Chemical Industry Digest- June 2018 by Chemical Industry Digest

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ISSN-0971-5266

CHEMICAL INDUSTRY DIGEST Vol.31.6. June 2018

A N N U A L - J U N E 2018

Postal Reg. No. MCN/31/2017-2019

Sustainability, Environment & Water Management

Price `125/-

ISSN-0971-5266

CHEMICAL INDUSTRY DIGEST Vol.31.6. June 2018

A N N U A L - J U N E 2018

Postal Reg. No. MCN/31/2017-2019

Sustainability, Environment & Water Management

Sustainability â&#x20AC;&#x201C; An Opportunity For The Chemical Industry Neil Hawkins, Chief Sustainability Officer and Corporate Vice President, Environment, Health and Safety, The Dow Chemical Company

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Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

What’s In? CEO’s Round Table

...34

Chemical Industry Digest posed a set of seven questions to CEOs of a few leading companies to know what their understanding of sustainability is and how they are going about their activities towards sustainability. Their views are presented here.

Articles Sustainability – An opportunity for the Chemical Hybrid Technologies for Industrial Wastewater Industry ...51 Treatment

- Dr Neil Hawkins, Chief Sustainability Officer & Corporate Vice President-Environment, Health & Safety, Dow Chemical Co. This article outlines the possibilities and potential, with Dow’s own examples, on creating a roadmap to attain the goals of sustainability.

Digital Transformation of the chemical industry enables sustainable Operations

...56

- Peter Reynolds, Contributing Analyst, ARC Advisory Group The author discusses how emerging digital technologies like Al, Blockchain, IIoT, data analytics, cloud etc can create a paradigm shift in manufacturing efficiencies that will greatly enable sustainable operations.

Paving the way for a Sustainable Chemical Industry ..63

- Harshad Naik, Managing Director, Huntsman International India Pvt Ltd. Product as well as process innovations are the way forward to obtain higher conversion efficiencies, saving resources and utilities. New technologies on the anvil will also enable sustainability.

Hydrogen Economy is not dead

...66

- Dr N C Datta, Consultant, Modicon Pvt Ltd. Hydrogen ecocomy has been touted for some time as a superior alternative to the hydrocarbon economy we are in today. This article covers various production processes, its transportation and storage aspects, particularly in terms of the latest advances in these areas.

...78

- Vinay M. Bhandari, Kshama H. Balapure, Tanur Sinha, CSIRNational Chemical Laboratory, Pune Industrial wastewater treatment is an extremely challenging task, especially for refractory pollutants that are difficult to remove/ degrade using conventional methods of treatment. This article elaborates on hybrid technologies, that are most relevant in such cases, as they not only enhance the efficiency of the existing processes, but also help in reducing the overall cost of treatment.

Wastewater Valorisation

...88

- Vikram Dhumal, Head of Technology, Geist Research Pvt Ltd. Reviews how wastes can be extracted from effluent and other waters and utilised. Various valorisation methods are described and the process of how to go about it.

Biofilter for the deodourization of industrial emissions – Sustainable & low cost solution for Indian Industry ...91

- A Gangagni Rao, Bharat Gandu, Kranti Kuruti, CSIR-IICT, Hyderabad Odour is one of the major problems of industrial emissions and it could range from offensive to noxious. Biological methods are quite effective in addressing this problem compared to physico-chemical techniques as described in the article.

Regular Features

Chemingineering News & Views New Developments Events

.. 9 ... 12 ... 47 ... 103

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Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

CHEMINGINEERING

Our columnist, Sahasranaman, looks at various metrics and indices to measure and rank sustainability. Though easy to understand qualitatively, sustainability is too complex to be quantified. But what cannot be quantified cannot be improved. A well-respected index will allow companies to be benchmarked with their peers on their sustainability performance.

K Sahasranaman

Independent Consultant - Process Engineering, Energy, Utilities and Safety

Measuring Sustainability

ustainability, as is commonly complex to characterise. But unand Economics. Under these four understood today, is a fairly less we are able to quantify it, it heads, the tool uses 139 perforrecent addition to the English will remain a meaningless term to mance indicators to quantify the lexicon. It was first used in 1972, be dropped regularly at conferenc- sustainability of a chemical proin the context of “our future”, in es and conclaves. A metric for suscess. GREENSCOPE allows quanthe book – Blueprint for Survival. tainability will help in developtitative comparison between proIn the US, the word was first used ment and incentivisation of suscesses that manufacture the same in 1974 to justify a “no growth” tainable practices through compar- product using different raw mateeconomy. “Sustainability” made ison and benchmarking. rials, chemical reactions and sepaits first appearance in a United ration processes and produce difGREENSCOPE Nations document in 1978. After ferent by-products. A clumsy acronym for 1978, the term started appearing Under the Efficiency head, the “Gauging Reaction Effectiveness regularly in both technical armethodology looks at the confor the Environmental ticles and policy documents. The version and selectivity of reacSustainability of Chemistries Brundtland Report, published in tions involved in the chemical with a multi-Objective Process 1987 by the United Nations World process. Specifically, it addressEvaluator”, GREENSCOPE is a Commission on Environment and es Atom Economy, which is a meamethodology for rating and evaluDevelopment, coined the term sure of how much mass from the ating the sustainability of a chem“sustainable development” and raw materials end up in product. ical process during its developdefined it as “development that Energy is arguably the most imment stage. Sponsored by US EPA, meets the needs of the present portant component of sustainabilthe methodology has four pillars without compromising the ability ity. GREENSCOPE compares the – Efficiency, Environment, Energy of future generations to meet their energy consumption of the process own needs.”Sustainability has beagainst the “Best” and “Worst” come fashionable to talk about case scenarios and calculates Though sustainability is easy to understand these days and a cross-section a rating value as a percentage qualitatively, it is a complex and elusive conof the society ranging from cept when it comes to quantification. What cannot of the ratio (Actual – Worst) / politicians to schoolchildren (Best – Worst). Energy target use the word, perhaps without be measured cannot be improved. A universally acceptable and respected system of metrics is can be set for a process using giving it much thought. required so that businesses can be benchmarked pinch technology. Economic activity has to be on the same platform for their sustainability perOn the Environment front, efficient. It also has to be susformance. A metric for sustainability enables us to GREENSCOPE assesses the potainable. While efficiency is tential environmental impacts reward and advance it. easy to measure and benchof emissions from the process mark, sustainability is far more

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

CHEMINGINEERING

under eight categories: human GREENSCOPE is a methodology for rating and Sustainability innovation, toxicity by ingestion and derevaluating the sustainability of a chemical pro- Environmental performance, mal/inhalation routes, aquatcess during its development stage. GREENSCOPE Safety performance, Product ic toxicity, terrestrial toxiciallows quantitative comparison between process- stewardship, Social responsity, acidification, photochemies that manufacture the same product using differ- bility and Value-Chain mancal oxidation, global warming ent raw materials, chemical reactions and separa- agement. Launched in 2008, and ozone depletion. As in the tion processes and produce different by-products. the index is benchmarked case of energy, percent scores against that of 11 major chemare calculated for each imical companies like BASF, pact category. The criterial under AkzoNobel, Dow, DuPont etc. DJSI Economics include costs and annuDow Jones Sustainability Index CDP alised profits. (DJSI) is a respected indepenEarlier known as Carbon GREENSCOPE builds the susdent sustainability ranking sysDisclosure Project, CDP is a tainability model of a chemitem and benchmarks the susLondon based not-for-profit orcal process during its developtainability performance of comganisation that seeks to monitor ment and optimisation stage. Such panies based on environmenthe environmental performance of a model sets different targets that tal, social and economic perforworld’s principal publicly traded have to be realised to improve the mance. Launched in 1999, DJSI is companies. This is done through sustainability of the process. based on RobecoSAM’s Corporate annual surveys to collect informaSustainability Assessment method- tion on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Chemie³ ology. Each year over 3400 publicand Water Management. Over the Chemie³, an initiative of the ly traded companies are invited to last 16 years CDP has built up a German Chemical Industry participate in this assessment. The very comprehensive database of Association (VCI) in partnership assessment examines financially self-reported environmental data with two other organisations, usmaterial factors that impact a com- in the world. CDP scores compaes 40 indicators to measure suspany’s value drivers, such as the nies on their disclosures and puts tainable development. It is the first ability to innovate, attract and reout ratings in the public domain. of its kind in the chemical industain talent and enhance its operatry. Launched in 2013, the inditional eco-efficiency. Within each Epilogue cators cover economic, environindustry, companies with a miniSustainability can mean differmental and social criteria, rangmum total score of 60 and whose ent things to different organisaing from the competitiveness of the score is within 1% of the top pertions depending on their stakechemical industry on global marforming company’s score receive holders. Though sustainability is kets to greenhouse gas emissions the RobecoSAM Gold Class award. easy to understand qualitatively, and the percentage of young peoWithin the top 15% of each indusit is a complex and elusive concept ple who are offered permanent emtry, the company that has achieved when it comes to quantification. ployment after an apprenticeship. the largest proportional improveWhat cannot be measured cannot As many as 17 out of the 40 indicament in its sustainability perforbe improved. A universally accepttors are dedicated to social criteria, mance compared to the previous able and respected system of metemphasising this dimension in the year is named the RobecoSAM rics is required so that businesses sustainability debate. Following Industry Mover. AkzoNobel is the can be benchmarked on the same the launch of Chemie³, VCI and its current leader on the DJSI. platform for their sustainability partners have set the goal of anperformance. A metric for sustainchoring sustainability as the guidAIChE ability enables us to reward and ing principle for German Chemical Another index to benchmark advance it. Industry. Twelve “Sustainability sustainability against peers is the Guidelines for the Chemical Readers’ responses may be sent AIChE (American Institute of Industry in Germany” provide a to k.sahasranaman@gmail.com or Chemical Engineers) Sustainability roadmap for this. With quantitachemindigest@gmail.com Index. Sustainability perfortive yardsticks like Chemie³, susmance is evaluated using 7 key tainability is no longer an abstract metrics – Strategic commitment, concept. 10

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

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News & Views

NEWS & VIEWS

Bayer closes Monsanto acquisition

erman chemical and pharma major Bayer AG announced completion of the $63 billion mega-deal to acquire US-based biotech major Monsanto to create the world’s biggest agro-chemical and seed company. The deal, which was announced in September 2016, was closed recently after Bayer got all necessary regulatory approvals from various countries including the US and India. In India, both entities have presence in production and sale of vegetable seeds, cotton seeds as well as in production and sale of non-selective herbicides.

Tata chemicals exits fertilizer business

ata Chemicals said it has completed the sale of its Haldia fertiliser unit in West Bengal and the trading business to Netherlandsbased Indorama Holdings BV for `872.84 crore. In a regulatory filing, the company said it has sold the Phosphatic fertiliser business and the trading business comprising bulk and nonbulk fertilisers by way of slump sale on a going concern basis to IRC Agrochemicals, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Indorama Holdings BV. Tata Chemicals had recently said that its divestment was in line with its strategic direction to focus on speciality chemical and food businesses while maintaining leadership in inorganic chemicals. 12

The shares of Monsanto would no longer be traded on the New York Stock Exchange, with Bayer now the sole owner of Monsanto Company, it added. Monsanto shareholders are being paid USD 128 per share. The deal value is about USD 63 billion taking into account Monsanto’s debt outstanding as of February 28, 2018. According to the conditional approval from the United States Department of Justice, the integration of Monsanto into Bayer would take place after divestment of certain assets to BASF gets completed.

India signs MoU to make lithium-ion batteries

n agreement on first transfer of technology for lithium-ion batteries was signed between the Indian government-run Central Electro Chemical Research Institute (CECRI) and RAASI Solar Power Pvt Ltd. According to the Science and Technology Ministry statement, this memorandum of understanding is the first of its kind for the country. The indigenous technology of lithium-ion cells has been developed by a group of scientists at the Council for Scientific Industrial Research (CSIR)’s CECRI in Tamil Nadu’s Karaikudi in partnership with CSIRNational Physical Laboratory, CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, Kolkata and CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad. Indian manufacturers source lithium-ion batteries from China, Japan and South Korea among some other countries. Under the MoU, the Raasi Group will set up a manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri district, which is located close to Bengaluru. Lithium-ion batteries have applications in energy storage systems and can power any electrical application without the need of physical wires. Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

News & Views

Indian researchers make artificial leaf that produces fuel and releases oxygen!

esearchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed an artificial leaf that absorbs carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to generate fuel and release oxygen in the process, simulating the process of photosynthesis. The development is being viewed as a credible candidate in tackling global warming and climate change while keeping the atmospheric carbon dioxide levels in check. Biswajit Bhattacharyya, the student at the research unit who is the first author of the study, said that al-

AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals to expand facility in Maharashtra

kzoNobel Specialty Chemicals will be expanding capacity and upgrade its organic peroxides facility in Mahad in Maharashtra to meet growing demand from customers in India and the Middle East. The expansion of the facility is expected to be completed by the end of 2018. “This expansion will allow us to build on our strong presence in numerous organic peroxide market segments, particularly in PVC, acrylics and thermoset resins,” Johan Landfors, member of the executive committee responsible for polymer chemicals said. In addition to the capacity expansion, a new waste water management system will also be installed to make the process environmentally sustainable. The company is also investing in a monochloroacetic acid project in a joint arrangement with Atul in Gujarat, due to start production in 2019.

though several attempts have been made worldwide to replicate photosynthesis, Quantum Leaf developed at IISc is the most efficient device using sunlight to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) to oxygen. Explaining the process, Anshu Pandey, Associate Professor at the Unit, said quantum dots — semiconducting nano-crystals — made of specific materials, act as catalyst to convert CO2 into bicarbonate form to ‘formate’ (derivative of formic acid) that may be used as fuel.

Dekra launches chemical reaction hazard laboratory

nternational expert organization Dekra has announced that it is opening a chemical reaction hazard laboratory in the demonstration area of the national public inspection and testing service platform – Jinan District, Shanghai, China. This latest chemical reaction hazard laboratory adds to the firm’s strong global presence with process safety related testing facilities in three continents. The new Shanghai laboratory expansion covers an area of 100 square meters and will have state-of-the-art laboratory technology and extensive specialist capabilities in chemical process hazard assessment and two-phase flow emergency relief system design for runaway reactions.

Technip FMC receives contracts for fertilizer plants in India

consortium of Technip FMC and L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE) has been awarded Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning (EPCC) contracts for two state-of-the-art, natural gas based fertilizer complexes in Eastern India. The contractee of the fertilizer plants is Hindustan Urvarak and Rasayan Limited (HURL) — a Joint Venture Company of three Indian Public Sector Companies, IOCL, NTPC and CIL. The two fertilizer plants, located at Barauni in the state of Bihar and in Sindri in the state of Jharkhand, are each capable of producing 2,200 tonnes per day (TPD) ammonia and 3,850 TPD urea. Both projects are executed on EPCC Lump Sum Turn Key (LSTK) basis and will be carried out concurrently. The Consortium, under the leadership of Technip FMC, is responsible for licensing, basic engineering, detailed engineering, construction and commissioning of the two complexes within a period of 36 months. Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

News & Views

AstraZeneca opens another medicines development centre

io-pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca officially opened its new Global Medicines Development (GMD) centre here. The unit is one of AstraZeneca’s nine GMD centres that the company has around the world that transforms breakthrough molecules into medicines and monitors their use and safety. With this opening, India would now play an even bigger role in AstraZeneca’s global operations. The GMD Bengaluru team would focus on supporting AstraZeneca’s medicines which covers treatments

NGT orders closure of 350 polluting units in Taloja

he National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered immediate closure of 350 polluting industries in Navi Mumbai’s Taloja MIDC area till further orders. The NGT’s principal bench in Delhi also directed the Taloja MIDC Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) managers to deposit `5 crore as penalty in addition to the `5 crore asked to be deposited last month for failing to contain pollution of the river. Taloja, the most-polluting CETP in the state, has been categorised as a non-performing plant by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB). It has been record-

across a range of therapies, including oncological, respiratory and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. GMD Bengaluru plays a key role supporting 51 of AstraZenecas mature brands which are used by patients around the world. Last year, the team recruited scientific experts in the fields of regulatory science, clinical, and patient safety, and has grown from 30 to 70 people. The expansion would see a further increase to more than 100 specialists.

ing very high levels of BOD (Biochemical oxygen demand) and COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand. In fact, the BOD and COD levels recorded are over ten times the permissible limits. A corporator from Panvel had filed a petition with NGT last year pointing out the air, water and land pollution caused by MIDC units in the Taloja belt in Raigad district. The industries release their effluents to the CETP, which processes it and releases it to the creek. Leakages in pipelines to the CETP have polluted Kasadi and some units also released effluents directly into the river.

Developer of Kevlar, DuPont researcher passed away

harles Shambelan, a DuPont research chemist who played a key role in the development of Kevlar, the synthetic fiber used in bulletproof vests, died from heart failure on May 13. Shambelan worked at DuPont from 1957 until 1989, when he retired. While Stephanie Kwolek invented Kevlar at DuPont in 1965, Shambelan and others at the experimental laboratory where he worked made the material commercially viable. Shambelan reportedly took Kevlar from the test tube stage and developed large enough quantities to test its reinforcement properties in various products. Kevlar is best known for lining bulletproof vests and body armor and is credited with saving the lives of thousands of police officers. 14

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

SCI awards Perkin Medal to Chemours’ Barbara Minor

he Society of Chemical Industry (SCI), America Group, announces that Barbara Haviland Minor, corporate fellow at The Chemours Company, has won the 2018 SCI Perkin Medal. This honor recognizes her contributions in the research and development of new refrigerants, known as Opteon refrigerants, to address

News & Views concerns related to ozone depletion and global warming potential (GWP). Most recently, Minor developed several new low GWP refrigerants based on HFO technology for supermarket, transport and self-contained refrigeration and large building air conditioning. Opteon XP40 was designed for retrofit and new supermarket refrigeration systems to replace R-404A. Thousands of supermarkets globally have already been converted to XP40 since 2013, providing a significant, positive environmental impact, according to SCI. Other refrigerants in commercial use today include XP44 for refrigerated trucks and trailers, XP10 and XP30 for large building chillers and recently commercialized XL20 and XL40 for condensing units, ice machines and reach-in coolers and freezers. Barbara Haviland Minor

AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals announces 2018 Imagine Chemistry winners

inners of the 2018 edition of AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicalsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Imagine Chemistry challenge were announced. Imagine Chemistry was launched to help solve real-life chemistry-related challenges and uncover sustainable business opportunities. The 2018 edition generated 150 innovative ideas from startups, scale-ups, scientists and others. Rahul Dahule and Ranjeet Utikar from Dutch startup Water Knight were awarded for their advanced oxidation reactor technology, which is used for inten-

sifying wastewater treatment in industries with complex effluents. Fergal Coleman and Alexander Grous from UK startup Green Lizard Technologies, working in partnership with Dixie Chemical, were recognized for their bio-based route to glycidol, which can be used in the production of nonionic surfactants. Gaurab Chakrabarti and Sean Hunt from US firm Solugen were recognized for their green process to make hydrogen peroxide that has the potential to replace technology that has remained unchanged since the 1930s. Another US firm, Fero Labs - represented by Berk Birand and Alp Kucukelbir were awarded for their machine learning software, which can be used to predict quality issues and production bottlenecks and improve key process parameters.

Lanxess supports sustainable leather production

fter the inclusion of NMP (NMethyl-2-pyrrolidone) as an SVHC candidate (Substances of Very High Concern) in 2011, the European Commission issued a restriction on the sale of chemical products containing NMP in May of this year and also announced a restriction on the use of NMP in consumer products in the coming fall. Now, many leather manufacturers need to make it transparent how they produce leather items without this substance. The specialty Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

News & Views chemicals company Lanxess provides the industry with suitable alternatives without the need to make any compromises with regard to the quality of the finished leather. Dr. Martin Kleban, HSEQ representative in the Leather business unit at LANXESS: “We extensively removed NMP from the leather chemicals in our product range a long time ago. By developing suitable alternatives, we offer a range of over 30 NMP-free binders for finishing and enable our customers to operate consistently without the use of NMP. We have been offering solutions in accordance with the REACH regulation for many years.” NMP was traditionally used in industry for the production of polyurethane coatings as a co-solvent, in order to improve the adhesion and penetration of the intermediate layer.

AkzoNobel Inaugurates its largest powder coatings plant in China

kzoNobel inaugurates its largest powder coatings plant in Changzhou, China. It is claimed to be one of the largest of its kind across the globe. The plant will supply an extensive range of Interpon and Resicoat products to meet growing demand for more sustainable coatings solutions. Key markets include the automotive, architectural and general industrial sectors. The Changzhou facility will produce almost the complete range, serving customers in the entire Eastern region of the country with products for domestic appliances, architecture, automotive, furniture, IT, functional and

general industrial applications. Reflecting the sustainable nature of the powder coatings it produces, the new Changzhou plant will not only supply VOC and solvent-free products but also uses ad-

Toyo awarded petrochemical project in Indonesia

oyo Engineering Group (TOYO) was awarded a construction project from PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk (CAP), Indonesia’s largest petrochemical company. This project involves construction of a polyethylene production unit of HDPE, LLDPE and mLLDPE with a total capacity of 400,000 tpy at CAP’s existing petrochemical complex in Cilegon, Banten, on the western tip of Java, Indonesia.

vanced technology such as the vacuum drum waste water recycling system. This helps to achieve full recycling of waste water and zero waste water emissions.

Toyo Engineering Corporation and Toyo Engineering Korea Limited are in charge of detailed engineering and offshore supply services. PT. Inti Karya Persada Tehnik, TOYO’s Indonesian subsidiary is responsible for domestic procurement and construction work, respectively. The plant is scheduled for completion in 2019. This is an EPC project following the front end engineering design (FEED) contract awarded to ToyoKorea at the beginning of this year. Toyo’s long-term relationship with CAP and various attractive and aggressive proposals under FEED were highly evaluated, leading to the awarding of this project.

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

News & Views

Janak Mehta appointed as first ever Chairman of Asia Dyestuff Industry Federation

anak Mehta, Imm. Past President, DMAI has been selected as the First ever Chairman of Asia Dyestuff Industry Federation (ADIF) for the next five years tenure. ADIF is an apex body and conglomerate of dyestuff and pigment manufacturers of Asian countries having a combined production of about US$ 20-25 Billion. In the present context of an apparent shift of the power-centre of the colorant manufacturing and consumer segments towards Asia, ADIF was conceived to

represent and promote the interests of dyestuffs and colorant industry in this part of the world. In his maiden address, Mehta expressed his optimism that with the support and co-operation of all the stake holders, ADIF would be able to perform its activities to the benefits of all concerned to usher better days for the Asian Dyestuff Industry. He appealed to all the members to come together and join all their efforts in this direction.

Alembic Pharma plans `720-crore capex for FY19

lembic Pharmaceuticals has earmarked a capital expenditure of `720 crore for this fiscal year to complete existing projects and on maintenance. The company had spent about `600 crore of capex in the last fiscal year (FY18). “We need `600 odd crore to complete the existing projects in FY19. We have four projects under execution at present. We are also spending `120 crore towards maintenance capex,” Alembic Pharmaceuticals’ Director of Finance and Chief Financial Officer R K Baheti. The company has six formulation and three API manufacturing facilities. It manufactures general oral solids in Panelav near Vadodara, Gujarat, and is in the process of putting up oncology oral solids and oncology injectable facilities at the same location. The pharma firm has filed 12 ANDAs (abbreviated new drug applications) during the March quarter, taking the total filings in FY18 to 26. The firm had spent `411 crore on research and development (R&D) in FY18, about 13 per cent of total sales, and is planning to scale up this investment. The company’s international formulations business was relatively flat at `1,200 crore in FY18, whereas the US business was flat at `920 crore.

India Resurgent Fund invests $125 mn in Archean Chemical

ndia Resurgent Fund (IRF), set up by Bain Capital Credit and Piramal Enterprises, has pumped in about `800 crore in Chennai-based Archean Chemical Industries Ltd in a structured credit transaction, Mint reported, citing two people aware of the development. IRF bought the existing loans of Archean Chemical from a group of public sector banks, the report added. Incorporated in July 2009, Archean Chemical has a chemical manufacturing plant at Hajipir in Gujarat’s Kutch district. The plant produces sulphate of potash, industrial salt and bromine, according to a recent report by credit rating agency ICRA. Archean Chemical is part of the Archean Group, which was established in 1984 by P B Anandam. The group has diversified business interests in mining and minerals, industrial salt, shipping, building materials, oil and gas services, industrial chemicals and fertilizers.

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Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

News & Views

Widespread uranium contamination found in India’s groundwater

new Duke University-led study has found widespread uranium contamination in groundwater from aquifers in 16 Indian states. The main source of the uranium contamination is natural, but human factors such as groundwatertable decline and nitrate pollution may be exacerbating the problem. Several studies have linked exposure to uranium in drinking water to chronic kidney disease. “Nearly a third of all water wells we tested in one state, Rajasthan, contained uranium levels that exceed the World Health Organization and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s safe drinking water standards,” said Avner Vengosh, a pro-

4M launches coatings in Kerala

ochi based 4M Enterprises has launched a variety of protective coatings in Kerala, with a wide range of applications in construction, oil refining and marine sectors. 4M Enterprises is a manufacturing start-up with units in Kochi and Coimbatore. The company is looking at `12-15 crores sales by 2019-20, said Dhanish George, Managing Director, 4M. There are also plans to open ‘4M Protective Centres’ at major towns through which its experts will undertake protective coating jobs.

fessor of geochemistry and water quality at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment. The new findings are the first to demonstrate the widespread prevalence of uranium in India’s groundwater. “The results of this study strongly suggest there is a need to revise current water-quality monitoring programs in India and re-

evaluate human health risks in areas of high uranium prevalence,” Vengosh said. “Developing effective remediation technologies and preventive management practices should also be a priority.” The World Health Organization has set a provisional safe drinking water standard of 30 micrograms of uranium per liter, a level that is consistent with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards. Despite this, uranium is not yet included in the list of contaminants monitored under the Bureau of Indian Standards’ Drinking Water Specifications. The study was published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters.

ONGC Videsh receives first crude cargo from Abu Dhabi

NGC Videsh Ltd has announced the arrival of its first equity cargo of Das blend crude oil to New Mangalore. The Das blend crude oil originates from the Lower Zakum (LZ) oilfield in Abu Dhabi. The Das blend crude is best positioned in its portfolio of equity crudes to flow to India. It is a grade of crude that is regularly bought by several Indian refiners. Also the shipping distance/voyage time to the West coast is short and can be lifted in a wide range of parcel sizes. The OVL-led Indian Consortium had acquired a 10 per cent participating interest in Lower Zakum Concession through its Dutch Joint Venture Company — Falcon Oil & Gas BV. The Indian Consortium led by OVL includes BPRL and IOCL. Other shareholders in the LZ concession are ADNOC (60 per cent), CNPC and JODCO (10 per cent each) and TOTAL and ENI (5 per cent each). This first equity cargo, of approximately 690,000 barrels, was loaded onto the vessel MT Wafrah on June 2 was sold by ONGC Videsh for refining to MRPL. This is the first time that Indian oil and gas companies have been given a stake in the development of Abu Dhabi’s hydrocarbon resources.

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

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Biological E. bags order for pentavalent vaccine

iological E. Ltd. (BE) has bagged an order valued at over `895 crore for supplying its ComBE Five, a 5-in-1 Liquid Pentavalent Vaccine, to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The Liquid Pentavalent Vaccine, the Biological E., was to be inducted into Government of India’s Universal Immunization Programme. It would provide a boost to Mission Indradhanush, an initiative to empower the Programme

Cyrus Poonawalla honoured by Massachusetts Medical School

yrus Poonawalla, Founder of Serum Institute of India was conferred with an honorary ‘Doctor of Humane Letters’ degree by the Massachusetts Medical School at Boston. Serum Institute, whose forte so far lay in vaccines for measles, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough, has now developed a cure for rabies. Called Rabishield, the potent monoclonal antibody was developed by Serum Institute in partnership with University of Massachusetts Medical School. “It’s a great honour,” said the 73-year-old patriarch of the Poonawalla group. “What caught their attention was the contribution that me and my institute has made in providing vaccine to over 20 million underprivileged children in the world at the price of a cup of tea.” Serums currently brewing in the institute include “a pneumonia vaccine that should be ready next year and will cost `300 per dose as opposed to its present rate of `4,000, and a vaccine and cure for dengue”, says Poonawalla.

and extend full immunization coverage to at least 90 percent of all children in the country. ComBE Five has received World Health Organization’s pre-qualification approval. The vaccine consists of Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Hib (Haemophilus Influenza Type b) and Hepatitis B. More than 200 million doses of the 5-in-1 vaccine from BE had been administered to children around the world.

Research body voices concern over cheaper imports of natural rubber

he Indian rubber industry’s over-dependence on imported, cheap natural rubber may be highly unsustainable, posing serious challenges for its growth and competitiveness, said Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII). There are clear indications that the industry is losing its momentum and its contributions to the economy are on the decline in recent years, a study carried out by the RRII stated. There are structural changes happening to the industries of major natural rubber exporting countries and availability of cheap rubber in the international market cannot be taken for granted. Natural rubber has a dominant role in the rubber industry, as it constitutes 66 percent of the total amount of rubber the industry consumes. In recent years, rubber production has been on the decline as a result of growers abstaining from tapping the trees because of non-remunerative price. Despite declining domestic production, rubber consumption and the industry continued to grow, albeit at lower rates, with substantial imports. The longer the decline continues, the more difficult it will be to reverse the trend because of the perennial nature of the crop, the study said. Indian rubber industry is too important for the economy to be left to the uncertainties and vagaries of supply issues in the global market for long. The study, therefore, suggested proactive steps to sustain the domestic rubber production base with adequate public investment are urgently required

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

News & Views to ensure sustained domestic supply to the industry. In a major relief to farmers who are reeling under stress of low rubber price, another study by the institute suggested cultivation of cocoa as a potential inter-

IIT Bombay Climbs 17 Places, Among Top 200 Universities in the World

even IITs, the country’s premier engineering institutes are on the list of the top 500 universities of the world. The QS World University Rankings report released on Wednesday night has brought good news for the Indian academia. At 162, IIT Bombay has moved up 17 places since last year’s rankings. Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, is at second after IIT Bombay, at ranking 170. IIT Delhi which led the list of Indian universities has been displaced by IIT Bombay and IISc, Bangalore in the 2019 QS rankings. While IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi are in the top 200 of the elite club of universities in the world, the other IITs at Madras, Kanpur, Kharagpur,

Roorkee and Guwahati have found a place in the top 500. Other institutes like the Indian institute of technology Kanpur and Indian institute of technology Kharagpur have jumped 10 and 13 spots respectively in the latest ranking.

