSPC India serves its members and advances the industry through standards, regulatory advocacy, education, and information exchange. It has a large membership of companies such as facility owners, paint manufacturers, painting contractors, architectural, engineering and construction firms, educators, industrial hygienists, environmental specialists, fabricators, consultants and inspectors, coatings testing labs, equipment suppliers, and raw material suppliers. As President at Grauer & Weil (India), Mr. Sinha has been responsible for spearheading the company’s growth strategy by working on the areas of brand building and placement along with managing the sales networks and marketing channels and key account management. Prior to joining Grauer & Weil (India) Ltd, he headed the Sales and Marketing team at Shalimar Paints in the industrial segment and was responsible for generating an annual turnover of ` 220 crore for the company. He has also headed the Sales and Marketing division at Asian Paints Ltd where he was known to provide valuable inputs for growth in the changing market scenario and new emerging markets for active diversification to gain the market share and profitability. In 2001, while working as General Manager-Sales and Marketing at Jenson & Nicholson (I) Ltd, Mr. Sinha was responsible for developing steel guard –Protective Coating & Megatuff, a powder coating that went on to become the number 2 powder coating brand in the country. As President, Mr. Sinha is the profit centre head of the Paint Division; and is responsible for the Sales and Marketing portfolio along with Production and R&D. He leads his team in identifying the market segments, selecting target markets for business growth, and working towards improving the company’s existing as well as new range of products. Mr. Sinha holds to his credit a rich experience of more than four decades in the industry encompassing the prime areas of planning, sales, brand, and business development. He holds a B.Tech from Harcourt Buttler Technological Institute, Kanpur. Chemical Engineering World
CEW Industry News New sulfur control solution has cut cost and supported environmental compliance in viscose manufacturing
Copenhagen, Denmark: Preferential Oxidation Catalysis is a new catalytic solution that offers viscose manufacturers a highly competitive alternative to costly traditional scrubbing sections for controlling sulfur compounds in off- gases. The new technology has been demonstrated to selectively treat different sulfur compounds in order to more efficiently remove hydrogen sulfide from emissions, while retaining the valuable carbon disulfide that is reused in the production. In addition, unlike traditional scrubbing, Preferential Oxidation Catalysis does not consume costly sodium hydroxide or produce wastewater which is troublesome to dispose of. This innovation was developed and tested in the laboratory and at a smallscale industrial plant in collaboration with Birla Cellulose of the Aditya Birla Group, the world’s leading viscose manufacturer. The aim was to capture sulfur from exhaust gases for reuse in the closed-loop viscose production system, and the results have been encouraging for the commercialization of the technology. The next step is building a large-scale demonstration plant in China together with Zhongtai Group in connection with a viscose plant in the Xinjiang province. “We are very enthusiastic about testing this concept, because the existing sulfur management technologies have expensive shortcomings when it comes to treating lean off-gases from viscose production. With the demonstration plant, we expect to validate that this new solution cuts cost, secures efficient reuse of carbon disulfide, and reduces sulfur emissions,” says Mr. He, President Assistant, Zhongtai Group. The demonstration plant will be commissioned later in 2019. In many cases, viscose manufacturers already use Topsoe’s Wet Sulfuric Acid (WSA) solution to convert sulfur compounds in rich gases to sulfuric acid that can be reused directly in the processing of cellulose to produce viscose. With the addition of preferential oxidation catalysis for lean gases, Topsoe now offers viscose manufacturers a complete, highly efficient, and cost-effective sulfur management solution.
Dr. Nabil Abou-Rahme has joined Bentley as Chief Research Officer London, UK: The Future Infrastructure Symposium : Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the leading global provider of comprehensive software solutions for advancing the design, construction, and operations of infrastructure, has announced that Dr. Nabil Abou-Rahme has joined Bentley as chief research officer for Bentley Institute’s Digital Advancement Academies. He 20 • May 2019
will work from Bentley’s London offices, and will lead Bentley’s efforts in digital advancement research, collaborating with government, university, and industry visionaries to promote innovative solutions for advancing infrastructure. His new role was introduced today to fellow researchers attending the Future Infrastructure Symposium convened at Bentley’s London Digital Advancement Academy. Dr. Abou-Rahme joins Bentley from the global consultancy firm Mott MacDonald, where he was actively involved in digital transformation, most recently as head of smart infrastructure and global practice leader for data science, and prior to that, as divisional director for intelligent transport. His career began with applied research in network optimisation and control at the Transport Research Laboratory, where he went on to manage research teams and complete a PhD. Subsequent technical highlights from his consultancy roles include specifications for the EU ITS Directive, implementation of bank-led contactless payment systems on public transport in South Africa and developing operational regimes for the first “smart motorways” in the UK. Bentley Systems CEO Greg Bentley said, “We are gratified to have Dr. Abou-Rahme join us to inaugurate our chief research officer role. We are newly able to advance infrastructure engineering through digital twins, by converging technologies to simultaneously meet their essential requirements for digital context, digital components, and digital chronology. Accordingly, an appropriate priority for Bentley Institute’s Digital Advancement Academies is now to work with authoritative research organizations to explore and substantiate the growing benefits, which are already realizable from infrastructure digital twins. By virtue of his unique combination of infrastructure engineering expertise and research experience, and contagious zeal for ‘going digital,’ Nabil brings the perfect fit to lead these collaborative endeavors.” Dr. Abou-Rahme said, “Bentley has a clear commitment to accelerating the adoption of digital technologies, including advancing BIM through digital twins. A key part of digital advancement research is a portfolio of demonstrator projects, collaborative prototypes that allow us to explore the art of the possible, while leveraging the best of academic, technical, and industrial experience within those teams. Our commitment also extends to supporting academic institutions through sponsorship and making our technologies available as a learning and development tool. Bentley’s open and collaborative approach to innovation is well established, and I am excited to lead this portfolio into the next phase of application.” Being a chartered engineer by vocation, Dr. Abou-Rahme holds a PhD in Bayesian statistics from the University of Southampton, a Master of Science from University College London, a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Imperial College London, and a General Management Certificate from Roffey Park. In his talk today at the Future Infrastructure Symposium, a two-day gathering of industry experts, university researchers, and thought leaders to discuss the future of infrastructure, Dr. Abou-Rahme referenced a number of Bentley Institute-sponsored research projects around the world, including demonstrator projects at University College London, University of Cambridge, and Imperial College, and encouraged parties interested in collaborating on future demonstrator projects to contact him at Bentley. Institute@bentley.com. Chemical Engineering World
CEW Industry News JSW Paints has offered great value to consumers and ushers price transparency
Mumbai, India: India’s leading business conglomerate, JSW Group has entered the paints business in India with JSW Paints. This is part of the Group’s diversification into consumer facing businesses and a historic first time entry of an Indian conglomerate into the organized paints sector. With the launch of paints business, JSW Group aims to make a comprehensive offering for consumer homes through steel, cement, furniture, and now paints. JSW Paints is a greenfield venture backed by cutting-edge technology, automation, and scale that’s comparable to leading players in the sector. The company will manufacture and market both industrial coatings as well as decorative paints. In industrial coatings, JSW Paints commenced its operation with coil coatings. In the Decorative paints segment, the company will offer a complete range of only water-based paints for Interior & Exterior walls, wood & metal – various surfaces in Homes. According to industry estimates, India’s organized paints industry is expected to cross ` 50,000 crore by value by 2020 with a CAGR of 15 per cent . JSW Paints has actively studied the market to understand evolving customer dynamics, need gaps as well as global trends. It aims to be a significant player in the Indian paints sector. Commenting on the launch of JSW Paints, Mr. Parth Jindal, Managing Director of JSW Paints said, “At JSW Paints, we believe that being thoughtful is beautiful. Hence, we have ensured that every aspect of JSW Paints brand has a never-before-done quality and a promise to deliver true value to our consumers. We have thus thoughtfully taken the path-breaking step to offer Any-Colour-at-One-Price in a product, for the first time in India. We hope to be the preferred choice of millennial couples. JSW Paints aims to be the future of colour & painting for Indian homes.” According to Mr. A S Sundaresan, Joint MD & CEO of JSW Paints, “JSW Paints’ Simple Swift & Sure way of painting will go a long way in helping consumers, make an informed and confident choice. Our Any-Colour-atOne-Price ensures consumers great value, ushers price transparency, and makes them free to choose colours confidently for their homes. At JSW Paints, we combine excellence in Manufacturing & Marketing, driven by customer insights, to bring in thoughtful innovations that offer tremendous value and are trend setter into the future of paints and painting.” JSW Paints aims to be a thoughtful paint company creating beautiful experiences for its customers. To this effect, its entire business & brand proposition is based on thoughtful interventions across colour, customer assistance, packaging, and manufacturing. 1. Product Range: JSW Paints’ brand promise of “Simple, Swift & Sure” is delivered through its water-based colours for homes. It’s the only water based paints-portfolio in the country. Our Decorative paints use no solvents and are low on VOC making it totally family-friendly. Even 22 • May 2019
the colourants for tinting the paints are water based and low-VOC. Its consumer portfolio is tested & certified for best performance with, a first time in India, life expectancy indicator of 3, 5, or 7 years. 2. With Any-Colour-One-Price feature, JSW Paints Colourvista is a curated portfolio of over 1800 shades making it one of the widest & best researched colour range in the Indian market. JSW Paints aims to unify India with colours with its path-breaking promise of any colour in a product line being offered at one price. This is the first time an Indian paint company is bringing such pricing transparency as a thoughtful intervention to Indian consumers. This removes the opacity in colour pricing in the Industry for tinted colours where “colourant cost extra” is charged and where every colour in a product-pack has a different price; and the difference between colours can be as high as ` 150 per litre. 3. Customer Assistance: JSW Paints adds a human touch to its consumer experience. Its Customer Relationship Officer referred to as a JSW Paints Buddy, will be available on ground to assist customers to make an informed choice about products, colours, and even to find a contractor if required. 4. Innovative & Ergonomic Packaging: JSW Paints offers its paints in an innovative & ergonomic, first time rectangular packaging designed to save space, transportation costs, and easy to store. The packaging is also easy to use, roller-friendly with an ECO tray accessory to assist application of the colour on home walls. 5. Manufacturing Capacities: JSW Paints proud to have set up India’s largest and fully automated coil coatings facility with an annual capacity of 25000 KL and state-of-the-art fully automated only water based decorative paints plant in India with 100,000 KL annual capacity. Both manufacturing units are designed to be environment-friendly and are ZLD (Zero Liquid Discharge) units. JSW Paints commences its launch in South India from Karnataka (Bengaluru and Hubballi). It expects to complete the roll-out in South and West markets by end Q2FY20 with plans to be a pan-India player within three years. JSW Paints aims to be among top 3 brands in India by 2025 with a market share of 10 per cent .
Nippon Paint has Paved Way for a Socially Responsible Future New Delhi, India: With a vision to transform the lives of underprivileged and special needs children, Nippon Paint has partnered with Delhi-based Tamana and Blind Relief Association along with Pragati Wheel School. As a part of this association, Nippon Paint - Automotive Refinish has donated internally-raised funds to these schools, helping bring about a significant and positive change in these children’s lives. Not only this, the company is also sponsoring vocational training for students from Pragati Wheel School (New Delhi). Mr. Sharad Malhotra of Nippon Paint (India) along with Dr. Shyama Chona, Founder-President of Tamana Association and Former Principal of DPS, R. K. Puram, New Delhi had spoken on the association. Mr. Sharad Malhotra President Automotive Refinish, Nippon Paint (India) said, “It is a matter of great honour and pride for us to support these organisations working towards the welfare of children. Our initiative is a tiny step towards the greater good. This is a small but significant beginning for Nippon Paint as we hope to create awareness for the cause and generate social impact with our support. We are also in talks with these schools for a long-term association towards Skill Development.” Students from these three institutions also performed at the Nippon Nation Event held for employees and partners earlier this month at Kingdom of Dreams, Gurgaon. Chemical Engineering World
CEW Industry News Deepak Nitrite has delivered a superlative performance in Q4 FY19
to reap benefits from higher realisations across key products even as overall volume growth was 11 per cent y-o-y.
Mumbai/Vadodara, India: Ranked among Fortune Next 500 and recognized among the top 25 wealth creators by Fortune Magazine, India, Deepak Nitrite is acknowledged as one of the country's fastest growing chemical companies. It has a diversified portfolio of intermediates that cater to the dyes and pigments, agrochemical, pharmaceutical, plastics, textiles, paper, and home-and-personal care segments in India and overseas. Its products are manufactured across five locations, which are all accredited by Responsible Care. Deepak Nitrite Limited has announced its financial results for the quarter and financial year ended 31st March, 2019.
• EBITDA stood at ` 110.7 crore, higher by 100 per cent as against to `.55.4 crore reported in the same period last year. EBITDA margins improved sharply by 880 basis points to 22.7 per cent , as compared to 13.9 per cent in Q4 FY18. The Company’s efforts at running plants at optimum capacities with streamlined processes were more than supported by the developments in the China market, all of which has combined to contribute to the enriched margin profile.
Deepak Nitrite Ltd., with a focus on technology leadership and a diverse product portfolio underlining its premier position in the Chemical Intermediates industry, has delivered a stellar performance in Q4 FY19 with highest-ever turnover and profit in its 48 year history. Each of the three business divisions have contributed to this record growth in Topline and profitability, taking total turnover of the Company for FY19 to ` 2,715 crore. Deepak Phenolics Ltd. (DPL), where operations began just 5 months ago has achieved a quick ramp-up of capacity utilisation to over 80 per cent . DPL has contributed to significant savings in forex for the Nation by establishing local manufacturing of Phenol and Acetone, which were hitherto imported in large numbers. DPL has closed the fiscal with positive EBITDA and Profit After Tax. Commenting on the performance, Mr. Deepak C. Mehta, Chairman & Managing Director, said, “The Chemical Industry in India is witnessing an unprecedented growth opportunity largely due to International Events. For a Company like Deepak Nitrite, which is into chemical intermediates, the opportunity stands accentuated as its products support a wide range of industries. In the current scenario, Chemical Intermediates are witnessing a big jump in demand both due to domestic end user industries growing and reduced availability of intermediates from China. We expect the situation to remain conducive for the foreseeable future. In this backdrop, DNL was able to ensure peak performance in spite of fluctuating availability and pricing of Raw Materials. As a result, fiscal year 2019 has been a defining year as the Company commissioned its megaGreenfield facility of Phenol & Acetone, elevated the performance of all of its segments and more than doubled consolidated EBITDA and PAT. I am happy to report that all of the divisions performed well and the DPL team has done an excellent job not only in ensuring peak plant performance but also in managing the logistics of over 300,000 tonnes of material and maintaining margins inspite of the fluctuating oil prices. On an overall basis, due to various initiatives, we expect to sustain the growth momentum across all segments in the ensuring quarters. The Board has recommended a higher dividend of ` 2 per share in FY19 amounting to 100 per cent of Face Value to share the benefits of the robust performance and sustain the value creation focus towards all stakeholders.”
• PBT stood at `87.0 crore in Q4 FY19 increasing by a commendable 182 per cent over ` 30.1 crore in the same period last year • Outstanding growth in PAT by 178 per cent y-o-y to ` 56.6 crore in Q4 FY19 as compared to ` 20.3 crore in Q4 FY18. • EPS for Q4 FY19 stood at ` 4.15 per share (of face value of ` 2 each) on an enlarged capital base as compared to ` 1.51 per share in Q4 FY18. Performance Highlights Domestic & Exports • Domestic revenues stood at ` 344.5 crore in Q4 FY19 from ` 243.3 crore in the same period last year, delivering strong growth of 42 per cent Y-o-Y. DNL’s cost leadership and position as the only backward integrated plant in the world for OBA has enabled it to capitalize on evolving market opportunities for the Performance Products segment due to shutdown of capacities in China. This, along with expansion in key building blocks enabled us to cater to higher demand from end user industries resulting in robust topline growth. • Revenues from exports came in at ` 138.4 crore in Q4 FY19 compared to ` 147.3 crore in Q4 FY18. Export performance was flat due to extended production schedules and transit timelines for select products, the impact of which is transitionary in nature. Export revenues are expected to recover in the subsequent quarter. Update on Deepak Phenolics Ltd. Deepak Phenolics Ltd. (DPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Deepak Nitrite Ltd., commenced commercial production at its Mega-Plant of Phenol & Acetone on 1st November, 2018. This facility, aligned with the 'Make in India' initiative of Government of lndia, has capacity to manufacture 200,000 MTPA of Phenol and 120,000 MTPA of its coproduct Acetone. This is supported by capacity to manufacture 260,000 MT of Cumene for captive consumption. DPL is well positioned to benefit from strong demand growth in the local market for these products. Following are some of the key milestones achieved by Deepak Phenolics Ltd. in Q4 & FY19: Turnover of ` 537 crore in Q4 FY19; maiden full quarter of operations
Both plants (Phenol & Cumene) have touched 100 per cent utilisation during the quarter
Addition of DPL turnover propels cons quar terly turnover past the 1,000 crore mark
DPL contributes 927 Cr to consolidated turnover of ` 2,715 Cr in FY19
Reported positive EBITDA and PAT in Financial Year 2019, despite commencing opps only 5 moths ago
DPL contributes 56 Cr to consolidated PBT of ` 268 Cr in FY19
Financial Highlights (Standalone) Q4 FY2019 • Revenues were ` 487.8 crore in Q4 FY19 compared to ` 399.3 crore in Q4 FY18, higher by 22 per cent Y-o-Y. The Q4 performance is testament to the strategic choices of products identified for capacity expansion at the start of the fiscal. Apt assessment of market demand enabled DNL 24 • May 2019
Chemical Engineering World
SUBSCRIBE NOW CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WORLD The Official Organ CHEMTECH Foundation it is India’s premier technology magazine for chemical proces industry professional. This highly reputed monthly publication provides novel insights on the dynamics of Indian and global process industries. PAYMENT OPTIONS Cheque : Please send your cheque in favour of “JASUBHAI MEDIA PVT LTD”.
Subscribe NOW ! Sr. Period of No. Subscription
Yearly Subscription (in `)
% Amount to be Amount You Discount paid (in `) Save (in `)
1
1 year
1800
10%
1620
180
2
2 year
3600
25%
2700
900
3
3 year
5400
40%
3240
2160
Please fill up the contact details First Name Last Name Company Name E-mail Mailing Address
City Pin Code State Contact Number
Please Tick the box
BANK TRANSFER Beneficiary: JASUBHAI MEDIA PVT.LTD Bank: HDFC Bank Ltd Branch: Marine Drive Address: 143, Ground Floor, Soona Mahal, Marine Drive, Mumbai-400021 Bank Account No.: 12122020002057 IFSC Code (NEFT/RTGS): HDFC0001207
All the above complete field along with cheque should reach us at: Jasubhai Media, 3rd Floor, Taj Building, 210 Dr D N Road, Fort, Mumbai-400001. Tel: 022-4037 3636 Fax: 022-4037 3635 Email ID: dilip_parab@jasubhai.com Web: www.cewindia.com
Are you making the most of our B2B platforms? Print
:
We bring out some of the best monthly and bi-monthly B2B titles for chemical, pharma, and oil & gas industry.
Website
:
All our publications are available online on their respective websites.
eNewsletter
:
We send fortnightly and monthly newsletters to our subscribers which are thousands in num ber allowing you to connect with potential overseas customers as well.
Mobile App
:
Mobile applications of all our publications are now available
Taj Building, 3rd Floor, 210 D N Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001 Tel: 91-022-40373636, Fax: 91-022-40373635 industrialmags@jasubhai.com
Brilliant technology Italian quality Saurus939: The vacuum pump made to live longer. Unique in reliability, performance and consumption.
Fi t
a
f nd
org
Criox速 System: patented rotary vacuum dryer/powderer with motor-driven lump breaker units
e t! Planex速 System: multi-patented paddle vacuum dryer with ZeroFriction速 planetary movement eccentric agitator
CosmoDry速 System: paddle vacuum dryer with concentric agitator, fitted with a shaft dismountable in sections
Italvacuum Agent: Vacuum Drying Technology India LLP, Mr. Jayant Joshi - B 102 Shubh Sarita, Appasaheb Sidhaye Marg Nr Shrikrishna Nagar, Borivali East - Mumbai 400 066 Phone No 9820047858/9819982801 info@electromechengineering.com marketing@italvacuum.com | italvacuum.com
CEW Features
Ease of Doing Business On the face of various fierce industrial challenges, ease of doing business in India is a very contentious and pertinent issue for almost all the industries, though the extent varies context-wise. And, so is true for Chemical Industry as well. Is it easy to do business in India? Or is it a pain? How competitive India is as a country or as a territory for this purpose? Many giants as well as small-and-mid scale business houses are already in the league and deriving benefits; however, does that mean – it is easy? It does not mean they have achieved all what they wanted to. This article is based on the CEO Roundtable discussion that took place during the Specialty Chemicals 2019 Conference held during Chemtech World Expo 2019 in Mumbai. Mr. Adnan Ahmad – Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Clariant Chemicals (India) Ltd & Technical Chairman, Specialty Chemicals World Expo 2019 chaired the panel of CEOs which included Mr. Rajendra Gogri, Chairman & Managing Director, Aarti Industries Limited; Mr. Suyog Kotecha, Partner, McKinsey & Company; and Mr. Meghav Mehta, General Manager Strategy, Deepak Phenolics Limited.
(LtoR): Mr. Rajendra Gogri; Mr. Adnan Ahmad; Mr. Meghav Mehta, & Mr. Suyog Kotecha during the CEO Roundtable
Is India a land of opportunities for the Chemical Industry, specifically for the Specialty Chemical Industry?
have been receiving since last sixteen
From the opportunity landscape point of view, Chemical Industry holds a leading position amongst almost all the industries. A graphical plot of almost all the public limited companies against the return their stake-holders
to their feedstock-supplier-industry or consumer-industry. In global context, this industry is going through certain
28 • May 2019
years, translates into this industry’s value creating ability in comparison
consolidation and restructuring – mostly into the US and Western Europe. For Indian Specialty Chemical industry, it is a golden period. Tracing back to the history, - in the pre-easternization period before 1990, US, Europe, and Japan
Indian Chemical Industry has delivered highest return to its shareholders over last 15 years. Chemical Engineering World
CEW Features Industry Context: To set up a manufacturing business in India, the primitive factorials, which have become the deciding factors for the Entrepreneurs and Business Magnets to step into the territory, are: • Input Cost – About 50 percent to 60 per cent of total business expenses are being incurred towards acquiring raw material. Therefore getting that at a competitive price is very important. • The Business has to be Competitive in terms of Process Engineering Skill and Workforce Skill. Unlike Korea, where the availability of formally skilled workforce is at its peak, in India – it’s worth putting efforts for entrepreneurs in the workforce skill building activities. • Availability of Good Logistics pulls the entrepreneurs into a particular geography. • Competitive Energy Cost is also a very important thriving quotient for India to bring in much more business opportunities. held the major share of manufacturing activities globally, while China and India used to derive the benefits of being chemical engineering manufacturing hubs in Asia as the region had adequate ecosystem and landscape to facilitate these activities. Between China and India, initially China captured the cost-advantage due to the depreciation of Indian currency against the Chinese. However, the stringent environmental regulations in China soon took away their strategically beneficial position and put India in the spotlight as the lower-cost destination with the added advantage of huge pool of customers who are willing to buy from India. As far as the Indian scale of economy is concerned, a trillion dollar is getting added in every three to four years, but conversely, India’s growth rate is lesser compared to industry growth rate. Therefore, the most pertinent question to ponder over is, what does India need to do to take part in this growth? India is recognized as one of the low cost destinations for manufacturing globally because of availability of skilled labor,
and infrastructure. Gradually the country is also evolving as the research hub for global companies to bring innovative products in the market.
Challenges & Solutions: • Infrastructure and Power: Though India aspires to be one of the 3 rd largest global manufacturers for chemicals, the country does not have sufficient chemical ports. Chemical transportation from land locked facilities is another challenge for the manufacturers that can be met through development of inland waterways. The Indian government has an expansive plan to develop the water infrastructure which will eventually benefit the chemical industry. Scarcity of power clubbed with relatively high cost is another challenge that the manufacturers continue to face. The state governments have taken cognizance from the challenges and are taking progressive steps to address these challenges. State of Odisha is one such example which is encouraging the development of downstream chemical industry in the PCPIR region with the feedstock
Specialty Chemicals thrive on user-specific-customization. And therefore, to get a competitive edge, the very fundamental requirement to think about is the investment strategy in research and development. 30 • May 2019
availability from IOCL refinery, port infrastructure, and low cost power. • Safety-Health-and-Environment vis-à-vis R&D involvement: Safetyhealth-and-environment is the burning issue which needs to be on high priority list for the industry to mandate practicing safety norms proactively and more responsibly. Without the implementation of safe practices, chemical industry will have a very short lifespan. Unlike yesteryears, now with the availability of technology, the organizations can address multiple safety-and-environment related problems provided they have the willingness to implement such practices. Research and development initiatives too can bring in innovative safety improvements. Unlike base chemicals, specialty chemicals thrive on user-specificcustomization. And in line with this, the very fundamental requirement to consider, to get a competitive edge, is the investment strategy in research and development. While ‘Make in India’ initiative does provide thrust to the manufacturing potential, there should be a strong push to address the environmental issues at the same time. One of the steps that can be taken by the regulatory agencies is to make the environment norms product agnostic and to do that one must understand the nature, quality, and volume of effluent coming out of the production facility. From the ecological perspective, the fundamental requirement for any manufacturer should be to ensure that the pollution load does not increase with the change in product mix and zero discharge norms should be implemented wherever possible. • Progress speed vis-à-vis resource compatibility: As a starting note, here the mentioned resources are not Chemical Engineering World
VACUUM SOLUTIONS
APPLICATIONS
Pick and place, bottle filling, filteratIon & solvent recovery, vacuum impregnation, vacuum packaging, vacuum drying, heat treatment, general engineering, distillation, freeze drying, oil purification, research & development.
Roots pumping system
Centralised vacuum system
Roots pump with condensor (for solvent recovery)
Oli lubricated vacuum pump
Toshniwal Instruments (Madras) Pvt. Ltd. 267, Kilpauk Garden Road, Chennai - 600 010. India / Tel: +91 44 26448983 / 8558 Email: sales@toshniwal.net / Web: www.toshniwal.net
Branches : Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Vadodara
CEW Features limited to physical resources only. Now coming back to the point, a very tough challenge is being posed by the likelihood of industry’s moving faster in comparison to the accommodating capacity of available resources. Digitalization has made the industry to drive faster. However, academia is falling short to keep up with that pace in terms of advancing themselves. Both industry and academia need to be at par. • The Academia – Industry Coalition: A symbiotic bond needs to be established between academia and industry for planning and execution of necessary research and development initiatives. These initiatives will be far-reaching to address the safetyhealth-and-environment issues innovatively, instead of being merely limited to product novelty. However, the major roadblock here is the gap between academia and industry. And to address it, the first factorial is to understand why there is a problem and to empathize with each other. Post that, the next step would be: how the old can be phased out, and the new can be phased in. Once this clarity sets in, execution would be easy and speedy. Pragmatic thinking and fast acting would help to solve this problem. • Cost of Doing Business: In specialty chemical industry, the cost of doing business is at the higher side due to the prevailing rules and regulations that the companies need to follow. However, thanks to the dynamism of the industry, things – which were not possible some years ago are likely to
happen going forward. Consumption will happen irrespective of the capacity and will pose a delinquency; and, the solution will be achieved by answering the seemingly simple yet tricky question – who will supply for the consumption. Tighter regulations will bring all the suppliers on the same page and create more transparency in the business. • Regulatory Compliance: Regulationand-compliance is a belligerent issue that heavily depends on the interaction with the Government. A healthy association between industry and the government is the precursor to make-and-maintain the compliance processes effective, lean, and of shorter duration. Right from the stage of pre-construction to construction and then operations, compliance procedures exist and vary in the range of clearances that are related to environmental issues, effluent control, transportation & storage and other specs depending on the complexity of the business. Though there has definitely been a visible improvement over past ten years, ‘Make in India’ branding initiative has made this a talking point with the regulatory bodies for speedy execution of processes. The present days’ Indian chemical industry is much safer with newer design, which has become the new benchmark and the new standard. The norms have become much more stringent; businesses, which could not acquire the necessary permission before are able to avail those now. Various industry associations have taken the progressive stance and are interfacing with the government to
bridge the gap between the industry and the government which has enabled many small-and-medium scale businesses. Recommendations by the panel: The panel proposed that the industry associations should collaborate to work upon the industry-expectations from the Government. With an aim to put forward a proposition to the government, the collaborative body may concentrate on: (i) existing regulations vis-à-vis the current situation-and-requirement, and (ii) existing process vis-à-vis the recommended process. Going forward, this can become a ‘Bible’ irrespective of whosoever comes to rule the country’s political front. It would be a good move from haphazard decision making to outcome oriented decision making. Moreover, this will speed up the execution process, thus yielding faster result. ‘Ease of doing business in India’ is a key performance indicator for the government. It is directly linked with their ‘Make-in-India’ initiative for bringing the new business opportunities in the country. Government can showcase their good deed in the constituency to attract necessary investment opportunities, and thus can brand this initiative. Similarly, from the industrial point of view, the ‘Ease-of-Doing-Businessin-India’ is a major industrial growth deciding factor. Therefore, the idea of improving this ease of doing business in India cannot be subjective; it has to be objective and to be in a matrix. The industry, the individual players of the industry, the government, and all the related stake-holders are to be mutually aligned to make it happen.
On ecological perspective, a very fundamental requirement is that the product mix must not bring any change in the pollution load. Therefore, it is important to understand the nature, volume, and quality of the effluent expelled at the end of the manufacturing process or in-between. 34 • May 2019
Chemical Engineering World
Features CEW
Indian Chemical & Petrochemical Industry: Multiple Growth Avenues and Revenue Streams India ranks sixth globally in terms of chemical production and currently is the third largest producer in Asia. Further down the line, the specialty chemical sector is considered as the high growth potential industry in India. It plays a symbolic role in the Indian economy with registered revenue of USD 28 billion, and accounts for approximately 20 percent of the total chemical industry. This article provides an industry insight in terms of growth and revenue, and unleashes the way forward.
Sectoral Background, Trends, and Future Scenario India ranks sixth globally in terms of chemical production and currently is the third largest producer in Asia. In the year 2020, the highly diversified Indian chemical industry is projected to stand at USD 200 billion; and by 2025, it will reach USD 304 billion. Chemical and petrochemical sector act as the key enablers, and provide crucial support to a range of other sectors including agriculture, construction, leather etc. In FY 2017-18, production of chemicals and petrochemicals stood at 47,882 thousand metric tons (MT), registering a year-on-year growth of 2.62 percent over FY 2016-17. The Union Budget for USD 30 million has been allocated during the year 2018-19 to Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals to further bolster the sector’s performance. Sectoral Classification and Potential Investment Areas The industry is further classified into Basic chemicals, Specialty chemicals, and Agrochemicals. Agrochemicals, specialty chemicals, and colorant chemicals have huge investment potential. India is the fourth largest producer of agrochemicals. Currently, the Indian agrochemical industry is valued at USD 4.9 billion, and around 50 per cent of it is acclimatized for export purposes. The specialty chemicals industry in India plays a symbolic role in the Indian Chemical Engineering World
economy with registered revenue of USD 28 billion; and accounts for approximately 20 per cent of the total chemical industry. The specialty chemical segment comprises of paints and coatings, adhesives and sealants, additives for pharmaceuticals, lubricants and additives, catalysts, water treatment chemicals, and plastic additives. Indian specialty chemicals industry flourished at a CAGR of 14 per cent during FY2010-15, and is anticipated to expand at around 13 percent during FY2015-20. In 2020, the market size of specialty chemicals is expected to be around USD 70 billion. The industry acknowledges Speciality Chemicals as a high growth potential industry in India, and this is expected to account for 5 percent of global specialty chemicals industry by 2020. Within the sector, organic speciality is expected to be the main growth driver. Agro-oriented speciality chemicals, backed by a huge domestic demand potential, are expected to register higher growth rates than what is foreseen globally. The colorant chemical industry is expected to grow at a rate of 11 percent over the period of FY 2015-20; and will be valued at USD 9.1 billion
by FY 2020. Sector Support: Government Policies and Various Incentives The shift toward Asia as the global hub for manufacturing chemicals, availability of a skilled workforce, world class engineering and strong R&D focus coupled with burgeoning income, increasing domestic demand, and strong policy support by Government has made India a perfect melting pot for start-ups willing to invest in the chemical sector. Government policies for the sector which is expected to further boost its growth momentum are as follows: Under the Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Regions’ (PCPIR) Policy, - Government of India conceptualized a cluster approach for the promotion of Petroleum, Chemical, and Petrochemical sectors in an integrated and environment friendly manner on a large scale. Each PCPIR is a specifically delineated investment region having an area of about 250 sq. km with around 40 per cent of the area earmarked for processing activities. The Ministry of Chemicals & Petrochemicals has set up four PCPIRs – in the states of Andhra Pradesh (Vishakhapatnam), Gujarat
“Indian Specialty Chemical Industry flourished at a CAGR of 14 percent during FY 2010-15; and is anticipated to expand at around 13 percent during FY2015-20.” May 2019 • 35
CEW Features (Dahej), Odisha (Paradeep), and Tamil Nadu (Cuddalore and Nagapattinam); these are expected to attract investment of around USD 117 billion, generating employment for 34 lakh persons. Till date, investments worth USD 28 billion have been made employing around 2.93 lakh persons. The scheme for setting up of Plastic Parks aims to set up the need-based plastic parks and the development of a strong ecosystem along with the provision
To promote Skill Development, there is a provision of Grant-in-aid to educational / research institutes for setting up a CoE to improve existing petrochemicals technology and to promote development of new applications of polymers and plastics. Under the Chemicals Promotion Development Scheme (CPDS), the Government provides Grant-in-aid for creation of knowledge products through studies, survey, data bank, promotion materials, etc. to facilitate development of the sector. To strengthen civil and
“The industry acknowledges Specialty Chemicals as a high growth potential industry in India; and this is expected to account for 5 percent of Global Specialty Chemicals Industry by 2020.” of common facilities through cluster development approach. Government of India provides grant funding up to 50 percent of the project cost, subject to a ceiling of USD 6 million per project. And, the remaining project cost is to be funded by State Governments or State Industrial Development Corporation. Plastic Parks in Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Assam, and Tamil Nadu are being set up under this scheme. The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals provides financial support of 50 percent of total project cost, subject to an upper limit of USD 0.9 million over a period of three years to set up various Centers of Excellence (CoE), viz.: • CoE for Sustainable Polymer Industry through Research, Innovation, and Training (CoE-SPIRIT) at National Chemicals Laboratory, Pune • CoE for Green Transportation Network (GREET) at Central Institute of Plastics Engineering & Technology (CIPET), Chennai • CoE for Advanced Polymeric Materials at IIT, Delhi • CoE on Sustainable Green Materials at CIPET, Bhubaneswar • CoE for Sustainable Polymers at IIT, Guwahati 36 • May 2019
technical infrastructure, research and development capacities, academic and training initiatives, -- budgetary allocations are made toward CIPET (Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology). While Foreign Direct Investment (of up to 100 per cent) is allowed in the industry through the automatic route, key financial support as offered by the Government to the sectoral market players is as follows :
by the prescribed authority. This does not include expenditure on the cost of any land or building. The weighted tax deductions of 150 per cent are effective till 31 st March, 2020; afterwards the weighted tax deductions will be 100 percent. Apart from the above, each Indian state offers additional incentives for industrial projects. These are specifics viz. subsidized land cost and relaxation in stamp duty exemption on sale/ lease of land, power tariff incentives, concessional rate of interest on loans, investment subsidies/tax incentives, backward areas subsidies, special incentive packages for mega projects, etc. Additional incentives are also provided for units in Special Economic Zones (SEZ) / National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZ) as specified in respective Acts or setting up projects in special areas like the Northeast, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. Also, the Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme, Duty Drawback Scheme, and Merchandise Export from India Scheme are instrumental to incentivize exports.