Allcargo arm Avvashya Logistics to invest `400 cr to expand warehouse capacity

vvashya CCI Logistics Pvt Ltd., a unit of Mumbailisted Allcargo Logistics Ltd., will invest `400 crore by 2022 to expand its warehousing capacity to 10 million sq ft. The expansion will focus on three key areas: Speciality chemicals, retail associated with e-commerce and auto engineering. Specialty chemicals currently contributes to half of the revenue of the company while auto and retail account for 35 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively. Over a period of time, we will probably see chemicals contributing 40 per cent of our revenues while the remaining 60 per cent will be split equally between auto and retail.

crop for mature rubber under tapping. RRII has successfully demonstrated the initiative on a small landholding in Kerala representing the central traditional rubber growing tract in India.

The global rankings remain dominated by Massachusetts Institute Technology (MIT) , Stanford University, Harvard University and California Institute Technology all maintaining their top 4 spots. MIT has bagged the top spot for a record seventh year straight. QS world University ranking are taken out by education analysts QS Quacquarelli Symonds every year. The rankings are evaluated on six different metrics, which include Academic reputation, Employer reputation, faculty/ student ratio, Citations per faculty, International faculty ratio and the International student ratio.

Russia’s Gazprom Starts Supplying LNG to India As First Shipment Arrives In Gujarat

fter the US, Russia began supplying Liquefied Natural Gas or LNG to India under a long-term deal as the world’s fourth-largest buyer of liquefied natural gas diversifies import basket to meet its vast energy needs. NG carrier ‘LNG Kano’, carrying a cargo from Russian supplier Gazprom, docked at Petronet LNG’s import facility in Gujarat’s Dahej. Gazprom supplied the 3.4 trillion British thermal unit (TBtu) of cargo from Nigeria. The LNG cargo was received by Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. It will be considered as golden day in India’s energy roadmap, Pradhan told reporters. “First we renegotiate price of LNG from Qatar, then reworked Australian supplies and now gas from Russia under renegotiated terms have started to flow.” India will import LNG worth an estimated $25 billion over the contract period of 20 years from Russia,

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

News & Views “Gazprom price (after being reworked) is very competitive,” he added. “Four years ago, we were importing LNG from only Qatar. Today we are getting LNG from Australia, US and now Russia,” Pradhan said. Supplies from Russia come within weeks of India importing its first ever LNG cargo from the US under a

IIT-Kharagpur develops prototype using batteryless sensor nodes to monitor soil health

esearchers at Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur (IITKgp) have developed a smart solution for farmers based on Internet of Things (IoT) to help monitor soil moisture, soil temperature, nutrient contents and water levels. Researchers from its department of computer science and engineering have developed a prototype using batteryless sensor nodes to monitor agricultural field parameters. This solution can also be used in other areas like construction, traffic management and health-care systems. There are two parts to this solution both of which do not need any Internet connectivity, allowing the solution to work even in the remotest parts of the country. One part of the device is placed in the field. It uses sensor nodes and has a processor, a radio unit and sensors for reading the soil moisture, soil temperature and water level in fields. The other portion is handheld, which tracks or reads the data from the device present on the field. “The handheld device automatically reads the data collected by the device on the field when it comes in contact. This data from the handheld device is later transferred to remote servers,” said Anandarup Mukherjee, one of the researchers. The data from the

long-term import deal. Pradhan said that the starting of LNG imports from Russia has added a new dimension to the bilateral relations between India and Russia, particularly in the oil and gas sector. Russia has emerged as a long-term source for India’s hydrocarbon imports, he said.

fields can then be used for data analytics, data visualisation and other processes. Other researchers behind this solution are Arijit Roy and Sudip Misra. They have applied for patent for this product. The institute is still to work out the cost for this solution that could make farming more productive. “We are looking at partnerships with government bodies including the ministry of agriculture and private sector companies to take this solution to the next stage of commercialisation,” said Misra, a faculty member at the institute. The size of the two devices is about 10 cm by 10 cm — roughly the size of a tiffin box — and is developed at the Smart Wireless Applications and Networking (SWAN) Lab of the IIT. The energy constraint keeps wireless-sensor technology out of reach of the masses in India. “We believe that reducing certain essential components in a sensorbased system, such as the battery, the net cost of each sensor nodes comes down, which in turn makes it more affordable to the masses,” Misra said. Using this device, a farmer can digitise his fields and follow scientific approaches to farming.

Gujarat Borosil plans ₹235-cr brownfield expansion at Bharuch facility

orosil looks at the rapid growth in the solar glass segment. According to a report in Business Line, Pradeep Kheruka, Vice-Chairman,

said that Gujarat Borosil shared the company’s ambitious plans of brownfield expansions with an investment of `235 crore to double the solar glass production capacity to 2.4 gw per annum. “Rather than going for greenfield expansion, we decided to undertake brownfield expansion which will be done at 60 percent of the cost of greenfield expansion. We plan to invest `235 crore and Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

are evaluating various options and possibilities of source of funding,” added Kheruka. Currently, India imports about 70 percent of its requirement of about 380 tonnes per day. Gujarat Borosil produces about 130 tonnes per day, out of which 105 tonnes is sold domestically, while about 25 tonnes is exported. The import is about 275 tonnes per day. Considering the growth of so21

News & Views lar industry, the solar glass has the highest potential for growth as compared to any other form of glass today. Gujarat Borosil has achieved a landmark by making 2-mm fully tempered solar glass in the world. This new product enables the production of glass-to-glass modules, which are a quantum improvement over the

Dhunseri Petrochem to sell 50% stake in Egyptian co to Indorama Group

hunseri Petrochem will sell its 50 percent stake in Egyptian Indian Polyester Company (EIPET) to Singapore-based Indorama Group. Dhunseri already sold 50 percent stake in its `4,000 crore Dhunseri Petrochem in India. EIPET was closed two-and-half years ago following crash in oil prices which distorted fundamentals. It had last recorded a turnover of $350 million. The Egyptian petrochemical company was making heavy losses and had a $197-million debt on the books. The debt was finally settled by Dhunseri at $87 million. With the JV raising fresh finances, Dhunseri will get back $62 million. Located at Ain Sokhna free trade zone, northwest of the Gulf of Suez, EIPET has two production lines totalling 540,000 tonne per annum capacity. If the joint venture agreement is implemented, the Egyptian company will restart one production line in the first year. Dhunseri currently owns 77 per cent stake in EIPET. The rest 23 percent is owned by its existing JV partner Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM). As per a separate agreement, Dhunseri will purchase ECHEM’s entire 23 per cent stake, in tranches, to ensure 50 percent ownership in JV with Indorama.

existing modules available in the market. When such modules using bi-facial cells are installed on rooftops or on sand, the back of the module absorbs reflected light, thus, boosting power output by 30 percent.

Sun Pharma rises with R&D and bets on specialty drugs

uccess is also what Sun Pharmaceuticals seeks with Ilumya a treatment for psoriasis that the company developed. “Its (speciality) our new engine of growth, that is why we are investing so in future it becomes a big part of our business’, Dilip Shanghvi, MD Sun Pharma said. According to a report in The Economic Times, Sun Pharma’s will be to build a pipeline of patented products for global markets with a focus on improving patient outcomes either by targeting unmet medical needs or by enhancing patient convenience through differentiated dosage forms. Top drug makers J&J, Novartis, Eli Lilly are ensconced in the drug segment and Sun is expected to be the sixth contender. The two key factors that may get Sun Pharma an initial push are the comparative lower dosing and a competitive pricing plan. Sun refrained from sharing specific details of its strategy for Ilumya but over the earnings call the management indicated the launch may be expected in the third quarter of the year. “We expect FY19 to be a critical year for Sun’s specialty initiatives, with three key products hitting the market and likely scale-up in a few others”, wrote Prashant Nair, a research analyst with brokerage firm Citi, a day after Sun announced its quarterly results in May this year. With drugs like Ilumya (dermatology), Yonsa (anti-cancer), Bromsite (eyecare), Odomzo (anti-cancer), Seceira (eyecare) spread across four key areas of dermatology, ophthalmology, oncology and central nervous system that are run as standalone entities.

Mylan-Biocon combine get USFDA nod for biosimilar pegfilgrastim

he Mylan-Biocon combine have notched up their second biosimilar in the US following the regulatory approval given to Fulphila, Mylan’s biosimilar version of pegfilgrastim, originally sold by Amgen under the brandname Neulasta. Mylan pipped other competitors in the race for this drug in the US market, when it received the US Food and Drug Administration’s approval for Fulphila, a biosimilar it co-developed with Biocon. The product is used to treat fever and other signs of infection in patients treated with chemotherapy in certain types of cancer. Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

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Successful ACHEMA 2018 closes in Frankfurt

t the most important trade show for the process industry, more than 3,700 exhibitors from 55 countries showcased the latest equipment and innovative processes for the chemical, pharma and food industry. In the field of classic process technology hall, the pump exhibition or in the plant engineering section, many stands were so crowded that visitors had to take some time to pass through the halls. A very visible trend this year: At many stands he visitors could experience plants and equipment in augmented reality with the aid of special goggles or even test their aptitude in completely virtual surroundings. The three focal topics were very well received.

Under the motto “Flexible Production” numerous exhibitors showed modular solutions and intelligent components for the plant of tomorrow. “Biotech for Chemistry” comprised process development and equipment from the lab to the fermenter that integrate biotechnological methods into the chemical industry. “Chemical and Pharma Logistics” put a spotlight on the advancing integration of the supply chain and attracted new target groups that are increasingly not “only” service providers but systemic partners of the process industry. The next ACHEMA will take place during 14-18 June 2021 in Frankfurt.

Rare element to provide better material for high-speed electronics

urdue researchers have discovered a new two-dimensional material, derived from the rare element tellurium, to make transistors that carry a current better throughout a computer chip. The discovery adds to a list of extremely thin, two-dimensional materials that engineers have tried to use for improving the operation speed of a chip’s transistors, which then allows information to be processed faster in electronic devices, such as phones and computers, and defense technologies like infrared sensors. Other two-dimensional materials, such as graphene, black phosphorus and silicene, have lacked either stability at room temperature or the feasible production approaches required to nanomanufacture effective transistors for higher speed devices. Tellurene, a two-dimensional film researchers found in the element tellurium, achieves a stable, sheet-like transistor structure with faster-moving “carriers” - meaning electrons and the holes they

leave in their place. Despite tellurium’s rarity, the pros of tellurene would make transistors made from two-dimensional materials easier to produce on a larger scale. The researchers detail their findings in Nature Electronics. Since electronics are typically in use at room temperature, naturally stable tellurene transistors at

this temperature are more practical and cost-effective than other twodimensional materials that have required a vacuum chamber or low operation temperature to achieve similar stability and performance. The larger crystal flakes of tellurene also mean less barriers between flakes to electron movement - an issue with the more numerous, smaller flakes of other two-dimensional materials. The researchers anticipate that because tellurene can grow on its own without the help of any other substance, the material could possibly find use in other applications beyond computer chip transistors, such as flexible printed devices that convert mechanical vibrations or heat to electricity.

Microscopy advance reveals unexpected role for water in energy storage material

material with atomically thin layers of water holds promise for energy storage technologies, and researchers have now discovered that the water is performing a different role than anyone anticipated. The finding was possible due to a new atomic force microscopy (AFM) method that measures the sub-nanoscale deformation rate in the material in response Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

News & Views to changes in the material caused by energy storage. The researchers studied crystalline tungsten oxide dihydrate, which consists of crystalline tungsten oxide layers separated by atomically thin layers of water. The material is of interest because it holds promise for helping to store and release energy quickly and efficiently. However, it has not been clear what role the water plays in this process. To address this question, researchers from North Carolina State University, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Texas A&M University used a new methodology. The new technique relies on AFM to track the expansion and contraction of the material at the atomic scale and in real time as an electronic instrument called a potentiostat moves charge in and out of the material. This technique allowed the team to detect even minor deformations in the material as charge moved through it. “We tested both crystalline tungsten oxide dihy-

drate and crystalline tungsten oxide - which lacks the water layers,” says Veronica Augustyn, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and corresponding author of a paper on the work. “And we found that the water layers appear to play a significant role in how the material responds mechanically to energy storage.” “Specifically, we found that the water layers do two things,” says Ruocun “John” Wang, a Ph.D. student in Augustyn’s lab and lead author of the paper. “One, the water layers minimize deformation, meaning that the material expands and contracts less as ions move in and out of the material when there are water layers. Two, the water layers make the deformation more reversible, meaning that the material returns to its original dimensions more easily.” “In practical terms, this means that the material with water layers is more efficient at storing charge, losing less energy,” Augustyn says.

Indian Oil’s Ennore LNG terminal to be commissioned by October

he Indian Oil Corporation Limited’s `5,200-crore liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal at Ennore is all set to go on stream by October this year. The project, being set up through a joint venture Indian Oil LNG, entails a 5 million tonnes per annum LNG plant at Kamarajar Port in Ennore, near Chennai. The project is expected to play an important role in supplying fuel to companies such as Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited, MFC and SPIC among others, said S Senthil Kumar, Executive Director (Regional Services), IOCL. Interacting with the media here on Thursday, Subodh Dakwale, ED, IOCL, and Rahul Bharadwaj, ED, (Head of Telangana and AP Operations), said, “The corporation has taken up a number of projects in South India — Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in particular — which entail significant financial investments over the next 2-3 years.”

plies in the region, he said.

Referring to ongoing and new projects in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Bharadwaj said: “Telangana will see an investment of `560 crore, which includes a `500-crore oil terminal at Nalgonda. A sum of `60 crore is being invested in augmenting LPG capacity.” In Andhra Pradesh, several projects are being taken up with an outlay of `827 crore. These include a `320-crore greenfield terminal near Visakhapatnam Another terminal is being set up at Guntakal with an investment of `350 crore. Alongside, a brownfield terminal at Vijayawada is being augmented with new capacity with an outlay of `360 crore.”

Bharadwaj said the proposed pipeline from the Paradip refinery to Hyderabad is expected to be commissioned by 2020, and the land acquisition for the project is at an advanced stage. The `3,000-crore project will play a significant role in ensuring timely sup24

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

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Honeywell Appoints Mike Banach as Regional General Manager of Honeywell UOP India

oneywell announced the appointment of Mike Banach as regional general manager – Honeywell UOP India. In his new role, Mike will be responsible for spearheading Honeywell UOP business in India to sustain the growth in the region and continue to build upon UOP’s work in developing and licensing process technologies used in refining, petrochemicals and renewable fuels. With more than 25 years of experience, Mike is an industry veteran who joined Honeywell UOP in 1990 as a development engineer. He brings diversified experience in technical services of field operations and has worked in several countries including India, China and Far East regional service groups. Mike’s vast experience will help UOP to further strengthen its business in India as the country is undergoing a paradigm shift towards a clean fuel regime. Banach earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA degree from the University of Chicago.

Repsol, Google team up for big data, AI-driven refinery management

epsol is working with Google Cloud on a project that will tap on big data and artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize refinery management. The project will be implemented in Repsol’s third largest unit, located in the Spanish province of Tarragona. The Tarragona Industrial Complex processes 9.5 million tons of raw materials a year and has the capacity to distill 186,000 barrels of oil a day. Google’s data and analytics products, professional services consultants, and its machine learning managed service, Google Cloud ML, will help Repsol’s developers to build and bring machine learning models to production in their refinery environment.

Clariant’s Deepak Parikh to join American Chemistry Council Board of Directors

lariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, announced that Deepak Parikh, Clariant’s Region President of North America, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the American Chemistry Council (ACC). Parikh was approved to serve on the Board of Directors during the ACC Annual Meeting in Colorado Springs (CO), for a term from January 1, 2019 until December 31, 2021. The American Chemistry Council represents the diverse set of companies that make up the $768 billion enterprise that is the chemistry business in North America. The council is committed to working on solving some of the biggest challenges facing our nation and our world by advocating for public policies that support the creation of groundbreaking products to improve lives, protect our environment and enhance the economic vitality of communities. Parikh joined Clariant’s North American region as Region President and chief executive officer of both Clariant Corporation and Clariant Canada Inc. in July 2017. Parikh, a U.S. citizen, most recently served as Clariant’s Region President for India, Midde East Africa as well as vice chairman and managing director of Clariant Chemicals (India) Limited. During the previous two decades, he worked with Dow Chemical and DuPont in the USA and Asia where he held various global and regional leadership roles in research and development, commercial and business development functions. Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

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IUPAC Division of Chemistry and the Environment Annual Meeting 2018 in Rome

n the weekend 12-13th May 2018, the IUPAC Division VI – Chemistry and the Environment – had its annual meeting in Rome, Italy, just before the beginning of the SETAC (Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry) Europe Conference (Rome, 13-17 May 2018), where the Division had organized a special session. The meeting was attended by 25 participants coming from 18 countries and representing various continents. India was represented by Dr. Bipul Behari Saha, R&D Director at L.R. Research Laboratories,

Tata Chemicals to acquire Allied Silica for `123 crore

ata Chemicals entered into a Business Transfer Agreement with Allied Silica Limited to acquire their business of precipitated silica for a consideration of . 123 crores, on a slump sale basis. The deal is expected to be closed within three months. This acquisition is a part of the `295 crore investment approved by the Board during Feb 2017, towards this specialty business. This agreement includes the acquisition of an existing manufacturing site in Tamil Nadu, which will produce Highly Dispersible Silica (HDS). The specialty chemical product represents a downstream value addition to Tata Chemicals soda ash business, where it ranks among the top manufacturers globally. Commenting on the move, Mr R Mukundan, Managing Director, Tata Chemicals said, ‘This acquisition is another step in our journey to build tech26

NACL Industries Limited (Hyderabad). The venue of the meeting was the FISE building in Rome, where the Italian branch of the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) is based. The President of Italian ISWA, Dr. Mario Malinconico (Research Director of IPCB-CNR), opened the activities on Saturday 13th morning. During the two-day meeting, several important topics were covered: reviews of on-going projects, brainstorming ideas for new projects, exploring collaborations with other International organisations, joint-organization of Conferences and Symposia, and planning of the Division activities for the Centenary of IUPAC which will be celebrated in 2019 (https://iupac.org/100/). These celebrations will culminate in the 47th IUPAC World Chemistry Congress in Paris (57th July, 2019). During the meeting, Dr. Saha made a presentation on the “Status of Responsible Care, Sustainability, Green chemistry and Environment in Indian Chemical Industry”. The Directorate of IUPAC Division VI is currently represented by Dr. Rai Kookana (President – CSIRO, Australia), Dr. Hemda Garelick (VicePresident – Middlesex University, United Kingdom) and Dr. Roberto Terzano (Secretary – University of Bari, Italy).

nologically enabled, differentiated businesses, with greater customer centricity, by leveraging our core strengths. The manufacture of speciality and performance silicas is one such area. This is in line with our focus to grow our specialty business, along with our consumer business.’ Precipitated silica is a versatile product with applications in many industries including rubber, oral care, coatings and agrochemicals. The acquisition also offers the possibility to make value added silica in the future for applications that demand high performance. The technology for manufacturing HDS, for which eight patents have already been filed, has been developed at the Company’s Innovation Centre in Pune.

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

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Refinery upgradation projects offer a $30-billion opportunity

efinery upgradation projects involving investments of $30 billion are in the pipeline and expected to be executed by public sector companies in the coming days, said Bhaskar Patel, Managing Director at TechnipFMC India. “If you add all the investments in the offing from public sector undertakings alone, it is close to $25-$30 billion in the onshore. This is inclusive of the land acquisition, development, shipping and other costs that are associated with setting up a refinery. It’s quite a huge investment by the public sector companies,” Patel said in an interview to Business Line. Patel heads the Indian subsidiary

of TechnipFMC, the global engineering, procurement and construction, and project management company. TechnipFMC’s full year revenue for 2017 stood at $15 billion. Patel said, “In India, we have been little bit sheltered from the global prices because in the last few years, the investment in India has been about going from BS IV to BS VI. So, while the market was down globally, there was business in India for us. Whereas our global footprint saw less work, in India we saw that there was more work coming up. So in 2015 and 2016 we saw some difficult times, but in 2017 and 2018 onwards we see a lot of activities in the market.”

Innovations in Textile Technology and Fashion towards Circular Economy

mbracing the concept of ‘Circular Economy (CE),’ The Society of Dyers and Colourists - Education Charity (SDC - EC) in conjunction with Rachana Sansad School of Fashion & Textile Design, organised Innovations in Textile Technology and Fashion towards Circular Economy in June. The textile and fashion industries are global and through online, on demand information, SDC is ensuring these industries can be responsive to change. CE targets optimum reuse of the discarded products at their lifecycle and reuse waste generated during manufacture of products. In all it comprised 4 technical sessions with panel discussions (23 members) for the way forward, a technical paper on CE, followed by Collezione (the fashion show) presented by Rachana Sansad. V. R. Sai Ganesh, Chairman, SDC EC welcomed and paid homage to Dr. Ian Holme who passed away recently. He was instrumental in starting SDC Mumbai Chapter in India when he was President during 19992000. Dr. Holme was a long serving member and advocate of SDC UK and Professor at the Department of Textile Industries, University of Leeds. He is respected for his work, and the colouration community would miss him. Speaking about Sustainability, Sai Ganesh V. R. Sai Ganesh

stressed on the waste generated in the textile world (5 kgs fabric is consumed per person in developing countries like India) and 15% wastage when fabric is made into garment. He said that sustainability is the key and industries like dyes & chemicals and fashion etc should minimise waste. Dr. Graham Clayton, CEO, SDC UK discussed SDC’s global mission in his speech. He said that for smart solutions, an organisation has to look at its people, operations and technology. It is only when people use technology for improving operations, smart solutions work Dr. Graham Clayton profitably. Chief Guest Manish Mandhana, CEO, The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd advocated responsibility for products and processes since manufacturing entails risk and hazards to environment. He said that, it is important to make CSR and socio-environmental aspects as DNA of our tradition to run business. Waste and effluents are treated at source and disposed into environment and do the business with core values of taking care of society, world and planet. He concluded with a message on the concept of sustainability. Felix A K Pinto, Sales Director, South Asia, South East Asia & ANZ, X-rite India Private Ltd spoke on Circular Economy: Innovations in Design and Supply

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

News & Views Chain Management. Discussing the steps taken to reduce waste, Pinto described the importance of a Pantone Colour Card built into a dependent standard and how colour is achievable on different substrates, without the need for sampling. He stressed on the importance of Industry 4.0 and the need for vertical materials. Material could be digitised to any product without physical samples thereby economy is sustained and a better value to the brand and manufacturing is

Anjani Mashelkar Inclusive Innovation Award 2018

th Anjani Mashelkar Inclusive Innovation Award is announced. This award is proferred in the memory of Raghunath Mashelkar’s mother, who always persuaded him to use science and technology for the benefit of the needy- especially the poor. The Anjani Mashelkar Inclusive Innovation Award is an annual award of `1 lakh given to an individual or an organisation for an idea, prototype or a commercialized product, service and business model. The innovation must address the problems faced by the disadvantaged resource-poor people in India and offer an original and implementable solution. The awardees will preferably be those who believe in not just ‘best practices’, but ‘next practices’. Most importantly, it will value solutions that represent ‘affordable excellence’, breaking the myth that ‘affordability’ and ‘excellence’ cannot go together.

Criteria Only Indian organizations or people of Indian origin are eligible to apply. Innovators of all ages may apply. The nominations should be for prototypes or proof of concepts which have the potential to be successful innovations. The prototypes, products, services or business models should be original and novel. They should provide highest quality affordable products and experiences to the resource poor people. The innovations should substantially and positively affect the quality of life of the disadvantaged sections of society - such as the resource poor elderly people. All applications should clearly explain the innovation, the originality of the idea, its benefit, and impact. For more details check: http://mashelkarfoundation.org/awards/inclusive-innovation/

AkzoNobel to demonstrate new ethylene amines process technology in Sweden

kzoNobel Specialty Chemicals has broken ground for a demonstration plant to showcase a revolutionary and more sustainable technology platform for producing ethylene amines and their derivatives from ethylene oxide. Located at its Stenungsund site in Sweden, the facility marks the next step towards commercialization of the patented technology. In parallel to the construction the company has already started to explore options for a world-scale 28

created. Database is digitised and stored in the cloud which helps to reduce space, time, people, resources and colour processes approval that are involved in life cycle of development process. He added that a huge amount of waste generated due to sampling, unwanted colours, mismatch of colours can be eliminated by implementing mass customisation, Artificial Intelligence and Internet of things. – By Dr K S Murthy

manufacturing facility. The new technology will significantly reduce raw material consumption and substantially improve cost and environmental performance when compared with existing processes. The flexibility of the technology will allow for a se-

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

lective production of a wide range of end products, enabling the company to expand its amines product offering. The range of ethylene amines targeted by the new technology platform includes diethylenetriamine (DETA) and triethylenetetramine (TETA), which are key building blocks in a number of growth applications such as epoxy curing, lube oil additives, and oil field chemicals.

News & Views

Avantium begins construction of bio-based MEG demonstration plant in Netherlands

vantium N.V. has started construction of a new demonstration plant that will help advance the production of bio-based monoethylene glycol (MEG) made directly from renewable sugars in Netherlands. As MEG is a component for making everyday consumer goods, such as PET and PEF plastics and polyester textiles, the development

of an environmentally friendly plant-based alternative has strong potential. The novel single-step process can finally fulfil this demand in an environmentally sustainable manner that both consumers and leading brands have been seeking. The new plant will use Avantium’s pioneering Mekong technology to convert renewable sugars into bio-

based MEG. The plant will be operational in 2019. The objectives of the demonstration plant are to scale up the novel bio-MEG technology, validate the technical and economic feasibility of the process, and to collect data to execute an environmental life-cycle analysis (LCA) quantifying the sustainability benefits of the Avantium technology.

Siluria Technologies inks deal with Saudi Aramco for high-olefins cracking process technology

audi Aramco Technologies Company and Siluria Technologies executed a multi-plant technology license for the integration of Siluria’s proprietary technology (natural gas to olefins) with Saudi Aramco’s high-olefins cracking process technology. Siluria’s natural gas-to-olefins technology, based on oxidative coupling of methane chemistry, is available for license in stand-alone configurations, as well as integration within a wide range of existing process plants; including steam crackers, propane dehydrogenation units, oil refineries, and methanol plants. By integrating Siluria’s technology with existing facilities, operators can upgrade their methane-containing byproduct streams from fuel to chemical value, improv-

ing carbon efficiency and production rates. Robert Trout, Siluria’s President and CEO said, “Converting methane containing off-gases to higher value chemicals adds meaningful economic value, while plant integration can deliver excellent capital efficiencies. We are thrilled to be working with a company like Aramco towards some of the largest and most technologically advanced petrochemical facilities the industry has ever seen.” Ahmad Al Khowaiter, Chief Technology Officer of Saudi Aramco commented, “Maximizing the output of high-value chemicals products from our future crude oil processing projects is one of the key objectives in our downstream technology strategy.”

Neste and IKEA to launch commercial-scale production of bio-based polypropylene

este Corp. is collaborating with IKEA to utilize renewable residue and waste raw materials, such as used cooking oil, as well as sustainablyproduced vegetable oils in the production of plastic products. It will be the first large-scale production of renewable, bio-based polypropylene plastic globally. IKEA wants to use more renewable and recycled materials and explore new materials for IKEA products. As part of this journey, IKEA is working to change all of the plastic used in IKEA products to plastic based on recycled and/or renewable materials by 2030. One of the ongoing projects towards eliminating virgin fossil-based raw materials in plastic products is collaboration between IKEA and Neste, which was initiated in 2016.

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

SNC-Lavalin wins substantial contract for chlor-alkali plant in Oman

NC-Lavalin has signed an exclusive agreement with Project Development & Management International LLC (PDMI) in Oman, to design and deliver a greenfield chlor-alkali PVC plant 150 km southeast of the Omani capital Muscat. SNC-Lavalin will support the project long term, from concept development to commissioning, carrying out the initial engineering, master planning, process technology evaluation and selection to support project financial investment decision approvals. The sub29

News & Views sequent Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) contract is expected in Q1 2019, where SNC-Lavalin will execute the complete design and delivery, working alongside Omani contractors to maximize in-country value. SNC-Lavalin will also support the operations and maintenance of the plant. In 2017, SNC-Lavalin was awarded a long-term

BASF to invest in carbon recycling company

ASF Venture Capital GmbH is to invest in LanzaTech, a biotech company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Using special microbes, LanzaTech has developed a technology for gas fermentation that first enables ethanol to be produced

framework contract from Petroleum Development Oman for the commissioning and start-up support services management for its upstream assets in Oman. As part of this contract, SNC-Lavalin has set-up a dedicated training academy in Muscat to train and develop multidisciplinary graduate engineers in the specialist field of commissioning.

from residual gases containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen. By re-using waste streams instead of incinerating them, industrial companies can reduce carbon dioxide emissions. LanzaTech’s patented technology is now being deployed at commercial scale in the steel industry where carbon monoxide from residual gases (off-gases) can be converted into ethanol. Ethanol can be used as the raw material for the production of diesel, gasoline or jet fuel and as a precursor to plastics and

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

polymers. The company’s product portfolio includes additional biochemicals besides ethanol, such as chemical specialties and intermediates, that can be used as raw materials in other chemical production processes. The technology is also potentially suitable for treating and recycling waste streams in the chemical industry and for municipal waste disposal. Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech said “Investment from BASF will help us realize our goal of a Carbon Smart Future.”

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News & Views

ExxonMobil begins production at Butyl and Resins plant in Singapore

xxonMobil has recently commenced production of hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin and halobutyl rubber at the company’s largest integrated refining and petrochemical complex in Singapore. ExxonMobil’s new 90,000 tonnes per year EscorezTM hydrogenated hydrocarbon resins plant will be the world’s largest and will meet long-term demand growth for hot-melt adhesives used in packaging or baby diapers. The new 140,000-tonnes-per-year butyl plant will produce premium halobutyl rubber used in the manufacture of tires that better maintain

Clariant inaugurates new additives production facilities in China

pecialty chemicals company, Clariant recently announced the official opening of two new additives facilities at its site in Zhenjiang, China. This completes a multi-million CHF investment announced last year and puts Clariant’s additives business in China on track to further expand its offering of customized, high-end solutions for the plastics, coatings & ink industries. The newly opened facilities are exclusively for production of Ceridust micronized waxes and AddWorks synergistic additive solutions, both of which are used in various applications across the plastics, coatings and ink industries. The additional local production capacity will allow Clariant to provide more tailored solutions to clients at shortened lead times. Such tailored solutions are a key component in Clariant’s China sales expansion, as they fulfill the demand for environmentally compatible and safe products as outlined in China’s 13th Five Year Plan and the industrial policy ‘Made in China 2025’ while allowing Clariant to differentiate itself in the market environment.

inflation to improve fuel economy. The new plants expand on ExxonMobil’s flexible steam cracking capability in Singapore, which provides a range of feedstocks for upgraded specialty products to meet growing long-term demand in Asia Pacific. The Singapore complex also includes a new cogeneration unit at the refinery, bringing the total cogeneration capacity of the site to over 440 megawatts, which will help reduce emissions and support more efficient use of energy.