Industry and Private sponsored research receives a weighted tax deduction given under section 35 (2AA) of the Income Tax Act. Weighted deduction of 200 percent is granted to assess any sum paid to a national laboratory, university, or institute of technology, or specified people with a specific direction; and the said sum is used for scientific research within a program approved by the prescribed authority.
Author Details
Section 35 (2AB) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 provides manufacturers that have an in-house R&D Center a weighted tax deduction of 150 per cent of expenditure incurred by a specified company, on scientific research in the in-house R&D centers, as approved
Krishanu Banerjee Consultant, Public Sector Practice Frost & Sullivan Chemical Engineering World
Features CEW
CHEMTECH Specialty Chemicals 2019 Conference Throwback: Ideas, Moments, and Glimpses With a noble mission to build up an industry platform through Trade Shows, Chemtech Foundation has been bringing together eminent industry stalwarts to exchange the pertinent business ideas-thoughts-and-updates, and also to set the context for way forward, since over last four decades. This year Chemtech has organized their Specialty Chemical 2019 Conference at Bombay Exhibition Grounds, Goregaon, Mumbai on 21-Feb2019. The theme was: “Ease of Doing Business: Leveraging Sustainability, Digitalization, and Innovation”.
LtoR: Mr Maulik Jasubhai, Mr Gurpreet Kohli, Mr Sanjeev Chopra, Mr Omer Dormen, Dr Sanjay Mishra, and Mr Ashish Dwivedi
Program Concept: On the face of various present challenges in Specialty Chemical Industry viz. product commoditization, communicating differentiated value, fluctuating raw material cost, appropriate response strategy to aggressive customers, etc., – “Ease of doing business in India” has become a very contentious subject. The most fundamental question could be: ‘how competitive India is, or, would be as a country or a territory for doing business with an aim to grow across the nation as well as the globe, especially when a lot of change-influx is prevalent in terms of Innovation, Digitalization, Technological Changes, and many more. The tone was rightly set by Dr Raman Ramachandran – Chairman CAB, Specialty Chemical World Expo 2019 and the Head of South Asia & CMD, BASF India Limited. Dr Raman said, “India’s ability to manufacture complex agro-chemicals and pharmaceuticals, cost effectively, has already established it as a serious contender in specialty chemicals space. To become the next major manufacturing hub for specialty chemicals, India needs to leverage the power of Industry 4.0 via digitalization and embrace sustainable manufacturing practices. The industry also needs to focus on Research and Innovation as a differentiator. A marriage of world class Indian academic talent with abundant entrepreneurial spirit can prove to be a potent combination.” This was followed by Vice Chairman’s address by Mr. Gurpreet Kohli – Global Program Director R&D – Hindustan Unilever Limited, who presented the end user’s perspective; followed by Keynote Addresses by Dr. Sanjay Mishra – Head of Innovation, Specialty Chemicals, SABIC and Mr. Omer Dormen , Vice President – India & South Asia, Castrol India Ltd. Mr. Sanjeev Chopra (IAS) Principal Secretary, Industries Dept., Govt. of Odisha & Chairman, IPICOL was the Guest of Honour during the inauguration of conference and appraised the industry about the vision of State of Odisha to drive the growth of Chemicals & Petrochemicals and downstream industry in the Paradip PCPIR region. Mr. Ashish Dwivedi (President, Specialty Chemicals & Business Strategy, Aditya Birla Group – Chemicals Business) presented the Concluding remarks & Vote of Thanks. The entire day was spanned for various panel discussion based sessions on business-critical topics viz. ‘Sustainability & Circular Economy’, ‘Building Innovation Ecosystem through Successful Industry & Academia Partnerships’, ‘Leveraging IIoT & Digitalization for Sustainable Growth’; and finally this eventful day had been concluded with the themed subject – ‘Ease of Doing Business’. Chemical Engineering World
May 2019 • 37
CEW Features Highlights of the Addresses by the Industry Stalwarts: Mr. Maulik Jasubhai – Chairman & Chief Executive, Jasubhai Group & Chemtech Foundation, on Chemtech’s Contribution: “We have worked towards building up Industry Platform for innovation, idea, technology, and bringing the world leaders to the entire value chain of Upstream, Midstream, Downstream, and Technological Equipment through our pioneering trade shows since last four decades with the abled guidance of eminent industry leaders, who are the part of our Central Advisory Board. We initiated various workshops and seminars on ‘Women in Manufacturing’, ‘BioPharma for students with handson formulation and projects’, and ‘Case Study based presentation on Digital Technology & IoT’. We have also collaborated with BIRAC for our ‘Student Outreach Program’. More than 2000 students are getting benefitted through this program. They will present more than 82 papers and close to 50 projects. Not only that, our students will be placed through BIRAC across new start-ups and technological platforms. Even we are also associated with Somaiya Vidyavihar, which has received a cabinet approval for being a university; and we are conducting several programs through their Technology Incubator – RiiDL”. Dr. Raman Ramachandran – Head of South Asia & CMD, BASF India Ltd – Chairman CAB, Specialty Chemicals World Expo 2019, on Contribution of Chemical Industry: “We are one of the fastest g r o w i n g economies of about USD 2.5 trillion; and foreseeing 38 • May 2019
to double it to USD 5 trillion in next 5 – 10 years, thus will become one of the biggest economies in the World. And most important part of this is: we intend 20 percent to 25 percent of this to come from manufacturing, to reach this very ambitious objective. Chemical industry is the enabler of most of the other manufacturing industries. A prominent example of this is: Automobile industry. There is tremendous amount of chemistry that goes to this industry – whether it is the Paint on the surface, or engineering the ‘Plastics’ that reduce the weight of the automobiles & make it more fuel efficient, or even with additives which make fuel efficiency even better. So, we are a very vital industry in terms of opportunities exist for all of us. But the question is: Is this going to be catered by the local manufacturers? Or, would it be imported through other countries? We advocate to the Government for creating an enabling environment to do business better in terms of infrastructure, energy cost, stifling regulating rules, and various other factors”. In context of Sustainability, he mentioned: “For us, sustainability does not end with just our goals, products, or solutions. It is about partnering with our customers, distributors, suppliers, and the society, to make sure that their sustainability goals are met as well as the prescribed regulatory standards are adhered to. It is also about elevating the benchmarks for sustainability practices in the country. The true effect of sustainability will be seen only if the entire value chain adopts it”. Mr. Gurpreet Kohli – Global Program Director (R&D), Hindustan Unilever Ltd., on End-User’s Perspective: “From an end-user’s perspective, innovation is the precursor to the survival of any organization. It is all about to understand the emerging needs of the customers or consumers, and to design the right product for them. Here, the Specialty
Chemical Industry plays a very pertinent role; because – this industry identifies the chemistry, creates the chemistry, and supplies it at scale”. In continuation to this, he also mentioned – “Sustainability is and should be a license to operate. Because, the world around us is changing very rapidly due to climate change, effects of pollution, and consumption of materials like water, energy, etc., which is stressing the environment”. Dr. Sanjay Mishra – Head of Innovation, Specialty Chemicals, SABIC, on Changing Definition of Innovation: “The definition of innovation in our view is changing. It’s no longer limited to only introducing a new chemistry, a new product, or a new process. Innovation often comes in the form of service, business model, digitalization; and more importantly it’s not ‘either – or’, it’s ‘AND’. It’s a little bit of all of these that are going to get us to the next level, as we think about the timeframe of next 5 to 15 years. Successful innovations will depend upon creating coinnovations. Co-innovation is the mantra or the theme that will get us into the future. Digitalization is in full swing. We got to run with it with all arms surrounded; but it does need us to move from ‘Functional Optimization’ to ‘System Transformation’ for it to really show the effects.” Mr. Omer Dormen – Vice President, India and South Asia, Castrol India Limited, on Meeting Climate Goal and Sustainability: “The World is going to need energy by 30 percent more in next 20 years. At the same time, we need to significantly reduce the emissions in order to meet the climate goal. On the face of challenges, we can evolve by three levels – Product Innovation, Process Innovation, and Catering to Customers. While we are looking Chemical Engineering World
Features CEW
LtoR: Mr Allwyn Crasto, Mr Satish Cheeti, Mr Ajay Durrani, Mr Karol Kerrane, Mr D Radhakrishnan, and Mr Ravi Kapoor @ session on Sustainability and Circular Economy
at Product Innovation, we also need to be sustainable in terms of how we produce our product. Safety is of paramount importance. Sustainability of life is also important to work on. The industrial growth interprets that the energy of India will also grow to 11 per cent of the global energy demand. And with that, India will also increase its carbon footprint in the global scale. It’s going to 14 percent, because 42 percent of the energy demand would be met by coal. So, this is the real challenge across the globe; and a challenge for India as well in terms of sustainability. So here, how are we going to evolve? We can do that at three levels – Product Innovation, Process Sustainability, and Service to Customers.”
business model change, digitization, etc., which are bombarding the industry one after another. Now the million dollar question is: how in India, we can drive ‘Sustainability and Circular Economy’? Will it make any economic sense? Circular Economy emphasizes the shift from ‘Take-Make-Dispose’ approach to ‘Reduce-Reuse-and-Recycle’ approach. And this topic has global importance. However from the Indian perspective of Circular Economy, a big question is: how do we make an economic sense out of this whole concept. India being an entrepreneur based economy, it is important to check that the business is really creating value not only for us, but for the whole ecosystem.
Sessions of the Day:
(II) Building Innovation Ecosystem through Successful Industry Academia Partnerships The session was chaired by Mr Samir Somaiya, Chairman & Managing Director, Godavari Biorefineries Ltd. The session was anchored with ‘Successful Business Model for Industry Academia Collaboration’,
(I) Sustainability & Circular Economy The subject was presented to the audience through a panel-based discussion chaired by Mr Ajay Durrani - Managing Director, Indian SubContinent, Covetsro India Pvt. Ltd. Other panel members were: Mr Satish Cheeti – CEO Recycling, Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd.; Mr Allwyn Crasto - Head, Transportation and Distribution Safety, Emergency Response and Fire Prevention, South Asia, BASF India Ltd.; Mr Ravi Kapoor – Chairman & Managing Director, Heubach India; Mr D Radhakrishnan – Principle Technologist-I, Chemical Technology Group, SRF Ltd; and Mr Karol Kerrane – Business Development Director, EPC Engineering & Technologies GmbH. Signatory Tune of the Discussion: Sustainability is primarily meeting today’s needs without compromising the needs of the future. Because, in future, the products and services have to qualify certain aspects related to sustainability, circular economy,
Chemical Engineering World
presented by Dr Diels Ludo, Research Manager Sustainable Chemistry, VITO – Flemish Institute for Technology. Other panelists were: Dr Dietmar Hueglin – Director, Innovation Campus Mumbai (RA / OM), Vice President Advanced Materials & Systems Research, BASF Chemicals India Pvt Ltd; and Dr. Amita Joshi, Sr. Manager Technical, Biotechnology Research Assistance Council (BIRAC). Signatory Tune of the Discussion: Nations, which are not enriched with natural resources – e.g. minerals, Oil&Gas, etc – to offer to the World to make huge money, have to manufacture superior quality products or services through innovation; and to offer to the rest of the World for the Nation’s survival and growth. With the backdrop of Specialty Chemical Industry, that’s the primary reason for which schools & the entire academia have to make their students excited at the very early age for choosing science in terms of chemistry, physics, biology etc.
LtoR: Dr Amita Joshi, Dr Dietmar Hueglin, Mr Samir Somaiya, and Dr Diels Ludo @ session on Building Innovation Ecosystem through Successful Industry Academia Partnerships
May 2019 • 39
CEW Features
LtoR: Mr Punit Krishna, Mr Ketan Karkhanis, Dr Raman Ramachandran, Mr Sharad Joshi, Mr. Sandeep Sreekumar, and Mr Subramanyam Kasibhat @ session on Leveraging IIoT & Digitalization for Sustainable Growth
And an ecosystem has to be built up where everybody will be of equal importance. For building an innovation ecosystem, research and development must be considered as an investment. India has to make more investment here. But it’s not only about money. It’s also about inculcation of right system and mindset. We need to create bridge amongst Industry, Academia, and the Market, so that we can create really innovative products which India and the rest of the World can be proud of. (III) Leveraging IIoT & Digitalization for Sustainable Growth The session was chaired and moderated by Dr Raman Ramachandran, Head – South Asia & CMD, BASF India Ltd. Other contributory panelists were: Mr Sandeep Sreekumar, Global Head, Adhesive Digital Operations (AOT), Henkel Supply Chain Singapore; Mr Punit Krishna, Co-founder and CEO, Chemarc; Mr Sharad Joshi, 4.0 Roll out leader South Asia, South East Asia, East Asia, and Australia & NZ, BASF;
Mr Ketan Karkhanis, Head – IT, Clariant Chemicals, India; and Mr Subramanyam Kasibhat, Founder CEO, Vegam Solutions. Signatory Tune of the Discussion: Digital disruption is all across us and is unavoidable. This is the pulse of current generation. They want things fast and visible. And this attitude of them drives today’s entrepreneurship, and in turn drives the entire Digital Transformation across the Globe , as well as in India. It’s beyond mentioning that Digitalization has manifold benefits, which include but not limit to: increasing efficiency, productivity, agility, flexibility, innovation, customer experience, safety, and reduction of cost. And, it is the end application of almost everything viz. Digital Marketing, Improvement of GoTo Marketing, Giving an Omni-Channel Experience to the Customers, Speeding up R&D, Formulating Visibility in Supply Chain, as well as fostering MaintenanceHealth-and-Safety. It is worth mentioning
that these digital technologies are exponential technologies, thus causing exponential growth. (IV) CEO Round Table – Ease of Doing Business Chemtech’s Specialty Chemical 2019 Conference was themed on this subject. The session was chaired by Mr Adnan Ahmad, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Clariant Chemicals (India) Ltd; other panelists were – Mr Rajendra Gogri, Chairman & Managing Director, Aarti Induatries Limited; Mr Suyog Kotecha, Partner, McKinsey & Company; and Mr Meghav Mehta, General Manager Strategy, Deepak Phenolics Limited. Signatory Tune of the Discussion: On the face of various present challenges in specialty chemical industry viz. product commoditization, communicating differentiated value, fluctuating raw material cost, appropriate response strategy to aggressive customers etc, – “Ease of doing business in India” has become a very contentious subject. The most fundamental question could be: ‘how competitive India is or would be as a country, or a territory, for doing business with an aim to grow across the nation as well as the globe, especially when a lot of change-influx is prevalent in terms of innovation, digitalization, technological changes, and many more. The discussion revolved around the opportunities, challenges, regulations, and recommendations by the industry around how the government can further provide a strong impetus to the growth of the Indian specialty chemicals industry.
LtoR: Mr Rajendra Gogri, Mr Adnan Ahmad, Mr Meghav Mehta, and Mr Suyog Kotecha @ CEO Round Table - Ease of Doing Business
40 • May 2019
Chemical Engineering World
CEW Features
Building an Innovation Ecosystem in the Chemicals sector through Successful Industry-Academia Partnerships For building a robust innovation ecosystem in India, a talented and motivated workforce is a crucial factor. The Chemical Industry in general, and the Specialty Chemicals in particular, is a sector where substantial innovations can drive the Indian industry. And towards this aim, going ahead, Industry – Academia interaction is a key factorial. This white paper is based on the sampling study, with a qualitative and narrative approach, to adopt the best practices from other international frameworks to overcome the hurdles. This white paper has prioritized the issues of applied research – different structures, concerns, and solutions for basic and longhorizon foundational research.
H
istorically, one of the key prerequisites for a flourishing industrial sector has been the plentiful creation of innovations produced by a very close relationship between industry and academia. The chemical sector is no exception to this correlation. This relationship is evident in the western economies, such as – the US and German industry-academia collaborative ecosystems. In recent times, there are reports that the Chinese ecosystem has also bloomed and started producing such collaborative fruits of innovation. India has seen a resurgence in manufacturing capacities in the chemical sector and more specifically in the Fine-and-Specialty chemical sector. A part of this resurgence was induced by systemic, structural problems in the Chinese industrial system; but there have been other important factors as well. Many experts consider that we, in India, have a unique window of opportunity, for expansion in these industrial segments of Fine-and-Specialty chemicals; but unless we act rapidly and decisively, there is a danger that we may miss the bus and the opportunity will pass us by. Some aspects of the Specialty Chemical sector are somewhat different from the Chemical industry in general, and that creates certain unique challenges for innovation: e.g. relatively smaller industry sizes with limited ability to handle all functional areas with in-house resources 42 • May 2019
and labs, large portfolio of products with smaller revenues per product, limitations to in-house process development due to investment limitations, difficulty in attracting talent, need to depend on external service providers and labs, pooling of resources and instrumentation, relative lack of economies of scale, etc. These aspects require to be addressed specifically in a structure for successful industry academia collaboration for the speciality industry. A key success-ingredient is the development of close co-operation between the industry and academia, and the demonstration of a critical mass of success stories. There has been interest in exploring this theme in the Dept. of Chemical Engineering at IIT-Bombay and some of our industrial collaborators and academic colleagues in other institutions. The authors have been working on this problem for the last one year. This project included informal discussions with stakeholders on the comparison with the German industrial research ecosystem which is often cited as the gold standard for what success should look like. We had made a short study trip to Germany in June 2018 during which we had the opportunity to get anecdotal opinions from stakeholders, there by the way of visits to institutions and industry as well as interactions at ACHEMA 2018. The study was meant to be a short pilot / exploratory study (based entirely on informal discussions with stakeholders)
into the industry-academia collaboration structure in India and in what ways we could improve it by learning from other ecosystems. We are planning to expand this into a larger study and a more detailed, quantitative whitepaper. The following is a summary of some insights we acquired from our initial exercise. Limitations of this whitepaper: Note that these are only initial thoughts and we hope that this can form the basis of discussion and a deeper study. The academic ecosystem in India is quite diverse (including the IITs, NITs, CSIR institutes, ICT, IICT, and many others in the chemicals domain) and it will need a much larger effort to sample the full gamut of interactions and associated issues. Due to limitations of time we could not claim to have done this. Also, due to nature of the authors’ expertise the stakeholders tended to be Chemical Engineers or Chemists from India or Germany and hence the opinions may be biased in that way. Many points that we highlight could be regarded as assertions or speculations that need further data collection to verify and validate. This study can at best be regarded as an exploratory attempt to identify the issues involved or perhaps an opinion piece. The work is qualitative and narrative, not quantitative. By no means is this the result of a rigorous scientific / statistical survey. Most importantly, in this whitepaper the issues of applied research are prioritized; Chemical Engineering World
Features CEW different structures, concerns and solutions will definitely apply to basic and long-horizon foundational research. Those are very important problems and may deserve a separate study but we did not cover those in our present scope. The researchers we spoke to were selected to be biased towards working on problems with an applied or industrial research focus and it is problems with collaborations in those areas that we address. This does not, in any way, imply that everyone should be working in applied areas; far from it. There always needs to be an appropriate balance between fundamental research and high quality engineering (applied) research. Finally, this paper should not be viewed as criticism of the existing framework but as our attempt to brainstorm on how we could perform better on collaborative projects in the chemical sector. By no means is the German (or any other system) axiomatically superior to the Indian system; the aim is only to learn from the best-practices of all systems. Some of the points we highlight are not novel or unique, but we feel they deserve to be re-emphasized in order to improve the innovation ecosystem. Building the right incentive structure in academic institutions: Oftentimes the traditional university model rewards and overly focuses on metrics viz. number and quality of publications, or citation indexes, etc. – which may not always be wellcorrelated to the output of a researcher who chooses to focus on industrial problems especially in the applied area. Tweaking the incentive system can be a crucial factor to encourage more academic researchers working on industrially relevant problems. Generally, a tenuretrack professor is rewarded for publishing in high impact-factor, journals (e.g. the likes of Nature and Science) which may not always be possible for an applied researcher, who still has substantial real world impact. Problem-solving oriented work may not compete well in terms of Chemical Engineering World
fundamental contributions, or scientific depth or rigor, yet this sort of work needs more recognition through alternative mechanisms of acknowledging credit. Importance of dual-homed, industryuniversity PhD students: The German academic institutions visited by us had a non-trivial fraction of their PhD and Masters students that were jointly advised by advisors at a university and an industry (we need to collect more rigorous data on this aspect). Some students spent more than 50 percent of their time working in the industry site, although regular interactions with the academic mentor were planned as well. We heard very good opinions about this model. Often it led to good hiring matches for industry post-PhD; and the industrial fit for such candidates can be very good. The interaction, this imposes between the industrial and academic partner, is usually a win-win situation. Although we do have certain similar models for Masters students at Indian Institute of Technology, Bangalore (IITB) in collaboration with the petroleum PSUs, we feel that this model needs to be popularized more in the Indian context. Establishing forums for tighter and more frequent contact between industry and academia: Through bodies like ACHEMA, DECHMA and other more specific topical associations frequent conferences seem to be the norm where the presence of academics and industrial stakeholders was close to 50-50. Organizational committees almost always had people from both sides and students presented posters and presentations on their ongoing projects. Anecdotally, often the direction of a PhD project was shaped and changed based on feedback received at such conferences. Many a time, new
collaborations between a university researcher and the industry were seeded during informal discussions at such meetings. It is crucial that top leadership, and decision makers from industry make it a point to attend these forums. In the Indian context, we do have forums such as Chemtech, Chemspec, ICC, and many others organizing similar interactions; but perhaps we need to have more such initiatives and also more balanced participation from industry and academia at such meetings. i.e. often some events tend to be industry-heavy and others academia-heavy. Insistence that government funded applied-research projects have an industrial stakeholder: We heard reports that increasingly federal funding models are insisting on having an industrial stakeholder on projects they will fund. This ensures that the topics chosen and problem formulation fit the industrial demand. This reduces the cases of developing solutionsin-search-of-a-problem. Having skin in the game also increases the involvement of the industrial stakeholder and puts pressure on the academic partner to make the project a success. India too has funding models that are similar in the UAY, IMPRINT, and some of the DST / DBT schemes which mandate joint participation of the industry and academia. Crucial role of industrial internships: Almost all the students, we interacted with, had per-force done an industrial internship. Some had even completed two separate internships. These internships were necessarily connected to their domains of graduation, and the work had an academic mentor. The durations were substantially longer than the norm in India, and the students had to present a serious report at
“Industry 4.0 and all analogous initiatives will require a highly skilled and motivated workforce for the chemicals industry. Academia and Industry will have to brainstorm together to identify areas in which we need to focus university teaching on or bolster skills at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.” May 2019 • 45
CEW Features the end of the internship which contributed to their graduation performance. The placement of students into internships was very often through a direct one-on-one relationship between the professor and a stakeholder at the industrial partner (as opposed to a common discipline agnostic intern pool handled by a central placement office, which seems the norm in India) which helped identify the right person for a project. In a number of cases (where we need to collect more data), these internships resulted in job-offers or a joint PhD project should the student decide to go into graduate school. Risk capital and project horizons: There is a feeling that for real success stories to emerge from the innovation ecosystem, the funding agencies (industrial or government) have to have a greater willingness to fail. Many success examples that were narrated to us, were preceded by a project or two with the same researcher that had failed. Lessons were learnt from the failures and eventually a successful project resulted. Of course, this needs a longer horizon commitment to research and freedom from being judged on short term goals for the industrial sponsor. We have heard opinions (justifiable or not) that the Indian Industrial R&D system needs to adjust to take these longer duration risks. Crucial role of the project stakeholder within the industry: Every joint project needs to have a committed and passionate stakeholder within the industry. It is also useful, if he has the technological maturity to understand and judge the work of the academic partner which often needs up-todate knowledge. Very often, having a good industrial stakeholder is the single largest factor determining the success or failure of the project. At various times during the course of a project, inputs are needed from the industrial hierarchy that can be difficult for the external student or academia to navigate alone. The academic research, on success, needs to be successfully translated and demonstrated in industry, and the role of the industry-stakeholder is 46 • May 2019
“The academic ecosystem in India is quite diverse (including the IITs, NITs, CSIR institutes, ICT, IICT and many others in the chemicals domain) and it will need a much larger effort to sample the full gamut of interactions and associated issues.” imperative. Hence, project-proposals that emerge organically from the stakeholder tend to be more successful. Pipeline of institutions from basic to translational research: The German ecosystem had several players each focusing on a different stage of research in the technology readiness model. E.g. The Helmholtz, Fraunhofer, Universities, Technical Universities, Max Planck, Startups etc. Unless we develop this entire pipeline, it is difficult for good research to reach the market since specialization has meant that one institution often cannot handle the full chain. One of the notable features of the German model especially in the Fraunhofer system is that the senior functionaries often held a joint appointment at a regional University, facilitating effective interaction with that University. Role of start-ups and spinoffs: The spurt in startups in the Chemicals is a fairly recent trend. The final polishing of a research idea, and converting it into a technology-package is the part that the conventional universities and institutes are often not suitable for. As for e.g. industries want process guarantees that may not fit into the mandate of conventional institutions due to the risk factors and litigation risk involved. Often a PhD student or young researcher can lead such a startup (often with a dual position at the Fraunhofer) which then pays royalties to the parent institution for commercializing technology. We find a gap that needs to be filled by more such startups in the chemicals in India. The research lab is not well suited with the skillset needed to deliver a full technology package. In addition, the traditional chemical engineering curriculum was centred around “processes”. But in today’s context, “product development” has become increasingly important; and can be a great
avenue for entrepreneurship and startups due to relatively modest investment requirements as opposed to traditional chemical manufacturing plants. To equip students to the transition into successful startups and entrepreneurship, the academic curriculum may need necessary changes to add more techno-commercial courses with exposure to business, financial, and legal aspects relevant to commercialization of technical ideas. Early industrial apprenticeships for undergrad students: Although not universal, we did encounter students who had spent a semester in an industry at the very early stages of their university education. This was more an apprenticeship than an independent internship; but it may play a formative role in enhancing the student’s understanding of the industrial setup and an empathy with the characteristics of feasible solutions. e.g. Practice School at MIT. It also develops a work ethic in the student and a willingness to get their hands dirty in labs and workshops. Another skill picked up early on was the ability to work with chemicals, tools (lathes, CNC, milling etc.), and instruments safely. Research Group as an autonomous unit of structure: The individual research group, with a senior Professor as its head, enjoys substantial autonomy in the German system and is often a more cohesive structure than in the Indian system where the Department is the fundamental unit. In a world where research has become so specialized, perhaps there are benefits of this approach. The research group had significant freedom in areas like hiring, procurement, budgets etc. which leads to a more flexible and nimble research environment. Role of generalists in technology transfer & need identification: One of the lacunae in the Indian system that Chemical Engineering World
Features CEW was mentioned by stakeholders was the difficulty for an industry in identifying the right set of resources from a University or National Lab that may be useful to work on a particular problem. This is, in general, not an easy problem to solve since it requires very high quality people at the interfaces (i.e. Technology Transfer offices) who are conversant with a wide variety of research disciplines. Many applied problems need niche skillsets or instruments; and often cannot be conveniently corralled into a single or few areas of departmental expertise. The same sort of generalists can also be very useful in need identification so that Academia prioritizes working on problems of the most urgent need and highest impact. Various institutes including the IITs do have industrial research and consultancy offices but they may need to be further strengthened. The current model works at an institutional level, but perhaps decentralized nodes at the departmental level may have an increasing role to play? Cross mobility between industry and academia: We came across substantial number of academics who had had a previous stint in industry (more data is needed) and the other way around. Cross mobility was possible and often encouraged in leadership positions. There is a perception that this contributes positively to the innovation ecosystem. Furthermore, certain positions seem unique in their structure, in which the professor actually spends a certain number of days every month in a particular company and which has contributed financially to this position. This has the potential to bring about very close interaction between the industry and the academia. Development of a work ethic and willingness to get hands dirty: In German lab-tours, we saw a greater willingness
among students to work with tools and get their hands dirty. To its credit the German system also provided more opportunities to do this. We expect more Tinker-labs and other experimental spaces at universities to encourage this. At the research level, we need more students capable of designing, building, and repairing their own experimental setups than depending always on external providers. Not only would this speed up the research process, but also innovations in apparatus and devices often need a deep understanding that cannot be gained by merely operating a setup as a “black-box” without tinkering with the internals (with safety and caution in mind, of course). Traditionally, workshop skills – included in a university curriculum for engineers – include crafts viz. welding, woodworking, etc. Today this may need to be supplemented with tinkering toolkits in the software-machine interfaces viz. LabView, Arduino, RaspberryPi, and other DIY robotics and industrial microcontrollers. With the elements of Industry 4.0 rolling into industry, these skills will become increasingly important. The difficulty of establishing such hands-on facilities in the Chemicals area is greater but we see some success at IIT-Bombay in starting such facilities. Reduction in bureaucracy and project execution bottlenecks: In the Indian context, there were many horror stories about projects waiting for months for procurement-or-accounts approvals at universities, or delayed payments to vendors because of ERP glitches, etc. One stakeholder cited an incident that almost a year been lost in getting the much needed approvals to use a relatively common synthetic reagent on an innovation campus. There is a need to streamline these non-technical aspects of the ecosystem since the time
“Some aspects of the Specialty Chemical sector are somewhat different from the Chemical industry in general, and that creates certain unique challenges for innovation. These aspects require to be addressed specifically in a structure for successful industry academia collaboration. ” Chemical Engineering World
is of essence in the modern industrial cycle. Bureaucratic overreach needs to be controlled from derailing the project timelines. Professional project management principles need to make more inroads in the academic setting. The unique needs of research project in terms of procurement should be understood and incorporated into the systems. Getting out of a vicious cycle of learned failures: Some people we spoke to, in the Indian system, expressed a perception of a vicious cycle: Some collaborative projects fail leading to scepticism about collaborations leading to lesser inputs and resources poured into future collaborations. This creates underfunded projects with unrealistic expectations or impractical timelines under the constraints of the resources made available. This in turn results in projects with even worse performance and often mistrust from both sides. This cycle needs to be broken out of. We need to create and highlight a critical mass of successful projects and case-studies to break this cycle of learned failures. Typically, there are two valleys of death in translational R&D: (i) From invention to development and (ii) From Development to the Market. Successful collaboration between academia and industry needs to focus on how to bridge these twin valleys of death. On a larger scale, the same principles apply at a sectoral and national level: “Success breeds success”. Institutions and sectors with a history of indigenous innovations gain the confidence for further success. The German system has this as an advantage whereas we in the Indian context need to build up this momentum. There is a certain critical mass of successful projects after which we can expect such an autocatalytic transformation to set in; but we need the effort and patience to reach this inflection point. Establishing geographic clusters of excellence: Having a high density of researchers in a certain industrial sector May 2019 • 47
CEW Features (e.g. chemicals, automotives etc.) in a certain geography increases the probability of interactions and collaborations among related researchers. We need to encourage such facilities in India. The geography is ideally so chosen that the chemical industry also has a high density in the same geography. Notwithstanding the advances in communication and video calls we still found that physical meetings and interactions are playing a large role in building successful partnerships. Stable policy that transcends leadership changes: Opinions were expressed that institutional policy needs to be fairly stable in the medium to longer runs for investments to bear fruit. There are fears of facilities being established but left to deteriorate due to a change in leadership focus or institutional direction. Hierarchy of Positions for mentorship in academic labs: A unique feature of some of the labs and groups we visited was a rich set of hierarchical roles to establish the mentorship chain and continuity of skills and passing down of knowledge. Typically, a senior professor heading the lab, with – several younger professors, post-doctoral researchers, permanent skilled laboratory technicians, PhD students, Masters students, and undergrad interns formed the ecosystem. This sort of pyramidal structure enables the research efforts to scale and establishes a critical mass of internal knowledge and skillsets. The chain of mentorship ensures that various people along the chain play a leading role in training and supervising the level under them. This sort of structure does exist in the Indian setup but perhaps could be strengthened or its gaps filled up (e.g. postdoctoral researcher recruitment has been stepped up recently in IITs). Cross mobility of students between countries to appreciate best practices: We see a need to encourage internships, and lab exchanges etc. to industries and academic labs in other countries. Sometimes the best way to absorb best 48 • May 2019
“There are two valleys of death in translational R&D: From invention to development, and From Development to the Market. Successful collaboration between academia and industry needs to focus on how to bridge these twin valleys of death.” practices from another culture is to have a student from that nation spent a semester or two here. Work ethic, or attention to detail, or the ability to tinker may be best learnt by osmosis from a visiting student or researcher. At a higher level, the cross mobility of Professors between nations also needs to increase. There are several recent initiatives to encourage this in Indian institutions but there’s still scope for further improvement. Student Training to match Industrial requirements: Industry 4.0 and all analogous initiatives will require a highly skilled and motivated workforce for the chemicals industry. Academia and Industry will have to brainstorm together to identify areas in which we need to focus university teaching on or bolster skills at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In certain subjects the curriculum has lagged behind and needs to be appropriately revised to make it meaningful to today’s industry. Many industries currently spend a good portion of a year retraining fresh hires to bring them up to the skillset level desirable for their industry. If some of these gaps could be filled at the academic level, the transition to industry may be smoother. Reward structure relative to competing sectors: A talented, motivated workforce is certainly a crucial factor in bringing about a robust innovation ecosystem. In certain western economies chemical engineering jobs tend to be one of the highest paying (need more data to validate this), on average, among the Engineering Disciplines. There is a perception that in India we are losing a lot of the Chemical Engineering Talent to other areas (finance, banking, IT, consulting, etc.) due to disparities in the compensation structure. This may only be partly true, since students do not choose jobs based on compensation alone. On the other hand, we hear our
colleagues in the chemical industry that good candidates are hard to find. There is certainly a gap in the expectations from both sides (the industry and graduating students) that somehow needs to be bridged and academia ought to play a role here in tweaking its training protocols. So also, introspection is needed on the industrial side as to how other sectors generate more value (as evidenced from relative compensation) from the same set of students and what the Chemicals sector could be doing to emulate this value creation. Aiming for the Low Hanging Fruit: There is a tendency for research money to get crowded in certain areas that are perceived to have a high impact. While it is certainly true that there are several such high impact problems that, if solved, can impact the lives of billions of people at the same time there are a multitude of problems in sectors like speciality chemicals, which may sound relatively trivial, yet where much more impact can be produced with the same effort. This is because of the great variety of processes and products in the speciality chemicals industry and the high rate with which new products get introduced which in turn has meant that relatively little work has been done on each of them. Un-optimized processes are plenty and they should serve as low hanging fruit for a motivated researcher. Effort is needed to attract more talent to such underappreciated areas and problems in the chemicals sector. Thinking outside the box - life beyond funded research projects: Although industry-funded research projects remain the primary avenue for collaboration today we see potential for fruitful interactions in other atypical ways: In-kind donations of chemicals and equipment, access to instrumental analysis facilities at industrial labs and many others. Due to
Chemical Engineering World
Features CEW obsolescence, or product changes there are often industrial surplus in equipment that can be productively utilized in academic setups. In addition, one opinion we heard was the positive impact that can arise by inviting an outsider (e.g. a University Professor) to attend and comment during project meetings and evaluations. The access to external points of view can often lead to high quality brainstorming and innovative solutions emerge. Similar impact can probably be had by inviting industry professionals to academic group meetings. Continuing education for industry professionals: With the rapid pace of technical advances and increasing demands of day to day operations, it is not easy for an industrial professional to keep abreast with the latest technology and development outside of his immediate area of expertise. On the other hand, such knowledge is crucial for staying on top of the innovation cycle. Managers who do not understand the latest advancements in technology, cannot be expected to take optimal decisions in such an ecosystem. Academic institutions will have a crucial role to play in digesting and disseminating this knowledge to industrial partners by way of workshops and continuing education initiatives. Traditionally such work in universities has perhaps been accorded an inferior status vis-à-vis primary research, and that needs to change to incentivize academics to work on continuing education. Exposing students to the excitement of the chemical industry: Very often the excitement of sectors like basic and specialty chemicals remains hidden from sight. Many students go through the university curriculum without visiting an impressive plant, hearing about the execution of a large project or interacting
with a practising engineer they may look up to as a role model. On the contrary, advances from other areas like e-commerce or analytics etc., are more accessible to the average student. It is our belief that we need to do more to “sell” our sector to the students. If only, we could get them to visit more chemical plants or interact with successful practising engineers we could infect them with the enthusiasm that would open them up to the excitement of working in the chemicals sector. In the German / Swiss model we see initiatives such as the “Schweizer Jugend Forscht” which try to catch youth even younger at the school level and inject such enthusiasm for the chemical sciences. Together, industry and academia has to work on more such initiatives to attract the best talent into the innovation ecosystem. Concluding Remarks: We think these issues of industryacademia interaction are very important going ahead, if we are to build a robust innovation ecosystem in India. The Chemical industry in general and speciality chemicals in particular is a sector where substantial innovation can drive the Indian industry if we can overcome some of the hurdles adopt the best practices from other international frameworks. One potential solution going ahead, could be to establish “Centres of Excellence” in these areas (e.g. specialty chemicals) under the domain of existing academic institutions. These sector-specific Centres of Excellence could be models of industry academia collaboration focussed on applied research in a single domain where some of these ideas of collaboration can be tested. We can hope to overcome existing hurdles and incorporate a structure that has tried to borrow from the best R&D and project management systems we come across. We are optimistic that this can lead to more success stories of successful collaboration in the Speciality Chemical sector.