The chemistry of the World Cup!

he 2018 FIFA World Cup has kicked off! The spotlight is on the winning team, the star players and of course the game. Behind the scenes chemistry has contributed a lot to make the game of football what it is today; polymers make up the ball and the shirts, and chemistry has also a part to play in the vanishing sprays that referees use during the game. The ball: The World Cup ball is made from six polyurethane panels which are thermally bonded together. The trophy: The World Cup trophy is made of gold, though it is hollow; if it were solid, it would have been too heavy to lift! The green base is made of malachite, which is copper carbonate hydroxide mineral. The shirt: Football shirts are commonly made from polyesters. Elastane can be incorporated to give strength and elasticity. Names and numbers are usually made of polyurethanes. The spray: The spray referees use as a temporary marker contains butane, which expands when released from the can. Surfactants help create foam, which disappears as the butane evaporates. Its not just the above items, but a whole lot of other equipment and sports goods such as the artificial turf, the stadium seats, the gloves and shoes worn by footballers, the lights and so many more materials that have the imprint of chemistry in them that make for latest generation tournaments.

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Sourcing

Companies into Renewables/Algae

Leading MNCs, Research organisations and Universities are developing technologies for fuels and feedstocks based on renewables such as agricultural material, algae, plant and vegetable oils etc. A few of the leading organisations are listed here. Abengoa Bioenergy 16150 Main Circle Drive, Suite 300 Chesterfield, St Louis (Corpn), USA Email: abengoa@abengoa.com Web: www.abengoa.com Amyris Biotechnologies 5885 Hollis Street, Ste. 100 Emeryville, CA 94608, USA Email: info@amyrisbiotech.com Web: www.amyris.com Avantium Technologies Zekeringstraat 29 1014 BV Amsterdam, The Netherlands Email: info@avantium.com Web: www.avantium.com BioAmber Inc. 1250, Rene-Levesque Boulevard West, Suite 4310 Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3B 4W8 Web: bio-amber.com DSM Poststraat 1, 6135KR, Sittard The Netherlands Email: info@dsm.com Web: www.dsm.com E I DuPont India Pvt Ltd 7th floor, Tower C, DLF Cyber Greens, Sector - 25 A, DLF City, Phase III, Gurgaon, Haryana - 122002. India Web: www.dupont.co.in

Gevo 345, Inverness Drive south, Building C, Suite 310 Englewood, CO 80112, USA Email: info@gevo.com Web: https://gevo.com Genomatica 4757 Nexus Centre Drive San Diego, CA 92121 Email: info@genomatica.com Web: www.genomatica.com Godavari Biorefineries Ltd Utility Buildings, Tower Block, 4th Floor, J C Road, Bangalore 560 002, India Email: rathod.rajeev@somaiya.com Web: www.somaiya.com GreenFuel Technologies Corpn 146 S. Main Street Suite L, Orange, CA 92868 Email: sales@greenfueltabs.com Web: www.greenfueltechnologies. com Ineos 3, Avenue des Uttins Rolie, CH-1180, Switzerland Email: info@ineos.com Web: www.ineos.com Iogen Corporation 310 Hunt Club Rd. East Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1V 1C1 Email: info@iogen.ca Web: www.iogen.ca

Myriant Corporation & Research Development 42 Cummings Park Woburn, MA 01801 Email: info@myriant.com Web: www.myriant.com Praj Industries Limited â&#x20AC;&#x153;Praj Towerâ&#x20AC;? 274 & 275/2, Bhumkar Chowk-Hinjewadi Road, Hinjewadi, Pune-411057, Maharashtra, India E-mail: info@praj.net Web: www.praj.net Solazyme Inc 225 Gateway Blvd. South San Francisco, California 94080 Email: press@solazyme.com Web: www.solazyme.com Virent Energy Systems, Inc. 3571 Anderson St. Madison, WI 53704 Email: info@virent.com Web: www.virent.com LanzaTech 8045, Lamon Avenue, Suite 400, Skokie, Illinois, I 90077 USA Email: media@lanzatec.com Web: www.lanzatec.com

(Please note that only a selection of companies are listed here and this is by no means a comprehensive directory) Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

CEO’sRound Round Table CEO’s Table

The Different Dimensions of Sustainability There is no doubt that issues related to sustainability and environment have become powerful drivers, at once challenging, as well as enabling growth. The word ‘Sustainability’ seems to have many connotations and has come to mean different things to different sets of people be they industrialists, politicians or NGOs. It is a comprehensive term or rather a philosophy which ranges in its definition from the efficient utilisation of the earth’s resources without compromising needs of future generation to ensuring that the processes and products made are benign to the environment. So many techniques have also come up – some jargonised too – such as circular economy, cradle to cradle, green chemistry and so on. There are extreme proponents who insist that chemistry has to be good abinitio such that the development of any process or product that creates problems for the environment or overuse of resources like water or energy is a no-no. Plastics and the environmental havoc it is causing, aided by irresponsible human habit of littering, is a classic case. There are others who want to proceed incrementally. Adding to the confusion is the lack of a unified benchmarked metric for measuring sustainability as stated by our columnist in Chemingineering in this issue. So Chemical Industry Digest posed a set of seven questions to CEOs of a few leading companies to know what their understanding of sustainability is and how they are going about their activities towards sustainability.

The views of CEOs are presented here.

Ajay Durrani

Managing Director, Covestro (India) Private Limited Chemical Industry Digest (CID): Sustainability means many things to many people. It could be resource efficiency, avoiding or minimizing bad effects on the environment of any material or product or emissions from manufacturing processes. Some link it with CSR activities too. Can we get some clarity on this along with what the benchmarks are if any for sustainable manufacturing in the chemical industry? Ajay Durrani (AD): Sustainability is a highly complex

matter as it touches on the overall integrity & construct of our planet and its eco-system, our society and 34

the way we create prosperity in all its various forms. This is why Covestro’s approach to sustainable development is based on the triple-bottom line principle to serve “people, planet, profit”: With everything we do we aim to deliver a positive impact on at least two of those three dimensions while not harming the other. We always bear this basis for our decision making in mind. We are committed to foster increased value on the economic, environmental, and social levels, all at the same time and are a strong advocate for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

CEO’s Round Table

do you practice? AD: Covestro is constantly pushing boundaries to increase the share of alternative resources in the production of its plastics – but only if this really does help the environment. Should the process require additional energy, or should the production or transport of the alternative resources release more CO2 than the application saves, our company will decide against it. As mentioned we have replaced up to 50% crude oil used in manufacturing polyols with CO2. Hardeners for high-performance coatings in the automotive and furniture industry too were traditionally based on fossil – and therefore non-sustainable – raw materials. We have now coating hardeners based on renewable resources. From a point of view of manufacturing polyurethane, isocyanate and polyols are the two main components. Therefore, to make the production more sustainable Covestro adopted the use of gas phase technology.

Ajay Durrani is Managing Director & CEO of Covestro (India) Private Limited (formerly known as Bayer MaterialScience Pvt. Ltd). In this role, he is responsible for leading the development and expansion of Covestro’s business across the Indian sub continent.

Durrani has over 21 years of experience in the chemical industry with a focus on achieving continuous and improved business performance. He has a master’s degree in Marketing Management from Jiwaji University, Gwalior with professional qualifications from Boston School of Business in Switzerland, INSEAD Singapore and Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. Business activities of Covestro India are in polymer products, such as polyurethanes, polycarbonates and coatings, adhesives and Specialties. We believe in extending this mission of sustainable growth to the last mile of our value chain. Thus, it’s our commitment to make 100 percent of our suppliers compliant with our sustainability requirements. We also aim to reduce our specific greenhouse gas emissions – those generated per metric ton of product produced – by 50 percent when compared to our base year 2005.

CID: The World Environment Day this year on 5th June had the theme ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’. As you are aware a large part of the primary basic petrochemicals is converted into plastics or polymers which are non-biodegradable and creating mammoth pollution of our seas, rivers and land. Would you agree that from the sustainability perspective plastics was a ‘bad’ material ab initio and would this also be the inadequacy of chemistry not to have foreseen the consequences? AD: The world has produced over nine billion tons of plastics since the 1950s. 165 million tons of it have trashed our ocean, with almost 9 million more tons entering the oceans each year. Since only about 9 % of plastic gets recycled, much of the rest lies in the environment or landfills. This cannot be wiped out in a jiffy. I believe we would be doing a disservice to polymers if we only restrict the discussions on the inadequacy of the chemistry or the impact on nature. More than polymers itself, it is the application which determines its contribution. As a matter of fact, there have been several industries where polymers continue to play the role of a catalyst in environmental protection and promote a healthier life. That being said, there is no doubt that there is an urgent need to introduce polymers which have a lesser environmental impact. A case in point is the innovation from Covestro wherein we have replaced 20-50% of the crude oil used to manufacture polyols with carbon dioxide. This has a dual impact – reduces the bur-

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

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Mya 4 Reaction Station – Changing the concept of chemistry!!

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ment for chemical synthesis, process development, work-up and evaporation. For more information on Mya 4 reaction station, visit: http://inkarp.co.in/products/medchem-and-synthesis/radleys/mya-4-reaction-station/ Contact: Lalit K Mukhopadhyay

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Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

CEO’s Round Table den on the crude oil as well as utilizes the carbon dioxide from the environment in a constructive manner.

“

One of our own five sustainability targets, which we aim to achieve until 2025, is to invest at least 80 percent of our R&D budget in projects aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

It is also important to adopt bioplastics. There have been many challenges to the adoption of bioplastics. One of the foremost being that they are a recent invention. Any innovation requires climbing through the usual growth trajectory before gaining acceptance as a mass product, regardless of the benign nature of the material/idea. Second, absence and lack of strict regulations is a major impediment to the adoption of bioplastics. Third, the incremental appreciation in the cost of utilizing bioplastics has been a deterrent in markets which are more cost competitive. However, we have been witnessing this to be a waning trend across sectors and economies.

CID: When it comes to the development of entirely new products/ materials do you employ principles of sustainability ab initio? Are such principles & practices employed in your R&D? Do you feel the global public pressures towards cleaner environment & sustainability would give an impetus to R&D? AD: Sustainability is at the core of all our efforts and is our strategic vision. We keep an eye on the entire product lifecycle. This includes the raw materials, production, and processing, as well as the application, disposal or recycling of our products. Sustainability governs everything we do, and we want to improve in each area: from research and development – including joint projects with our customers and other partners – to sourcing, production and distribution. There is absolutely no pressure on us as we have been at the forefront of building a brighter tomorrow through sustainable practices. We are committed to the goals and provisions set out in the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and have signed the UNGC Charter. Furthermore, one of our own five sustainability targets, which we aim to achieve until 2025, is to invest at least 80 percent of our R&D budget in projects aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Thus, sustainability is an integral part of our R&D and how our business moves forward. CID: End of the pipe treatment means not good chemistry; minimizing deleterious effect of environment is another approach; Recycling & reuse is being adopted in some cases and cradle to cradle/circular economy are being touted. What would be the most practical approach – in the short term and what is required to be

done in the long term?

AD: As I mentioned earlier, sustainability has to meet the needs of the present without compromising the well-being of future generations. To which we need multiple approaches that can answer both short term and long-term problems. We have already achieved a breakthrough in this direction with our cardyon technology. The material (polyol) produced using this technology contains 20 percent CO2 and is a precursor for foam used in mattresses and upholstered furniture. Covestro brought the first industrial-scale production plant for this polyol on stream in 2016, and in the future, we are expecting to increase the share of CO2 to up to 40%. We are also working in cross-industry consortiums on methods to make carbon dioxide and waste flow of other industrial sectors usable as raw materials for our products. In order to live up to the growing significance of circular business models and the need for the more efficient use of resources, a central coordinating office for the circular economy was implemented in 2017.

“

CID: Another major problem is that of climate change, global warming due to emissions of greenhouse gases. This can be mitigated by manufacturing processes shifting to low carbon or no carbon load on environment. Are R&D efforts moving in this direction? Can a shift to renewable feedstocks from petro feedstocks help? In your manufacturing are you trying to reduce the carbon load of your processes? AD: Shift to renewable feedstock from petro will definitely help. We need to move towards more biobased polymers. At Covestro, we use innovative manufacturing processes, such as the oxygen depolarized cathode technique in chlorine production that saves as much as 30% of electricity. Similarly, employing gas phase technology can also save 40% energy and up to 80% solvent usage in the manufacture of the foam component TDI (toluene diisocyanate), a precursor for flexible polyurethane foam. In order to increase our carbon productivity we formed the Carbon Productivity Consortium with external partners and developed a methodology that identifies nine levers along the value chain that help to make a better use of fossil fuel carbon as a resource, to use alternative resources and to move towards a closedlooped model. This methodology is open source as we want to encourage our business partners as well as

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

CEO’s Round Table other industries and public institutions to become as carbon productive as possible, to overcome the challenge to ensure our society’s prosperity while minizing, if not reversing, our negative impact on the climate.

CID: Can you give some examples/ achievements of your company’s efforts on the sustainability front?

“

ready producing 40.9% fewer specific CO2 emissions compared to the reference year 2005. With a specific focus on India, we set up the Eco-Commercial Building as a proof of our commitment to push boundaries towards a brighter tomorrow. In the last few years, it has become a net positive energy building. This means that we generate and save more energy than what is consumed by the building. Similarly, we have been working with companies, partners and NGOs to contribute to social causes using our solutions.

Between 2005 and 2016, CO2 emissions in all company locations of Covestro decreased by 12% despite the fact that the production volume in our 17 most important locations across the world increased by almost 57%. Towards the end of 2016, we were already producing 40.9% fewer specific CO2 emissions compared to the reference year 2005. .

“

AD: Between 2005 and 2016, CO2 emissions in all company locations of Covestro decreased by 12% despite the fact that the production volume in our 17 most important locations across the world increased by almost 57%. Towards the end of 2016, we were al-

Ashwin Shroff

Chairman and Managing Director of Excel Industries Limited Chemical Industry Digest (CID): Sustainability means many things to many people. It could be resource efficiency, avoiding or minimizing bad effects on the environment of any material or product or emissions from manufacturing processes. Some link it with CSR activities too. Can we get some clarity on this along with what the benchmarks are if any for sustainable manufacturing in the chemical industry?

companies do to green existing products or replace them totally with more benign and environmentally friendly materials/products? Should companies revisit their existing product portfolios and even their manufacturing processes to reorient them towards sustainability requirements? What do you practice? AS: We strongly believe that the future of all of us in the chemical industry lies in constant innovation to think of ways to develop, produce, market chemicals in a green way – always looking for safer and renewable rawmaterials, processes, equipment, energy and other natural resources. We need to produce at lower costs, while attaining sustainability and very importantly, need acceptance by society at large, especially our neighbours as well as the regulators.

Ashwin Shroff (AS): Sustainability is the ability to meet the present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. We, at Excel have always considered ourselves to be an integral part of a society and not just a commercial entity. Sustainability has always remained close to our heart and mind. Sustainability not only takes care of interests of environment and sociWorking towards sustainability needs many ety, it also serves business interests. If companies improve steps to be taken in operational processes as well as in process efficiency, it leads to R&D. These include: • Efficient utilization of raw matecost savings on various pa- rials • Use of renewable raw materials • Energy efficient rameters – raw materials, wa- processes, waste heat recovery • Steps to minimize efter, energy, pollution abate- fluent generation • Use of water instead of solvents • ment, etc. Adoption of safer processes and well designed equipCID: Many materials/products that are ment • Appropriate use of mechanization, automation • being used now are not satisfying the Balancing of environmental, social and economic indisustainability criteria. What should cators • Constant training of personnel.

“

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

CEO’s Round Table Ashwin Shroff is Chairman and Managing Director of Excel Industries Limited. He is also Chairman of Transpek Industry Limited and TranspekSilox Industry Limited.

Over the years, Ashwin Shroff has been associated with various organizations. To name a few: • President – Indian Chemical Manufacturers’ Association (now known as Indian Chemical Council) – 1996-1998 • President – Roha Industries Association – 1998-2008 • Board Member – Crop Life India (Pesticides Industry Association) • Chairman – FICCI Environment Committee – 2005-2010 • Co-Chairman / Member – CII Biotechnology Committee – Since 2013 He is member of the Research Councils of CSIR, NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram and IICT, Hyderabad. He is Trustee of Vivekanand Research & Training Institute (VRTI), a voluntary organization based in Kutchh, Gujarat and Member – Board of Governors, IIM Shillong, 2018. He was conferred the Life Time Achievement Award for the year 2012 by Indian Chemical Council (ICC), Mumbai.

also be the inadequacy of chemistry not to have foreseen the con- • Energy efficient processes, waste heat recovery sequences? • Steps to minimize effluent generation AS: Plastics are very versatile materials. We can • Use of water instead of solvents

make anything and everything from it. While there is an increasing environmental concern about the use of plastics, they are not so bad as made out to be. It is the overuse, misuse, irresponsible disposal and littering of the plastics which cause problems. Plastics have many benefits – light weight, durability and long shelf life. Industry is aware of the environmental effects of plastics. Researches are being done to create plastics that decompose much faster than the current products. Some of these plastics are already available and should bring some promising, environmental changes going forward. There is a need to distinguish and bring clarity to terminology loosely used to describe new generation of plastics or polymers eg. biodegradable, compostable, biopolymers etc.

• Adoption of safer processes and well designed equipment • Appropriate use of mechanization, automation • Balancing of environmental, social and economic indicators • Constant training of personnel • Adoption of various tools and techniques like ISO standards, Responsible Care, Nicer Globe which encompass whole value chain from vendors, to transporters, to operators, to customers.

CID: End of the pipe treatment means not good chemistry; minimizing deleterious effect of environment is another approach; Recycling & reuse is being adopted in some cases and cradle to cradle/circular economy are being touted. What would be the most CID: When it comes to the development of entirely new products/ practical approach – in the short term and what is required to be materials do you employ principles of sustainability ab initio? Are done in the long term? such principles & practices employed in your R&D? Do you feel the AS: In the short term, the following are important: global public pressures towards cleaner environment & sustainabil• Recovery of useful Raw Materials from process ity would give an impetus to R&D? AS: Working towards sustainability needs many steps to be taken in operational processes as well as in R&D. These include: • Efficient utilization of raw materials • Use of renewable raw materials 40

wastes • Optimize the packaging requirement – eliminate overpackaging, bulk transportation • Introduce eco-friendly / bio-degradable / bulk / recyclable packaging In the long term, several steps should be taken in

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

CEO’s Round Table improving the processes, in being energy efficient and in overall environmental management such as: • Use of better catalysts for better conversion efficiencies and better energy efficiencies • Minimize / eliminate use of petroleum solvents in the processes and products • Optimize / minimize use of energy either for heating / cooling / material handling / transport / lighting • Treat the effluents properly to avoid damage to life and land • Recycle the treated water from industrial operations as well as sewage • Green cover – on the premises, adjoining areas, and in general, wherever possible • Use of plants to purify treated effluents • Treat even canteen waste / make compost, or energy from it.

AS: At Excel, some of the changes we have incorporated in shifting to cleaner and greener processes are: • Manufacturing butenediol at atmospheric pressure • Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) solvent replacement in Endo – Carbon tetra chloride j toluene • Di Ethyl Thiophosphoryl Chloride (DETC) petroleum solvent based j solvent free • Tris Hydroxy Phenyl Ethane (THPE) petroleum solvent based j solvent free. CID: Can you give some examples/achievements of your company’s efforts on the sustainability front? AS: There are many things we have done on the sustainability front. Some of the notable ones are: • Water conservation, energy efficiency, raw material efficiency, use of renewable raw materials, minimize effluent generation, treatment of effluent generated. • Municipal solid waste management. • Seaweed cultivation • Water harvesting • Ground water recharge, through check dams • Energy Plantation • Using wind (Windmills) and solar energy.

Sanjeev Taneja

President and Managing Director, Evonik India Chemical Industry Digest (CID): Sustainability means many things to many people. It could be resource efficiency, avoiding or minimizing bad effects on the environment of any material or product or emissions from manufacturing processes. Some link it with CSR activities too. Can we get some clarity on this along with what the benchmarks are if any for sustainable manufacturing in the chemical industry? Sanjeev Taneja (ST): Today in the chemical industry sustainability is closely linked with corporate strategy and it is an important element of responsible business. At Evonik, sustainability is a growth driver for many of our businesses. We defined six areas of action based on balanced management of economic, ecological and social factors. These six areas are: strategy & growth, governance &compliance, employees, value chain & products, environment & safety. Our responsibility ex-

tends along the entire value chain from upstream within the supply chain and right through to downstream by enabling customers to reduce their ecological footprints.

CID: Many materials/products that are being used now are not satisfying the sustainability criteria. What should companies do to green existing products or replace them totally with more benign and environmentally friendly materials/products? Should companies revisit their existing product portfolios and even their manufacturing processes to reorient them towards sustainability requirements? What do you practice? ST: It’s good that you have put this question. We constantly visit our product portfolio and our manufacturing processes. We are well-known for our culture of innovation which is geared more and more towards

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

CEO’s Round Table Sanjeev Taneja (BSc India, Process Engineering Degree - Frankfurt, MBA - USA) is the President and Managing Director of Evonik India. He has 30 years of experience in various functional areas. Sanjeev started off his professional career with the former Degussa AG in 1987 in Germany. Since then he has been with Evonik Group companies in the US and in Germany in production, technical, strategy and project management positions including P & L responsibilities. In these functional and leadership roles he has looked after various product lines including for fine chemicals, methacrylates and high performance polymers. In 2011 he took over the management of the high temperature polymers business. Before his current position, he was the Vice President - South Asia (including India) in the Resource Efficiency Segment of Evonik.

tainability ab initio? Are such principles & practices employed in your R&D? Do you feel the global public pressures towards cleaner environment & sustainability would give an impetus to R&D? ST: More value, less resource is our credo.

sustainability. Our sustainable innovation work covers six growth fields: Sustainable Nutrition, Healthcare Solutions, Advanced Food Ingredients, Membranes, Cosmetic Solutions and Additive Manufacturing. For example at Evonik we are establishing additional products and services for sustainable nutrition of livestock and people.

Our market-oriented R&D plays a key role in improving the ecological footprint of our customers still further and differentiating us from our global competitors. We are therefore increasingly focusing our innovation pipeline on products for applications that make efficient and environmentally compatible use of resources. Our innovation unit, Creavis, manages its portfolio using the Idea-to-People-Planet-Profit (I2P3) process. Each strategic research project is assessed on the basis of environmental influences (planet) and societal aspects (people) as well as economic criteria (profit). I2P3 was developed jointly by our strategic research, the Life Cycle Management group, and the Innovation Excellence group, with external support from the renowned Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy.

CID: The World Environment Day this year on 5th June had the theme ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’. As you are aware a large part of the primary basic petrochemicals is converted into plastics or polymers which are non-biodegradable and creating mammoth pollution of our seas, rivers and land. Would you agree that from the sustainability perspective plastics was a ‘bad’ material ab initio and would CID: End of the pipe treatment means not good chemistry; minithis also be the inadequacy of chemistry not to have foreseen the mizing deleterious effect of environment is another approach; Recycling & reuse is being adopted in some cases and cradle to consequences? cradle/circular economy are being touted. What would be the most ST: We take this issue seriously. However, all plastics practical approach – in the short term and what is required to be are not bad. Evonik has been observing the zero pel- done in the long term? let loss campaign of the European Plastics Association whereby we ensure that pellet loss is minimized in producOur innovation unit, Creavis, manages its tion, processing and transpor- portfolio using the Idea-to-People-Planet-Profit tation. Micro-plastics as you (I2P3) process. Each strategic research project is know is a major hazard and assessed on the basis of environmental influences we have been offering substi(planet) and societal aspects (people) as well as ecotutes for this, mainly specialty nomic criteria (profit). I2P3 was developed jointly by silicas for personal care prodour strategic research, the Life Cycle Management ucts. group, and the Innovation Excellence group, with CID: When it comes to the develop- external support from the renowned Wuppertal ment of entirely new products/materi- Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy.

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als do you employ principles of sus42

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

ST: We believe that whatever we do in one area should not create problems in other areas. We have created products with cradle to cradle certification. Evonik observes the tenets of the ‘Circular Economy’ with an internal expert group to drive this approach forward. CID: Another major problem is that of climate change, global warming due to emissions of greenhouse gases. This

CEO’s Round Table

can be mitigated by manufacturing processes shifting to low carbon or no carbon load on environment. Are R&D efforts moving in this direction? Can a shift to renewable feedstocks from petro feedstocks help? In your manufacturing are you trying to reduce the carbon load of your processes? ST: Our activities are geared to keep our environ-

mental footprint small by continuously improving our own environmental protection performance and innovating climate-friendly products. One example is a new efficient process for producing methyl methacrylate that reduces carbon emissions by upto 40 percent. Another example is the Rheticus project where Evonik alongwith Siemens is planning to use electricity from renewable sources and bacteria to convert CO2 into specialty chemicals. In this joint research project we are working on electrolysis and formulation processes which have great potential to produce a broad variety of specialty chemicals.

CID: Can you give some examples/achievements of your company’s efforts on the sustainability front? ST: Some of our achievements to provide innovative solutions based on sustainability are outlined below: Evonik’s technology converts organic waste into green energy. Using its innovative membrane technology, biogas which is released during the wastewater treatment process or the anaerobic digestion process of household waste for example can be upgraded simply and efficiently to pure bio methane and fed directly into the natural gas grid or used as biofuel. Evonik has: m SEPURAN® Green for upgrading biogas to biomethane

SEPURAN® Noble for energy efficient helium recovery from source gas m SEPURAN® N2 for energy efficient nitrogen generation from air Membranes - Polyimide membrane modules for efficient and energy-saving gas separation, tailoring selectivity and permeability exactly to the specific application. To meet the increasing demand for healthy and nutritious fish, Evonik is supporting the aquaculture industry with a set of innovative solutions. Evonik can build on the experience in the production of essential amino acids from over 60 years. Silica & silanes for “green tire” - The Green Tire with lower rolling resistance reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 8%, compared to conventional automobile tires. Safety is improved due to reduced braking distance on wet roads. Silica and Functional silanes to protect buildings. High Performance Polymers for lightweight applications or 3D-printing. Additive Manufacturing (3D printing) enables new design freedom, light weight components, rapid prototyping and more efficient spare parts logistics. Around 50 percent of the sales generated by Evonik’s chemical segments already come from products that make a measurable contribution to improving resource efficiency in the use phase. Evonik has already conducted life cycle analyses of around 70 percent of external sales generated by its three chemical segments as part of the sustainability analysis of its businesses. The aim is to extend this to 80 percent.

John Loudermilk COO, Birla Carbon

Chemical Industry Digest (CID): Sustainability means many things to many people. It could be resource efficiency, avoiding or minimizing bad effects on the environment of any material or product or emissions from manufacturing processes. Some link it with CSR activities too. Can we get some clarity on this along with what the benchmarks are if any for sustainable manufacturing in the chemical industry?

ical, I believe sustainability is much more. It is about looking holistically at the business and creating a model to ensure that we are truly building for the future. This requires a long view of issues and what the needs of society may be in generations. Therefore, while a sustainability initiative may be in play today, its real results will be measured long in the future.

John Loudermilk (JL): Sustainability is not limited to the health and safety of workers, nor can it be only about environmental stewardship. While these areas are crit-

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

CEO’s Round Table John Loudermilk (Bachelor of Science - Chem Engg, Univ of Tennessee) is Chief Operating Officer (COO), Birla Carbon, based at the Company headquarters in Marietta, Georgia, USA along with an office in Hannover, Germany. In his role, Loudermilk provides operational leadership globally for Birla Carbon.

Loudermilk joined the Carbon Black Business in 2005 as Director of Global Operations. In 2008 he was appointed Vice President of Global Operations with responsibility for global manufacturing facilities along with corporate engineering, quality, and six-sigma. Over his 25 years of experience in the chemical industry, he has held a variety of leadership positions within Monsanto and Solutia with responsibilities across Business Management, Manufacturing, Procurement, Sales and Supply Chain. Birla Carbon is one of the world’s largest manufacturers and suppliers of high quality Carbon Black and a flagship business of the US$ 41 billion Aditya Birla Group.

ronmentally friendly materials/products? Should companies revisit their existing product portfolios and even their manufacturing processes to reorient them towards sustainability requirements? What do you practice? JL: Birla Carbon focusses on market trends and works closely with customers to understand where they need help delivering value. From this, we utilize our experience and knowledge to help solve their problems. The areas you mention are among the key objectives for our customers and we see ourselves as well positioned to help them deliver. Our product development scientists are focused clearly on improving energy efficiency whether that be helping to lightweight rubber products or reduce the rolling resistance that requires energy to move vehicles. This is an area where carbon black can make a real difference. Our teams have gotten better at leveraging their knowledge by collaborating beyond our organization. This multiplies the effectiveness of our more than 50 scientists in two global R&D centers to commercialize better products faster.

product stewardship approach ensures that our people understand how our carbon black is made and their role in its manufacturing process. Not only do we help our customers but we also act responsibly across our value chain. We ensure that our product meets and exceeds all regulatory requirements. We also remain abreast of any regulatory or market developments, enabling us to support our customers in meeting their own regulatory obligations. We thoroughly test our solutions to ensure that it is aligned to health, safety and environmental requirements while maintaining its high-quality. We continue to build a product stewardship culture in our operations by creating an environment in which our people feel able to seek advice and support. We encourage employees to stop, think, ask and discuss what they’re doing before and during process development and production changes.

CID: End of the pipe treatment means not good chemistry; minimizing deleterious effect of environment is another approach; Recycling & reuse is being adopted in some cases and cradle to cradle/circular economy are being touted. What would be the most practical approach – in the short term and what is required to be CID: When it comes to the development of entirely new products/ done in the long term? materials, do you employ principles of sustainability ab initio? Are such principles & practices employed in your R&D? Do you feel the JL: The focus on sustainability and the environment global public pressures towards cleaner environment & sustainabil- will necessitate all industries to look closely at topics ity would give an impetus to R&D? like recycling and create economic opportunities as new technologies evolve. We focus on long term R&D

JL: At Birla Carbon, we have mapped the United solutions at the same time partnering with the custom-

Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to our business. Our approach to product responsibility is divided into two key focus areas: safety and stewardship. By safety, we ensure that our product is made safe for customers’ specific use. At the same time, our

er and supplier to increase the life cycle of their product which is key towards creating sustainable value. In the end, it is a combination of all of these approaches you mention (designed in minimal impact, recycle/re-

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

CEO’s Round Table use, etc.) that will be required to deliver the future we envision.