“Work ethic, or attention to detail, or the ability to tinker may be best learnt by osmosis from a visiting student or researcher. At a higher level, the cross mobility of Professors between nations also needs to increase.” Chemical Engineering World
We intended this communication to be only an expression of our opinions and of some limited interactions we had with other stakeholders in the industry and academia. We discovered a lot of opinions about what works and what doesn’t; but it needs a larger and more rigorous study to verify some of these assertions and to dig deeper into the issues. We hope this will prove useful to others to present their opinions and to serve as a starting point for further brainstorming. These sort of observations are necessarily subjective and we are very happy to receive comments regarding points we may have overlooked, or may have been outright wrong about. This sort of feedback will contribute to creating a better version of the whitepaper. Acknowledgement: Members of various institutions, both in India and Germany, gave us valuable co-operation, patient discussions, anecdotal evidence, and opinions about how to build a successful industrial-academic ecosystem. Detailed comments from Dr. Dietmar Hueglin of BASF are gratefully acknowledged. The responsibility for the opinions expressed in this report are only of the authors alone but the inputs of these colleagues are gratefully acknowledged. Funding for this initiative was, in part, provided by Mr. Amrut Dama of the Jay Chemicals Group. Acknowledgement / Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this document do not reflect the official position of the Institute or any of the organizations referred to.
Author Details
Dr Rahul Nabar Adj. Assoc. Professor, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay May 2019 • 49
CEW Market Insight
Modularization in Chemical Industry The modularization concept in chemical industry is comparatively a newer trend. It is about configuring a plant through the assembly of multiple modules to make a complete plant. It is an alternative to traditional stick-built construction. This article provides a valuable insight on this new trend. Not only that, it also emphasizes the best practices being followed by one of the leading chemical engineering company – Praz Industries Limited. Changing paradigm in Chemical Industry: The paradigm of project execution has been rapidly changing due to the change in market and economic scenario in the Chemical Industry. Today, the expectation is to complete the project in shortest possible time to improve the payback period as well as the return on investment (ROI). In addition to that, the safety norms and labour regulations at site are getting tougher and tougher. In view of achieving the above, the industry has been trying to innovate the way the projects are being conceptualized and implemented. Modularization: One of the new trends in project conceptualization in chemical industry is: “Modularization”. Modularization is not a new concept in Oil & Gas Industry, particularly in offshore applications as well as remote Oil & Gas processing plants in upstream and midstream sector. However, in chemical industry, the concept of modularization is comparatively new because most of the chemical plants are in the industrial areas where labour availability,
transportation, etc have been favourable compared to remote locations.
system is shipped from the fabrication yard and installed at the site.
What is ''Modularisation" Simply putting modular plant can be defined as 'Process System contained within a frame' that allows the complete system to be transported. Thus, a Module is an alternative to traditional stick-built construction where process
Interestingly, there is always a confusion about what exactly it means in Process Plants because module is a very generic term. Often, a module is imagined as a very large system which generally transported on a barge or ship. And as such, the modularisation concept is often considered
Large modules for Oil&Gas applications 50 • May 2019
Chemical Engineering World
Market Insight CEW
Type
Units
General Size
Type 1
Single Process Unit
Containerized / Truckable
Type 2
Process Package Assembly of multiple units
Scalable and Flexible. Transportable by road (Containerized/ Truckable )
Type 3
Process Package Single large Unit
Very Large Difficult to transport by road
In the Shop / Yard Complete assembly and Pre-Comm Complete Assembly, Pre-comm, and Dismantling of individual units Complete assembly and Pre-Comm
Transportation
At Site
As a Single Unit
Plug and Play
In multiple units and spools of interconnecting piping
Assembly of units + Spools (Like Lego)
As a Single Unit – Generally by barge/ ship
not practical because chemical plants are located where such huge equipment cannot be transported.
These definitions are very helpful while imagining and explaining the configuration of a plant.
Modularisation : Praj Perspective At Praj, we have a very different perspective of modularisation and we define Modularisation as :
Praj way of modularisation : Being the Technology and EPC company along with our own manufacturing facilities, we at Praj are able to conceptualise and design the modular plant in a more construction friendly and cost-effective way.
Configuring a plant in a way where multiple Modules are assembled to make a complete plant. Thus, A Modular Plant is : • ”Process System within a structure ” • Complete in all respect till structure limits / battery limits
Praj specializes in converting StickBuilt process packages into Type-2 Modular Configuration for Chemical and PetroChemical Plants
To simplify the understanding of the modular plant, we have internally defined modular plants in 3 different ways –
Praj is uniquely positioned to leverage inhouse competencies: • Process understanding – Being a Technology / Chemical Engg company • Multi-disciplinary Engineering • Manufacturing / Assembly shops • Experience of logistics all over the world • Experience of installation of plants : Both – Stick-built and Modular
Type 1 Single Process Unit
Type 2 Multiple Process Units Assembled Together
• can be small or large depending on the transportation feasibility • Can be single or multiple levels • Transportable and easy to assemble at site
Chemical Engineering World
Very large cranes
Over the years, Praj has been modularized many packages in various configuration : 1. Fully modularized – Container size – All sub-modules are container size and can be transported in standard containers 2. Fully modularized – Truckable size – Sub-modules are of truckable size (approx. width 4.5 to 5 m) 3. Mixed Modularized – Containerized + Truckable – Some of the sub-modules are truckable size ( 4.5 to 5 m width ) and some are container size 4. Partially modularized – Large Equipment Off-Module – Sub-modules are container or truckable size but large equipment like Columns or Reactors are kept stand-alone. Size does not matter – SIZING matters : Irrespective of the size of the plant, the modularization is possible provided the sizing of individual sub-modules are done thoughtfully. While conceptualizing the sizing, following aspects are considered:
Type 3 Multiple Processes in Single Large Unit May 2019 • 51
CEW Market Insight
Steps 1, 4, and 6 are carried-out in a development workshop method where clients participate to validate the design. This creates a synergy in thought process and approach to the project execution.
2. Difficult to accommodate Process Design change after finalization of configuration 3. Model review steps must be very stringent 4. Weight and cost of structure may be higher (But many a time saves site civil construction cost) 5. Requirement of suitable space for assembly at shop / yard 6. Meticulous planning required for B/O items as there is less flexibility to accommodate at a later stage. All these challenges can be overcome by proper planning and teamwork between modularization company and client.
Challenges in Modularization : While modularization is a very effective way of configuring a plant, there are certain challenges which must be kept in mind and shall be mitigated.
Benefits of Modularisation : The most important benefit is Modularisation becomes a “No Surprise” project at site as complete assembly is carried-out in the fabrication shop before the FAT / Pre-commissioning phase.
1. Concurrent Engineering at Client and Module supplier is a MUST.
Over the years of experience in modularization, Praj has developed a competency in conceptualizing and manufacturing the modular plants for chemical industry and can claim that
• Location of site
validate the process including safety norms validation
• Safety norms • Transportation Limits – From Shop / To site
5. Preliminary Model with major lines
• Availability of Cranes
6. Optimization workshop – review sizing of modules / Possibility of resizing of equipment
Process of Modularization – A joint development While developing the modularization concept, the most important thing is joint efforts between the client and modularization company.
7. Finalization of configuration
At Praj, we always work together with client’s team in following steps : 1. Understanding workshop - Detail understanding of Process Scheme, PFD, P&ID, and other details 2. Concept sketches – Configuration 3. Equipment placement 4. Process Validation workshop – Client process team participates to
8. Complete Modeling of Modular Plant
Areas
Benefits
Savings potential
Plant Design / Engineering
• •
Transportable Design Smaller Footprint
20-30 percent Footprint savings possible
Procurement/ I n b o u n d Logistics
•
Reduction of procurement items and subsequent logistics for EPC / End-client Safer conditions than site Controlled assembly and QA FAT before installation Faster Installation at Site Minimizing and controlling risk during construction Accelerated schedule Faster start of production
S av i n g s i n c o - o r d i n a t i o n effor ts and c onsequently man-hours Site labour cost saving from 25 to 75 percent possible depending on site
Manufacturing/ Assembly
O v e r a l l Schedule
52 • May 2019
• • • • • • •
25 to 30 percent compressed schedule possible
Author Details
Abhijit Dani Vice President & Business Unit Head Critical Process Equipment and Modularisation Praj Industries Ltd. Chemical Engineering World
Company Profile CEW
AKASH Blowers Pvt Ltd, AKASH Blowers Pvt Ltd, one of the leading manufacturers of Twin and Tri Lobe Roots Type Air Blowers, Mechanical Vacuum Boosters and Acoustic Hoods, and specialising in pressure and vacuum technology, supplies air blowers for STP, ETP, WTP and for various types of applications, caters mainly to the needs of their customers spread across PAN India. The company has a good track record of after sales and service.
Product Range 1) Direct Drive Blowers are widely used for small effluent treatment plants, sewage treatment plants and water treatment plants.
5) Mechanical Vacuum Booster helps boost vacuum level meant for packaging purpose.
6) Acoustic Hood reduces the noise 3) Twin-lobe Air-cooled Blowers are widely used for ETP, STP, WTP, electroplating, cement and various other types of industries.
4)
Twin-lobe
Roots
Type
level and also gives protection from rain and sunlight.
Water-
cooled Air Blowers are mainly used 2) 100 per cent Oil-free Aquaculture Blowers are widely used for fish farming.
where continuous high pressure in the range from 8,000 to 10,000-mmwg are required.
Chemical Engineering World
For details Contact : AKASH Blowers Pvt Ltd 1710/1712/1713 MIE, Part B, Bahadurgarh, Dist: Jhajjar, Haryana 124 507 Tel: 91-9999 56 4644, 9354 57 5533 E-mail: info@akashblowers.com Website: www.akashblowers.com May 2019 • 53
CEW Products Clean Sticker Remover
Clean Marble Cleaner
Sudarshan Speciality Chemsolve Pvt Ltd offers clean sticker remover.
Sudarshan Speciality Chemsolve Pvt Ltd offers clean marble cleaner.
It works quickly and effectively on a variety of tough cleaning problems such as stickers, labels, tape, gum, etc. It is safe for glass, metal, plastic and any hard surfaces.
It is a concentrated marble cleaner for cleaning all types of marble. It does not affect the original shine or the texture of the marble. It can be used on granite also.
For details contact: Sudarshan Speciality Chemsolve Pvt Ltd 301 Aura Biplex, Premium Retail, Premises 7 S V Road, Borivli (W) Mumbai 400 067 Tel: 022-42221111 E-mail: globaltech.sunil@gmail.com or Circle Readers’ Service Card 01
For details contact: Sudarshan Speciality Chemsolve Pvt Ltd 301 Aura Biplex, Premium Retail, Premises 7 S V Road, Borivli (W) Mumbai 400 067 Tel: 022-42221111 E-mail: globaltech.sunil@gmail.com or Circle Readers’ Service Card 02
Pumps for On-board Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems To curb global marine and air pollution, stricter limits on the sulphur-dioxide content of marine exhaust gases stipulated by the EU and IMO (International Maritime Organisation of the UN) will apply from 2020. From an engineering point of view, this can be achieved by using natural gas or fuels with a low sulphur content, and by cleaning the exhaust gases with a scrubber. For such on-board exhaust gas cleaning systems KSB ITUR Spain SA, a company of the KSB Group located in Zarautz, has further developed its ILN Type Series of vertical in-line centrifugal pumps with closed impeller and mechanical seal. With their redesigned hydraulic system, the pumps meet the extremely tough requirements specified by the authorities regarding operating behaviour and efficiency. Up to the size 250 the back pull-out design allows the impeller to be dismantled without removing the piping and motor, which is of great importance given the restricted space on board. A self-venting wide mechanical seal chamber ensures durable sealing at the shaft passage. Replaceable casing wear rings in the pump casing and casing cover facilitate servicing if necessary. The water-tight rolling element bearings require neither re-lubrication nor maintenance. The casing materials are aluminium bronze and super duplex steels. The max flow rate of the (60-Hz) pump sets is 3,700 m 3/hr. The highest head is 160-m. According to an estimate by the EGCSA (Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems Association) only 1,000 vessels at sea are currently fitted with a scrubber or prepared for such an installation. This means about another 70,000 vessels worldwide will have to undertake measures ensuring compliance with the new exhaust gas standards by the start of 2020. For details contact: KSB Pumps Ltd Mumbai-Pune Road Pune, Maharashtra 411 018 Tel: 020-27101231 Fax: 91-020-27426000 E-mail: Yagnesh.Buch@ksb.com or Circle Readers’ Service Card 03
54 • May 2019
Chemical Engineering World
Next Issue Focus
Chemical Engineering World June 2019 Issue
Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Industry is of strategic importance to India’s economy. It has witnessed a remarkable growth over the last few years driven by increased investments in various fronts of infrastructure, industrial production, and other associated factorials. It also has a major contribution in Chemical Engineering Process Plants. Our June’2019 issue will unfold various topics related to various challenges EPC industry is facing, and also the prevalent as well as upcoming trends, viz. Digital Transformation of Functional Value Chain, Integrated Project Management Systems, Smart Plants, e-Procurement, Digitalization of Construction Operation, etc. Please stay tuned to us! For Contribution, please contact - Jayati Mukherjee, Editorial Team Email: jayati_mukherjee@jasubhai.com
Taj Building, 3rd Floor, 210 D N Road, Fort, Mumbai 400 001 Tel: 91-022-40373636, Fax: 91-022-40373635 industrialmags@jasubhai.com
CEW Products Dispensers Toshniwal Hyvac Pvt Ltd offers dispensers to transfer flammable liquids (petrol, kerosene and diesel fuel). Features high efficiency pump with nozzle holder, easy to install on the barrel through the quick coupling; dispensing unit equipped with telescopic suction tube for direct connection into the tank allows easy and clear use of the dispenser. It has a cast iron body, anti-noise filter, flanged components pump, bypass setup with pressure relief valve; ther mal protection; built-in non-retur n valve (NRV) built and suction unit with integrated fine filter. Meter and filters can be installed or replaced without the use of sealant, making connection quick and safe. For details contact: Toshniwal Hyvac Pvt Ltd 267 Kilpauk Garden Road, Chennai 600 010 Tel: 044-26448558, 26448983 Fax: 91-044-26441820 E-mail: sales@toshniwal.net or Circle Readers’ Service Card 04
Heavy Duty Super Duplex SS Submersible Acid-resistant Slurry Pumps The Goodwin pump uses high quality copper-end plates and bars in their rotor that are brazed together where the melting point of the braze is 787oC. The motor runs submerged in oil which lubricates the bearings and transmits heat from the stator winding, the hottest part of the motor, to the high mass stator housing that acts as a heat sink. The pump benefits from forced convection cooling by nature of the pumped fluid passing around the motor housing before it leaves the pump. This allows the pump to run all day even if it is only semi-submerged without overheating. The Goodwin mechanical seal is only subjected to the pressure from the submergence depth of the pump which generally is only a few metres of head. Open vane impeller assists the break-down of large particles in the impeller that might ultimately lead to a blocked pump. All Goodwin SSDS pump wet-end components are coated with a nickel-based super-alloy coating which is extremely corrosionresistance to oxidising acids, resistant to severe abrasion, metal to metal wear, hot abrasion, impact and has a low co-efficient of friction. This is a standard feature on all Goodwin SDSS pumps. Twin volute casing puts a balanced load on the shaft giving less vibration leading to longer mechanical seal and bearing life. The agitator is much closer to the lower bearing (390 mm) and as such the bending moment on the shaft, when it comes into contact with large particles, is much less. The Goodwin agitator which was granted a patent sends shock waves down below the pump making settled solids start to flow similar to tapping ones foot on the sand on a beach. For details contact: Goodwin Pumps India Pvt Ltd 112/1 Chinna Amman Koil Street Kalavakkam, Thirupporur Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu 603 110 Tel: 044-47439999 E-mail: info@goodwinindia.in or Circle Readers’ Service Card 05 24
56 • May 2019
Chemical Engineering World
Products CEW Advanced Hydrocarbon Gas Analysers Signal Group, the UK-based manufacturer of gas analysers, offers the new SOLAR range of fixed hydrocarbon monitors. The SOLAR instruments employ flame ionisation detectors (FIDs) and are supplied in a standard 19” rack, with heated and non-heated options. A dual detector version is also available for the simultaneous measurement of both methane and non-methane hydrocarbons. The SOLAR analysers can be operated via an intuitive colour touch-screen display. However, a non-screen version is available for systems integrators. Typical applications include research and development, emissions compliance, gas purity, engine emissions, air quality, process control and combustion monitoring. Alternatively, a 24 V version of the instrument is available for Realworld Driving Emissions (RDE) tests. For details contact: Signal Group Ltd 12 Doman Road Camberley Surrey GU15 3DF, U.K. Tel: +44 (0) 1276 682841 Fax: +44 (0) 1276 691302 E-mail: sales@signal-group.com or Circle Readers’ Service Card 06
Twin Screw Pump Designed for handling fluids which are sensitive, abrasive, and either high or low viscosity, the Alfa Laval Twin Screw Pump is ideal for use in hygienic applications in the dairy, food and beverage, and personal care industries. The Twin Screw Pump is the ideal choice for both high and low viscosity liquids, all pumped perfectly with complete reliability. Additional benefits of the Alfa Laval twin screw pump are that it is quiet and virtually pulse-free, as well as being smooth and gentle during operation. These characteristics make the pump an excellent choice for handling sensitive products. Built on a robust, reliable platform that meets stringent hygienic standards, the pump is capable of handling both product transfer and cleaning-in-place (CIP). Its low pulsation characteristics and excellent solids handling capabilities reduce the risk of product damage, thereby improving product quality. Maintenance is simplified and process uptime increased. Two-in-one operation provides easy handling of process media of varying viscosities as well as CIP fluids. This simplifies piping and pump control, cutting costs and minimizing contamination risks. Superior suction performance with excellent lift capability and low NPSHR provides installation flexibility and increases product recovery. Quick, easy seal replacement with the pump in place is made possible, thanks to a cartridge seal with a truly front-loading, self-setting design. This maximizes process uptime and minimizes maintenance costs. An optional seal service kit program adds maintenance flexibility and cuts operating costs. The Alfa Laval twin screw pump features a clean, external SS finish with profiled elastomers and mechanical seals fully surrounded by the product. Designed for max cleanability using FDA-conforming materials, the pump is both EHEDG- and 3-A Certified. An optional ATEX version enables use in hazardous zones. For details contact: Alfa Laval Kolding A/S 31, Albuen - DK-6000 Kolding, Denmark Tel: +45 79 32 22 00 Fax: +45 79 32 25 80 E-mail: kolding.reception@alfalaval.com or Circle Readers’ Service Card 07 24
Chemical Engineering World
May 2019 • 57
CEW Products Machine Learning
Ultra-compact Industrial PC
Beckhoff offers a machine learning (ML) solution that is seamlessly integrated into TwinCAT 3 software. Building on established standards, TwinCAT 3 Machine Learning brings to ML applications the advantages of system openness familiar from PCbased control. In addition, the TwinCAT solution supports machine learning in real-time, allowing it to handle even demanding tasks like motion control. These capabilities provide machine builders and manufacturers with an optimum foundation to enhance machine performance, eg, through prescriptive maintenance, process selfoptimisation and autonomous detection of process anomalies For details contact: Beckhoff Automation Pvt Ltd Suyog Platinum Tower, 9th Floor Naylor Road, Off Mangaldas Road Pune, Maharashtra 411 001 Tel: 020-67064802, Fax: 91-020-67064899 E-mail: a.phatak@beckhoff.com / info@beckhoff.co.in or Circle Readers’ Service Card 08
With dimensions of only 129 x 133 x 104 mm, the C6032 Industrial PC extends the range of ultra-compact Industrial PCs by a high-performance device in modular design. For this purpose, the C6032 adds a further circuit board level to the C6030 single-board Industrial PC, which is comparable in terms of computing power, to allow for accommodation of modular interface and functional extensions. With the use of compact PCIe modules, the C6032 can be optimally adapted to the requirement profile of individual applications. For details contact: Beckhoff Automation Pvt Ltd Suyog Platinum Tower, 9th Floor Naylor Road, Off Mangaldas Road Pune, Maharashtra 411 001 Tel: 020-67064802 Fax: 91-020-67064899 E-mail: a.phatak@beckhoff.com / info@beckhoff.co.in or Circle Readers’ Service Card 09
Mixer for Bio-fertilizers & Pesticides The new generation mixing technology offered by Toshniwal is now available in India for the biofertilizer/pesticide industry. The fluidised zone mixer comprises a series of paddles affixed to two shafts positioned in double-drum housing. The shaft rotate in opposite direction at a specific peripheral speed. The paddles are angled and overlap in the middle of the mixer. The paddles, mechanically fluidize the material by lifting it and creating a weightless condition in the center of the mixer, which creates a very efficient transpor t system thereby even very large/small amounts of liquids can be distributed evenly throughout the mixture. The special accessory provision of Pin mill system for delumping the powder and liquid addition features proven absolute suitability for the bio-fertilizers and bio-pesticides manufacturing industries, which demands large quantity of microbial (broth) liquid on to the carrier lignite/talc powders to achieve the final product in homogeneous lump-free form. This helps to get a consistent and uniform bacterial count level while in storage to get best results for the crop productivity and protection from insecticides. The mixing equipment also has the flexibility with add on features to function as dryer / vacuum drying for agglomerating powders by the addition of binders. Toshniwal mixer has a proven record for manufacturing seaweed liquid/botanical extracts coated bentonite (granulated) product for plant growth stimulants/nutrition supplements. The mixer will be provided with liquid dosing system as an option. For details contact: Toshniwal 267 Kilpauk Garden Road Chennai 600 010 Tel: 044-26445626, 26448983 E-mail: sales@toshniwal.net or Circle Readers’ Service Card 10
58 • May 2019
Chemical Engineering World
Products CEW Roots Vacuum Pumps
High Vacuum Pump
The Roots Type pumps belong to the group of positive displacement delivery pumps. Two symmetrical pistons having eight features, housed in the pump body, rotate in opposite directions with no contact between each other, nor with the pump body, meshing continuously. The pistons are driven by a set of gears with synchronised rotation, which guarantees frictionfree movement. During rotation, a progressively growing space is created with corresponds to the suction stage: phases 1 and 2, being gradually decreased phases 3 and 4, compressing the volume of gas. This cycle is repeated four times each per complete rotation of the drive shaft.
New customer requirements have given rise to further development in Toshniwal direct driven vacuum pumps, the 72-D Series.
For details contact: Toshniwal Instruments (Madras) Pvt Ltd 267 Kilpauk Garden Road, Chennai 600 010 Tel: 044-26448983, 26448558 Fax: 91-044-26441820 E-mail:sales@toshniwal.net
For details contact: Toshniwal Instruments (Madras) Pvt Ltd 267 Kilpauk Garden Road Chennai 600 010 Tel: 044-26448983, 26448558 E-mail: sales@toshniwal.net
or Circle Readers’ Service Card 11
With over three decades of expertise in vacuum technology, Toshniwal offer customised solutions ranging from individual products to a complete system.
Beyond usual quality and reliability of Toshniwal pumps the 72-D Series pump offers improvement in the areas of quieter operation, smaller size and easy maintenance. Pumping capacities available are 120 to 900 litre/min.
or Circle Readers’ Service Card 12
Servo Drive System The AMP8000 distributed Servo Drive system provides ideal support for the implementation of modular machine concepts. With the new AMP8620 supply module in a high protection rating, the entire system can now be relocated directly to the machine, ie, through consistent decentralization, drive technology can be implemented entirely without control cabinets. That means max possible savings on material, space, costs and assembly work. While previously with the coupling modules, the requirements for connecting distributed AMP8000 drives to the control cabinet were already reduced to just one cable, they can now be completely eliminated when the AMP8620 supply module is used. Eliminating the need for a control cabinet further reduces the floor space and cabling requirements for the entire machine. The air-conditioning resources, which would otherwise be necessary for control cabinet cooling, can also be eliminated. The AMP8620 module is directly connected to the mains supply. It contains all circuitry components required for that purpose, such as mains filters, rectifiers and charging circuits for the integrated DC link capacitors. The supply module enables optional connection of additional distribution modules or distributed AMP8000 Servo Drives. It is equipped with two EtherCAT P outputs, through which either EtherCAT P modules can be supplied or else additional supply modules can be connected that may be required for system expansion. The safe 24 V power supply unit integrated in the supply module ensures that the logic power supply does not exceed the permissible level. The DC link capacitors integrated in the supply module store the regenerative energy of the entire system and then make it available again for acceleration processes. This ensures best-possible utilisation of the energy supplied. For details contact: Beckhoff Automation Pvt Ltd Suyog Platinum Tower, 9th Floor Naylor Road, Off Mangaldas Road Pune, Maharashtra 411 001 Tel: 020-67064802 Fax: 91-020-67064899 E-mail: a.phatak@beckhoff.com / info@beckhoff.co.in or Circle Readers’ Service Card 13
Chemical Engineering World
May 2019 • 59
CEW Products Greater Mathematical Power Maplesoft offers Maple, the mathematical software that makes it extremely easy to analyze, explore, visualize, and solve math problems. Maple 2019 includes substantial improvements to its mathematical engine, for both core routines and specialized tools. The release also provides advances to the Maple programming language, more education tools, new visualizations, and other improvements for the mathematicians, educators, students, engineers, and scientists who use Maple. Maple 2019 includes significant enhancements to the core mathematics that customers use every day, either directly or through computational functions that call on fundamental routines. In addition, many specialized tools have been improved or expanded, and support for new advanced areas of computation has been added. Maple 2019 also includes a wide variety of improvements in other areas, such as enhancements to the Maple programming language that help customers write more efficient code, a completely redesigned start page that makes it even easier for new users to become productive quickly, new visualizations for analyzing data, and additional interactive Math Apps that support teaching and learning key concepts of computer science. For details contact: Maplesoft 615 Kumpf Drive, Waterloo, ON N2V 1K8 Canada
or Circle Readers’ Service Card 14
Ultra EC Brushless Motor Portescap offers Ultra EC range of brushless DC slotless motors with the introduction of the new 35ECS motor. This 2 pole motor offers ultra high speed and power (up to 330 W, max continuous) without compromising on the smooth operation and long life you expect from Portescap’s brushless slotless motors. The new 35ECS motor is available in two lengths: the 35ECS60 and the 35ECS80. The 35ECS60 and 35ECS80 motors feature their patented Ultra EC coil technology which provides unparalleled torque and power density with limited core losses over a wide range of working speeds without friction and brush wear. These motors feature their patented high-speed rotor design as well to sustain speeds up to 40,000 rpm. The 35ECS80 is unique and opens new areas for slim/long package with impressive torque capabilities at very high speeds, while the 35ECS60 allows high speed capabilities at very low voltages. Thanks to its rugged design, the 35ECS can sustain peak torque during 2s up to 1.1 Nm (35ECS60) and 2.0 Nm (35ECS80). The 35ECS motors can be adapted in most applications, including industrial applications, enhancing the life and reliability of a device without compromising on power and machine throughput and saving energy. The new 35ECSs are an ideal choice for applications such as battery-operated hand tools (industrial tightening devices or drills), factory automation equipment (large fans or vacuum pumps), and also for applications where there are constraints on diameter. The new 35ECS motors feature a laser welded front flange to ensure the strongest housing to sustain high torque reaction. A temperature probe on the coil head ensures an optimized control of motor performances in heavy duty applications. These motors are offered with hall sensors and a total of 6 different coils to match your speed and voltage requirements. Upon request, Portescap can also provide options for customization including gearboxes, encoders, coil variations and mechanical interface modifications. Portescap is globally ISO 9001:2015 certified and their production site in India is also ISO 13485, ISO 14001:2015 and OHSAS 18001:2015 certified. For details contact: Portescap Unit No: 2, SDF-1 SEEPZ-SEZ, Andheri (E) Mumbai 400 096 Tel: 022-42006200 Fax: 91-022-42004036 E-mail: sales.asia@portescap.com or Circle Readers’ Service Card 15 24
60 • May 2019
Chemical Engineering World
Products CEW Industrial Gear Units for High Thermal Limit Powers
Mobile Commissioning and Service Solution with APP
Among other things, NORD has extended its industrial gear unit series. The new 2-stage MAXXDRIVE XT angled industrial gear units were specially designed for applications which require low speed ratios in combination with high powers. Output torques range between 15 and 75 kNm with speed ratios of 6.3 to 22.4. Seven sizes are available for powers from 50 to 1,500 kW. As standard, the series is equipped with a heavily ribbed UNICASE housing and an integrated axial fan. Due to the increased surface and the air guide covers, the cooling air flow is optimised and a very high thermal limiting power is achieved. In many cases, addition cooling is not required. Large roller bearings and centre distances increase the load capacity and service life of the components.
With the NORDCON APP and the Bluetooth stick NORDAC ACCESS BT, the company has created a mobile commissioning and service solution for all NORD drives. The app provides dashboard-based visualisation which is useful for drive monitoring and fault diagnosis. For example, a machine drive can be optimised while in operation with the aid of the oscilloscope function. Parameterisation of drive units is simple and easy due to the integrated Help function and rapid access to parameters. In addition, the app provides further practical functions such as a parameter backup and recovery function.
For details contact: NORD DRIVESYSTEMS Pvt Ltd 282/2 & 283/2, Plot No: 15, Village Mann Tal: Mulshi, Adj Hinjewadi MIDC Phase II Pune, Maharashtra 411 057 Tel: 020-39801217 Fax: 91-020-39801416 E-mail: monika.mishra@nord.com / pl.muthusekkar@nord.com
For details contact: NORD DRIVESYSTEMS Pvt Ltd 282/2 & 283/2, Plot No: 15, Village Mann Tal: Mulshi, Adj Hinjewadi MIDC Phase II Pune, Maharashtra 411 057 Tel: 020-39801217 Fax: 91-020-39801416 E-mail: monika.mishra@nord.com / pl.muthusekkar@nord.com
or Circle Readers’ Service Card 16
or Circle Readers’ Service Card 17
New Nitrate Monitor Responding to global demand for improved monitoring of nitrate in freshwater, OTT HydroMet has launched a new optical nitrate sensor, the OTT ecoN. In addition to a low purchase cost, the ecoN also lowers the cost of ownership because it is factory calibrated for life. With automatic drift compensation, zero baseline checks with ultrapure water are quick and easy to perform and are only required as an occasional test of instrument function. The ecoN measures nitrate by the absorption of UV light at 212 nm and removes the possible effects of organics and turbidity by similar measurements at 254 nm and 360 nm respectively. As an optical sensor, the ecoN provides high accuracy and low resolution without the drift and interferences of ion-selective electrodes, or the ongoing reagent and maintenance costs of wet-chemistry analysers. No specialized software is necessary to communicate with the ecoN – a simple, intuitive browser-based user interface is accessed by connecting a small interface unit to the sensor. Measurements can be stored internally within the sensor, but as a specialist in sensing, datalogging and telemetry, OTT HydroMet can supply the most appropriate monitoring system for every application. This includes the choice of sensor, because the ecoN is available with different cell pathlengths to ensure optimum performance across all measurement ranges. However, OTT HydroMet is also able to conduct a retrospective change of optical path length when customers need to change application, such as moving it from very turbid surface water to groundwater for example. For details contact: OTT HydroMet GmbH Ludwigstraße 16 87437 Kempten Germany Tel: +49 831 5617-0 Fax +49 831 5617-209 E-mail: info@otthydromet.com or Circle Readers’ Service Card 18
Chemical Engineering World
May 2019 • 61
CEW Products Standard Pressure Gauges Adarsh Industries offers standard pressure gauges (MM Series) in mild steel (MS) case and brass working parts; dial sizes: 40, 50, 63, 100, 150 and 250 mm; bottom direct, bottom surface, back direct, back panel, back clamp mounting. Standard gauges are suitable for general purpose applications for gas and liquid media which do not corrode brass and having an environment which is not harsh to MS case. It is commonly used on equipment like pumps, compressors, boilers, pneumatic and hydraulic machines, etc. For details contact: Adarsh Industries 307 Shankala Indl Estate Gogatewadi, Off Aarey Road Goregaon (E), Mumbai 400 063 Tel: 022-29275496, Fax: 91-022-29275558 E-mail: sales@adarshpressuregauge.com
or Circle Readers’ Service Card 19
Mercury in Steel Thermometer Mercur y in steel ther mometer, ZM Series from Adarsh Industries are the most accurate/fast response instruments with accuracy of ±1% FSD, available in dial sizes 4”, 6”, 8” and 10” dial. They are available as both Rigid Stem Type and Capillar y Type and ranges from -38 to max 600 o C. For details contact: Adarsh Industries 307 Shankala Indl Estate Gogatewadi, Off Aarey Road Goregaon (E) Mumbai 400 063 Tel: 022-29275496 Fax: 91-022-29275558 E-mail: sales@adarshpressuregauge.com
or Circle Readers’ Service Card 20
Vacuum Pump for Vacuum Packaging Vacuum packing is a technique of storing and preserving food. The foods are stored in an air-tight pack or bottle to put off the growth of micro-organisms. The vacuum environment provides the safe atmosphere without oxygen, protecting the food from spoiling by limiting the growth of fungi or aerobic bacteria. Vacuum packaging can extend the life up to 3-5 times. It increases the shelf life. After evacuating the air in the pack, still some amount of oxygen will remain. Air contains 21 per cent of oxygen at atmospheric pressure 1,013 mbar. The objective of packaging is to reduce the oxygen content by lowering the pressure, eg, if pressure is reduced to 10 mbar, the oxygen per cent will be 0.21. If it is non-food item, the vacuum packing protects it from oxidization, corrosion and moisture damage, eg, packing of matches, socks, medicines, etc. Moist foods will not dry out. Sealled dehydrated foods and dried herbs prolong storage. The pump has to evacuate air in presence of water vapour for food items like meat, fish, which are moist and also the pump should be able to withstand the cyclic load due to packing and also evacuation prior to flushing operation for Modified Atmospheric Packaging (MAP), like N2 filling. The vacuum oil used should be food grade oil and Toshniwal’s multivane semi-dry vacuum pump is the pump designed for packaging industry. It is reliable, suitable for continuous operation, quieter, better vacuum in short cycle time and has good water vapour handling capacity. For details contact: Toshniwal Instruments (Madras) Pvt Ltd 267 Kilpauk Garden Road Chennai 600 010 Tel: 044 26445626, 26448983 E-mail: sales@toshniwal.net or Circle Readers’ Service Card 21
62 • May 2019
Chemical Engineering World
Products CEW Gas Filled Thermometer
Flushing Ring
Gas filled thermometers ZG Series have nitrogen as filling media. This makes it possible to use it for hygienic applications also. They are available in dial sizes 4”, 6”, 8” and 10” and as both Rigid Stem Type and Capillary Type. It ranges from -50 to max 600oC. For details contact: Adarsh Industries 307 Shankala Indl Estate Gogatewadi, Off Aarey Road Goregaon (E), Mumbai 400 063 Tel: 022-29275496, Fax: 91-022-29275558 E-mail: sales@adarshpressuregauge.com
The flushing flange or ring is used for flushing solution combined with diaphragm seals. This type of flushing flange or ring is clamped between process nozzle and diaphragm seal. The reducer flange is used to mount a larger diaphragm seal to a smaller process connection. For details contact: Chintamani Engg Industries India Pvt Ltd 201 New Rahul CHS, Suyog Nagar Chulne Bhabola Road Vasai (W), Dist: Palghar, Maharashtra 401 202 E-mail: info@chintamaniengineering.com
or Circle Readers’ Service Card 22
or Circle Readers’ Service Card 23
Impact Protection Gloves Aquila offers impact protection gloves as an integral part of an all-round hand protection strategy. In gloves, the ability to absorb impacts and prevent injuries to the fingers/back of hand is inextricably linked to other factors such as providing a suitable grip on the palm/finger area This means that it is important to carefully match the glove to the specific tasks together with other requirements such as back of the hand protection, wrist security and good grip in oil, mud or other fluids.In the case of impact protection gloves, this means not only protecting against blows, nips, abrasions, etc, but to do so with the greatest comfort and least interference plus having enhanced grip over the bare hand. Such gloves should not be tiring to wear as not only is this undesirable in itself, but tired operators with tired hands are more likely to make errors and have accidents. Aquila have considered many materials and types at different prices, and chose impact pads mainly made of TPE (thermalplastic elastomer) otherwise known as TPR (thermalplastic rubber) after finding that this material greatly aids wearability and enhances dexterity, so ensuring that users keep their gloves on and keep working longer, better and safer. Over and above the specific impact resistance, gloves are usually required to offer more complex characteristics in combination, eg, impact resistance with cut resistance, high visibility colouration, wrist protection, secure retention, and high grip finger/palm area, eg, coated with sand nitrile and thermally insulated. Aquila have some eleven definitive types of multi-functional impact gloves – taking just two examples with CE Certification to EN420/en388 we may look at the TOG6W range - an exciting development in the Aquila oil and gas TPR glove range, which offers cushioned silicone protection shielding against blunt force impacts, with an unusually high degree of comfort down to -50oC. It is ideal for use in the oil and gas industry, also in cold or refrigerated stores and warehouses and for outdoor work in cold environments. A secure grip on heavy equipment in wet and dry conditions, such as in oil and chemical production, is greatly aided by the sand impregnated nitrile coating which extends over the whole palm and finger gripping surface. Other features include high visibility colour to ensure that it may be seen and avoided by other workers in the area, also an opening cuff with Velcro closure for speed of fitting/removal, eg, quick removal in an emergency and for security in use. The Aquila TOG4B/G in either blue or grey is a TPR impact resistant glove with cut 4 level (ISO13997 level E) protection developed for high performance hand protection in the oil and gas industries. It is also of great value as personal protection equipment (PPE) for the utility and mining industries where it delivers cut protection throughout the glove, ie, the whole hand/finger/cuff, by virtue of its advanced Alkimos yarn technology. For details contact: The Industrial Marketing Agency 68 Ampthill Road, Shefford, Bedfordshire SG17 5BB, U.K. Tel: +44 1462 850040 E-mail: sue@theindustrialmarketingagency.co.uk / info@theindustrialmarketingagency.co.uk or Circle Readers’ Service Card 24
Chemical Engineering World
May 2019 • 63
CEW Products Closed-coupled SS Centrifugal Pumps Lubi Industries offers closed-coupled SS centrifugal pumps in the flow range up to 72 m3/h and head range up to 57 metres. It finds application in water supply, pressure boiler feeding, pure water treating systems, pharma and food stuff, refining chemical industries, industrial washing and sprinkler system.