“

A key environmental area for us is water as we operate in some areas where it is not abundantly available. We are in the process of improving our water management, including how we access, measure and ensure efficient use of this resource. Almost all our plants have “zero water discharge” outside our premises.

ing processes for better yield, conserving energy, minimizing waste and similar efforts that render us more efficient.

CID: Another major problem is that of climate change, global warming due to CID: Can you give some examples/ emissions of greenhouse gases. This achievements of your company’s efcan be mitigated by manufacturing forts on the sustainability front? processes shifting to low carbon or no carbon load on environment. Are R&D JL: We have made sustainefforts moving in this direction? Can a ability a foundational aspect of shift to renewable feedstocks from petour business as represented by our vision, “to be the ro feedstocks help? In your manufacturing are you trying to reduce most respected, sustainable, and dynamic” in our inthe carbon load of your processes? dustry. Our perspective on sustainability is holistic

“

JL: Our approach to reducing our emissions is guid- covering areas normally associated with the term such

ed by our Sustainable Operational Excellence, which leads us to continually search for the best possible processes and technologies. We continue to work on technology improvements such as state-of-the-art filter materials, which ensure maximum containment and recovery of our product. In addition, we proactively evaluate innovative technologies throughout our process that can reduce air emissions and access how they can be implemented across our operations. As responsible stewards, our approach and targets are frequently reviewed and challenged, to ensure we continue to drive improvement in evolving environments. A key concern for us and our stakeholders is air quality, energy use and carbon conversion efficiency. We lead the way in our industry in terms of pollution control technology and aim to be as efficient as possible in our carbon mass balance efforts; the more proficient we are, the more effectively we capture and utilize the carbon in our feedstock. A key environmental area for us is water as we operate in some areas where it is not abundantly available. We are in the process of improving our water management, including how we access, measure and ensure efficient use of this resource. Almost all our plants have “zero water discharge” outside our premises. We have been investing into Flue Gas Desulphurisation technology to reduce sulphur emission from our operations. Such forward-looking investments do have a definite cost impact, both in terms of capital investment and operating costs, leading to reduced competitiveness; however, our customers will value the long term sustainable benefits of these programs. We also simultaneously focus upon plant wise energy conservation and monetization, cost-saving projects, utilizing alternate feedstock and develop46

as environment, safety, and health along with those, people might not connect to sustainability such as people development and financial performance. We view sustainability as a way to ensure our long term future as a company, as well as, the future of the planet.

Our Sustainable Operational Excellence strategy influences every decision we make. The approach drives us to share and adopt best practices across the business to continuously improve and promote consistency. It is a real differentiator for Birla Carbon. Formal external communication on our sustainability journey began in 2013, with our first Sustainability Report. Since then, Birla Carbon has surged past many of its sustainability milestones, of which health, safety and environment (HS&E) have been key elements. These accomplishments have not been limited to one region, but rather across all the regions where we operate. We are proud to be seen by many customers as leaders in this arena through participation in their own sustainability efforts. It is also rewarding to be recognized by leading sustainability rating agency, EcoVadis, as a Gold Level practitioner in the top 1% of all companies reviewed, for consecutive years.

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Developments NEWNewDEVELOPMENTS

Technology Potential

New method to produce smaller carbon nanotubes

research team from Vanderbilt University has developed a new and cheaper method to convert carbon dioxide into carbon nanotubes with small diameters, supermaterials that can be stronger than steel and more conductive than copper. According to the study, small-diameter carbon nanotubes often require increased sophistication and control in synthesis processes, but exhibit improved physical properties and greater economic value over their larger-diameter counterparts. To make the nanotubes, the researchers found that

a process called Ostwald ripening—where the nanoparticles that grow the carbon nanotubes change in size to large diameters—was a hindrance in producing smaller carbon nanotubes. The researchers also discovered a correlation between the diameter of the carbon nanotubes and iron metal layer thickness after electrochemical catalyst reduction at the cathode-molten salt interface, as published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. The nanoparticles produced are about 10,000 times smaller than a human hair and can be produced from coatings on stainless steel surfaces.

Common algae for biofuel butanol production

esearch at The University of Arkansas by a group of chemical engineers and research students of Honours College led by Assistant Professor & Project Leader, Jamie Hestekin focussed on conversion of the common algae into renewable fuels which could be used in automobiles with combustible type engines. The research was done on algae which survive on nitrogen, phosphorous, sunlight and carbon dioxide; and from which, organic acids and subsequently biofuel is produced. Carbohydrates were extracted by scraping and drying the algae and were converted to natural sug-

ars. Then via fermentation process, sugars were converted into butyric, lactic and acetic acids. Again butyric acid was converted by fermentation into butanol. This process was made speedier by a special technique called electrodeionization – a process developed by a team mem-

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

ber. This made the entire fuel conversion process faster and less costly. The new conversion process is less expensive and definitely more efficient. Apart from the fact that butanol is far superior to ethanol in efficiency; this process helps the water become less polluted and healthier. The algae use the extra nitrogen and phosphorous in the existent water and make it safer for marine flora and fauna. As Hestekin puts it succinctly, “the coolest thing about this process is that we’re actually making rivers and lakes healthier by growing and harvesting the raw material.” 47

New Developments

New role of microbes in biofuel production

The focus of the experiment was to induce the microbes under the study to produce a specific kind of proteins rather than what they otherwise might be inclined to produce. This special protein could be refined in to biofuel. The task was to make the microbes produce only this kind of protein rather than utilizing it for their own growth and growth related activities as they otherwise do.

new research has led to a new discovery of getting the microbes to produce fuel from the proteins instead of utilizing the protein for its own growth.

Indian scientists develop nanocomposite that clean air

team of scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar have developed a nanocomposite material that can selectively convert environmental carbon monoxide into less toxic carbon dioxide. The new composite material is made of graphene and alloy of platinum and palladium in the form of nanoparticles. Graphene was used as substrate and then ‘decorated’ with alloy nanoparticles of platinum and palladium. The novel catalytic structure was then used for selective oxidation of CO into CO2. The use of metal particle of certain orientation which absorb or interact with CO at lower energy helped the conversion. The study was done by researchers from IIT Gandhinagar, in collaboration with scientists from IIT Kanpur and University of Campinas, Brazil. The research results have been published in journal Nanoscale of the Royal Society of Chemistry. The catalytic behaviour of the nanocomposite was studied using different morphologies for the oxidation of CO. The conversion rate 48

This has been claimed as the first ever attempt to use the proteins as a source for generating energy. The scientists have tampered with usual nitrogen metabolism process and induced biorefining process and altered the metabolizing of nitrogen at the cellular level, as published in Nature Biotechnology.

varied along with the flow rate of CO as well as temperature, showing full conversion at temperatures ranging from 75 to 125 degrees.

The new material could potentially find use in chemical industries as well as environmental cleaning, researchers said.

‘Green’ approach to make ammonia

he University of Central Florida (UCF) research team with collaborators at Virginia Tech have developed a new “green” approach to making ammonia that may help make feeding the rising world population more sustainable. There are many efforts to pursue ammonia synthesis under milder conditions, and one of them is to use electrical energy. In an electrochemical method at room temperature, active electrons are used to drive the reaction with water as the hydrogen source, but the electrons passing through an electrode cannot be efficiently used and the reaction rate is very low. The research has discovered a new mechanism whereby electrons can be more efficiently used via the catalyst of palladium hydride. This new Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

New Developments approach may not only provide a new route for ammonia synthesis with minimal electrical energy, but also inspire peer researchers to use the principle to address other challenging reactions for renewable energy conversion, such as turning carbon dioxide into fuels. The work was supported by the UCF Startup Fund, the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund and the National Science Foundation CBET Catalysis Program. The team has been granted synchrotron beam time at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory facility in California this summer to further investigate the mechanism.

Indian scientists develop nanomaterial to treat wastewater

team of researchers led by Dr. Ramavatar Meena at the Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavnagar, India, have created carbon-based cleaning process fully green by using seaweeds as starting material. They have synthesised graphene-iron sulfide nanocomposite from abundantly found seaweed — Ulva fasciata – through direct pyrolysis technique. Seaweeds are known as carbon sinks. In some earlier studies, biomass of Ulva fasciata has been directly employed for adsorbing copper and zinc ions from water but the uptake capacities were relatively low. This problem was resolved by deriving thin carbon sheets from seaweed at very high temperature. These graphene sheets were doped with iron. The nanocomposite obtained from seaweed showed a very high adsorption capacity for various cationic and anionic dyes as well as lead and chromium. The nanocomposite can be used in up to eight cleaning cycles, with only nominal loss of its adsorption capacity. Even mixed dyes could also be adsorbed. A

maximum adsorption capacity of 645 mg per gram for lead was achieved at neutral pH. This is the highest ever reported for any biomass derived carbon material, scientists have claimed in their study published in Journal of Hazardous Materials. It could also remove highly toxic hexavalent chromium from wastewater.

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

New Developments

New catalyst could turbocharge high-performance fuel cells

ngineers at Georgia Institute of Technology have developed nanotechnology that could speed up the process of oxygen-induced fuelling with the help of a catalyst. The catalyst was capable of achieving the speed through a fuel cell system that causes the oxygen to flow easily. Moreover, this process also helped in lowering the temperature which eliminated the cost of expensive cooling materials and protective casings. Additionally, calcium, and cobalt and PBCC – a catalytic function increased the life of fuel cell devices over lanthanum, strontium, cobalt, and iron (LSCF).

A Pt-free electrode for making H2 from water

rofessor Ryoichi Ito at the University of Tsukuba, in collaboration with Osaka University and Tohoku University, have developed non-noble-metal electrodes capable of performing the H2-evolution reaction (HER) as efficiently as conventional Pt/C electrodes, even under acidic conditions, as published in ACS Catalyst. The new electrodes use nitrogen-doped graphene sheets to encapsulate a NiMo alloy electrode. Unlike other graphenebased electrodes, the Tsukuba system incorporates nanometer-sized holes, which are ringed by chemically active ridges known as fringes. These fringe defects are more hydrophillic than normal graphene, so they attract H3O+ ions in the acid solution, which are involved in the HER reaction mechanism. The fringes also adsorb H atoms, thereby providing extra surface area for another HER process. As a result, the H2 is generated as efficiently as with the more expensive Pt/C electrode, and the remaining hole-free part of graphene protects the metals from corroding in the acid.

First bio-based FDME pilot plant operational

he world’s first pilot plant for manufacturing bio-based furan dicarboxylic methyl ester (FDME) began operating recently in Decatur, Ill, USA It’s a collaboration between DuPont Industrial Biosciences and Archer Daniels Midland Co. The 60-ton/yr pilot facility represents the next step in an ongoing commercialization process for bio-based FDME. Bio-based FDME is made from cornstarch-derived fructose starting material, and will be used to make a range of bio-based chemicals and plastics. The fructose is dehydrated and the products from the reaction are oxidized to form furan dicarboxylic acid (FDCA). The FDCA is then reacted with methanol, resulting in FDME. One of the first FDME-based polymers under development by DuPont is polytrimethylene furandicarboxylate (PTF), a novel polyester also made from DuPont’s proprietary Bio-PDO (1,3-propanediol). Research by the two companies shows that PTF has up to 10–15 times the CO2 barrier performance of traditional PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic, which results in a longer shelf life.

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Sustainable Development

Sustainability

– An Opportunity For The Chemical Industry Dr Neil Hawkins

Abstract Sustainable Development Goas (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations are meant to make the world, through collective actions, a healthy, sustainable and prosperous planet. The SDGs provide business and industry unprecedented opportunities to come up with solutions needed to enable sustainable growth. Since 95 percent of the manufactured goods are due to chemistry, some way or the other, this means that the chemical industry has to take centre stage as innovators and solution providers. This article outlines the possibilities and potential, with Dow’s own examples, on creating a roadmap to attain the goals of sustainability.

ur planet faces daunting economic, social and environmental challenges, including feeding a growing population globally, mitigating climate change, and boosting economic development while promoting a path toward more sustainable environmental practices. To address these challenges, the world’s governments adopted the United Nations

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015. These 17 goals and 169 targets are helping guide and shape global development through the year 2030. Together, the SDGs offer a vision of a better future – a future where the world is free from poverty and injustice and where our collective actions support a healthy, sustainable and prosperous planet.

Dr. Neil C. Hawkins is the Chief Sustainability Officer and Corporate Vice President for Environment, Health & Safety with The Dow Chemical Company, where he is in his 30th year of service. Hawkins is a global leader in sustainable business practices, EH&S management, and public policy platforms for global sustainable development. He led Dow’s 2025 Sustainability Goals development, which aims to help chart a new course for business in global sustainable development. Hawkins holds doctoral and master’s degrees from the Harvard University School of Public Health, as well as an undergraduate degree from Georgia Tech. Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Sustainable Development of the opportunity, a report entitled ‘Better Business, Better World’ by the Business & Sustainability Development Commission identifies a $12 trillion market for achieving just four of the 2030 goals – food and agriculture, cities (e.g., housing, transportation and water), energy and materials, and health. In each of these markets, the chemical industry is a vital source of innovation.

The Chemical Industry and the SDGs: An Opportunity to Lead

The SDGs provide an unprecedented opportunity for the chemical industry to take center stage as innovators and solutions providers. Because 95 percent of the world’s manufactured goods are created from chemistry, our industry has the ability to transform lives and play a central role in innovating more sustainable products and business models. However, to fully realize our potential in helping advance SDGs, our industry must go beyond “business as usual” and adopt a shift toward a more purpose-driven perspective that fully integrates the triple bottom line. Sustainability can no longer be marginalized as a “nice thing to do.” It must be a driver of long-term strategy for business growth.

If this ambitious vision is to become a reality, it is evident that business must take a role in achieving these global goals. The size and scale of the issues facing our society will need the innovation, finance and management skills that business provides. At the same time, the SDGs provide business with an unprecedented opportunity to translate global challenges into business solutions that help build economies and put the world on a more sustainable path. To give an idea of the scope 52

At Dow, we see the role of business as a catalyst for change. Our ability to innovate gives us an enormous opportunity to advance human progress, even as we advance our profitability. In fact, we mapped our sustainability goals to the SDGs and believe that if we achieve our goals, we will make a significant contribution to sustainable development of the planet. Announced in 2015, our 2025 Sustainability Goals address the larger picture of sustainable development and challenge our company to be a constructive partner in helping bring chemistry, public policy innovation, and value innovation to solve global challenges. In fact, a common thread across our goals is our focus on finding collaborative business models that

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Sustainable Development will lead to transformative and more sustainable ways to do business. Not just for Dow – but for other companies, communities and society too. In fact, through our 2025 Sustainability Goals, we hope to help redefine the role of business in society. That on the surface may sound audacious, but it’s built on a humbling reality: No single company can make this transformation to a more sustainable future happen on its own. As a global science company, we have the talent and tools to help impact climate change, energy, food production, sustainable infrastructure and water. However, if we don’t have the right public policy environment and a value chain that puts these solutions to effective use, the benefits of addressing these challenges may not materialize.

that last two times longer than traditional roads. In Indonesia, Dow worked with the government and various stakeholders to complete the first plastic road trial in Depok. Approximately 3.5 metric tons of plastic waste materials were mixed into asphalt to create a 1.8-kilometer-long road. Our goal is to convene with the right collaborators and develop a common understanding of the problem and the causes behind it.

Opportunities for the Chemical Industry

While the case is clear that realizing the SDGs can improve the environment and build markets, moving from words to deeds can be challenging, requiring companies to identify the best opportunities to mobilize their organizations and form alliances with relevant stakeholders. This can be made even more challenging, considering the buzzwords that are the subject of debate and discussion in industry, government and the media. Let’s take a look at a few.

Plastic waste and marine debris is a good example. Concerns regarding plastic waste recently has come to a tipping point of public concern and regulatory action. Technology exists for tackling this issue, but the l Circular economy: Today’s linear economy – in problem will take time to solve. Today, Dow is collabowhich natural resources are exrating with Ocean Conservancy, tracted, made into products, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation used and thrown away – is unMoving toward a circular economy – in and the Closed Loop Foundation sustainable, considering our to find long-term solutions. In which as few resources are used as possible growing population. Moving 2016, we announced a commitand kept in circulation as long as possible toward a circular economy – in ment to spend $2.8 million over – offers the chemical industry a chance to which as few resources are used two years to drive solutions that work across value chains to create value to as possible and kept in circulaaddress global marine debris help decouple growth from consumption. tion as long as possible – offers and litter. As part of that comthe chemical industry a chance mitment, we are supporting the to work across value chains to launch of the first quantitative create value to help decouple growth from conresearch in the Asia Pacific region into the impact of sumption. plastic waste and debris on the Edogawa and Ohiri Rivers. Together with Tokyo University of Science For us, moving toward a more circular economy and the Japan Plastic Industry, we are examining the begins in the product design, so the product can impact of waste management solutions and providbe optimized for reuse or recycling. For example, ing data on waste volumes passing through the river in 2017, we delivered the first certified renewable to help local communities and governments improve low-density polyethylene to customers. In addiexisting systems. tion, adopting a mindset that moves away from a “take-make-dispose” economic model to one that is We also are collaborating with local governments regenerative has led us to innovate and collaborate and other stakeholders in Asia Pacific to help turn plasin new ways and across multiple value chains. For tic waste into long-lasting roads in Asia Pacific. In India, example, we are exploring how to give new life to Dow worked with the cities of Bangalore and Pune old mattresses by recycling polyols. We are workand waste collectors to bring together the people and ing with municipalities in water-stressed regions to materials needed for 40 kilometers of roads – divertreuse water for our operations. We also are piloting 100 metric tons of waste from landfills. Volunteers ing programs that convert plastics that once went to picked up the plastic waste, which was taken to local landfills into valuable energy resources. recyclers, who grinded the material into small pieces. Those pieces were then sent to local asphalt plants l Product life cycle: As the number of regulations inand added into the asphalt mixture, resulting in roads creases worldwide, chemical companies are being Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Sustainable Development held increasingly responsible for the safety of products they manufacture. We have developed a comprehensive compliance program that addresses all phases of the chemical lifecycle – from research and development, testing, manufacturing, transportation, usage and disposal. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a useful methodology for examining the total environmental impact of a product or service. For example, our coatings materials business is using LCAs to inform and drive innovations in raw materials and technologies that can help coatings formulators develop more sustainable paints and coatings.

Silver, Gold, and Platinum), with each higher level imposing a more rigorous set of requirements. The lowest score in any quality category establishes the product’s overall score. Certified products are required to show continuous improvement every two years. An example is our building insulation products from Dow Building Solutions were certified by the Cradle to Cradle Certified program. However, the process of evaluating the sustainability profile of our products does not end with Cradle to Cradle Certification. Because the program looks at the entire product life cycle – from manufacturing to disposal – we are able to identify key priorities for continuous improvement.

LCAs track a product or service from raw material sourcing through end-of-life (cradle to grave). They Only by integrating the SDGs into the core of corare typically conducted in accordance with recog- porate strategies can our industry truly contribute nized ISO 14040-14044 standards and validated by to meeting everyone’s needs without depleting the external and independent third parties. Many fac- planet’s resources. When our business presidents talk tors are taken into considabout our business strategy, eration; for architectural they focus on Dow’s 2025 paints and coatings, these Sustainability Goals and the A growing number of companies are relying on would include the raw link to the SDGs. When we Cradle to Cradle CertifiedTM Product Standard to materials that go into the talk to customers about how verify the material health and positive impact of the paint formulation, as well we are a leading and proproducts they create. The Cradle to Cradle Certified as how the paint is applied, gressive company, one value Products Program is an independent, third-party how it performs and how proposition of doing busiverified certification program that certifies products long it lasts. The results of ness with Dow is that we are and materials that are developed to respect huan LCA can help decision aligning ourselves with the man and environmental health, designed for future makers choose more sussustainability trends of the use cycles, and that utilize clean energy and water tainable options and assist future, which includes the throughout the supply chain. in the implementation of SDGs. green procurement proThe SDGs also are a comgrams and eco-label certifimon part of our commercial cations discussions and conversations with the research coml Cradle-to-cradle certification: A company’s true munity. It generates some really interesting questions: commitment to sustainability requires not only re- as we aspire to head towards a world of no hunger ducing the negative impacts from its operations, and zero poverty, what kind of business opportunities but more importantly, changing its products and open up? As we bring people out of poverty and into services to be more sustainable and help address the middle class, what kind of demands for products environmental and social challenges. A growing and services does that create? number of companies are relying on Cradle to Our 2025 Sustainability Goals are not a tick-box Cradle CertifiedTM Product Standard to verify the exercise, relegated to our sustainability report. They material health and positive impact of the products are rigorously incorporated into the normal business they create. The Cradle to Cradle Certified Products unit goals and therefore become functional goals, Program is an independent, third-party verified cergeographic goals, working group goals and personal tification program that certifies products and mategoals. This is the kind of discipline that needs to haprials that are developed to respect human and enpen within a company to make the SDGs real. Solid vironmental health, designed for future use cycles, data, robust reporting and public accountability are and that utilize clean energy and water throughout the tools to optimize a business’ impact, allow for susthe supply chain. Cradle to Cradle product certainability contributions to be tracked, and help form tification is awarded at five levels (Basic, Bronze, 54

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Sustainable Development alliances with relevant stakeholders. This process may sound daunting. But by not acting, our industry not only risks the tremendous growth opportunities before us, but our reputations and regulation. For examples, increased concerns regarding the safe use of chemicals in commerce and their potential impact on the environment as well as perceived impacts of plant biotechnology on health and the environment have resulted in more restrictive regulations and could lead to new regulations.

Earning the Right to Operate

At Dow, we believe the companies that define the 21st century will earn their right to operate by delivering value to society. And they will recognize that the old mindsetâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;that companies have to choose between doing well and doing goodâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;is neither practical nor valid. To succeed long term, a company must create value for society as well as its shareholders.

Beyond the bottom-line benefits, our sustainability goals have helped our company and employees embrace a more entrepreneurial mindset. To embrace risk and to find the opportunity in challenges. To search out collaborative opportunities with diverse partners and tap into a wide variety of stakeholdersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; strengths throughout the value chain to deliver the best possible path forward. To rethink old business models and try new ones. Overall, the SDGs offer a tremendous opportunity for the chemical industry. It is an opportunity where doing good for people can translate into business opportunities as well. That is a win for society and for our industry.

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Digitization Sustainability Digitizationand and Sustainability

Digital Transformation of the Chemical Industry enables sustainable operations Peter Reynolds

Sustainability is not only in terms of complying with environmental regulations, reducing emissions etc. It calls for efficiencies across the entire value chain of manufacturing from the supply chain to the manufacturing process, good maintenence to the end product and its disposal. Emerging digital technologies likes Al, Blockchain, IIoT, data analytics, cloud etc can create a paradigm shift in manufacturing efficiencies that will greatly enable sustainable operations.

Introduction

n today’s highly regulated and competitive environment, chemical companies must look beyond traditional industrial conventions and business norms and focus on achieving the desired outcomes to remain sustainable, via digital transformation. For many companies, this need is reinforced as competitors, partners, suppliers, and customers begin employing digitized business processes of their own. By exploiting the convergence between operational and information technologies, these companies are connecting their enterprises internally, and externally throughout their supply chain. This both requires and Peter Reynolds is Contributing Analyst, ARC Advisory Group. Peter performs research on technology areas such as process optimization and asset performance management for industrial manufacturers.

supports new business models, processes, and technologies. Intelligent connected products and assets, along with network communications, software, and advanced analytics allow companies to redefine their approach to business processes including enterprise asset management (EAM), product lifecycle management (PLM), and supply chain management (SCM). The resulting digital enterprises can design, manufacture, deliver, and support products faster, more efficiently, and at lower cost. Thanks to digital transformation, chemical industry participants are realizing the following advantages: • PLM and chemical formulation processes are moving towards closed-loop product and chemical formulations to support continuous product improvement • EAM processes are expanding to encompass predictive and prescriptive maintenance, thus reducing unplanned downtime, cost, and risk • SCM processes can now support omni-channel supply chain concepts improve both the highly in-

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Digitization and Sustainability tegrated chemical supply chain and customer experience • Sustainable processes to protect the environment and boost economic growth

Challenges faced by chemical manufacturers Recent economic and technology trends have had major impacts on the global chemical industry. This applies to both the specialty chemicals and bulk chemicals sectors. The industry has also seen an increase in merger and acquisition activity in recent years, and this trend is likely to continue. The persistently low oil and gas prices, particularly in North America, have had a major impact on the industry, since both are key feedstocks for both specialty and bulk chemical production and provide much of the energy (either directly or indirectly) for these energy-intensive sectors. While, until recently, North America had seen few greenfield or expansion projects for specialty chemicals and virtually none for bulk chemicals; the competitive advantage provided by shale oil and gas created a wave of activity in both greenfield and capacity expansion projects. In general, there’s been a trend for global bulk and specialty chemicals manufacturers to shift production from well-established production centers in Europe, Japan, and (to a somewhat lesser degree) North America; to cost-advantaged China and India and feedstock-advantaged Saudi Arabia, which has been making a major push to increase the value of its exports and diversify its economy. We’re seeing significant investments in state-of-the-art, world scale chemical production facilities in all these countries. Increased global competition drives the need for greater efficiencies and cost reductions across the industry. While the scale and complexity of bulk chemical manufacturing appears to be increasing; specialty chemicals manufacturers, particularly in Europe, are exploring increased modularization of production assets. This includes development of new modular “micro” production plants that can be easily located close to either feedstocks or end customers to reduce logistics costs. In addition to growing pressures to reduce both project-related and operations-related costs and expenditures, chemical manufacturers face increased governmental regulation. This includes mandates to increase safety and reduce potentially harmful emissions.With the increasing attention on sustainability

issues, the public also expects companies to ensure both new chemicals, and those already in a company’s portfolio, are more environment-friendly. Responding to this need, global initiatives such as Together for Sustainability (TfS) have been launched to audit, assess, and implement sustainability practices (environment, health and safety, labour and human rights, and governance issues) in the chemical industry. In general, the entire chemical industry is seeing a move towards increased automation to reduce costs and compensate for the growing skills shortage. Increased digitization across the value chain is another clear trend. Digital technology offers higher levels of connectivity and speed in accessing, processing, and analyzing huge amounts of data. Besides mobility, cloud and in-memory computing, the Internet of Things, machine learning and blockchain will start acting as gamechangers in the chemical industry.

Transformation of Product Formulation and Lifecycle Processes Continuing success in the chemical industry will depend on the ability to quickly create and produce new products to meet consumer trends and changing customer requirements and to ensure existing products continue to meet changing regulations. Although product lifecycle management (PLM) approaches originated in the discrete industries, chemicals companies are increasingly taking advantage of the benefits that effective PLM offers for product development, manufacturing, sales and support. As products become more specialized, product development requires greater collaboration with customers, ingredient suppliers, and packaging suppliers. Companies that effectively employ PLM to collaborate

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Source: RSC Publishing

Digitization and Sustainability and manage data, will develop new products faster, in- dramatically expands the number and variety of patroduce them at lower cost, and bring them to market rameters that can be monitored cost effectively with in less time. In addition to enhancing external collabo- engineered algorithms or machine learning to identify ration, PLM for process manufacturing closes the de- problems well before they become failures. sign-to-production loop and enables users to fine tune This higher maintenance maturity level supports product formulation based on yield measurements broader business benefits that go beyond reducing and fluctuating cost elements. The continued adop- maintenance costs. These include improved on-time tion of digitalization among customers and suppliers shipments, revenue, customer satisfaction, quality/ extends this information loop and supports utilization yield, and safety. Users have reported that moving of field experience to drive prodfrom preventive maintenance uct innovation and sustainability. to predictive or prescriptive apThe chemical industry must conproaches provides 50 percent savtinuously develop new technolo- The continued adoption of digitalization ings in maintenance labor and gies to keep resources circling in among customers and suppliers extends MRO materials. Moreover, with closed loops to reduce the carbon this information loop and supports utiliza- predictive and prescriptive maintion of field experience to drive product in- tenance, near-zero unplanned footprint. The expanding markets in novation and sustainability. The chemical downtime for critical equipment emerging economies, combined industry must continuously develop new can be achieved. with nearly continuous regulato- technologies to keep resources circling in What more can be done? ry changes in established markets, closed loops to reduce the carbon footprint. Operations and maintenance make it imperative for chemical processes must become resource companies to be able to quickly efficient and sustainable. The soand confidently document formula and label compli- lutions deployed must be environment-friendly, costance with industry, national, and regional regulations. effective, and socially acceptable throughout the lifeThe data required to do so varies greatly depending on cycle process; partnerships must be created across the the regulatory group and can come in a variety of data value chain; and safety issues must be addressed. formats, structured and unstructured. Despite this complexity, the document management capabilities of Transformation of chemical supply chain chemicals-specific PLM solutions can help ensure that With the traditional chemical supply chain logistics products meet regulations from concept to retirement, model in which only one component at a time can be even as regulations change. Furthermore, incorporatoptimized, companies are forced to view their respecing batch lot tracking and other operational tools that tive supply chains as a cost center instead of a strategic, tie into a product database, enable rapid decision supcompetitive work process. port in the event of emergencies or recalls. However, increasingly, a companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s global supply and trading network represents a living (ideally Transformation of Maintenance and connected) ecosystem of supply chain partners and Operations Processes e-commerce. In this emerging business model, the A modern enterprise asset management (EAM) sys- focus is on interactive collaboration among carriers, tem provides the visibility, planning, and execution ca- shippers, forwarders, suppliers, and even customers. pabilities needed to improve industrial asset uptime, When supported by a common SCM platform, this apincrease asset longevity and safety, control costs, and proach can drive a powerful network effect with the support the executive need for high return on assets benefits of universal connectivity among participants. (ROA). Reliability studies show that 82 percent of all Instead of micro-level optimization, which only alassets have a random failure pattern. Thus, only 18 lows for cost-savings within your own supply chain, percent of assets benefit from preventive maintenance the doors are open to macro- level optimizationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;findbased on calendar time or usage. To avoid failures ing those optimization opportunities that lie between on the 82 percent of assets, new, IIoT-enabled proac- several systems. But this requires those systems to be tive solutions replace conventional reactive or preven- connected via a common platform. Many newer techtive maintenance with far more effective predictive nologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), advanced and prescriptive maintenance approaches. With more analytics and machine learning or semantic search accurate and efficient automated data collection, IIoT require changing the way technology leaders think 58

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Excel’s Journey in Green through waste management.

“Sustainability is not in Addition to or Peripheral to the way Excel does business,

it is Fundamental to it”

77 TH Contact us at: 184-87, S. V. Road, Jogeshwari (W), Mumbai - 400 102, INDIA Tel: +91 22 66464200 Web: http://www.excelind.co.in

Excel has been extremely committed to inculcating and promoting Environmentally Sustainable Technology-Practices-Processes through Recycling & Waste Management for over three decades, holding significant potential to Revolutionize Agriculture and Sustainable Waste Management sectors. Our work becomes extremely relevant in the current nation wide campaign of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

EXCEL INDUSTRIES LIMITED Chemistry For Life & Living

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Digitization and Sustainability about people and technology architecture and process. With the growth of the chemical industry comes the added responsibility of being sustainable. There must be continuous improvements in efficiency, environment, health and safety; and the industry must move from a linear route to a circular one that re-uses resources. We are all linked: industries – people – and our planet.

With the growth of the chemical industry comes the added responsibility of being sustainable. There must be continuous improvements in efficiency, environment, health and safety; and the industry must move from a linear route to a circular one that re-uses resources. We are all linked: industries – people – and our planet.

The Gamechangers in the Chemical Industry: Industrial Internet of Things/Industrie 4.0

The Industrial IoT promises improved performance of manufacturers’ service operations through remote connectivity as well as incremental connectivity-based revenue streams that represent entire new opportunities. Clearly, the value proposition for the IoT opportunity extends beyond simple connectivity into the ability to build new products and services and achieve competitive differentiation. Overall, IIoT can act as a solution that helps the chemical industry keep up with changing times and better meet the needs of shareholders and customers. However, having clean and abundant data available to train algorithms and build high quality models which predict high quality results are pivotal to success. Over the last few years, the “asset-intensive” chemical industry has focused its efforts

towards optimizing plant and asset operations. However, there is huge untapped potential to develop innovative, customer-centric business models and services.

Big Data

Industrial Big Data is software that converges the details created from processes, and turns that data into knowledge. Big Data plays a vital role in decision making, and transformational technologies such as analytics, mobility and others are incomplete without this. With advanced analytics, users can get Big Data from anywhere and everywhere and can perform massive calculations, complex algorithms, and analysis for faster decision making.

Mobility Today, smartphones and tablets provide workers with the latest information at their fingertips to increase the speed of decisions. The information and applications vary depending on the worker’s role. Maintenance workers will have work orders, repair instructions, and spare parts availability and ordering capabilities, and the like. Operators will have real-time plant operating information and the ability to predict process events. Executives will have rollup performance information and drill-down capabilities. For maintenance workers and production supervisors, using mobile devices allows access to information at the point of need, without requiring the user to return to a desk or central location. In addition, apps to speed machine setup are already available. The emergence of the smartphone has made several other devices obsolete as it converges multiple functions, such as: camera, calendar, calculator, recorder, GPS, alarm clock, thermometer, MP3 player and many more. Wi-Fi and other Internet technologies are increasingly necessary to support mobile devices and new sensor connectivity. As production assets are equipped with more sensors, together with local intelligence and communications capability, robust, secure W-Fi and Ethernet connectivity are increasingly important.

Cloud The cloud (public and hybrid) can not only dramatically increase business agility but also speed delivering solutions by offering a cadre of application tools – everything from re-useable machine control algorithms to 60

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Digitization and Sustainability previously established troubleshooting and diagnoses, or simulations for production scenarios. Manufacturers could also use it to compare line performance, therefore becoming a repository of best practices.

Analytics Increased data capture by companies requires corresponding focus on obtaining value from the information. With more connected sensors, automated machines, and devices generating data, the support infrastructure must also expand. As investments in the networks and systems that collect, manage, deliver and store this data increase, so does the expected computing power to deliver the value of the information through analytics. Speed becomes the essential ingredient with analytics. Information availability to make an operational decision based on a complete picture requires a high performance infrastructure.

Source: Medium

set by this community without need for validation or authorization by third parties. As everybody works from the same data and information, costly and time redundant work can be avoided, hence overall Return on Innovation will be increased while reducing Time to Market.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning are now being used in the chemical industry. The chemical industry has begun using AI for raw materials load forecasting; preventive maintenance and asset management; prediction of phase diagrams; intelligent chemical processing; and alarms. AI can significantly reduce the effort analysing data and find patterns and outcomes in data that people simply cannot find. Opportunities exist in R&D to create higher Blockchain value and higher margin products at a faster pace, parA blockchain is a public ledger used to record transticularly in specialty and crop protection chemicals. actions or keep track of data. By understanding the Advanced analytics and machine learning enable highimpact of a blockchain on the chemical industry, you throughput optimization of molecules as well as simuhave a tool to help with the growth of your company. lation of lab tests and experiments for systematic opInnovation in the chemical industry is more important timization of formulations for performance and costs than ever before since new competitors and technolo(“from test tube to tablet”). In addition, advanced anagies are entering the market and product cycle times lytics and machine learning are continuously reduced can drive the allocation of driving to faster commoditibest-available resources to Opportunities exist in R&D to create higher value and zation of products and serresearch projects in line with vices. By using blockchains, higher margin products at a faster pace, particularly in speportfolio priorities. They a chemical company may cialty and crop protection chemicals. Advanced analytics also enable screening of inimprove their ability to in- and machine learning enable high-throughput optimization ternal knowledge and patnovate and create interesting of molecules as well as simulation of lab tests and experient databases to maximize solutions for their customers. ments for systematic optimization of formulations for peruse of intellectual property A blockchain facilitates close formance and costs (“from test tube to tablet”). In addition, and fill gaps. Machine learncollaboration in an open or advanced analytics and machine learning can drive the aling can also help chemical closed community (dedi- location of best-available resources to research projects in manufacturers run simucated community of experts) line with portfolio priorities. Machine learning can also help lations on sustainability via sharing information safe- chemical manufacturers run simulations on sustainability and environmental impact ly with all stakeholders in and environmental impact across a product’s lifecycle. across a product’s lifecycle. real-time following the rules Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Digitization and Sustainability edge and understanding into their respective organizationally accountable departments. Digital transformation initiatives and other technologycentric projects could benefit from formalizing a change process early in a project and embedding this into the technical organization.

Enhance Employee Knowledge Transfer and Sharing using Advanced Analytics Chemical companies should consider building a knowledge management strategy with a foundation on semantic search or advanced anaStrategies for Digital Transformation: lytics platform capabilities. This would allow artificial intelligence Develop Portfolio Approach to Emerging technologies are not only driving the systems to reach deeper into orDigital Transformation ganizational intellectual propChanging business needs and chemical industry, they are saving the environerty and improve knowledge expectations in the chemical in- ment by reducing waste, pollution and creating transfer between employees. dustry must be addressed with sustainable business models. Sustainability is Additionally, this would allow a flexible and evolving business more than just about regulatory compliance â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it departments to utilize knowlstrategy, which in turn requires edge and information sharing integration of business processes can be a revenue generator and environment fully to accelerate capability and with manufacturing and engi- friendly. competency and help remove neering operations. This leads the current data silos between to a gradual evolution of large departments and administrative and more complex collections of IT solutions to supareas. port these business processes. These collections may include solutions from a variety of suppliers and emConclusion ploy a broad range of information and communicaEmerging technologies are not only driving the tions technologies. chemical industry, they are saving the environment Define Organizational Accountability and Responsibility by reducing waste, pollution and creating sustainbusiness models. The definition of organizational accountability ini- able tiative will help to clarify the scope and charter be- Sustainability is more than tween the various departments. ARC has identified just about regulatory comthe transformational technologies that are currently pliance â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it can be a revenue being piloted by chemical companies. These include: generator and environment predictive and prescriptive analytics, cybersecurity, friendly. Most chemical blockchain, public cloud, and mobility. These transfor- companies are aware of the mational technologies do require re-thinking support potential and already have structures that go beyond the IT and OT functions. a sustainability strategy in Source: BASF Agility and digitalization progress will be major busi- place. Consumers, the genness performance indicators as other chemical peers eral public, and investors are vociferous about the concerns of chemicals damagtransform. ing the environment etc. Source: Future architecture

Improve Employee Change Management

Chemical companies could improve change management for its employees by creating a digital change capability. As an extension of Human Resourcesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Learning & Development department, this would help develop passionate change leaders at all levels in the company, each capable of embedding digital knowl62

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Ways WaystotoSustainability sustainability

Paving the way for a Sustainable Chemical Industry Harshad Naik

Abstract

rocess as well as product innovations are fundamental to creating a sustainable chemical industry so that resources from raw material to utilities are optimally used. Regulatory and public pressures are also driving the shift towards environmentally benign processes and products. A major area, transportation/mobility is being impacted with a slew of technologies from materials that help reduce the carbon footprint to electric vehicles that reduce or do away with fossil fuels. Digital technologies on the anvil will also dramatically drive efficiencies, reducing waste and bring in paradigm changes in manufacturing which will also enable sustainability

he chemical industry is an integral part of manufacturing, textiles, pharmaceuticals and transport, among many other sectors that are adapting sustainable practices to align with global quality and environmental standards. Sustainability is gaining importance in the chemical industry to encompass social, environmental and economic aspects of the ecosystem. Today, chemical companies are opting for a variety of renewable resources to develop products that will reduce the pressure on fossil fuels and leave a smaller environmental footprint. The industry that used to be heavily dependent on non-renewable energy and production resources, now seeks bio-based manufacturing that is driving sustainable change and helping in cutting costs for overall maintenance and production. With the world being sensitised about environmental pollution and depleting natural resources, environment, government and industrial policies are moving towards achieving sustainable development. The inHarshad Naik is Managing Director of Huntsman International India Pvt. Ltd. and also Director, Polyurethenes business, Indian Subcontinent. He holds a PGDBM from Xavierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Institute and Management and has almost two decades of experience in engineered products industry with exposure in auto, bio-pharma, medical, construction and general engineering

creased inter relation between apt environmental and industrial policies will help promote the protection of our ecosystem, increase healthy competition, innovation and employment opportunities. Chemical companies that are acceding to sustainable practices can drive stakeholder interest, resulting in creating more products and solutions that address the sustainability challenges. They are adopting strategies that will help them create a goal for themselves to achieve sustainable development through their products.

Corporates and governments need to work in tandem

Climate change is a global issue and consequently requires a strong and sustained effort of collaboration between countries, continents, private players as well as government agencies to develop and implement policies for the chemical industry to address sustainability practices. For example, chemical companies have innovated and delivered energy-efficient products that reduce CFC (Chloro-Flurocarbons) or Greenhouse Gas (GHG) across the economy. These product innovations have helped in the widespread application of chemical technology, from building materials and agricultural products to home appliances and automobiles. For example, Huntsman Chemicalsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; agricultural science division has helped create new pest control systems and animal health products that increase yields with minimal environmental impact. The agrochemicals that Huntsman manufactures focus on low toxicity, low

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Ways to sustainability odour and inert agricultural ingredients that improve the performance of pest control delivery systems for most types of farming across all continents. Collaborating with regional environmental agencies and agricultural specialists outside the lab has enabled Huntsman to develop numerous chemical components that are attuned to regulations and tolerance exemptions.

Understanding decarbonisation conundrum

Outside the purview of agriculture, the chemical industry covers a wide range of diverse processes, ranging from complex processes to smaller-scale batch processes producing specialty chemicals, supplementing construction materials and pharmaceutical ingredients. However, the challenge for these companies is the production of chemicals that avoid dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. The implementation of COP21 or the Paris Climate Change Agreement also addresses the issue of creating ecofriendly products to reduce carbon footprint. At the same time, the challenge also presents a massive opportunity for the sector to show its concern to address climate change through sustainable culture, processes and products. Unfortunately, changes in the economy and the need to decarbonise brings up another host of roadblocks such as energy prices and policy costs, stringent ROI requirements, commercialization of new and unproven technology, high cost of R&D, as well as uncertainty in policy and regulations. Having said that, chemical companies are circumventing these barriers to come up with a set of technology roadmaps that will help in evaluating the potential developments in the chemical industry and help reduce carbon emissions. For example, there are several enablers that help chemical companies decarbonize - a stable and predictable policy framework, strong business case and the ability to demonstrate payback, financial incentives to address the costs associated with adopting green technologies and the recognition of key technology enablers to further develop and accede to the technologies.

Product innovation – The way forward

Apart from policy and regulatory changes, product innovations in the chemical industry can also have a considerable positive impact towards environmental sustainability. For example, polyurethane insulation produced by Huntsman, for buildings and houses, can reduce demand for fossil fuel-based energy used for heating and cooling. In hot environments it can minimise the building’s heat resulting in the minimal use of 64

air conditioners and cooling systems that run on nonrenewable energy sources. Buildings like these can save 40% of carbon dioxide emissions and homes can save a significant amount on electricity bills. According to a McKinsey report, the ratio of carbon dioxide emissions saved by polyurethane used in building insulation, compared to the carbon dioxide emissions used to produce the material is 233:1. In the longrun, extensive use of polyurethane insulation can help meet advanced energy codes of American National Standards, The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and AirConditioning Engineers Standards and Illuminating Engineering Society Standards – practised globally.

Textile innovations to save water

Innovation is quite essential for organizations that compete in rapidly changing markets. They are constantly under pressure from shifting consumer demand and adhering to global environmental policies. However, the chemical industry is constantly making efforts to achieve the goal for sustainable development by using the latest advancements in science and technology in all its areas of functioning. A good example of environmental sustainability of Huntsman Textile Effects introducing the new PHOBOTEX RSY nonfluorinated durable water repellent (DWR) that can be used on high-performance synthetic textiles. With this water repellent finish, brands and retailers can provide eco-friendly clothing that have extreme rain and stain protection. Thus, reducing the number of times a cloth is washed and the environmental footprint for treated fabrics. Similarly, in dyes, Huntsman’s AVITERA SE reactive dye range is a real game-changer for the industry. These dyes use up to 50% less water and energy than conventional dyeing technologies less salt, and they are the first reactive dyes to be free of para-chloroaniline among other hazardous substances. Made in India at the company’s Baroda production plant, the AVITERA SE dyes also help mills improve productivity and yield, as well as provide businesses with a cleaner supply chain.

Transport innovations to save fossil fuels

Moving on from textiles, transportation is a major sector that is under constant pressure to reduce emissions as well as use renewable resources. The developments in transportation have not only had an impact on the lives of individuals but also large economies, and will continue to have a decisive impact on the future of the planet. In the aerospace industry, fuel pur-

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Ways to sustainability chases are 30-40% of a transport aircraft’s operational costs. Fuel costs, heavy weights of aeroplanes and corrosion in adverse climatic conditions are the challenges that the aeronautics industry has been dealing with. Though the chemical industry is involved in refining the fuel and maintenance of air transport vehicles, it is also actively interested in advancing technologies that can help reduce the carbon footprint. For example, Araldite epoxy resins widely used in civil as well as defence applications such as manufacturing of composite parts of passenger aircraft, military aircraft, helicopters, marine transport as well as in space applications such as satellites and radars. In addition to multifunctional epoxy resins, Huntsman provides the high-performance epoxy adhesives and epoxy syntactic materials which are primarily used for reinforcing honeycomb composite panels in aircraft floors, galley walls and bulkheads. The epoxy coating systems are also used for protection of metallic parts from corrosion. In combination, these parts reduce the weight of the vehicle, help increase fuel efficiency and cut down costs significantly.

Adopting new mobility

However, the transportation and mobility sector is moving towards a more technology-oriented future. The emergence of connected, electric vehicles and shifting attitudes toward mobility are beginning to profoundly change the way people and goods move about, affecting a host of industries, including chemical. Decades ago, the auto industry saw the role of chemicals and materials fundamentally reshaped as the oil shock spurred the need for lighter-weight and lower-cost components. The use of polyurethanes to make car seats as well as efficient paints for coating the vehicles became a generic practice but future mobility trends may profoundly affect coatings manufacturers and their suppliers. While business from automotive refinish shops could decline, there would be many opportunities for “functional” coatings in general infrastructure and haptic materials in the car. There is also a possibility of a general shift from materials that play a purely structured role to those that provide both structure and function. For example, the emergence of autonomous vehicles could disrupt the chemicals and materials that go into the building of the vehicle and are required to maintain the vehicle. Today, a lot of vehicles on road are equipped with crash-avoidance technologies and aftermarket body shops will likely see an impact on the number of cars that need repairs and repainting. As the segment is already in decline,

with time the $7 billion market for coatings supply for automotive refinish¬ing will also dwindle. Having said that, the awareness about sustainable transportation practices will bring about a positive impact to the chemical industry. There will be an increase in expected volume in battery materials as the overall demand goes up. The use of high performance polymers will increase due to light-weighting and smart infrastructure applications. And the use of commodity polymers will be higher due to light weighting. On the other hand, in the coating segment, as the demand shifts from metal to plastics and composites, coatings will shift from aesthetic to functional. The overall shift to a more technology-oriented transport future will decrease the need for lubricants that are oil based, therefore reducing the use of fossil fuels.

Embracing technology

To achieve certain goals, chemical companies will have to restructure their product portfolio, rewrite business models to generate higher returns on their investment in innovation and successfully exploit newage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data analytics and blockchain, among others. Traditional methods of developing new materials are highly time and resource intensive and the discovery and design of new materials with novel properties aided by machine learning techniques is becoming a hot topic. For example, ANN modelling has found a place in applications such as the prediction of material melting points and the density and viscosity of biofuel compounds. Machine learning techniques are also being used to simulate the strength of concrete materials, a useful application for civil construction projects. Hence, the changes brought in by AI, blockchain and modern technologies have the potential to curb energy wastage, increase lifecycle efficiency and precisely calculate the amount of product to be produced for a specific purpose. Today, chemical companies along with their supply chain partners take a holistic approach to sustainability; they educate their employees about sustainability and the impact of chemicals in the environment. The approach helps unify the entire company’s outlook towards environmental protection. Moreover, with skilled workforce, companies can develop and produce innovative products, services and solutions for the growing global population, while striving to conserve the planet’s resources and respecting the environment.

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Hydrogen Economy

Hydrogen Economy Is Not Dead

– Some Recent Developments In Hydrogen Generation, Storage, Transport And Usage As Energy Carrier Dr N C Datta “I believe that water will one day be employed as fuel, that hydrogen and oxygen which constitute it, used singly or together, will furnish an inexhaustible source of heat and light, of an intensity of which coal is not capable.” - Jules Verne (The Mysterious Island, published in 1874, Chapter 33)

Abstract Hydrogen ecocomy has been touted for some time as a superior alternative to the hydrocarbon economy we are in today. Hydrogen is often seen as more attractive and cleaner than the conventional fuels because whether it is used in a fuel cell with air to produce electricity or burned to produce heat, the only by-product is water rather than carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases and particulates. Much as hydrogen is a clean fuel and abundantly available in water, its production, storage and transportation poses many challenges. This article covers various production processes, its transportation and storage aspects, particularly in terms of the latest advances in these areas.

Dr N C Datta, a Physical Chemist, with a Ph.D. (1972) in Chemistry from IIT, Kharagpur, is presently a Consultant associated with Modicon Pvt Ltd, Mumbai. He is in the field of industrial catalysis since 1972. He has worked in the Catalyst Division of Projects & Development India Ltd, Sindri; Warwick Manufacturing Group, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK, and in the erstwhile CATAD Division of Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd (IPCL), Navi Mumbai, before joining Modicon. Besides catalysis, Dr Datta’s other research interests are in computational chemistry. He has more than 50 research papers and articles, including a few papers in computational chemistry, a book and a patent on water gas shift catalyst to his credit.

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Hydrogen Economy

Introduction

ydrogen economy is the vision of using hydrogen as the source of energy for several purposes. Currently, more than 70% of the crude oil is used in transportation. Proportionate amounts of CO2, unburnt hydrocarbons, and NOx are released into the atmosphere, leading to global warming. Hence, for any meaningful abatement of global warming, it is necessary that a suitable substitute of oil is found, hydrogen can be the best alternative. The concept was proposed almost 100 years ago in a paper presented by the famous scientist J.B.S. Haldane (1892-1964) before the Cambridge Society – The Heretics1. It was resurrected in 1970 when the first signs of an impending oil crisis loomed at the horizon. In Data source: Ref. 6 a lecture at the Technology Centre of General Motors, the celebrated electrochemist, John O’M. was used as fuel. One reason for this is the economBockris (1923-2013), elaborated on the concept, and ics. The prices of various energy carriers and resources, coined the term “Hydrogen economy”.1 Later in 1975, as of 2009, are shown in Fig.1. Hydrogen is one of the he published a book, on the subject, entitled, “Energy: costliest in comparison with other energy carriers. The other reasons are technical, as will be discussed. Solar Hydrogen Alternative”. There are no two opinions that hydrogen is the cleanest fuel on earth. It burns in O2/air, forming only water, which, though a greenhouse gas in vapour form, is turned easily to liquid water. Energy output wise, 1 kg of hydrogen is almost equivalent to about 3.3 M3 of natural gas / 3.8-3.9 L of gasoline / 3.3-3.4 L of high speed diesel2. To illustrate more, a fuel cellpowered vehicle may travel upto 60 miles in USA conditions with 1 kg of hydrogen in the fuel tank, or the same quantity of hydrogen may provide electricity to an average USA household for 12 hours.3 However, even today, the economy is driven almost completely by fossil fuels all around the world with little visibility of hydrogen as an alternative. To be specific, almost 85% of all energy requirements are still met from fossil fuels.4 Regarding the other energy resources, nuclear energy is used only 2%, and renewables, 13%, with the following break up: biomass (wood, etc.) 10.2%, wind 0.2%, hydropower 2.3%, marine 0.0002%, geothermal 0.1%, and solar just 0.1%4. In 2016, about 65 million metric tons of hydrogen was produced worldwide, of which 10 million metric tons were produced in USA alone.5 Of this quantity, 48% was used in petroleum refining for a process known as hydrocracking, 43% was used in ammonia manufacture, about 4% in methanol production, and the balance 5% was used in metal fabrication, electronics manufacture and food processing.5 No hydrogen

Why hydrogen?

(1) No other energy carrier is as infinite as hydrogen, because it can be obtained from water, and carbohydrates (biomass), both of which are renewable resources. (2) Hydrogen is non-toxic. (3) Recharging of hydrogen-powered vehicles may be relatively easy – it may need just replacement of the exhausted hydrogen storage unit by a refill. (4) H2 system can be integrated well into the power grid and be very useful in grid stabilisation during demand fluctuations, as excess power generation could be utilised in electrolysis of water to make more hydrogen and oxygen, and any shortfall in power supply may be augmented from hydrogen-powered fuel cell stacks. This grid stabilisation through flexible input and output has become a necessity today in advanced countries because of sharply diminishing prices of alternate energy resources and change of user preferences.3 (5) Like petroleum crude / oil, hydrogen may be transported over long distances through pipelines and vast quantities of hydrogen may be stored in large underground caverns. (6) Some of the advantages of hydrogen are equally possible with other energy carriers such as methanol

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Hydrogen Economy is the easiest; thanks to absence of any side reactions, faster kinetics and relatively lower activation barrier.3

Critical Issues with hydrogen

(1) Being the lightest gas, it occupies a very large volume in gaseous state. Therefore, for transportation in vehicles as fuel tanks, it must be compressed to very high pressure and / or liquefied. For liquefaction, hydrogen must be cooled to below its critical temperature, Source: Modified from Ref.3 (F in Column 5: Faraday constant = 96,485 coulombs) 33 K. Therefore, adequate cryogenic cooling is necesand ethanol, which, too, may be obtained from renewsary for storage and transportation of liquid hydrogen. able resources like biomass. However, hydrogen is unique and superior to other energy carriers because (2) Hydrogen is an extremely inflammable gas, of one fundamental reason.3 may form explosive mixture with air, and explode if Table 1 shows the values of maximum available heated. In air, it has very wide flammability limits: 4 – useful energy (DG) that could be obtained when some 75% (v/v), and detonation limits: 13 – 70% (v/v). (3) Hydrogen may displace oxygen rapidly and of these covalent chemical bonds such as H – H, C – H, without notice, causing suffocation. C – C, and N – H, as present in different energy carriers, are broken by reaction with O2. Table 1 shows also (4) It burns with pale blue flame, which is almost in(i) the number of electrons (n) involved in each of these visible in day light. While burning, it does not produce reactions, if the reactions are carried out electrochemi- any infra-red radiation, but produces a lot of UV radiacally, and (ii) the corresponding cell voltage (E), which tion – so any person standing nearby would not expeis a measure of the available useful bond energy per rience any heat, but would experience sun-burn like electron. This available useful bond energy per elec- effect on the skin due to the exposure to UV radiation. tron is an important parameter, because fuel cells work (5) So, any hydrogen leakage must be detected. The only through flow of electrons. detection may be done by an electronic sensor or by On this basis, H2 (or H – H bond) contains the maxi- an odorant. For efficient detection, an odorant should mum available useful bond energy per electron (1.23 have similar molecular weight and diffusion characterV) in comparison with other covalent chemical bonds. istics as the bulk gas so that it spreads at the same rate. Of course, the reactions 4, 7, and 8 of Table 1, viz, oxi- So far no odorant has been found which has similar dation of NH3 by O2 to form N2 and H2O, and reduc- speed (1.78 km/s) and diffusivity (0.61x10-4 m2/s) as hytion of CO2 to form CH3OH and C2H5OH, may have drogen. similar useful bond energy per electron with E = 1.17, (6) Hydrogen exhibits a positive Joule-Thompson 1.213, and 1.145 V, respectively, but these reactions effect at temperatures above 193 K, which is its inverare not commercially viable because CO2 is present in sion temperature. It means that the temperature of the the atmosphere at a concentration of about 400 ppm hydrogen gas increases upon depressurization, and only, and the oxidation of NH3 involves the handling this may lead to its ignition. Hydrogen has a very low of a highly hazardous substance. Also, the synthesis of ignition energy 0.0019 Joule. NH3 requires a huge amount of energy and pure H2. (7) At elevated temperatures and pressures, hydro(7) The splitting of water molecule into H2 and O2 gen, being a tiny molecule, diffuses inside the metal 68

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Hydrogen Economy matrix of the storage container. As hydrogen spreads inside the metal, gradually the metal loses its ductility and becomes brittle. This is hydrogen embrittlement. This failure of metal is a serious concern in any situation involving storage or transfer of hydrogen gas under pressure.

How palladium is useful

In view of the problems of storing and transportation of compressed and liquefied hydrogen, researches have been done to develop solid absorbents, which would absorb a large volume of hydrogen and desorb it reversibly on user demand. Several metals and alloys have been developed for this purpose. These metals and alloys absorb H2 to form hydrides and these hydrides decompose at higher temperatures, liberating the absorbed hydrogen and regenerating the original metals and alloys. Table 2 shows the temperature and pressure required for the formation of some of these metal hydrides, their composition, and quantity of H2 these may carry. It is essential that the molecular H2 should dissociate into atoms before it is incorporated into the metal / alloy lattice to form the hydrides. It is commonly established that palladium has an extraordinary ability to dissociate molecular H2 rapidly, and this property of palladium is at the root of its use as a very efficient catalyst for hydrogenation reactions in organic synthesis. As shown in Table 2, most metals and alloys, other than palladium, require some pressure and / or temperatures to overcome an activation barrier. But palladium absorbs hydrogen under ambient conditions upto 900 times of its own volume, forming palladium hydride of composition: PdHx, where x varies from 0.015 to 0.607. Still, palladium is not acceptable as a hydrogen storage material because it is too expensive, and the total quantity of hydrogen that can be stored in Pd is not very high â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it is just 0.56% by weight. But

Pd has the potential to play a major role in all areas of hydrogen economy such as hydrogen purification, storage, detection, and fuel cells.

(a) Hydrogen Storage The US Department of Energy has concluded that for a good hydrogen storage device: (i) it must be able to absorb at least 5.5 wt% hydrogen for the time being and should be able to absorb upto 9 wt% later after further development, (ii) it should be light-weight, inexpensive and readily available, (iii) the sorption - desorption kinetics should be fast and reversible, and (iv) it should have long-term stability after repeated recycling.7 From Table 2, it is apparent that MgH2 meets all these criteria, but it is highly susceptible to be attacked by both acids and alkalis. Also, the rate of H2 sorption by Mg is very sluggish, and the hydrogen gets desorbed only at temperatures higher than 300oC.7 All these problems may be solved, if Mg is alloyed first with Ti, forming a thin film of an alloy of composition MgyTi1-y, where y = 0.80 optimally, and then if Pd is deposited electrochemically on this alloy upto a thickness of 3-4 nm. This capping of MgyTi1-y flm by Pd makes it not only acid â&#x20AC;&#x201C; alkali resistant, but also its hydrogen sorption â&#x20AC;&#x201C; desorption kinetics become reasonably fast.8 It has been observed that the hydrogen storage capacity of this film of Pd-capped MgyTi1-y alloy approaches 1750 mAh/g, when used in fuel cell, and this is equivalent to 6.4 wt% of hydrogen storage.8 Pdcapped Mg-Sc alloys of similar composition also have shown identical properties.7 (b) Hydrogen detection7 Pd may be used to make some very efficient sensors to detect hydrogen. In one type of sensors, its electrical resistivity increases sharply as hydrogen gets absorbed in Pd. In another type of sensors, Pd is coated with an optically active material, which sends an optical signal proportional to the concentration of hydrogen absorbed. In both types of sensors, Pd must be in nano-form. (c) Hydrogen purification Among all transition metals and metal oxides, platinum has been found to be the most effective catalyst in all types of fuel cells, but it is extremely susceptible to poisoning by CO, H2S, and other poisons. When H2 is obtained by reforming hydrocarbons such as steam methane reforming reaction (SMR) or from carbohydrates by oxidation, some quantities of CO and CO2 are invariably formed in course of the reac-

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Hydrogen Economy tions. Even after stringent purification, some residual CO remain in the product hydrogen, and the Pt catalyst in the fuel cell is irreversibly poisoned, if H2 feed contains more than 10 ppm of CO. This is one major road block for use of fuel cells in automobiles, because most of the hydrogen is made by SMR as on now. It has been observed that the palladium or palladium alloy based membranes may be useful to make 99.9999% pure hydrogen. But there is some problem here, too. H2 adsorption in Pd is accompanied by phase change and lattice expansion. At lower concentration of H-absorption, it forms an α-phase, and as the absorption increases, the lattice gradually expands and forms a β-phase. Finally, beyond a certain critical limit of the lattice expansion, the membrane cracks and breaks into pieces. This also is called as hydrogen embrittlement. It has been found that if the absorption of H2 occurs at 570 K and above, there is no lattice expansion and no hydrogen embrittlement. But absorption of H2 at 570 K and above would reduce the quantity of absorbed hydrogen further – also, this would involve an expenditure of energy. However, this temperature of 570 K may be reduced to lower temperatures, say, to 393 K, by alloying Pd with Ag (23 wt% Ag)9 or with Cd (15 at% Cd)10. Such alloying not only prevents hydrogen embrittlement, but also reduces the cost of hydrogen storage by using less expensive metals.