Horizontal Single-stage Centrifugal Pumps Lubi Industries offers horizontal singlestage centrifugal pumps in flow range up to 10.5 m3/h and head range up to 36 metres. It finds application in domestic water supply systems, civil and industrial water supply systems, sprinkler systems, irrigation, gardens, farms, etc. For details contact: Lubi Industries LLP Nr Kalyan Mills, Naroda Road Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380 025 Tel: 079-30610100 Fax: 91-079-30610300 E-mail: indsales@lubipumps.com
For details contact: Lubi Industries LLP Nr Kalyan Mills, Naroda Road Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380 025 Tel: 079-30610100 Fax: 91-079-30610300 E-mail: indsales@lubipumps.com or Circle Readers’ Service Card 25
or Circle Readers’ Service Card 26
Polymeric Binders Based on Renewable Raw Materials These polymeric binders are partly based on renewable raw materials and produced by two different processes – one using bio-based acetic acid and the other potato starch. The new dispersions are especially well-suited for the production of interior paints and plasters. WACKER uses bio-based acetic acid and ethylene to produce vinyl acetate monomer, which – again using ethylene – is copolymerized to form vinyl acetate-ethylene (VAE). The binders are polymer dispersions that, in the example of wall paint, hold pigments, fillers and additives together and ensure optimum, lasting adhesion of the paint to the wall. The bio-based acetic acid is extremely pure, contains little water and represents a real alternative to counterparts based on fossil resources such as natural gas or petroleum. In production, bio-based acetic acid can be blended with traditional acetic acid, directly coupling it to WACKER’s existing production line. In terms of final properties, no aspects of either the binders or the wall paints suggest whether the VAE they contain was produced from conventional or from bio-based acetic acid. The compound always exhibits the same chemical and physical behaviour, regardless of whether it was derived from fossil-based or renewable raw materials. This allows paint manufacturers to retain their formulations without having to adjust them in any way for their plasters or wall paints. WACKER uses the biomass balance method for verifying the proportion of bio-based acetic acid in the finished product. The method has been certified by the TÜV SÜD international technical inspectorate in accordance with the international CMS 71 standard. WACKER offers biomass-balance versions of other product lines, such as vinyl acetate homopolymer dispersions and solid resins based on vinyl acetate. For the second method, WACKER is cooperating with Dynaplak, a Dutch company that manufactures bio-based raw materials. Dispersion production in this case is based on starch, which exhibits the properties of a binder when emulsified. This natural polymer is a side-stream product of potato processing. Experts at Dynaplak use this starch, which would otherwise be lost, and modify it with an innovative technology to improve its performance. WACKER combines Dynaplak’s enhanced product with polymers based on vinyl acetate-ethylene to create a new, hybrid binder. The modified biopolymer accounts for 30 per cent of the new product. This reduces the amount of traditional VAE derived from fossil-based raw materials by about a third, yielding a lower carbon footprint in the resulting product. The result is a high-performance binder that WACKER will market under the name VINNECO CT 7030 which is primarily designed for the production of interior paints. As this is a new product with its own property profile, paint manufacturers may need to adapt their formulations. The advantage is that the starch polymer allows them to directly utilize biomass in the finished product. The proportion of biobased material in VINNECO CT 7030 can be determined with the help of carbon dating. For details contact: Wacker Chemie AG Hanns-Seidel-Platz 4, 81737 München, Germany Tel: +49 89 6279 1588 E-mail: agnes.froeschl@wacker.com or Circle Readers’ Service Card 27
64 • May 2019
Chemical Engineering World
CEW
NATIONAL Expo Paint &Coatings
ENGIMACH
Dates: 10-12 July 2019 Venue: Pragati Maidan, New Delhi Event: This event provides a platform to the needs of every facade of
Dates: 04-08 December 2019 Venue: The Exhibition Centre, Gandhinagar, Gujarat Event: ENGIMACH is a leading engineering and machine tools show and
the coating industry right from raw materials, formulation, application, technology, finishing, quality assurance, recycling and disposal. The exhibition will feature a wide range of products, raw materials, application systems, machines, tools, current trends, development and innovations shaping the future of coating industry. This expo will bring together leading local and international manufacturers, formulators, buyers, industry professionals, consultants, enthusiasts and prospective entrants from the paint and coatings, surface finishing and allied industry presenting unrivaled opportunities to network, exchange best practices, do business, unveil new products and source cutting-edge product and technologies. For details contact: Toredo Fairs India Pvt Ltd 16/1, 1st Floor, 2nd Cross Mission Rd Srinivasa Colony Bengaluru Karnataka 560 027 Machine Tool Expo
Dates: 8-11 August 2019 Venue: India Exposition Mart, Greater Noida Event: This event is a address the manufacturing requirements
of the OEMs of various industry sectors in Tier II and Tier III cities of India. It will cover the entire gamut of metal working machine tools for both metal cutting and metal forming including automation and robotics, tooling systems, CAD/CAM and other technologies essential for today’s manufacturing. For details contact: Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Assn Bangalore International Exhibition Centre 10th Mile, Tumkur Road, Madavara Post Bengaluru, Karnataka 562 123 Tel: 080-66246600, E-mail: imtma@imtma.in Pharma Tech Expo
Dates: 20-22 August 2019 Venue: Gujarat University Convention and Exhibition Centre (GUCEC), Ahmedabad
Event: PharmaTech Expo 2018 & LabTech Expo 2018 is an
International Exhibition on pharma machinery, lab, analytical, pharma formulations, nutraceutical and packaging equipment. This will give oppor tunities to suppliers, manufacturers, industrialists, entrepreneurs, buyers and consultants to assemble at this common platform. The focus will be on the Pharmaceutical Formulations, Nutraceuticals, API’s, Cosmetic and Ayurveda sector. For details contact: PharmaTechnologyIndex.com Pvt Ltd 701-702 Corporate House Nr Dinesh Hall, Income Tax Ashram Rd Ahmedabad, Gujarat Chemical Engineering World
showcase engineering products and services, heavy and light machines, machinery equipment and accessories, tools and parts, technological devices and products, engineering tools and allied products and services. It is the most trusted machines and tools show that exhibits latest products and services, latest innovations and technologies. It is an ideal event that witnesses the best buyer and seller partnership and is a dynamic platform. For details contact: K And D Communications Ltd Kailash-A Sumangalam Society, 3rd Floor Above HDFC Bank, Opp: Drive-In Cinema, Bodakdev Ahmedabad, Gujarat
INTERNATIONAL ACHEMA
Dates: 14-18 June 2021 Venue: Frankfurt Fair, Frankfurt, Germany Event: This five day event showcases products like engineering products, abrasives, chemicals and compounds, chemical machineries, equipment, manufacturing technologies, chemical engineering compounds, laboratory compounds and other similar range of products and services. For details contact: Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH Ludwig-Erhard-Anlage 1 Frankfurt, Germany International Exhibition of Chemical Industry and Science
Dates: 16-19 September 2019 Venue: Expocentre, Moscow, Russia Event: This event will display products like raw materials for the chemical and petrochemical industry, and inorganic chemistry, refining and petrochemicals, fuels, lubricants, organic synthesis, small volume chemicals, chemical fibers and yarns, composite materials, fiberglass, household chemicals, perfumes and cosmetics, reagents, catalysts, film photographic, magnetic media, design of chemical plants, warehouses, terminals, personal protective equipment, tools fire and explosion, chemical production management, transportation of chemicals and petrochemicals, logistics solutions, containers and packaging, chemical technology, research and more For details contact: Expocentre Krasnopresnenskaya nab 14 Moscow, Russia, 123100 May 2019 • 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 Shalimar Paints lays down the foundation of its Nashik manufacturing plant with a planned monthly production capacity of 2,180-kilolitres. Set to commence operations by April 2019, Shalimar's state-of-the-art Nashik facility will increase the brand's overall production capacity by 65 per cent. It is also expected to stimulate the local economy by creating around 200+ employment opportunities for prospective jobseekers in the region. The newest Shalimar plant hints at the brand's aggressive push to capitalise on the growing market demand for its high-quality, high-performance paint and coating products, as well as to further consolidate its position as one of the fastest growing paints companies in the country. Shalimar has also pledged further investment into its Nashik plant and aims to establish it as a key component within its regional distribution network, as well as its pan-India supply chain. The paint industry has been growing at a rapid rate in India and measures between 1.5 to 2 times GDP growths. Rapid urbanization, better transparency and consumer evolvement has been leading the growth of the industry. Songwon Industrial Co Ltd a specialty chemicals company of South Korea has launched its new pilot plant in Panoli (Gujarat), thereby strengthening the organisation’s overall specialty chemicals development capability. Built on Songwon’s Indian site with all the necessary main unit operations, the new plant is equipped with the most up-to-date technologies and materials for producing a wide range of chemicals for a broad spectrum of applications - from one kilo up to several hundred kilo samples. To reinforce the organisation’s position in existing areas of business and enhance its ability to enter new areas, the new pilot plant will be supported by the Songwon’s strong local R&D team in Panoli, as well as its central technology innovation center located in Maeam, Korea. Insecticides (India) Ltd has announced a ` 200-crore expansion plan to increase its capacity in the next three years. In the first two years, it would spend about ` 100-crore, followed by an investment of ` 100-crore in 2020. The firm is planning to set up an Export Oriented Unit in Gujarat with an eye on increasing export component of the business. Exports contributed about ` 35-crore in the total turnover of ` 1,109-crore in 2017-18. The firm has a share of about 5 per cent in the ` 18,000-crore crop protection market in the country.
MINING MOIL recently said production at its Parsoda manganese mine is expected to begin soon. The mine will be operated by opencast mining method. MOIL has been granted mining lease of Parsoda manganese mine near village Parsoda, 46-km from Nagpur in the year 2016. The lease extends for 50 year period, ie, from April 22, 2016 to April 21, 2066 and the project cost is estimated to be ` 19.54-crore. The production is expected to be started soon. MOIL, 66 • May 2019
under the Ministry of Steel, operates around 10 mines, including six in Maharashtra and four in Madhya Pradesh. Balaghat mine is its largest, which produces top quality manganese ore. Hindustan Copper Limited held a groundbreaking ceremony at Ghatsila Unit for construction of concentrator plant at Rakha, initiating Chapri-Sidheswar mine, a new mine development and Rakha mine re-opening projects. CMD informed that considering the opportunity to further increase the resource base of copper mineral in the State has finalized plan to undertake depth exploration up to 1,000-meter from surface in its existing lease area in next two years. Hindustan Copper Limited, the only copper mining Company in India, in its Unit located at Ghatsila has planned to implement total five mine expansion projects to increase the mine capacity from current 4.0 to 72.0-lakh tonne. Successful implementation of the project will also reduce country's dependence on imported copper concentrate. Coal India (CIL) is expected to put another 25-30 million tonnes (MT) of coal under the hammer in the ongoing quarter. This comes after e-auction volumes dipped following the decision to pump more coal into the coal-starved power sector through fuel-supply agreements (FSAs). The coal behemoth has been able to book 54-MT of coal through e-auction till December (first three quarters) as against 79-MT in the similar period of the last fiscal year, registering a 31.65 per cent dip. On the other hand, its offtake via the FSA route to power plants increased by over 12 per cent. As more coal gets routed via the FSA route, e-auction volume will be low. Production in January-March was expected to be substantial, which will leave Coal India with more to offer in auctions. It is expected that another 25-30 MT of coal will be offered this quarter on the auction platform. South Eastern Coalfields (SECL), its most important subsidiary, registered a 13.1 per cent fall in production in December at 12.52-MT while Mahanadi Coalfields, the second-largest subsidiary, registered a 3.2 per cent dip at 13.05-MT. These two subsidiaries account for more than 45 per cent of Coal India’s production. Sales were low at 52.77-MT, which is a 1.2 per cent fall compared to December 2017-18. However, in the next fiscal year, the e-auction volumes are expected to dip further. E-auctions directly add to Coal India’s bottom line because the prices are often higher by at least 60 per cent over the notified price. Thus, effectively while the miner spends the same amount of money to mine the coal which is either sold as linkage or put under the hammer, it earns 20 per cent higher in auctions. Prices in the e-auction, however, are expected to remain stagnant in the ` 2,400 a tonne level backed by muted global coal prices. According to S&P Global Platts, the price of FOB Kalimantan 4,200-kilo calorie per kilogram GAR (gross as received) - which is imported in huge volumes by both India and China - has declined almost 22 per cent since October 1, given the sagging demand in China and improving supply in Indonesia.