(d) Pd as catalyst in fuel cells

Fig 2. Schematic diagram of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Platinum is the established electrode material in all types of fuel cells. A proton exchange membrane or polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is shown in Fig. 2. But very high cost of platinum, its limited supply, and susceptibility to poisoning are its major limitations.11 Also, the cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (see Fig.2) is not very fast on Pt, although Pt is the fastest catalyst for this reaction among most metals. Pd alloys and combinations of Pd with other platinum group metals such as Ru, Ir, Pt, etc. have been widely investigated in fuel cells using methanol, ethanol, or formic acid as fuel.12 Pd-Pt bimetallic catalysts have been found to be better than Pt in many reactions, and Pd is shown to be a far superior catalyst than Pt in formic acid oxidation. For the oxygen reduction reaction, Pd-alloys have also demonstrated improved performance when compared to Pt.13 The change from Pt to Pd-based catalysts in fuel cells is being considered seriously, but the price of palladium has increased drastically in recent times due to increased usage and other geopolitical reasons. It is not clear if such a change will bring down ultimately the fuel cell cost.

Hydrogen generation

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe – 75% of all matter in the universe is made of hydrogen, but the earth’s atmosphere contains just 1 ppm of H2. Therefore, it has to be obtained always from its combined forms such as water, hydrocarbons, and carbohydrates, which are available in plenty. The various commercial processes, which are presently used to make H2, are: reforming of natural gas or steam methane reforming (SMR), gasification of coal or biomass in air /O2, pyrolysis of coal or biomass in absence of O2, and electrolysis of water. Table 3 shows the efficiencies of energy conversion in various technologies of H2 production, as calculated in the Hydrogen Tools Portal of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory with support from the US Department of Energy.14 As shown in Table 3, in all such processes, almost 30-60% of energy is wasted.14 Therefore, any process to use hydrogen as energy carrier would be economically viable only if the energy to isolate hydrogen from its compounds is available cheaply. And what could be cheaper source than the energy from the Sun, which is available freely and abundantly around the Globe? There are three processes by which CO, CO2-free H2 may be made using solar radiations. These are: (1) water splitting by direct concentrated solar radiation,

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Hydrogen Economy

Source: Modified in SI units from Ref. 14

assisted by photocatalysts, (2) solar thermochemical hydrogen (STCH) cycles, and (3) electrolysis of water, assisted by electrocatalysts, using electricity generated by photovolatics. These processes are discussed briefly in the following.

(a) Water splitting by photocatalysts Direct splitting of water by solar radiation, assisted by photocatalysts, has been a dream for decades. A large number of metal oxides, sulphides, nitrides, nano-composites, doped materials and organo-metallic complexes have been tried with varying degrees of success. So far TiO2, and catalysts based primarily on TiO2 have been found to be most successful. But no process has been found to be viable for commercialisation as yet because of (i) wide band gap (~ 3.2 eV), (ii) large overpotential for hydrogen evolution, and (iii) rapid recombination of electron-hole pairs in TiO2 based catalysts.15 Recently a nano-hybrid of Au on TiO2 has been found to make as high as 647,000 Îźmol of H2 per hour per gram of the catalyst,16 but it is still in laboratory level only. In fact, as on now, the other two methods, viz. thermochemical cycle and photovoltaics based electrolysis appear to be more promising than the photocatalytic splitting of water.

(b) Water splitting by thermochemical Cycle In a thermochemical cycle, one highly endothermic decomposition reaction is carried out at a very high temperature using solar radiation, which is intensely concentrated by a ring of parabolic mirrors. O2 is evolved during this decomposition reaction. This is called the reduction step. In the next step, one of the decomposition product is reacted with water at a relatively lower temperature or electrolysed in aqueous medium generating H2 and the original reactant. Since H2 is eliminated from water in this step, this is called an oxidation step. The process is shown schematically in Fig. 3. When electrolysis is done in the oxidation step, it is called a hybrid cycle. Innumerable thermochemical processes are possible on the basis of thermodynamic data, but only a few are considered to be commercially viable. Some of the promising thermochemical cycles are shown in Table 4. Two such processes are discussed below for illustration and these are: (a) zinc oxide cycle, which is a direct thermochemical cycle, meaning all steps are chemical,

Fig 3. Schematic presentation of a solar thermochemical cycle

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Hydrogen Economy

and (b) hybrid sulphur cycle. Zinc Oxide Cycle: As shown in Table 4, in the reduction step zinc oxide is dissociated into Zn powder and O2 at a very high temperature of 1800-2000oC by intensely concentrated solar radiation. In the next step, zinc oxide is regenerated and H2 is formed by hydrolysis of zinc powder with H2O at 450oC. This cycle has attracted considerable attention because zinc oxide is a non-hazardous, easily available, and a relatively benign material. But the major technical problems are the recombination of Zn powder with O2 inside the reactor to form ZnO back again, and the rapid deterioration of the reactor materials at such high temperatures. The problem of back reaction to ZnO could be solved by rapid quenching of Zn powder in argon, but this led to the loss of some sensible heat. A 10-kW demonstration plant was established18, but the actual efficiency of the process in the pilot plant was found to be much less than the theoretical efficiency and the problem of reactor damage could not be solved, too.19 Therefore, there is some skepticism on the commercial viability of this process, and according to some recent studies, the non-stoichiometric perovskites, which lose O2 at lower temperatures, may probably be a more promising option.19, 20 The Hybrid Sulphur cycle or the HyS process: It consists of two steps: (a) a high temperature (at ~ 850oC) 72

decomposition of H2SO4 to SO2 and O2, followed by (b) a low temperature (at ~ 100oC) electrolysis step of oxidizing SO2 to H2SO4 at the anode and generating pure H2 at the cathode. The reactions are shown in Table 4. On the basis of the standard potential of the overall reaction (0.158 V), only 12.8% of the electrical energy is required for the electrolysis step of this cycle in comparison with the electrical energy required for the electrolysis of water (1.23 V). The electrochemical oxidation of sulphur dioxide was discovered by Westinghouse in 1970s and has since been intensively investigated on many electrode systems using platinum, gold, graphite, palladium, palladium oxide, platinum oxide, and platinum-gold alloys in various configurations. It has been found that a high concentration of sulphuric acid is required in the electrolysis cell to maximize the overall energy efficiency of the cycle.21 But the Nafion membrane in the electrolyser cell, which requires to be hydrated for proton transfer across the cell, is also responsible for water migration into the anode compartment. This, consequently, leads to dilution of sulphuric acid, and decrease in cell efficiency. However, two developments in recent years have given a push for a serious consideration of this cycle: (1) the development of a bayonet-type reactor using silicon carbide as material of construction to carry out efficiently the thermal decomposition of the sulphuric acid under solar radiation,22 (Fig.4), and (2) use of sulphuric aciddoped polybenzimidazole-based membranes in place of Nafion in the electrolysis part.23

(c) Water splitting by photovoltaic electricity The splitting of water into H2 and O2 by applying electricity is not new, but the generation of electricity at commercial level solely by using sunshine, and applying it to split water is a technology under development for years. The success of hydrogen economy depends largely on how efficiently the solar radiation is

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Hydrogen Economy so far.24

(d) Hydrogen by enzymatic method25, 26 Among many new developments, mention may be made of a purely biological process because of its spectacular production of hydrogen from biomass, though it does not use any solar radiation. This process is known as cell-free synthetic enzymatic pathway biotransformation or shortly, as SyPaB. It uses a combination of 13 enzymes to convert carbohydrate (C6H10O5) to CO2 and H2 by complex pathways. But the most striking features are that the reactions take place at 30oC and atmospheric pressure, and the hydrogen yield is very high – about 12 molecules of H2 per glucose equivalent in place of the usual 4. Also, it may be able to produce hydrogen from municipal sewage and industrial waste water containing very high degree of organics. It is estimated that after full scale up, this technology may be able to bring down the cost of H2 to about USD 2 per kg, but as on now, the method is in the laboratory level.25, 26 Fig 4. A Schematic Diagram of the Bayonet-type Reactor22

converted to electricity, and then how efficiently this electricity is used to generate H2 in the electrolyser cell, or, in brief, on the solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiency. Thus, the development has two aspects: one, the development of cheaper solar cell; two, development of a better electrocatalyst that will reduce the overpotential of the O2 evolution reaction. The cost of H2 produced by electrolysis is still significantly higher than that produced by steam methane reforming reaction (SMR). According to the US Department of Energy, for commercial viability, H2 threshold cost should be USD 2.00–4.00 per gallon of gasoline equivalent, whereas the most up-to-date reported H2 production cost via electrolysis is USD 3.26– 6.62 per gallon of gasoline equivalent.24 Among many developments, mention may be made of a recently developed photovoltaic-electrolysis system of a very high STH efficiency. It consists of two polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysers in series with one triple-junction solar cell which produces a large-enough voltage to drive both electrolysers with no additional energy input. The triple junction is made of InGaP (1.9 eV) / GaAs (1.4 eV) /GaInNAsSb (1.0 eV). The electrode assembly consists of carbon paper/ platinum black/Nafion/Nafion membrane /Nafion/ iridium black/titanium mesh. The system achieved a 48-h average STH efficiency of 30%., and according to the authors, this is the highest ever efficiency achieved

Conclusion

Hydrogen economy comprises three aspects: hydrogen generation, storage & transport, and extraction of energy from hydrogen by fuel cells. This article has discussed very briefly each aspect and some of the recent developments. For more information, interested readers may visit the websites of the US Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. These websites27 provide in detail the latest developments in hydrogen economy and fuel cells. It is inevitable that hydrogen would be the main driver of the world economy in future. In January 2017, at the end of the Davos Summit, a global initiative has been taken by several leading energy, transport and industry companies of the world, and Hydrogen Council has been formed with a mission “to position hydrogen among the key solutions of the energy transition”28. Mankind took a huge number of millennia to transit from wood and animals to coal, and a few hundred years from coal to oil. It may take now just a few decades to transit from oil to hydrogen.

Acknowledgement The author expresses his deep gratitude to Mr Amit Modi, Director, Modicon Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, for providing research opportunities so that this article could be written. References

01. J. B. S. Haldane, “Daedalus OR Science and the future”, paper read on 4th February, 1923, before the Cambridge Society, The Heretics. As cited in https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Hydrogen_economy, Accessed on May 01, 2018

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Hydrogen Economy 02. Energy Equivalency of Fuels (LHV) / Hydrogen Tools: https://h2tools.org/hy arc/hydrogen-data/energy-equivalency-fuels-lhv (Accessed on May 01, 2018)

Whispering Gallery Mode Resonances for Photo catalytic Water Splitting” ACS Nano, 2016, 10(4), 4496 (as cited in Ref 21)

03. B. Pivovar, N. Rustagi and S. Satyapal, “Hydrogen at scale (H2@Scale) Key to a clean, economic and sustainable energy system”, Interface, published by the Electrochemical Society, 2018, 27 (1), 47.

17. UNLV Research Foundation: Solar Hydrogen Generation Research Final Report: https://www.osti.gov/servlets/ purl/1025597 (Accessed on May 2, 2018)

04. Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (SRREN), 2008 (www.ipcc-wg3.de/srren-report, accessed on May 9, 2018). 05. US Department of Energy, Fuel Cell Technologies Office, Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Progress Overview, Dr Sunita Satyapal, May 23, 2017, https://www. energy.gov/sites/prod/ files/2017/05/f34/fcto_may_2017_h2_scale_wkshp_satyapal. pdf (Accessed on May 05, 2018) 06. Y.-H. P. Zhang,”A sweet out-of-the-box solution to hydrogen economy – is the sugar-powered car science fiction?”, Energy Environ. Sci., 2009, 2, p. 272. 07. B. D. Adams and Aicheng Chen, “The Role of Palladium in Hydrogen Economy”, Materials Today, 2011, 14 (6), 282. 08. P. Vermeulen et al, “Hydrogen storage in metastable MgyTi1-y films”, Electrochem Communications, 2006, 8 (1), 27. 09. Y. Sun et al., “Ag Nanowires coated with Ag/Pd Alloy Sheaths and Their Use as Substrates in Reversible Absorption and Desorption of Hydrogen”, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2004, 126 (19), 5940. 10. B. D. Adams et al.,” Hydrogen Electrosorption into Pd-Cd Nanostructures”, Langmuir, 2010, 26(10), 7632. 11. C. Sealy,” Problem with platinum”, Materials Today, 2008, 11(12), 65. 12. S.Carrion-Satorre et al, “Performance of carbon-supported palladium and palladium-ruthenium catalysts for alkaline membrane direct ethanol fuel cells”, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 2016, 41 (21), 8954.

18. R. Müller et al, “H2O-Splitting Thermochemical Cycle Based on ZnO/Zn-Redox: Quenching the Effluents from ZnO Dissociation”, Chem. Eng. Sci., 2008, 63, 217. 19. M. B.Gorensek et al, “Solar Thermochemical Hydrogen (STCH) Processes”, Interface, published by the Electrochemical Society, 2018, 27 (1), 53. 20. C. N. R. Rao et al, ”Solar Thermochemical Splitting of Water to Generate Hydrogen”, Proc. National Acad. Sci., 2017, 114 (51), 13385. 21. P. W. T. Lu et al, “An Investigation of Electrode Material for the Anodic Oxidation of Sulphur Dioxide in Concentrated Sulphuric Acid”, J. Electrochem. Soc., 1980, 127 (12), 2610. 22. M. B. Gorensek et al, “Energy Efficiency Limits for a Recuperative Bayonet Sulphuric Acid Decomposition Reactor for Sulphur Cycle Thermochemical Hydrogen Production”, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 2009, 48, 7232; R. Moore et al, US Patent 764,5437 B1 (2010). 23. J. V. Jayakumar et al.,“Polybenzimidazole Membranes for Hydrogen and Sulphuric Acid Production in the Hybrid Sulphur Electrolyser”, ECS Electrochem. Lett., 2012, 1, F44. 24. J. Jia et al, “Solar Water Splitting by Photovoltaic-Electrolysis with a Solar-to_Hydrogen efficiency over 30%”, Nature Communications, October 2016, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13237 25. Y.-H.P. Zhang, “Hydrogen Production from Carbohydrates – A Mini Review”, in “Sustainable Production of Fuels, Chemicals and Fibers from Forest Biomass”, Eds. J. Zhu et al, ACS Symposium Series, American Chemical Society, Washington D.C., 2011, Chapter 8.

13. F. Alcaide et al, “Performance of carbon-supported PtPd as catalyst for hydrogen oxidation in the anodes of proton exchange membrane fuel cells”, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 2010, 35 (20), 11634.

26. Y.-H.P. Zhang et al, “High Yield Hydrogen Production from Starch and Water by a Synthetic Enzymatic Pathway”, PLOS One (DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0000 456), 2007, May 23, 2, e456.

14. https://www.h2tools.org/hyarc/hydrogen-data/hydrogenproduction-energy-conve rsion-efficiencies (Accessed on May 10, 2018)

28. http://www.fch.europa.eu/news/launch-hydrogen-council; http://hydrogencouncil.com/.

27. https://www1.eere.energy.gov/library/default.aspx

15. T. Jafari et al, “Photocatalytic Water Splitting – The Untamed Dream – A Review of Recent Advances”, Molecules, 2016, 21, 900.

16. J. Zhang et al, “Engineering the Absorption and Field Enhancement Properties of Au-TiO Nano-hybrids via

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Sourcing

Water Management and Pollution Control companies Andritz Separation India Pvt. Ltd. S.No: 389, 400/2A, 400/2C, Padur Road, Kuttampakkam Village, Poonamallee Taluk, Tiruvallur Dist., Chennai 600 124 Phone +91 (44) 4399 1111 Email: separation.in@andritz.com Web: www.andritz.com Clearsep Technologies (I) Pvt Ltd 616, Corporate Centre, Nirmal Life Style, LBS Marg, Mulund West, Mumbai - 400080, Maharashtra, Tel: +(91)- (22) -25622323 Email: info@clearsep.com Web:www.clearsep.com Degremont Ltd. Unitech Business Park Tower A - 2nd Floor South City 1, 122001 Gurgaon Tel : +91 124 46 80 100 Web: www.degremont.com Dow Chemical International Pvt. Ltd. 1st Floor, Block 8, Gate 02 Godrej Business IT Park, LBS Road, Vikhroli (W), Mumbai-400 076 Tel: 022-6674 1500 Email: infoindia@dow.com Web: https://in.dow.com/en-us Enviro Science & Engineering Pvt. Ltd. 34 Parthasarathy Nagar Thorapakkam, Rajiv Gandhi Salai IT Highway, Chennai, Tamil Nadu - 600096 Tel: 044-24961535 Email: enviroscience@vsnl.net Environ Engineering Co. 864/B/3, GIDC Indl Estate, Nr GCEL, Makarpura, Vadodara, Gujarat-390010 Tel: 0265-2643870/9825008442 Email: environ@environengg.com Web: www.environengg.com

Eurotek Environmental Pvt. Ltd. Modern Profound Tech park, 5th Floor, Opp: Ramalayam Temple, White Field Road, Kondapur. Hyderabad - 500 084 (T.S.) Phone: 040-46245555 E-mail : info@eurotekindia.com Web: www.eurotekindia.com Evergreen Technologies Pvt. Ltd. 3-D, Maker Bhavan-2, 18 New Marine Lines, Mumbai- 400 020 Tel: +91-22-22012461 / 22012706 Email: info@evergreenindia.com Web: www.evergreenindia.com Forbes Marshall Pvt. Ltd. P B No.29, Mumbai-Pune Road Kasarwadi, Pune-411034 Tel: 020-39858555 Email: ccmidc@forbesmarshall.com Web: www.forbesmarshall.com GE Water & Process Technologies Whitefield Industrial Area, Next To Rmz, Whitefield, Bengaluru, Karnataka - 560001 Tel: 080 4266 5800/ 67021228 Web: www.ge.com/in/water Geist Research Pvt Ltd L-9A, Phase-I, Verna Industrial Estate, Verna, Goa-403722 Tel: 0832-2782461 Email: info@geistwoow.com Web: www.geistwoow.com Genesis Membrane Separatech Pvt. Ltd. 216, Vardhaman Complex, 10, LBS Marg, Nr MTNL Office, Vikhroli (W), Mumbai -400083 Tel: 022-25775456/58 Email: marketing@genesismembrane.com Web: www. genesismembrane.in

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Hindustan Dorr-Oliver Ltd. Dorr Oliver House, Chakala, Andheri (East), Mumbai-400099 Tel: +91-22-28359400 E-Mail: hdoho@hdo.in Web: www.hdo.in Ion Exchange (India) Ltd Ion House, Dr E Moses Road Mahalaxmi, Mumbai-400011 Tel: 022-39890909/30472042 Email: ieil@ionexchange.co.in Web: www.ionindia.com Kilburn Engineering Ltd. Plot No. 6, MIDC – Saravali, Kalyan Bhiwandi Road, Taluka, Bhiwandi, District -Thane 421 311 Tel : +91 2522 663 800/ 2522 662 200 Email: marketing@kilburnengg. com Web: www.kilburnengg.com Krofta Engineering Ltd. Durga Bhavan A-68, FIEE Complex, Okhla Industrial Area Phase – II New Delhi – 110 020. Tel: +91 (011) 47242500 Email: krofta@kroftaengineering. com Web: www.kroftaengineering.com Lanxess India Pvt Ltd Lanxess House, Plot no: A 162-164 Road No 27, MIDC, Wagle Estate Thane - 400 604 Tel: 022-2587 1000 Email: salesindia@lanxess.com Web: www.lanxess.in Lars Enviro Pvt Ltd 168 NELCO Society, Subhash Nagar, Nagpur - 440022, Maharashtra Tel: 0712-6650400/413 Email: sales@larsenviro.com Web: www.larsenviro.com

Sourcing

Mazda Limited 650 / 1 Mazda House, Panchwati 2nd Lane, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, 380006, India Tel: 079 4000 7000 Email: info@mazdalimited.com

Rieco Industries Limited 1162/2, Shivajinagar, Behind Observatory, Pune - 411005, India. Tel: 020-25535384 Email: rieco@rieco.com Web: www.rieco.com

Mojj Engineering Systems 81-B/15, MIDC Bhosari, Pune - 411 026 Tel: 020-27120360/0835 Email: mojjpune@vsnl.net Web: http://mojjpune.com

SAP Filter Pvt. Ltd. Plot No A-5, Sector -1,Vasai TalukaIndl. Co-Op Estate Ltd.,Goraipada, Vasai (E), Thane - 401 208 Tel No.: +91 250- 2458982/ 3208273 Email: info@sapfilter.com / sales@ sapfilter.com Web: www.sapfilter.com

Nalco Water India Ltd. S. No.238/239, 3rd Flr, Quadra 1, Panchshil, Magarpatta Rd, Sade Satra Nali, Pune-411028 Tel: 020-66594000 Web: https://en-in.ecolab.com/ nalco-water Paramount Ltd. Paramount Complex, Race Course, Nr Natubhai Circle, Gotri Road, Vadodara, Gujarat-390007 Tel: 0265-2397111 Email: sales@paramountlimited. com Web: www.paramountlimited.com Praj HiPurity Systems Ltd. “Praj Tower” 274 & 275/2, Bhumkar Chowk-Hinjewadi Road, Hinjewadi, Pune : 411057. Maharashtra Tel: 020-71802000 / 020-22941000 Email: info@praj.net Web: www.prajhipurity.net Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd. Ramky Grandiose – 12th & 13th Floors, Ramky Towers Complex, Gachibowli, Hyderabad-500 032 Telangana Tel: 040-2301 5000 E-mail: waste@ramky.com Web: www.ramkyenviroengineers. com

Tawde Pollutech India Pvt. Ltd. No.206/207,Amargian Complex, Opp. S.T. Work shop, L.B.S. marg, Thane (West), Maharashtra, 400601, India. Tel: 022 2547 0014

E-mail: wbg@projects.trivenigroup.com Web: www.trivenigroup.com Va Tech Wabag Limited “Wabag House”, No.17, 200 Feet Thoraipakkam – Pallavaram Main Road, Sunnambu Kolathur, Chennai 600 117, Tamil Nadu Tel: +91 44 3923 2323 Email: wabag@wabag.in Web: www.wabag.com Voltas Ltd - Water Management Business Divn Domestic Project Group Thane Main Plant, Unit No-VII, 2nd Pokhran Thane (W), Maharashtra - 400601 Tel: 022-66656 666 Email: vijaygunjal@voltas.com Web: http://www.voltas.com

Thermax Ltd Thermax House, 14 Mumbai-Pune Road Wakdewadi, Pune 411 003 Maharashtra Tel: -91-20-66051200/25542122 Email: enquiry@thermaxglobal. com Web: www.thermaxglobal.com The EIMCO-K.C.P. Ramakrishna BuildingsNo. 239, Anna Salai,Chennai 600 006, India Tel: +91 044 28555171 Email: ekcp@vsnl.com, info@ekcp. com Web: http://ekcp.com/ Triveni Engineering & Industries Ltd. 8th Floor, Express Trade Towers, Plot No. 15 & 16, Sector 16-A, Noida - 201301 Tel: 91 - 120 - 4308000

(Please note that only a selection of companies are listed here and this is by no means a comprehensive directory)

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Wastewater Treatment Wastewater Treatment

Hybrid Technologies for Industrial Wastewater Treatment Vinay M. Bhandari, Kshama H. Balapure and Tanur Sinha

Dr. Vinay Bhandari is Senior Principal Scientist in the Chemical Engineering & Process Development Division of CSIRNational Chemical Laboratory, Pune. He has more than 26 years of research experience apart from 2 years of industrial experience. He also worked as Visiting Faculty in Japan and South Korea. He has more than 180 publications/presentations, authored 1 book and filed 6 patents (2 international patents granted). His research interests include Industrial wastewater treatment, Separation Processes, Biotechnology and Nanotechnology. Dr. Kshama Balapure is Research Associate with CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune. She worked as Assistant Professor in Gujarat Vidyapith, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Dr. Kshama has expertise in biological wastewater treatment and has published 5 research papers in reputed international journals. Dr. Tanur Sinha is National Post Doctoral Fellow with CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune. She also worked at

Indian Institute Of Technology, Bombay and Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati. Dr. Sinha has expertise in photocatalysis and nanomaterials, has published 18 research articles in reputed international journals and has authored one book. 78

Abstract

Industrial wastewater treatment is an extremely challenging task, especially for refractory pollutants that are difficult to remove/degrade using conventional methods of treatment such as coagulation, adsorption, biological treatment or advanced oxidation. Hybrid technologies are most relevant in such cases that not only enhance the efficiency of the existing process, but also help in reducing the overall cost of treatment. The overall sustainability, especially in the Indian context, is important for both, protection of environment and survival of industry. In the present review, three different methodologies that are gaining wide attention in recent years: viz. Hydrodynamic cavitation, nanomaterials and microbial/bioremediation, have been discussed for industrial wastewater treatment, with specific emphasis on dye wastewater treatment. The application of nanotechnology can also offer several alternatives in the form of nanomaterials, bionanocomposites as adsorbents or as catalysts. A photodegradation methodology in the presence of a suitable nanocatalyst can be a techno-economical alternative in treatment of different wastewater.

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Wastewater Treatment

Introduction

ndustrial wastewater treatment is a complex problem where a large number of technologies are employed for the removal of pollutants and at the same time, newer technologies are being developed, mainly for increasing the efficiency of pollutants removal, improve the techno-economic feasibility and to meet government prescribed norms for protection of the environment. Dye wastewater treatment has remained a major challenge in this regard for many decades and many a times satisfactory solution is not available at an affordable cost or for the scale of operation resulting into dye wastewater polluting river water. The existing treatment methods include various physical, physico-chemical (Adsorption, ion exchange, coagulation, membrane separations, oxidation processes etc) and biological methods (aerobic, anaerobic, anoxic etc). However, for the refractory pollutants removal, the conventional methods are largely inadequate in meeting the strict pollution control norms and energy intensive processes such as oxidation are required with prohibitive costs (Ranade and Bhandari, 2014). Considering the complex nature of dye wastewaters, high COD/ ammoniacal nitrogen and various organic pollutants, zero discharge is invariably difficult or cost intensive. A more practical approach would involve treatment of wastewaters to such an extent that the treated water can be recycled and reused. The treatment cost has two main contributions in terms of processing or operating cost and capital cost including space for the treatment. Thus, one needs to continuously upgrade and optimize on the cost aspect, especially in view of the newer technologies for cost reduction and for meeting increasingly stricter norms of pollution control.

Wastewater treatment methods

The treatment methodologies can be grouped into two main classes: 1. Physico-chemical methods of treatment 2. Biological methods of treatment In the following discussion, emphasis is given mainly on various physicochemical treatment methods in view of refractory nature of many dyes that are difficult to degrade biologically. Further, emphasis is given on newer developments in existing methods for improving the efficiency and reducing costs apart from some potentially attractive newer technologies for dye wastewater treatment such as hydrodynamic cavitation.

The selection of effluent treatment methods is primarily based on the characterization of the effluent and understanding the nature of different pollutants. In industrial practice, the effluent is mainly characterized in terms of COD, BOD, ammoniacal nitrogen, suspended solids, total dissolved solids, etc. and this does not provide true information on the nature of pollutants. This invariably limits implementing effective effluent strategy and many a times a crude strategy involving clarification is mostly used. The important physico-chemical methods can be listed as below: 1. Coagulation 2. Adsorption 3. Membrane separation 4. Oxidation/ Photocatalysis 5. Cavitation Among the above methods, a number of modifications are possible. For example, in oxidation one can have wet air oxidation, Fenton oxidation, electro-oxidation and so on. The conventional wastewater treatment or effluent treatment plant (ETP) involves primary treatment for basic clean-up through application of methods such as sedimentation, filtration, screening and membrane separations. The important step in the removal of bulk COD/BOD is in the secondary treatment which can include physico-chemical or biological methods or both. In the secondary treatment, upto 95% pollutant removal can be achieved and many a times, treated water gets released into surface waters after meeting the prescribed norms. For the refractory pollutants, where the norms are stricter, tertiary treatment methods have to be employed, typically referred as polishing operation. The secondary treatment involves use of methods such as coagulation-flocculation, adsorption, ion exchange, oxidation, cavitation, and membrane separation apart from biological methods such as aerobic and anaerobic treatment while the tertiary treatment involves polishing through methods such as adsorption, Reverse Osmosis (RO). In the following section, advancement is mainly discussed for different methods such as coagulation, adsorption, photocatalysis using nanomaterials, biological treatment and cavitation.

Coagulation and recent developments in coagulation

Coagulation is a charge neutralization process through the addition of coagulants that reduces the repulsive forces on the colloidal matter resulting into the formation of agglomerates which can be removed by simple settling. The effectiveness of the coagulation

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

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8127

Wastewater Treatment process primarily depends on the nature of the coagulant and hence a number of coagulants are available in the market that differs in their effectiveness in dye removal applications. The coagulants can be classified as inorganic (Aluminum salts (alum) (Al2(SO4)3•14H2O or Al2(SO4)3•18H2O (alum)); Ferric and ferrous salts (FeCl3, Fe2(SO4)3, FeSO4•7H2O); Lime (Ca(OH)2)) or organic (Cationic polymers, Anionic and non-ionic polymers). In both the classes, the recent trend is for the use of polymers and in inorganic coagulants, polymers such as polyaluminum chloride; polyaluminum sulfide etc. are increasingly used. Further, in recent years use of coagulant formulations that combine advantages of both inorganic and organic coagulants is increasingly considered. Inorganic coagulants typically produce smaller and lighter flocs, require larger time to settle, produce larger sludge volume, are pH sensitive/ effective in a narrow pH range and have lower costs while organic coagulants can achieve near zero production of sludge (almost eliminates sludge disposal problems), have wider pH range, produce larger flocs that are easier to settle, but have comparatively higher costs. Thus, combined formulation of both inorganic and organic coagulants significantly reduces treatment costs and at the same time enhances the coagulation efficiency (Bhandari and Ranade, 2014). Differentiating the coagulant behavior is often complex and needs experimental evaluation most of the time. Prajapati et al. (2016) reported extensive studies on two refractory azo dyes- Congo red and Orange G, especially at high concentrations using different conventional coagulants and newer formulations developed from Aluminum sulfate, Iron (III) chloride, Aluminium chloride, Poly diallydimethylammonium chloride (Poly DADMAC) and Poly Aluminium Chloride (PAC). Chethana et al. (2015, 2016) reported green approach to dye wastewater treatment using biocoagulants and their formulations. Newer biocoagulants, using seeds of Azadirachta indica and pads of Acanthocereus tetragonus, were studied along with two known biocoagulants, Moringa oleifera and Cicer arietinum seeds. These coagulants/formulations could effectively remove dyes from different wastewaters and efficiency up to 100% in terms of dye removal was demonstrated. Process intensification using cavitation is also an option that can be favorably considered for improved efficiency.

of commercial adsorbents are available in the market. However, their application in dye removal is not straightforward and requires expertise and experience for the best results. Conventionally, inorganic adsorbents such as zeolites (A, X, Y, ZSM-5, silicalite, ALPO), oxides (silica, alumina) etc. and organic adsorbents such as activated carbons (powder, granules, molecular sieves, carbon fibre), polymeric adsorbents, ion exchange resins or biomass derived specific adsorbents are widely used in the area of wastewater treatment. The cost variation among the class and type is huge and selection of best adsorbent is difficult in most cases. The solution to environmental problems will require a very cheap adsorbent and developing a highly selective material at low cost is a daunting challenge. This has resulted in extensive research for newer adsorbents and also for the modification of existing materials to improve their surface properties for increased efficiency in pollutant removal. Sorokhaibam et al. (2015) reported newer forms of activated carbons derived from biomass of cassia fistula that were shown to be highly effective in dye wastewater treatment. These adsorbents were found to be better than many commercial adsorbents such as Norit. The process intensification in adsorptive dye removal is possible using cavitation. Cavitation itself can participate in the degradation of dyes – partially or totally. The positive impact of partial degradation is believed to be due transformation of species for improved adsorption. Also, in some cases, cavitation may not, in itself, degrade dye molecule but can assist or facilitate adsorption process, thereby effecting higher dye removal. Application of magnetic nanomaterials is also being increasingly researched for dye wastewater treatment. The magnetic nanomaterial is a new emerging area in wastewater treatment that requires specific tailoring for the application and separation of nanomaterials. The use of magnetic nanomaterials offers significant ease of separation and several studies have proved effectiveness of newer nanocom-

Adsorption and recent developments in adsorption

Adsorption is a well known and widely practiced method in dye wastewater treatment and a number 82

Figure-1. Effectiveness of adsorbents in treating real industrial dye wastewater

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Wastewater Treatment posites in dye wastewater treatment (Kirti et al., 2017). The efficacy of various adsorbents (A1-A6) is evident from the results given below (Fig.1) on real industrial dye wastewater treatment.

Photocatalysis and recent developments of nanomaterials as photocatalyst

Nanotechnology can play a significant role in shaping our current environmental issues by providing new materials and remediation/treatment techniques. Photocatalytic degradation of dyes using solar irradiation in presence of nanomaterials/ nanocomposites as catalysts can be one alternative approach in existing treatment practices. Conventional photocatalyst generally comprises of semiconductor nanomaterials such as titanium dioxide, copper oxide, zinc oxide or their composites and magnetic nanomaterials. However, the solution to environmental issues will require nanomaterials that provide greener methodologies, low cost, environmentally sustainable, easily reproducible and ease of recovery. Recently, green approaches using waste materials such as egg shells of Anas platyrhynchos; fish scales of Labeo rohita and Cirrhinus cirrhosis; peel extracts of Allium cepa L and indigenous plant of north eastern India, Diaplazium esculentum; and juice extracts of Saccharum officinarum for fabrication of nanomaterials such as silver, gold, copper, core shell gold-silver nanomaterials and silver-stannous oxide nanocomposite of varied morphologies and sizes have been reported along with their application in dye wastewater treatment (Sinha et al. 2015, 2016, 2017). A comparison of the results on three different dye removal (Methylene Blue (MB)-basic aniline dye,

Rose Bengal (RB)-Xanthene dye; and Methyl Violet 6B (MV6B)-triphenyl methane dye), as shown in Fig.2, indicating close to 100% dye removal, clearly highlights potential effective use of such materials in wastewater treatment. Further, the catalytic reaction rate was either equivalent or improved compared to most of the reported literature data. Ag-SnO2 nanocomposites revealed enhanced photocatalytic activities compared to any other metallic or bimetallic NS materials. The lifetime of the photocatalyst is also an important parameter for the photocatalytic process. The use of catalyst for a longer period of time leads to a significant cost reduction. Hence, the utilization of nanomaterials as photocatalyst should be seen as a promising and effective treatment methodology for the elimination of hazardous organic dyes from the industrial effluents.

Biological methods for dye removal and recent developments

Biotechnological approaches have been increasingly discussed in recent years for the treatment of industrial wastewaters such as dyes/ textile industrial wastewater in an eco-friendly manner, mainly using bacteria and often in combination with physicochemical processes. In biological processes, microorganisms acclimatize themselves to the toxic wastes, subsequently developing new resistant strains which then transform various toxic chemicals consequently diminishing the hazardous nature. Microbial decolorization mostly depends on activity and adaptive nature of bacteria to selected polluted region. A wide variety of microorganisms are capable of removing colour e.g. bacteria, fungi, yeasts, actinomycetes, al-

Fig. 2. Photocatalytic degradation of dyes - Application of nanomaterials Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Wastewater Treatment gae and plants (phytoremediation). Some microorganisms have specific advantages over the others e.g. bioremediation of dyes using fungi is less encouraged compared to bacteria for the reason of low pH requirement, long hydraulic retention time and inhibition activity towards growth of other beneficial organisms. Accordingly, large scale uses of fungi in bioremediation are constrained. Conversely, bacterial treatment can accomplish a higher level of biodegradation/mineralization of several structurally complex groups of dyes, in an inexpensive and eco-friendly manner. Decolorization of anthropogenic azo dyes occurs under anaerobic, facultative anaerobic (microaerophilic) and aerobic conditions by different groups of bacteria which have capability to reductive cleavage of azo bond under anaerobic or microaerophilic condition (Jain et al., 2012). Balapure et al. (2014) developed native bacterial consortium BDN from dye polluted zones, having ability to decolorize and mineralize Reactive Blue 160 within 4 h of incubation. The bacterial consortium BDN constituting Alcaligenes sp. BDN1, Bacillus sp. BDN2, Escherichia sp. BDN3, Pseudomonas sp. BDN4, Provedencia sp. BDN5, Acinetobacter sp. BDN6, Bacillus sp. BDN7 and Bacillus sp. BDN8 can decolorize 26 structurally different acidic, basic, direct and disperse dyes under high saline conditions. The success of bacterial technology for the treatment of industrial wastewaters relies upon the advancement of high-rate bioreactors in which biomass is retained in the support matrices of the reactor for a longer period of time. Bioreactors can degrade pollutants in wastewater with microorganisms through attached or suspended growth bioreactors. In attached growth bioreactor, for example, upflow/downflow fixed film reactors, rotating biological contactors (RBCs), and trickling filters, microorganisms adhere to an inert support matrix to remove pollutants from the wastewater. In suspended growth bioreactor, microorganisms are maintained in suspension within the liquid e.g. activated sludge process, aerated lagoons etc. In addition, combined anaerobic and aerobic bioreactors approaches have also been developed to degrade high strength industrial wastewater. Balapure et al. (2015) reported down-flow microaerophilic fixed film reactor for decolorization and degradation of simulated textile wastewater. It was found that the synergistic metabolic action of the added bacterial consortium in the fixed film bioreactor yields 97.5% COD reduction and 99.5% decolorization under OLR of 7.2 kg COD m3/d and 24 h of HRT. Anaerobic treatment using pilot-scale and full-scale plants have been reported by several researchers and

the treatment efficiencies of these reactors are sensitive to parameters such as wastewater composition, concentration of various ions, nature of toxic compounds, temperature and pH. Thus, the efficiency of anaerobic treatment can be enhanced by use of advanced high rate anaerobic bioreactors i.e. Up-flow Anaerobic SludgeBlanket process (UASB). Generally, it was observed that anaerobic treatment can efficiently remove the colour but has limitations in satisfactory removal of COD from wastewater. However, sequencing batch reactor, â&#x20AC;&#x153;anaerobic + aerobicâ&#x20AC;? system, was known to achieve complete colour as well as COD reduction from dye wastewater. Balapure et al. (2016) reported consecutive anaerobic-microaerophilic process for degradation of real textile wastewater and found that 60% of COD and BOD could be removed at an optimum HRT of 2d under anaerobic conditions. Further, COD and BOD removal efficiency of bacterial consortium BDN was increased up to 97% under microaerophilic condition, at HRT of 12 h. Thus, sequential treatment, overall, enhances the effectiveness of wastewater treatment.

Hydrodynamic cavitation and recent developments

Hydrodynamic cavitation can be an excellent new technique for dye wastewater treatment and can be used in the secondary or tertiary treatment stages depending on its performance and process requirement. Hydrodynamic cavitation requires use of a specific mechanical device for effecting formation, growth and collapse of the cavities. Upon collapse, there is tremendous increase in the temperature (~10000K) and pressure (~5000 atm) at the point of implosion that results in cleaving of water to generate hydroxyl radicals. The generation of in situ oxidising species results in the degradation of pollutant species through oxidation process. Thus, hydrodynamic cavitation is an easy to employ variant of advanced oxidation process that requires no catalyst. Further, it can be combined with other conventional wastewater treatment methods such as coagulation, adsorption or biological treatment for improved efficiency and cost reduction in the ETP. CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory has extensively worked in the area of wastewater treatment and has developed a new device based on vortex flow of fluid for hydrodynamic cavitation- Vortex Diode. Cavitation results in partial or total mineralization. A typical plant assembly requires installation of vortex diode device in the discharge line of high pressure pump. The cavitation technology, as such, does not employ any external addition of chemicals/catalyst or no heating is required

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Wastewater Treatment and operates at pump discharge pressure less than 3 bar for vortex diode. A large number of dye removal cases have been studied (e.g. reactive red, congo red, methyl blue, auramine O etc.) and it was found that the nature of the dye is important for degradation, apart from other processing parameters - most notably pressure drop across the vortex diode. Generally, pressure drop of 0.5 to 1.5 bar was found to be most suitable for degradation of variety of pollutants (Hiremath et al., 2013; Suryawanshi et al., 2017). The cavitation technology using vortex diode was also found to be highly effective in removal of ammoniacal nitrogen (Bhandari and Ranade, 2014). The process can also be intensified using aeration or by oxidising agents such as hydrogen peroxide.

Recommended Strategy for Dye Wastewater Treatment

A strategy involving comprehensive review of the process and effluent treatment options is recommended for best results in terms of effective plant management. A typical process plant can be viewed as a combination of reaction and separation where the input can be in the form of raw materials, solvents, catalyst etc. while the output mainly has product and byproducts apart from waste generation (gas/liquid/solid). Now that the so called green processes that generate no waste, rarely exist, it is imperative that the problem of waste management be resolved through evaluating and modifying the process (reaction) and/or separations. This requires careful identification of the pollutants and choice of raw materials to avoid/prevent generation of effluents that are difficult to treat. Thus replacing or substituting hazardous raw materials and

chemicals is one aspect that directly controls or positively impacts subsequent effluent treatment. Hence, selection of reactors, reactions, catalysts and separation units for high efficiency are crucial. If the process changes are not possible, the effluent treatment section needs to be evaluated for the best methodologies or their combination for resolving issues of pollution control. It should be noted that effluent treatment is often a complex issue requiring high cost of separation and can even threaten the very existence of the industry, if pollution control norms are not met adequately. Fig. 3 is a broad outline of the possible combinations of different physico-chemical and biological treatment processes, identifying possible improvements in existing methods, where possible. Hydrodynamic cavitation is one newer technology that can have a huge potential in process integration, shown schematically in Fig. 3 using dotted lines that connect possible operations. It is evident that cavitation can be a useful hybrid technology for the future.

Summary

Dye wastewater treatment is a highly challenging area, especially due to the presence of different types of dyes and the refractory nature of many dyes. In general, there are no ready solutions available and the nature of the dye dictates application of specific technology in most cases. However, close to 100% dye removal is possible by use of appropriate strategy in terms of materials and methods. Process improvements in the existing wastewater treatment facility can be achieved through use of appropriate coagulant formulations, biological treatments, selection of suitable adsorbents, and application of newer technologies such as cavitation using vortex diode, photocatalysis and use of

Fig. 3. Schematic process integration strategy for improved effluent treatment

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Wastewater Treatment nanomaterials along with process intensification. It is felt that in the complex world of dye wastewater treatment, no single technology is generally suitable and the best cost-effective solution to industrial problems can only be developed by appreciating benefits and limitation of the existing methods and by employing/ integrating newer treatment methodologies.

Acknowledgement

The authors, Dr. Bhandari and Dr. Balapure, would like to acknowledge the financial support of DST-WTI project (GAP 317526) of Department of Science and Technology, India.

References

9. Jain K, Shah V, Chapla D, Madamwar D. 2012. Decolorization and degradation of azo dye – Reactive Violet 5R by an acclimatized indigenous bacterial mixed cultures-SB4 isolated from anthropogenic dye contaminated soil. J. Hazard. Mater. 213-214: 378. 10. Kirti Saumaya, Bhandari Vinay M., Jena Jyotsnarani, Sorokhaibam Laxmi Gayatri, and Bhattacharyya Arnab S. 2018. Exploiting functionalities of biomass in nanocomposite development: Application in dye removal and disinfection along with process intensification. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy,1-14, DOI 10.1007/s10098-018-1519-1. 11. Prajapati Kavita, Sorokhaibam Laxmi Gayatri, Bhandari Vinay M., Killedar Deepak J. and Ranade V. V. 2016. Differentiating process performance of various coagulants in removal of Congo Red and Orange G dyes, International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering. Vol. 14 (1), 195–211, DOI: 10.1515/ijcre-2015-0083.

1. Balapure K H, Jain K, Chattraj S, Bhatt N, Madamwar D. 2014. Co-metabolic degradation of diazo dye – Reactive Blue 160 by enriched mixed culture BDN. J. Haz. Mat. 279: 85.

12. Ranade V. V., and Bhandari V. M. Eds. 2014. “Industrial wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse”, Elsevier, Amsterdam.

2. Balapure K, Bhatt N. Madamwar D. 2015. Mineralization of reactive azo dyes present in simulated textile wastewater using down flow microaerophilic fixed film bioreactor. Bioresour. Technol. 175: 1-7.

13. Sinha Tanur and Ahmaruzzaman M. 2015. High-value utilization of egg shell to synthesize Silver and Gold-Silver core shell nanoparticles and their application for the degradation of hazardous dyes from aqueous phase-A green approach, J. Colloid Interface Sci.,453, 115-131.

3. Balapure K, Jain K, Bhatt N, Madamwar D. 2016. Exploring bioremediation strategies to enhance the mineralization of textile industrial wastewater through sequential anaerobicmicroaerophilic process. Int. Biodeterior. Biodegr 106: 97105. 4. Bhandari Vinay M., Sorokhaibam Laxmi Gayatri and Ranade Vivek V. 2016., Industrial wastewater treatment for fertilizer industry- A case study, Desalination and Water Treatment, 1-11, DOI: 10.1080/19443994.2016.1186399. 5. Bhandari Vinay M. and Ranade Vivek V. 2014. Advanced physico-chemical methods of treatment for industrial wastewaters, in Ranade and Bhandari Eds. “Industrial wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse”, Elsevier, UK. 6. Chethana M., Laxmi Gayatri Sorokhaibam, Vinay M. Bhandari, S.Raja, Vivek V. Ranade. 2015. Application of Biocoagulant Acanthocereus tetragonus (Triangle cactus) in Dye wastewater Treatment. Journal of Environ. Res. Dev. Vol. 9 No. 3A, 813-821. 7. Chethana M., Laxmi Gayatri Sorokhaibam, Vinay M. Bhandari, S. Raja and Vivek V. Ranade. 2016. Green approach to Dye Wastewater Treatment using Biocoagulants. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 4(5), 2495-2507, DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.5b01553. 8. Hiremath R. S., Bhandari V. M. and Ranade V. V. 2013. Hydrodynamic cavitation for degradation of auramine O dye solution by vortex diode, Proceedings of AIChE Annual Meeting, “Global Challenges for Engineering a Sustainable Future”. San Francisco, U. S. A.

14. Sinha Tanur and Ahmaruzzaman M. 2016. Indigenous north eastern India fern mediated fabrication of spherical silver and anisotropic gold nano structured materials and their efficacy for the abatement of perilous organic compounds from waste water- A green approach, RSC Adv., 6, 2107621089. 15. Sinha Tanur and Ahmaruzzaman M. 2016. Photocatalytic decomposition behavior and reaction pathways of organic compounds using Cu nanoparticles synthesized via a green route, Photochem. Photobiol. Sci.,15, 1272-1281. 16. Sinha Tanur, Ahmaruzzaman M., Adhikari Partha Pratim and Bora Rekha. 2017. Green and environmentally sustainable fabrication of Ag-SnO2 nanocomposite and its multifunctional efficacy as photocatalyst, antibacterial and antioxidant agent, ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng., 5, 4645-4655. 17. Sorokhaibam Laxmi Gayatri, Bhandari Vinay M., Salvi Monal S., Jain Saijal, Hadawale Snehal D., and Ranade Vivek V. 2015. Development of Newer Adsorbents: Activated Carbons Derived from Carbonized Cassia fistula. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 54, 11844−11857. (DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.5b02945). 18. Suryawanshi Pravin G., Bhandari Vinay M., Sorokhaibam Laxmi Gayatri, Ruparelia Jayesh P., Ranade Vivek V. 2017. Solvent degradation studies using hydrodynamic cavitation. AIChE-Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy, DOI 10.1002/ep.12674.

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Waste Recovery

Wastewater Valorisation

– A sustainable approach for wastewater management Vikram Dhumal

Abstract Waste is material which for some reason or the other we are not utilising back in our manufacturing processes. This article reviews how wastes can be extracted from effluent and other waters and utilised. Various valorisation methods are described and the process of how to go about it.

anufacturing came into existence to produce goods and meet the requirements of humankind. Explosive population growth lead to increasing the demand of almost every material thing and this demand gave birth to industrialization. Industrialization helped to meet the increased demand however, the same Industrialization also excreted tremendous pressure on our natural resources such as clean Air and Water. Resource stressed scenario is seen worldwide. Majority of manufacturing processes generates wastewater with varying quantities and characteristics. Manufacturing puts pressure on water cycle in two ways: 1. Consumption of Fresh Water 2. Pollution in Water Bodies In comparison to other fresh water consumers such as agriculture and domestic, consumption of freshwater by manufacturing industry is low but the toxicity of wastewater generated by manufacturing industry especially by chemical industries is very high.

Manufacturing is necessary but at the cost of our natural resources? That’s today’s dilemma. In case of water, there is always a pull between Industrial and Domestic demand. In most of the cases, the domestic demand is always given priority and water supply is restricted to Industry. This is the same picture for many years near the Industrial Belt.

Wastewater: It is really a Waste ?

Waste is something which does not have any use and hence a commercial value. As per the conventional understanding, water generated during the course of manufacturing does not have value hence the same is termed as “Wastewater”. “Wastewater” needs to be “managed” with the lowest cost, as there is no possibility of revenue generation from the same. Reports indicate that pollution levels are increasing. Discharging of untreated wastewater in water bodies had been reported. Apathy by manufacturing industry towards Industrial Wastewater is turning Wastewater into a modern day evil and the cost associated with waste-

Vikram Dhumal is Head of Technology at Geist Research Pvt Ltd 88

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Waste Fertilizer Noise Reduction News &Recovery Views

Noise Reduction Fertilizer Waste News &Recovery Views

ergy norms: er mechanical items like pumps andapathy. flow equipments water treatment isCellulose the cause of this Carboxymethyl Market CAGR Projected Ammonia Plantoptions should have to limit noise generation. Velocity The question “Is wastewater really a Waste?” Grow at 5.2% Through 1. also Installation ofis reformer tubes of2027 higher is verytoimportant, as it is related tobetter noise/and for isMach a limitation of our understanding or imagimetallurgy gas Waste which is greater than 0.33 would have noise new research publication titled “Carboxymethyl nation. A Waste will remain as a waste untiliswe find greater than 85dBA. schedule increase anoth2. Upgradation andPipe use of multi-layer reformer cataCellulose Market: Global Industry Analysis (2012out a better use of it. Once it has a use, a waste will be er step for reduction in noise, as thickness of pipe wall lyst 2016) and Opportunity Assessment (2017-2027)” by converted into a value or revenue. would also reduce thereformer amount of exposed outdeof Future Market Insights focusesburners onnoise various market 3. Improvement of with improved Long time ago, a black, oily and viscous liquid was pipe line. velopments, trends, growth drivers and forecasts across ID/FD Fan configuration discovered which we in know today as effective crude oil.if For Reduction of noise a valve is not mul-a important regions. 4. Improvement ofblack heat recovery in the reformer very long time, this liquid was a source of nuitiple valvesfactors are placed the convection average noise will Several havetogether contributed to the growth of through additional coils in the section sance and had very limited uses such as medicines and be high due to cumulative effect of market, noise. For rotatthe global carboxymethyl cellulose such as, and plate type air pre-heater lubrication etc. By which mid ofnoise 19th Century petroleum reing equipments generated isunconvenvery high increase in theoffor upstream exploration for 5. Addition pre-reformer (more beneficial for fining came picture and the whole worldhowever found a they will be into normally placed inside a room, tional sources of energy, growth in end use industries naphtha feed) new source of energy and raw material. Thus, a great forfuel plant operators who needs development, to work near those into demand, new product economtechnology is able to convert a Waste into Wealth. 6. Improvement in CO-conversion catalyst with/ struments will be using PPE and same would reduce ic growth, high industrial growth and merger activiwithout guard isand another suchSimilarly, resource, the Industrial noise a Waste limitedWater extent not adoption fully. ties in the to petrochemical sector, rising of carwhich is waiting for a correct technology for its transremoval section with 7. Conversion to two-stage CO valves for anti-surge application, pressure reducing boxymethyl cellulose in different 2 applications, rising formation. Sustainability will assured when profitabilimproved solvent desuperheater can be placed with wall covered for demand for carboxymethyl cellulose in the personal ity is associated with wastewater. noise prevention. For the same, plants are located in and fore8. Improved design for CO2 absorber care and food internal and beverages industry, increasing remote location away from residential area. Also with In agriculture-based industry, many examples of generator cus towards reduction in production costs, technologirespect to growing population circumference of resiWaste Valorisation can be seen and now a days they cally advanced manufacturing infrastructure, superior 9. High efficiency tower packings in the CO2 removal dential area is extended thebased industrial area havesection been standard normskeeping e.g composting, biogas etc. properties of carboxymethyl cellulose products, in mind. Plant operators who are exposed to noise for growing pharmaceutical and personal industries the samefor concept is newcare in technologi10. However, Hydraulic turbine power recovery prolonged period are more prone to the hazards. This and in oil drilling operations are expected to callygrowth advanced Manufacturing Industry. 11. to Medium pressure condensate has be minimized byprocess conducting medicalrecovery awareness drive the growth of the global carboxymethyl cellulose Wastewater is a typically a mixture of various chemprogram to workers. Instruments location is very im12. Improved methanation catalyst market during the assessment period. However, high icals. Most of these chemicals are known. Interesting portant and noise generating should prices of products, slumpinstruments in/ which the oil are and gas 13. Final gasmore purification –chemicals, catalytic cryogenic /presmopoint to cosmetic be notes that the be located separately. So that, cumulative noise generindustry, increasing competition among local manulecular Sieve have ent in wastewater, significant price ation can be avoided. Every plant value/market should have insufacturers, and stringent environmental regulations 14. Make-up gaspresent chiller and additional chiller in are the when they are in pure form. However, in lation by to default to market limit the noise, growth irrespective of the reexpected revenue during loop hamper wastewater, because of the mixed nature, these chemiquirement of heat dissipation. forecast calsSGC loseperiod. their value.ammonia wash 15. inter-stage The global carboxymethylaims cellulose market isvalue segConclusion at generating 16. Wastewater Single-stageValorisation drive turbine for Synthesis Gas commented on the basis of grade type, application and refrom wastewater by three pressor Noise generation in a ways: valve cannot be nullified. gion. By grade type, high purity segment is estimatHowever, it can be reduced by above described meth1. Recover inconverter Recovered chem17. ammonia design and/or addied toImproved be the Chemicals largest with apure highform: market share. This is odsicals and in future more advanced methods of noise recan be recycled to the parent process thus retion ofpotential cold wallsegment converterfrom both revenue and a highly duction would be introduced. For controlling the prothe heat cost of fresh chemical purchase or these 18. ducing Improved recovery from synthesis boiler cesschemicals as desiredare wesold need to generating choose to reduce noiserevto thus additional 19. enue Membrane purge gas recovery avoid process disturbance and alsounit to provide safety

to plant design stage, if we focus more Urea Plantoperators. 2. Reduce the cost In of treatment: Once these chemicals on reducing noise perspective like process reducing; 1. Additional high efficiency trays in reactor or trays/ are recovered, the treatment cost of wastewater redropping additional traysstep by step, civil functions providduces. pressure ing additional supports for reducing vibrations and 2. Replacement of conventional stripper with bimetal3. Reduce the cost of fresh water purchase: In cases reducing sudden change in pipe orientation by using lic stripper where post chemical recovery water recycle is poscurved pipe design and control system opting for opsible, recovery the cost of fresh water can be saved. 3. Heat from decomposer Wastewaterofvalorisation not only generates rev4. Installation MP pre-decomposer enue from waste but also helps to before minimize the envi5. Installation of pre-concentrator vacuum ronmental impact of toxic waste. Investment in Waste 6. Upgradation of urea hydrolyzer Valorization can give attractive payback. In few cases, 7. Utilization of offofgases washing column estimated payback 3 to 5from yearsinert is possible.

growth perspectives. It is projected tonoise growapplication at a or CAGR and source use as fuel in Management ammonia plant reformer boilPresent Waste Water Scenario timum or path treatment for of 5.5% during the forecast period. ers. Today valve most of the technologies wastewaterNoise treatin control is more efficient andofproductive. ment are cost centric. These technologies treat particuBy application, and beverages segment follimitation should befood followed strictly throughout the Many manufacturing plants in India have already lar type wastewater invariably resulting abenecost. lowed byof detergent segment expected to highly plant with norms same seriousness as thatinto of adopted these measures and are have reaped thecarbon Almost allwaste newer technologies talks about how the latcontribute to the treatment growth of plant the global market. food emission, that are controlled by fits of lower energy consumption. However, itThe must be est technology will lower the cost in tofastthe and beverages segment tocomparison grow at the pollution control board as noise isvintage also pollution. borne in mind that dueis toprojected plant it may not alexisting technologies. est pace the coming years. a particular scheme or ways be in possible to implement Standards: some schemes. Thecarboxymethyl timeline suchtechnologies implemenLets take a the closer look at for the each existing By region, cellulose market in 1. OSHA noise tation will vary andOccupational each manufacturer needs to havetoa which are-1910.95considered asJapan Industry Standards. Asia Pacific excluding (APEJ) isexposure estimated long-term perspective plan developed. grow at a high CAGR to reach a significant valuation 2. Control Valve aerodynamic noise predicA. ISA In a75.17conventional biomass based systems, a low during tion TDSthe &assessment moderate period. COD containing wastewater Energy Efficiency Through Fertilizer Application streams are first conditioned correct pH etc. The 3. IEC 60534-8-4:2015 Industrial for process control valves One of the important areas of energy consumption stream is Control then sentto microbes for consumption of 4. ISA 75.01 Valve which required attention issizing the application of fertilizCOD and produce the biomass, which again has to 5. 75.07 Measures Laboratorytomeasurement of noise ersISA to crops. improve the use of fertilizers be disposed off. are the responsibility of the farmer. Therefore, the effiB. In use caseofoffertilizers wastewater streams with moderate concient is more controllable by farmers centration of dissolved solids, first, the stream goes (and is thus more directly applicable to farmers) than to Reverse forofincreasing the is the efficient Osmosis production fertilizers. Theconcentraprincipal Subscribe to tion of dissolved solids. The reject obtained goes opportunities for increasing the efficiency of fertilizer CHEMICAL INDUSTRY DIGEST to evaporation system. In case of high TDS stream, use are: the stream directly goes to evaporation system. leading chemical & engineering • India’s Applying fertilizers efficiently: apply monthly appropriate Evaporation System helps to recover water but in amount ofbe nutrients at the required location. And ahead always in the industry the process generates mixed salts. As the mixed

Chemical Industry Digest. October 2017 Chemical Industry Digest. April 2018 Chemical Industry Digest.June December 2017 Chemical Industry Digest. 2018

63 55 2789

Waste Recovery salts does not have any value, they has to be disposed off to secured landfills. C. In case of high Organics containing streams, the material is incinerated. Incineration process generates gaseous pollutants and residue/ash. Gaseous pollutants needs to be contained by absorption this generating secondary wastewater and residue/ash needs to be disposed off. As can be seen, most of the present technologies convert one type of waste to other type of waste at the expense of energy. An unmanageable waste is converted to a manageable waste at cost. Since cost is a pain, many small scale industries could not afford these solutions and end up adopting “Short-Cuts”. Scenario of untreated wastewater going in water bodies are perfect examples of these “Short-Cuts”. If technology can generate profit from wastewater then the same can become sustainable. Wastewater valorisation aims for the same.

rization technologies.

Basics of Wastewater Valorisation

New Thinking

Step-1: Segregation of Wastewater streams: As per the conventional treatment philosophy, all wastewater stream are collected in equalization tank prior to treatment. However this step is against the wastewater valorisation concept. Implementation of Wastewater valorisation after equalization tank create following technical difficulties a. Concentration Reduction: Wastewater Valorisation Technologies are generally separation processes, which works better with higher concentration of targeted chemical. When the concentration reduces, separation before challenging thus increasing the operating cost of Wastewater Valorization Technologies b. Increased Hydraulic Load: Post equalization, the composite stream volume goes up. Again implementation of Wastewater Valorisation Technologies after equalization leads to larger equipment resulting in higher capital expenditure. Step-2: Complete Characterization of Wastewater: Conventionally wastewater is the most neglected part of the manufacturing process. The wastewater is generally characterised from treatment point of view such as Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Dissolved Solids etc. In order to understand the value associated with the wastewater, its correct characterization i.e estimation of chemical composition and identification of chemicals present is wastewater is the deciding factor for successful implementation of valo90

Step-3: Identification of Correct Technologies Wastewater valorisation technologies are separation process based on chemical engineering principles. Chemical Engineering Unit Operations are basics of Valorisation Technologies. Some of the examples of Wastewater valorisation technologies are as follows: a. Selective Crystallization of Sodium Sulphate from Textile effluent b. Selective Extraction of Acetic Acid from mixed wastewater streams c. Recovery of Solvents from mixed solvents or wastewater Large amount of literature is available which is published by Academia for chemical recovery from wastewater. A thorough literature search provide insight about the available alternatives for wastewater valorisation. Conventionally the boundary of manufacturing ends at production of required material. Effluent treatment is a separate section in manufacturing setup and Production Team is not much concerned about the same. However, every Production Manager, Technical Team should look at Wastewater for its valorisation potential. Top Management of the manufacturing company, Manufacturing Heads, Effluent Plant Managers should look at wastewater stream closely and explore the possibility of valorisation. The strategic planner should choose sustainable Valorisation Technologies rather than quick-fixes such as Treatment Technologies. Manufacturers producing similar products can join hand to create a Waste Valorisation Facility. This is particularly helpful for small-scale manufacturing companies. The partners along with the revenue generated can share the CAPEX burden. Wastewater Valorisation has a potential change the approach of the manufacturing industry towards wastewater and make its management sustainable.