Chemical Engineering World
Project Update NTPC Ltd hopes its captive coal production will reach 100-million tonne as soon as its five coal blocks commence operations, aided by faster regulatory clearances and the part-privatization model of Mine Development and Operator (MDO). The success of the plan would determine fuel security of the operations of India's largest power producer. Coal India aims to raise output from its troubled Rajmahal mine in Jharkhand to 60,000 tonnes a day, having resolved land-acquisition related problems which had crimped production to 20,000 tonnes per day. Coal from the Rajmahal mine helps NTPC run close to 4,200MW of power generation plants in eastern India, which supply power to Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, and also to northern India including Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. NTPC’s generation capacities were faced with depleting coal stocks and lower power generation as supplies from Rajmahal dwindled. Reserves at Rajmahal within the land acquired by Coal India were almost exhausted and required expansion to keep production levels intact. However, land acquisition at two villages - Bansbiha and Taljhari - spanning 160-hectares, adjacent to the existing project turned out to be a lengthy process. It led to drastic fall in supplies and stocks at the coalfield, as well as at two critical power plants in the region - at Farakka and Kahalgaon. At present, Coal India is using 15 goods trains to transport coal from the Rajmahal mine to power stations in the region. One goods train can load up to 3,500 tonnes of coal. Coal India is also sending five loaded goods trains from West Bengal’s Ranigunj coalfields to augment supplies at power stations. At present, the entire production from Rajmahal is getting delivered to power plants and there has been no stock buildup yet. CIL, ONGC to produce coal-bed methane from 10 new mines: support SAIL in one more. The Coal Ministry has identified 11 mines to produce coal bed methane (CBM). Of these, 10 will be worked on jointly by ONGC and Coal India Ltd (CIL). The two entities will also work on one mine with SAIL. Initially, ONGC will harness the gas and then CIL will extract coal from them. In addition to the mines with CIL, the two (ONGC and CIL) will also help develop Steel Authority of India Ltd’s Parbatpur coal block (Jharkhand). Here too, ONGC will first harness the CBM. SAIL had surrendered the Sitanala and Parbatpur coal mines. In its representations while surrendering the Parbatpur mine, SAIL had said there was a reduction in the area available for coal mining due to overlapping of mining area. SAIL had engaged MECON to prepare a techno commercial viability report, which declared the project unviable. The SAIL board had then decided to return the Parbatpur mine to the Coal Ministry. JSW Energy, part of the Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group, is believed to be in the race for buying out the thermal power assets of Monnet Power and Jindal India Thermal Power Ltd (JITPL) in Odisha. Monnet Power’s 1,050-MW coal-based power plant near Angul was in advanced stage of commissioning. Monnet Power’s parent company, Monnet Ispat & Energy had won the Mandakini coal block in Odisha in competitive bidding, it surrendered the block later on grounds of economic unviability. Monnet Power had accumulated
Chemical Engineering World
debt in excess of ` 5,000-crore. Though lenders had earlier denied a haircut in JSW Energy’s prospective deal to acquire majority equity in Monnet Power, the Sajjan Jindal-owned firm is still believed to be in the hunt for the asset. Besides Monnet Power, JSW Energy is also eyeing takeover of BC Jindal controlled JITPL’s 1,200-MW coal-based plant at Derang near Angul. The first unit (600-MW) of the 1,200-MW plant had begun commercial operations and started power supplies to the Odisha grid. This project has been completed at a cost of ` 7,537-crore which includes a debt component of ` 5,900-crore. JITPL has power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Odisha’s Gridco Ltd, Kerala State Electricity Board and Tata Power Trading Corporation. Apart from JSW Energy, JITPL also had competing offers from Adani Power and Singapore’s SembCorp. The valuation of the prospective deal is not known. NLC India (formerly Neyveli Lignite Corporation) which is in the hunt for buying out power assets, is understood to have shown interest in the 700-MW Odisha plant of Hyderabad-based Ind-Barath Power Infra Ltd (IBPIL). The power plant located at Sahajbahal, near Jharsuguda, has commenced commercial operations. Though the exact size of the potential deal is not known, the valuation could be anywhere in the range of ` 5,000-5,500-crore. In August last year, NLC India had floated an Expression of Interest (EoI) from companies owning coal and lignite-based power projects, for a possible acquisition. NLC India’s installed thermal power capacity is 3,240-MW. It runs a 10-MW solar power unit and wind power assets with a capacity totalling 37.5-MW. Western Coalfields has received the environment clearance for its ` 263-crore expansion project in Nagpur district, Maharashtra. The proposal is to enhance the production capacity of the Gokul open-cast mine to 1.875-million tonnes per annum (MTPA) from the existing 1-MTPA. The mine, located in 767.17-hectare, has a mineable reserve of 14.50-million tonnes. The clearance to the project is subject to certain conditions. Total cost is estimated to be ` 263-crore. Among the conditions specified, the company has been asked to get 'Consent to Operate' certificate from the State Pollution Control Board for the existing production capacity of 1-MTPA and also the 'Consent to Establish' for the proposed capacity of 1.875-MTPA prior to enhancing the production capacity. With regard to transportation of coal, the company has been asked to carry out by covered trucks and take mitigative measures to control dust and other fugitive emissions all along the roads by providing sufficient numbers of water sprinklers. The company has been informed to adopt controlled blasting techniques to control ground vibration and flying rocks. It has also been told to implement a progressive afforestation plan covering an area of 376.04-hectare at the end of mining. Of the total quarry area of 231.73-hectare (on floor) and 291.21-hectare (on surface), the backfilled quarry area of 115.39-hectare should be reclaimed with plantation and there will be no void left at the end of the mining operations. The land after mining should be restored for agriculture purpose. May 2019 • 67
CEW
CEW Book Shelf Chemical Resistance Thermoplastics
of
Specialty
Editors: William Woishnis and Sina Ebnesajjad Price: $128.79 No of pages: 1,732 pages (Hardcover) Publisher: William Andrew (1st Edition) About the book: While the two-volume work Chemical Resistance of Thermoplastics covers chemical resistance of high-volume commercial (commodity) thermoplastics, this volume focuses on high performance ‘engineering’ or ‘specialty’ thermoplastics. These thermoplastics are usually consumed in smaller volumes, but have desirable characteristics for demanding and high-value applications. This book provides extensive data on chemical resistance tests, and material chemical resistance properties for important specialty thermoplastics including polyarylenes, polymimides and fluoropolymers, polymer alloys and specialty polyethylenes. The chemical resistance data provided enables the reader to make a better material selection decision, avoiding the major economic and business impacts of material failure, and in some cases eliminating the need for screening tests. The data gives detailed information on the parameters of exposure of plastics and their different grades to chemicals and environmental conditions, ie, chemical compound or solvent, concentration, temperature, the length of time a plastic can withstand such attacks (with, for example, weight change as a key parameter) etc – answering key questions often arising in the process of product development. This volume comes in an easy-to-use print format – including a list of exposure media enabling cross-referencing to the main material data tables – as well as an online database with an extended data set, and advanced search and navigation features.
Strategic Supply Chain Management in Process Industries Author: Reinhard Hübner Price: $109.99 No of pages: 260 pages (Paperback) Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg About the book: Practitioners in process industry have to increasingly adapt their global production networks to changes in the competitive environment. A majority of the supply network design models proposed by academia do not sufficiently capture the questions that have to be resolved. This book provides the necessary operations research decision support tools. It builds on an example of the specialty chemicals industry. 68 • May 2019
Industrial Solutions_book mouckup copy Author: Cole-Parmer India Price: Free Pages: 324 Publisher: ColeParmer India About the book: ColeParmer launched its Industrial Solutions catalog. The catalog is dedicated to meet diverse industrial application needs of the customers from F&B/FMCG, chemicals and petrochemicals, paints, pigments and coatings, automotive and industrial manufacturing, power, steel and mining, and testing houses. ColeParmer is considered as a preferred partner for its pharmaceutical customers delivering comprehensive solutions for their research to production. The company is now expanding its reach in the Industrial markets and has introduced Industrial Solutions catalog, addressing the challenges of the customers and keeping in mind their applications needs. From research and development to assessing product quality, and material testing, the catalog offers wide range of instruments and application solutions that significantly enhance your quantitative and qualitative performance, ensuring greater processes, quality control and safety across various processes. The 324-page catalog is filled with thousands of equipment, supplies and consumables to keep your research on track and your lab organized. The portfolio features integrated solutions for enhanced efficiency, from sample preparation, analysis to environmental health safety (EHS). Customers can choose from the latest in fluid handling, chromatography, electrochemistry, test and measurement, safety solutions, lab essentials, instruments and supplies, from company’s renowned brands like Masterflex®, Cole-Parmer®, Kinesis®, Jenway®, Stuart®, Oakton®, Traceable®, DigiSense®, VapLock®, StableTemp®, polystat® and OmegaZen™ to name a few. To request your copy of Industrial Solutions catalog, visit ColeParmer.in/catalog or contact 022-61394444 / response@coleparmer.in Chemical Engineering World
CEW
INTERVIEW
Interview CEW
‘Corrosion can be Effectively Controlled through Paints and Surface Engineering Technology’
‘Corrosion impacts hugely to Indian GDP. This loss cannot be reduced unless corrosion subject is made compulsory in all engineering institute; and professional bodies create-and-conduct more seminars, courses, and training programs on the latest corrosion protection methods, health monitoring, repair, and maintenance’, says Prof (Dr) A S Khanna, Chairman, The Society For Surface Protective Coatings - India, to CEW Chemical Engineering World
May 2019 • 69
CEW Interview In India, corrosion impacts country’s GDP in a very significant manner. In your view what are the key challenge areas that need attention to reduce this number? If we consider the statistical figure, corrosion impacts almost 3 per cent GDP as per an American study conducted in the year 2002. And this translates into an estimated annual loss of about ` 25000 CR in India. In today’s date, when India has a title of almost developed state, this figure will be about 100,000 CR which is around 2 per cent of Indian GDP. Even 100,000 CR is a big sum for India, which if saved can be utilized in a lot of additional development areas. So what can we do to reduce this loss? The answer is: to create a better awareness about the menace of Corrosion, and to choose better Corrosion Protection Technologies. This kind of awareness in India is available through regular education, which I am afraid, is available in less than 5 percent educational institutes; and balance 1015 per cent by a few professional bodies such as NACE, SSPC, NCI, and a few other regional societies. Unless this subject of corrosion is made compulsory in all engineering institutes, and also all the professional bodies are asked to create more seminars-courses-andtraining-programs on the latest corrosion protection methods, health monitoring, repair and maintenance – we will not be able to reduce this loss. What are the major technical challenges in corrosion control for maintaining the reliability and performance of assets in the chemical processing industry? Corrosion control is just one action to protect the metals from corrosion. The entire gamut of Corrosion Management approach is actually through the continuous protection of asset. And it requires a combination of corrosion 70 • May 2019
control, its continuous monitoring, and periodic maintenance. Coming back on corrosion control, the methods are : by better material selection, by better design, use of protective coatings , use of corrosion inhibitors, and use of anodic-and-cathodic protection. Each control method is specific to a particular metal or alloy, its surface condition, and the environment where it is exposed. Thus a correct knowledge of Corrosion Management and its authentic implementation is the only answer. Please share insights into the market size for paints & coatings, surface engineering, and sputtering technologies globally vis-à-vis in India . Protection by paint coating is the most common method of protecting metals and alloys from corrosion. Though there are other methods, such as – protection by hot-dip method for example, galvanization and aluminide formation, thermal spray, physical vapor deposition(PVD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and laser surface modification; all are coming under other surface engineering methods. These are for specific use and require sophisticated equipment for application. The paint coating alone has a global market of 1.58 billion dollars, while the Indian paint market stands for 65000 CR. Today, the Asian market share is just half of the rest of the world; and in Asia, Indian market is second –next to China – with a projected growth rate of 8 percent for the next 5 years. Other surface engineering techniques mentioned earlier have a total market of less than 5000 CR in India. Tell us about the emerging trends in surface engineering technologies, paints, and coatings; and how can the industries be benefitted from these? The paint market is divided into two major sectors – Decorative and Industrial. Decorative mainly focuses on buildings and construction, while Industrial has
automotive-OEM-marine-and-highperformance-coatings. Decorative paint coatings have several variations. Simple cement based coatings to emulsions, plastics, and specialized paints which are anti-fungal, selfcleaning, anti-dust etc. The industrial paints have several categories. The selection of the paint system depends upon the environment, which is categorized as per ISO standard as C1, C2, C3, C4, or C5, depending upon its severity (C1 being very mild and C5 highly aggressive such as offshore). Based upon this, the first selection depends on the choice of resin, alkyd, epoxy, vinyl, polyester or polyurethane, which are further modified based upon the type of hardeners which decides its cross-linking and a number of pigments and additives which give micro effect to various chemical, mechanical, or weathering properties. The driving forces in todays paint coating are : • Eco-friendly paint systems, preferably using low concentration of toxic solvents or waterborne. • Preferably single coat which gives much benefit in application cost. • Having some functional specifics such as self-cleaning, self-healing, antibacterial, anti-icing, anti-glare, etc. • Sustainable Oil & Gas, Chemicals, and Power Industries are highly prone to corrosion. What are the very typical problems that one encounters in each of these industries and how does one approach to addressing these problems during the plant lifecycle. One of the major corrosion prone industry is Oil and Gas, which starts from oil exploration and which mainly begins from the sea. Right from corrosion of drilling wells, offshore structures, underground sea gas and crude pipelines, and the underground lines transporting gas/ crude to various city storage tanksrefineries-and-petrochemical plants, and for gas which is directly distributed to Chemical Engineering World
Interview CEW utilities such as cooking gas to houses and power plants and fertilizers plants. Today excellent coatings are available which can control the corrosion of these highly corrosion-prone structure and equipment. Multiple coating layers consisting of a primer layer, followed by intermediate epoxy and top PU layer protect the offshore structure. There are special paint systems for splash zone where the steel pile is partially immersed and partially open to sea water; and also for submerged zone, immediate below the splash zone, which is coated underwater. Underground pipelines have a biggest threat from the soil corrosion. Hence in order to make these pipelines free from any leakage, which can cause severe catastrophe, the underground pipelines are doubly protected from corrosion by coatings as well as with cathodic protection. The latter also acts as a first level monitoring system as it constantly gives the pipe to soil potential, which – if drifts far from – 850 mv (about -100) – indicates some damage in the pipelines. Safety of internal pipeline is taken care by the use of inhibitor chemicals. Further, it is mandatory today to monitor all UG pipelines online, once in 5 years using intelligent pigging. What is your experience on the gap that exists between awareness about the technology and its application across the industry in India? Lack of strict regulations from government, lack of will to appoint trained manpower for painting work, lack of implementing Corrosion Management in plants, and pipeline Integrity in underground pipelines are a few reasons which result corrosion in pipelines, or equipment, or structural components. It is high time that the oil and gas companies, refineries, and chemical plants must create a Corrosion Management Cell using Corrosion Experts who should create a watch dog team to continuously monitor the Chemical Engineering World
deterioration of corrosion and see that periodic maintenance is made and new developments in corrosion control are incorporated. Staff working in corrosion related activities be exposed to periodic refresher courses on corrosion, which discuss latest corrosion control methods, new methods of monitoring, and maintenance. How are you creating awareness amongst the industry professionals through the initiative “The Society for Surface Protective Coatings – India”. Tell us about the steps that you are taking to build greater awareness about technology implementation in the industry through this novel initiative. The Society for Surface Protective Coating India (SSPC India) is a 17 years old professional body focusing on Corrosion Protection by coatings. The main activity of the SSPC India is : Training programs on various aspects of coatings; One of their most well-known activity is “Paint Coating Inspection & Quality Assurance Level 1 and Level 2”. This course is being conducted in every alternate month. Till date we have trained more than 2500 persons by conducting more than 200 courses. These courses give theoretical knowledge about corrosion, coatings, surface preparation methods, paint application methods, paint failure reasons and remedial measures, quality assurance and safety aspects of paint application, and selection criteria of coatings with a one day practical training on various paint characterization and testing. We also conduct evening technical lectures on various paint coating topics, and the Annual International Conferences. We also make a quarterly News Letter. SSPC has more than 300 members - about 15 percent of them are life members, and 10 percent are sustaining members.
Contribute to CEW CHRONICLING PROCESS INDUSTRY INNOVATIONS SINCE 1966
ChemTECH
VOL.54 | ISSUE 04 | APRIL 2019 | TOTAL PAGES 78 | US $ 10 | ` 150
SOUTH WORLD EXPO 2019
Dear Readers, Chemical Engineering World (CEW), the Official Organ of ChemTECH Foundation, is India’s premier technology magazine for the chemical process industry professionals. This highly reputed monthly publication provides novel insights on the dynamics of Indian and global process industries. CEW, a niche publication with proven track record, has been disseminating authentic information on process industry innovations for more than five decades. You can contribute in the magazine with technical articles, case studies and product write-ups. The length of the article should not exceed 1,500 words with maximum three illustrations, images, graphs, charts, etc. All the images should be of high-resolution (300 DPI) and attached separately in JPEG or JPG format. Have a look at our editorial calendar on the Website – www.cewindia.com. To know more about ChemTECH Foundation, Jasubhai Media and other publication and events, please visit our Website – www.chemtech-online.com Thank you, Regards, Mittravinda Ranjan Editor Jasubhai Media Pvt Ltd T : +91-22-40373636 D : +91-22-40373615) E-mail: mittra_ranjan@jasubhai.com
May 2019 • 71
CEW Ad Index Sr. No.
Client’s Name
1
Aeron Composite
2
Atomic Vacuum Company (Exports)
3 Grundfos
Page No
23
Sr. No.
Client’s Name
Page No
10
ReistoTech Industries Pvt Ltd
Back Cover
11 SEW
19
11
12
Suraj Ltd
27
5
13
Suryamani Glassed Steel Equipment Pvt Ltd
8&9
14
TMVT Industries Pvt Ltd
33
7
15
Toshniwal Instruments (Madras) Pvt Ltd
33
Inside Cover I
Front Cover
4
Hi-tech Applicator
5
Horizon Polymer Engineering Pvt Ltd
6
HRS Process Systems Ltd
7
Mist Ressonance Engg Pvt Ltd
41
16
UNP Polyvalves (India) Pvt Ltd
17
8
Paharpur Cooling Towers Ltd
29
17
Vacuum Drying Technology India LLP
27
9
Prochem Trunkey Projects Pvt Ltd
21
18
Vega India Level & Pressure Measurement Pvt Ltd 13,14,15,16
ADVERTISE TO EXPAND
your reach through
INSIGHT INTO THE PHARMACEUTICAL AND BIOTECH INDUSTRIES
For Details Contact
Jasubhai Media Pvt. Ltd.
Taj Building, 3rd Floor, 210 Dr D N Road Fort, Mumbai - 400 001 Tel: 022-4037 3636, Fax: 022-4037 3635 Email: industrialmags@jasubhai.com
72 • May 2019
Chemical Engineering World
R.N.I. No. 11403/1966 Date of Publication: 29th of every month. Postal Registration No: MCS/095/2018-20 Office, Mumbai 400001, on 30th of every month. Total Pages No.:74 No.:78 Posted at Patrika Channel Sorting Office,
Manufacturer of:
Lined piping systems, Columns, Vessel and Tanks for corrosive media applications
Lining Material: PTFE/PFA/FEP/PVDF/PP/HDPE
Why Resistotech: • Processing capacity of 50+ tonnes per month • Large diameters upto 2000 NB (80”) by paste extrusion • Liners thickness from 2 mm to 14 mm as per application • Seamless lining in Tanks, column and vessel – no weld joints • Liner lengths 6400 mm upto 400 NB and above all 3200 • All sizes 90 Deg Elbows in single piece • Minimizing joints by longer lengths -saves product and installation cost • Full vacuum upto 200 Deg C in any size • Testing as per ASTM F 1545 – 03 for 100% products • FDA certificate and compliance
Techno-commercial solutions provider with pre-engineering and case study of corrosion issues RESISTOTECH INDUSTRIES PRIVATE LIMITED
C-11, MIDC, SINNAR, DIST.: NASHIK, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA, PIN - 421 301. M: 0091 9820429054 | T: 0091 2551 230540 | E: sales@resistotech.com | W: www.resistotech.com