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Biotreatments

Biofilter for the deodourization of industrial emissions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Sustainable and low cost solution for Indian Industry A Gangagni Rao, Bharath Gandu, Kranti Kuruti

Abstract Gaseous emissions from various industries pose problem to human and environmental health. Stringent environmental legislations enforced by government agencies, have led polluting industries to adopt effective air pollution treatment processes to comply with these regulations. Industrial waste gases are traditionally being treated by physico-chemical methods like adsorption, scrubbing, condensation, etc. Biological waste gas treatment represents a new treatment alternative. The suitability and performance of biological methods for the treatment of a wide range of organic and inorganic compounds has been proven at pilot level and ac-cordingly their implementation and use at industrial scale is currently growing exponentially compared to physico-chemical technologies. Biological methods are the most cost-effective and sustainable technologies as the contaminants are degraded into innocuous or less contaminating products unlike in physico-chemical methods where the contaminant is simply transferred from one phase to another. This article reviews the biological methods of for the treatment of emissions causing noxious odour.

Dr A. Gangagni Rao is Chief Scientist at CSIRIndian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad. He has about 28 years of research experience in the field of biological waste management (anaerobic digestion) and biological gas purification. The technologies developed by him are commercially proven in the field and working successfully. He is retained as advisory consultant by reputed companies and he has won several prestigious awards. He has 50 research publications and 4 patents to his credit.

Dr Bharath Gandu has obtained his Doctoral degree under the guidance of Dr A Gangagni Rao. Presently carrying out his post-doctoral studies in Israel and expertise in the areas of biological gas purification, anaerobic digestion and bioelectrochemical cells.

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Kranti Kuruti is pursuing Doctoral studies in Engineering sciences (AcSIR) under the guidance of Dr A Gangagni Rao. His exper-tise is in the areas of biogas, bioethanol, biological gas purification, and volatile fatty acid generation from various organic substrates.

Biotreatments

Introduction

alodourous gases (volatile organic compounds and volatile inorganic compounds (VOC & VIC)) emitted from various industries pose problem to human and environmental health and this affects the image of company also. However, this problem has not received sufficient attention till recently. Gaseous emissions having volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and volatile inorganic compounds (VICs) that cause odour problem is encountered in various industrial sectors such as refineries, latex processing, pharmaceuticals sectors, tanneries, waste treatment plants, poultry farms, fish processing facilities etc. [1,2]. Therefore, gaseous emission control is very much essential not only due to problems to public, but also from the VOCs and VICs removal point of view. Industrial waste gases have traditionally been treated by physicochemical techniques such as absorption, adsorption, condensation, thermal, catalytic incineration and membrane separation. Advanced oxidation processes are most popular among techniques. Biological waste gas treatments represent a new treatment alternative. Four major bioreactor designs are: biofilter, bio trickling filter, bio scrubber and membrane bioreactors. Amongst these biofilter, biotrickling and bioscrubber technologies have largely been accepted by industry, but membrane bioreactors are still in developmental stage.

Physico-chemical methods

The most common non-biological treatment technologies are absorption, adsorption, oxidation and thermal methods. These can be used as standalone processes or in combination with bioprocesses[3]. The physical methods involve transfer of waste gas from one phase to another phase such as transfer to a solid or liquid media. Following is the brief outline of the above processes.

Physical treatment Generally masking is done to control the bad odour. Masking involves addition of pleasant smell compounds to overcome undesirable odour [4]. This method may be applicable where area of bad odour spreading is small and the concentration is low. In fact, masking of the odorous components is a temporary solution only even for small area. Hence, masking method is unsuitable for the purification of the waste gases emanating industrial sectors where the quantity is high. Thermal or Catalytic incineration Thermal incineration aided by catalysts is very fast, 92

takes less than a second. It ensures 99% destruction of virtually all organic compounds [5]. Such systems are designed to handle a capacity of 1000 to 500,000 cfm (cubic feet per minute) and VOCs concentration ranges from 100 to 2000 ppmV. But it consumes large quantity of fuel and is therefore an expensive process. Since the operating temperature is 710oC to 980oC incineration produces NOx which should be captured and treated before dispensing, thus adding to the expenditure. Halogenated compounds are converted to their acidic counterpart and it may necessitate the use of expensive corrosion resistant materials of construction and use of additional acid gas controls such as scrubbing as follow up treatment. In addition, there are concerns regarding the formation of dioxins when chloro organic contaminants are incinerated. Catalysts and heat recovery methods can reduce fuel costs but it needs greater capital and maintenance costs. The method of catalytic combustion can only be used with well-defined waste gases, since poisoning of catalyst is likely to take place by certain compounds.

Oxidation It is one of the emerging purification techniques for both wastewater and waste gases due to its versatility and high effectiveness at low temperatures. Oxidation processes are either chemical or photo catalytic. This mechanism primarily depends on the characteristics of irradiation, photo catalyst and concentration of the oxidants [6]. Recent studies have shown greater removal of VOCs by a combined O3/TiO2/UV process, as excess ozone molecules could scavenge hydroxyl radicals produced from the excitation of TiO2 by UV radiation [7, 8] . The reaction in several instances is quite fast and removal efficiency often exceeds 90%. Chemical oxidation is ineffective for hydrocarbons [9, 10]. Absorption or Scrubbing Absorption or scrubbing is a diffusion mass transfer operation by which soluble gaseous pollutants are removed by direct dissolution in an absorbent liquid. Absorption or scrubbing is one of the most frequently used technologies for controlling the concentration of VOCs and VICs (odorous compounds) before they are discharged into the atmosphere [11]. It involves the transfer of the pollutant from the gas phase to the liquid phase across the interface in response to a concentration gradient with the concentration decreasing in the direction of mass transfer. A key variable of this process is the selection of a suitable liquid absorbent. Scrubbing with water: VOCs and VICs from air stream can be removed by scrubbing with water using sieve plate column, spray chamber etc. Counter cur-

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Biotreatments rent operation is most common in packed scrubbers for waste gas purification. Treatment of contaminated water by biological or chemical methods before disposal is required that adds to the capital and operating cost of the integrated process. The limitation of the process is that it is applicable for waste gas containing water soluble compounds only [12]. Scrubbing with solvents: The VOCs and VICs from gas stream can be scrubbed with suitable solvents (Ex: Hydrogen peroxide, sodium hypochlorite, etc.) and the solvent can be regenerated appropriately. The costs involved in regeneration are expensive. The major drawback of this technology is the necessity to dissolve the gaseous pollutants in an aqueous phase. This is critical, as residence time of the gas phase in the absorption column is short. Scrubbing is therefore of interest for gaseous compounds with a Henryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Constant (or) parti-tion coefficient of less than 0.01. This is of major importance since most of the target odours causing compounds are volatile and poorly soluble in most of the solvents and water [13].

Membrane technology In a typical membrane separator [10], the waste gas stream is fed to an array of membrane modules, where organic solvents preferentially permeate the membrane. The organics in the permeate stream are then condensed and removed as liquid for recycle or recovery. The purified gas stream is removed as the residue. Transport through the membrane is induced by maintaining the higher vapor pressure on the permeate (downstream) side of the membrane and lower vapor pressure on the feed (upstream) side. In some cases, a vacuum pump is required on the permeate side to maintain this driving force. A compound permeates the membrane at a rate determined by its permeability in the membrane material and partial pressure (driving force). In some systems, the feed stream is compressed on the feed side of the membrane to provide the pressure drop for the membrane and to allow operation of the solvent condenser at a higher temperature.

Biological methods

Biological methods play a very important role in the control of VOCs and VICs gases that are emitted by polluting industries. Although several different configurations exist, there are three basic types of biological reactor systems used to treat waste gases: biofilters, bio trickling filters and bioscrubbers [14]. These can be grouped into two types. In bioscrubbers micro-organisms are dispersed freely throughout the liquid phase and in biotrickling filters, biofilters and membrane bio-

reactors microorganisms are immobilized or attached on a packing/ carrier material/membrane. In bioscrubbers and biotrickling filters the water phase is continuously moving, whereas in biofilters it is stationary. A bioscrubber consists of a scrubber unit and a regeneration unit. In the scrubber (absorption column), water soluble gaseous pollutants are absorbed and partially oxidized in the liquid phase (the culture medium containing the microorganisms), which is distributed from the top of the unit [12-13]. The contaminated water is subsequently transferred into an aerated stirred tank reactor (regeneration unit), like an activated sludge unit, where the contaminants are fully biodegraded. The regenerated suspension is continuously re-circulated to the top of the scrubber section, thereby enhancing efficiency. The polluted air flows through a biologically active bed, where micro-organisms are attached in the form of a biofilm. As the gas diffuses through the packed bed, the pollut-ants are transferred to the biolayer and degraded. To ensure optimal operation of biofilters, the inlet gas usually requires pre-treatment process such as particular removal in order to prevent possible clogging and sludge build up, load equalization in case the waste gas concentration is subject to strong fluctuations, temperature control and humidification. In biological trickling filters the packed beds consist only of inert materials (glass, ceramics, and plastics) while the liquid phase, containing inorganic nutrients, flows with the contami-nated gaseous stream and is continuously re circulated through the bioreactor. Bioscrubbers and biotrickling filters are applicable mainly to the treatment of waste gases containing good or moderately water-soluble compounds, whereas biofilters, due to the large surface area available for mass transfer, are also suited to treat poorly water soluble compounds. Moreover, due to their high reaction selectivity, biofilters are particularly suitable for treating large volumes of air containing easily degradable pollutants with relatively low concentrations, typically 1,000 ppm. Compared with the other biological systems, biofilters have the widest application because they are easy to operate, simply structured, and imply low installation and operating/maintenance costs. Also, the reliability of biofilter operation is higher than that of bioscrubbers, where the risk exists of washing away the active microorganisms. Moreover, the presence of a large amount of packing material with a buffering capacity diminishes the sensitivity of biofilters to different kinds of fluctuations. Because the major disadvantage is the difficult control of parameters like

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Biotreatments pH, temperature and nutrient supply, biofilters may includes [3] benzene, toluene, hydrogen sulfide, carbon unsuitable disulfide, dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl dilargebebed volumes for are degrading applied [14]halogenated . Biotrickling compounds filters and Biofilters are mercaptans, currently utilized (as acid metabolites are produced) and treating gas sulfide, ammonia, methanol, ethanol, propanol, bustreams containing high concentrations of VOCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, un- and tanol, aldehydes, butyraldehyde, pyridines acetone, mainly in compost production plants, sewage treatment plant, agriculture, whereas biofilless long residence times or large bed volumes are ap- styrene, xylene, methylene chloride, di and tri chloro[14] . Biotrickling andin Biofilters areapplications. currently methane, tri and details tetra chloroethene, nitrogen oxides, ters plied and bioscrubbers are filters preferred industrial The comparative are utilized mainly in compost production plants, sewage isopentenyl, gasoline derived VOCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, triethylamine, [15-18] treatment . Biofiltration in its simplest form involves the shown Table 1. plant, and agriculture, whereas biofil-ters etc. and bioscrubbers are preferred in industrial applica- passing of air through a biologically active filter mations. The comparative details are shown Table 1. terial to be cleaned through biological oxidation procTable1: Biological waste gas purification reactors comparison esses. The filter material Table 1: Biological waste gas purification reactors comparison used may have virtually any composition as long as it Bioreactor Waste gas Pressure Capital Operational Bioprocess type supports biological activity. drop Cost Cost Control concentration The biological processes (g/m3) in a biofilter system take place in the water compoBiofilter <1 Low Low Low Low nent of the filter material [19]. Bio trickling <0.5 Low Low Low Low All activity occurs in the biofilter layer or biofilm surrounding the inert support. The heart Bioscrubber <5 Very Low Medium Medium High of the process is the biolayer. Membrane bioHigh Evaluation High High Evaluation reThe biolayer is the biologireactor required quired cally active water layer that exists within the matrix of Biofilter the filter material. The odour control using biofilter technology is 3.1 Biofilter As the odorous compounds pass through the filrapidly gaining popularity around the world. The inter material they are absorbed into the biolayer. The use of using this technology is a result of levels of microorganisms The creased odour control biofilter technology is new rapidly gaining popularity aroundpresent the world. in the system use these odorunderstanding and the cost advantages of the technolThe ogy increased uselife of this technology is aBiofiltration result of new over the of the equipment. is levels of understanding and the cost Occasional irrigation now regarded as a mature technology rather than Depolluted air advantages the technology over the of the equipment. Biofiltration is now regarded as a new of process. Biofiltration is alife relatively new odour (VOCs and VICs) control technology. It a mature technology rather than a newof process. Biofiltration is a relatively new odour (VOCs was first used for the treatment off gases from wastewater of chemical manufacturing facilities, and VICs) controlprocessing technology. It wascomposting first used foroperathe treatment of off gases from wastewater solid waste plants, Nutrient solution tions etc. The schematic flow diagram of biofilter of chemical facilities, solid waste processing plants, composting operations is shownmanufacturing in Fig. 1. Bed made from

In the biofilter, the volatile organic or odour organic materials etc. The schematic flow diagram of biofilter is shown acin Fig.1. laden gases are passed through a biologically tive porous media. The decomposition of the pollutants is carried out by microorganisms growing on the solid carrier, which forms the porous media. Soluble compounds in the gas stream partition into a liquid film (biolayer) surrounding the media. The compounds in the liquid film are available for biodegradation by a resident microPolluted air bial population. The microbial population mobiPossible recycling of lizes the hydrocarbons mainly to CO2 and H2O. waste solutions Compounds shown to be degraded in a biofilter Figure 1: Biofilter (Shareefdeen and Singh,2005) 94

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Biotreatments ous compounds as part of their food source for energy production and reproduction. The compounds taken up by the microorganisms are biologically degraded to CO2 and H2O [20]. The biolayer has several roles in Biofiltration including: • Supplying the aqueous environment for bacterial life. • Supplying the nutrients for biological activity. • Acting as the water/air interface for transport of the air components to be treated. • Acting as the recipient of the by-products of reaction. Different configurations of biofilters are being employed depending upon the application and performance requirements taking into consideration the techno economics. The details are shown Table 2. Mechanism of Biofilter: Biofilter is a two-phase process consisting of: 1. The transfer of the compounds from the gas phase to water phase (Biofilm phase) The speed of this process is dependent on the solu-

bility and partial pressure of the com-pound and is best estimated using Henry’s law constant for the compound. 2. The oxidation of the absorbed compound by the bacterial species present in the filter.

The kinetics of this is based on the enzymatic capacity of the bacteria to use the compound as a food or energy source. A further complication is the ability of the biolayer to eliminate the byproducts of the reactions in order to prevent end product inhibition. The principle is like conventional biofilm processes and is shown schematically in the Fig. 2. First, a constituent compound in the gas phase crosses the interface between gas flowing in the pore space and the aqueous film surrounding the solid matter. Then it diffuses to a consortium of acclimatized microorganisms. Finally, the microorganisms obtain energy from oxidation of the compound as a primary substrate or it is co-metabolized via nonspecific enzymes. Simultaneously, there is diffusion and uptake of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous in available forms from the filter media and oxygen from the gas. A properly designed and operated biofilter conTable 2: Different types of Biofilter configurations tinuously maintains concentration Table 2: Different types of Biofilter configurations gradient and driving diffusive System type Description Advantages Disadvantages Application transport in the biofilm [14,21]. The volatile organic compounds presSingle open bed, Simple deVariable perUsed in full Single layer, ent in the waste gas as well as oxyapprox. 1m deep sign, lowest formance, diffiscale for odour open bed gen, are partially dissolved in the media composed maintenance cult to monitor control of composts and limited process cost liquid phase of the biolayer and porous oils, vented control, space are degraded or consumed by aerin air requirement obic microbial activity. In this way a concentration gradient is created 1m deep single Simple deLarge space reFull/pilot bench Single layer layer biofilter me- sign, inquirement, limscale operation in the biolayer, which maintains a Closed bed dia, composed of creased proc- ited to one type for VOC’s. continuous mass flow of the commixture of organic ess control, of application ponent from the gas to the wet material and bulk- fairly low biolayer. The volatile metabolic ing agents, concost, easy to products like CO2 diffuses to the tained in a closed monitor gas phase and are transported in unit the axial flow direction and leave Closed, separate Small space, Increased design Few in full Multilayer the bed with the exit gas [21]. The cost, complex supporting blocks better flexiscale organic nutrients are necessary for bility operation microbial life. These nutrients are Series of single Highest cost, Most flexible Multistage Not in full scale transported by diffusion from the intensive oplayer bio filters filter media material to the microeration organisms. Natural materials such Separate module Good flexiPatented, Modular High cost as humus, compost, peat, wood of removable filter bility & commercially chips, rice husk, coconut coir, process conavailable media trays pith and other related substances trol, easy (Biocube) generally contain these nutrients monitoring in sufficient quantity. These ma-

3.1.1 Mechanismof Biofilter

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Biofilter is a two-phase process consisting of 1.

The transfer of the compounds from the gas phase to water phase (Biofilm phase) The speed of this process is dependent on the solubility and partial pressure of the com-

Biotreatments

Fig. 2: Pollutant Penetration and Degradation mechanism in Bio filter Ci â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Initial Concentration of Pollutant Co â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Outlet Concentration of Pollutant

terials also possess buffering capacity for neutralizing acidity or alkalinity formed by oxidation. The elementary nutrients are subjected to a recycling during the operation of the biofilter after the dying off the microbes. Mineralisation processes liberate these nutrients. As the efficiency of recycling is less than 100%, the media material will be eventually being exhausted must generally be renewed after several years of operation [21]. Due to the small size of the particles (few mm) and the compounds to be transferred is generally water insoluble, the mass transfer resistance in the gas phase can generally be neglected. During the elimination of VOC, heterotrophic micro-organismsare predominant comparatively autotrophic microorganisms, most often being bacteria or fungi. The bed inoculation depends on both the nature of the filtering materials and the VOC biodegradability level. Many reviews have suggested taking advantage of the ecosystems indigenous to the beds [22-24]. After an acclimatization period, the most resistant populations are naturally selected and a microbial hierarchy is established in the bed. In many other cases (materials with low biomass density, recalcitrant VOC, reduction of acclimatization period), researchers inoculate the beds with consortia, extracted from sewage sludge, for example, or strains derived from either commercial sources or isolated from previously operated biofilters. Biofiltration is effective in removing hazardous compounds like acetaldehyde, butadiene, cresols, ethylbenzene, formaldehyde, methanol, styrene with high biodegradability and acetonitrile, benzene, carbon disulphide, hexane, methylene chloride, methyl ethyl ketone, phenol, toluene, xylene with medium biodegradability. 96

The advantages of biofiltration are that it is very cost effective and efficient method to eliminate odorous contaminants and other VOCs, which are present in low concentration in the waste gas stream. This method offers complete destruction of contaminants rather than transferring them to another media. This method can be used for both organic as well as inorganic compounds [3]. Types of filter material: The filter matrix of a biofilter has been constructed from many materials over the past century [25, 26].Examples of media include the following: soil mixtures, compost, bark, coconut coir pith, peat, carbons and mixtures of the above. All of these types of media have been successful to some extent. The biofilter bed material improves in terms of the biofilm integrity and surface area, then the biofilter efficiency increases and accordingly size of the biofilter decreases for similar applications [27]. An effective biofilter medium should have the following characteristics: high specific surface area for development of a microbial biofilm and gas-biofilm mass transfer, high porosity to facilitate homogeneous distribution of gases, a good water retention capacity to avoid bed drying, presence and availability of intrinsic nutrients, and presence of a dense and diverse indigenous microflora.

Biotrickling filter Biological trickling filters (BTFs) combine pollutant absorption and biodegradation in the same reactor. Pollutant degrading bacteria are naturally immobilized on a packing material which is either a random packing or a three-dimensional structure. In biotrickling filter, the gas is carried through a packed bed, which is continuously irrigated with an aqueous solution containing essential nutrients required by the biological system. Several studies have shown that the choice of a co or counter current configuration for liquid and gaseous phases does not influence the biodeg-radation performance [28]. Microorganisms grow on the packing material as biofilm. The pollutant to be treated is initially absorbed by the aqueous film that surrounds the bi film, and then the biodegradation takes place within the biofilm. The filtering material used in a biotrickling filter has to facilitate the gas and liquid flows through the bed, favour the development of the micro flora, and should resist crushing and compaction. Biotrickling filter packing that best meet these specifications are made from inert materials such as resins, ceramics, polyurethane foam etc. As they are made from inert or synthetic material, biotrickling filters need to be inoculated with suitable microbial culture [29]. The use of ac-

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Biotreatments

Depolluted air

Bed made from inert materials, inoculated

Continuous trickling

Nutrient solution

mass in the filter bed. Some reviews have demonstrated that, in the course of the process, the biofilm thickness can achieve several millimetres [34, 35] , which can cause problems that lead to performance loss [30]: pressure drop increases, bed channelling, and the creation of anaerobic zones. Accumulation re-moved by the back washings with water are the most efficient and certainly the least drastic for the ecosystem [36]. Nevertheless, the biotrickling filter technology is still employed to a lesser extent than biofiltration, which is certainly related to its more consequential operating costs and to the VOC solubility restrictions.

Bioscrubber Bioscrubbers are reactors in which the gaseous pollutants are first absorbed in a free liquid phase prior to biodegradation by either suspended or immobilized microorganisms. The microPolluted air bial process occurs either in the absorber or in a Waste solutions separate bioreactor after absorption of the polpossible recycling lutants [13]. Bioscrubbing consists of the absorption of a pollutant in an aqueous phase, which Figure 3: Biotrickling filter (Delhomenie and Heitz,2005) is then treated biologically in a second stage in tivated sludge as initial microbial inoculums has been a liquid phase bioreactor. The effluent treated in the extensively reported. The schematic flow diagram of liquid phase reactor is recalculated to the absorption biotrickling filter is shown in Fig.3. column. This technology allows for good gas cleaning In biotrickling filters, the contact between the mi- when the gaseous pollutants are highly water-soluble. croorganisms and the pollutants occurs after the VOC If the absorption solution is water then one can say diffusion in the liquid film, the liquid flow rate and the that it is a biological process, but all the compounds [23] recycling rate are recognized to be critical parameters of waste air or gas are not soluble in water . Only for BTF operation. Studies are revealed that an increase some compounds in waste gas are soluble in water and in the liquid flow rate should result in proportional some other are partly soluble. Different type of absorpincrease in the active exchange surface for gas liquid tion solutions are to be used in these systems. At this mass transfer, and then improve the degradation rate stage, if the absorption solution used for scrubbing is [30] . Some researchers have shown that maintaining other than water, then the process may be called as biominimum water and nutrient supply is sufficient to chemical method. It is a combination of both chemical achieve good performance [31, 32]. In addition, as the dis- and biological methods. Absorption is one of the most tribution and the recycling of nutrient solutions add to frequently used techniques for controlling the conenergy costs, other studies suggest that the optimum centrations of gaseous pollutants before they are disrecycling and distribution flow rates have to be found charged into the atmosphere. It involves the transfer experimentally and on a case-by-case basis [33]. BTFs of the pollutant from the gas phase to the liquid phase find wide application in VOC and odour treatment. across the interface in response to a concentration graAs compared to conventional compost or soil bed bio- dient; with concentration decreasing in the direction of [12] filters which are generally limited to the elimination mass transfer . The schematic flow diagram of bioof odorous compounds and no chlorinated volatile scrubber is shown in Fig.4. organic compounds, a wider range of pollutants can Bioscrubbers being operated presently use activatpotentially be treated in BTFs. This is because, envi- ed sludge derived from wastewater treatment plants ronmental conditions can be better controlled in the as in oculums[37,38]. In some cases, bioreactors are diBTFs and potentially toxic dead-end metabolites can rectly inoculated with specific degrading strains. The be purged out of the system. The major drawback of residence time for such bioreactors range between 20 biotrickling filters is the accumulation of excess bio- and 40 days and these are operated practically as acChemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Biotreatments Depolluted air

Gas phase

Aqueous solution

Activated sludge, suspended in a nutrient solution

Absorption column

Liquid phase

O2 Water Organic pollutants Nutrients (N, S, P, etc)

Bioreactor Membrane

Biofilm

Figure 5: Schematic diagram of Membrane bioreactor unit Polluted air

Waste solutions containing the pollutants

Figure 3: Bioscrubber (Delhomenie and Heitz,2005)

tivated sludge processes including recycle of sludge. Part of the treated solution is recycled for absorption of VOCs to the absorption unit. Substantial modifications in bioscrubber design have been done in the recent past to enhance their performance for VOC and odour treatment. Some modified bioscrubbers are sorptive slurry bioscrubber, Anoxic bioscrubber, Two-liquid phase bioscrubber, Airlift bioscrubber and Spray column bioscrubbers.

Membrane bioreactors Membrane bioreactors were designed as alternative to conventional bioreactors for waste gas treatment. The membrane bioreactor allows the selective permeation of the pollutant, which is not allowed in any of the reactors discussed previously. The concentration difference between the gas phase and the biofilm phase provides the driving force for diffusion across the membrane. The driving force depends strongly on the air water partition coefficient of the diffusing volatile component. For components with a high partition coefficient the driving force for mass transfer is small [39] . The schematic flow diagram of membrane bioreactor is shown in Fig. 5. In a membrane bioreactor, the membrane serves as the interface between the gas phase and the liquid phase (Fig. 5)[39]. The gasâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;liquid interface thus created (e.g. in hollow fibre reactors) is larger than in other types of gasâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;liquid contactors [40]. Two types of membrane materials have been used to prevent mixing of the gas and liquid phases and simultaneous transfer of 98

volatile components. These types are hydrophobic micro porous membrane and dense membrane. All studies carried out on membrane reactors are laboratory scale experiments. To the best of our knowledge, no reports are available on pilot plant investigations or fullscale applications of membrane reactors in biological waste gas treatment. Membrane modules appear relatively easy to scale up given their modular nature [41]; however, an extensive long-term performance testing is necessary before they can be applied on full scale.

Biological purification of industrial gaseous emissions

As already mentioned, odour elimination was the initial aim of waste gas treatment. Previously, biological processes for the removal of malodorous compounds were widely used in only a few developed countries, but due to its advantages, recently, it is spreading to developing countries also. The most extensively studied compounds are sulphur and nitrogen containing compounds. The removal of odours from waste water treatment plants was first installed in 1923 and the ear-liest patent was probably obtained in 1934 [42]. It was reported that elimination capacities vary from few grams to more than 200 g/m3/h for several VICs with removal efficiencies often above 90%[43]. VOC emissions comprise a wider range of possible contaminating compounds than the VICs. Many VOCs are released from industrial activities as well as from the treatment of solid or liquid wastes and in soil remediation also. VOCs include halogenated and nonhalogenated aliphatic and aromatic pollutants. The

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Biotreatments Table 3: Examples of biofilters application in industries Type of Industry

Off gas Characterization

Volumetric Flow

Temp

Application

Efficiency

Aromatic substances

Waste gas from production

6000 m3/hr

290C

Odour removal

Off gas odour not perceptible

Beer yeast drying

Waste gas from production and facilities

20000 m3/hr

30–350C

Odour removal, volatile organic compounds, Ammonia, Organically bound carbon, Organically basic N-compounds, Total aldehydes, Total organic acids

Off gas odour not perceptible, 70% (VOC), 91% (ammonia), 87% (Organically bound carbon). 81% (Organically basic N-compounds), 99% (Total aldehydes), 63% (Total organic acids)

Rayon Industry

Waste gas from rayon production

2925 m3/hr

25-30°C

Hydrogen Sulfide and Carbon Disulfide removal

88% (Hydrogen Sulfide) and 57% (Carbon Disulfide)

Fine Chemical

Scrubber waste gas with tetrahydrofurane

1000 m3/hr

25°C

Tetrahydrofurane removal

100 gram per m3 of filter

Resin processing

Waste gas from storage tanks and reactor

4310 m3/hr

28°C

Odour removal

Off gas odour not perceptible (98%)

Cocoa roasting

Waste gas from roasting and milling

4100 m3/hr

28-38°C

Odour removal

Off gas odour not perceptible (99%)

Type of Industry

Off gas Characterization

Volumetric Flow

Temp

Application

Efficiency

Waste gas from conditioning

30,000 m3/hr

25-35°C

Odour removal, volatile organic compounds, Ammonia, Organically bound carbon, Total aldehydes, Total organic acids

Off gas odour not perceptible, 23% (VOC), 100% (ammonia), 21% (Organically bound carbon), 100% (Total aldehydes), 35% (Total organic acids)

Polyster production

Waste gases from production reactor for polyster

1000 m/hr

20-30°C

Odour removal. Volatile Organic Compounds, Organically bound carbon

Off gas odour not perceptible ( 88% ), 79%( Volatile Organic Compounds), 80% (Organically bound carbon)

Tobacco Processing

Waste gas from tobacco processing

22000 m3/hr

10-40°C

Odour removal

Off gas odour not perceptible

Gelatin production

Waste gas from production and facilities waste air

75000 m/hr

20-30°C

Odour removal. Organically bound carbon, Total aldehydes. Ammonia

Pharmaceutical factory ( Pilot scale application)

Waste gas from production

220 m/hr

25-350C

Cleaning of waste for Acetone, Ethanol, 2 – Proponol, Dichloromethane

Off gas odour not perceptible, 82% (Organically bound carbon), 93% (Total Aldehydes),95% (Ammonia) Acetone was mainly eliminated in the first stage at a maximum rate of 164g/m3/hr of carbon. The second stage mainly eliminated ethanol and 2- proponol at a rate of 57 g/m3/hr of carbon.

Industrial solvents

Waste gas from production and facilities waste air

6.5 to 15.4 mg/L-day

25-350C

Cleaning of trichloroethylene (TCE)contaminated air streams

Oil mill

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Greater than 99% have been observed

Biotreatments most extensively studied compounds are alcohols, ketones, alkanes, benzene derivatives and chlorinated compounds. The list of pollutants treated success-fully is rapidly growing due to selection of specialized microorganisms which includes some compounds that were until recently considered as non-biodegradable. The nature of the contaminant is an important parameter to be considered when evaluating the best reactor design for a specific application. In the presence of halogen groups, reactor designs such as bioscrubbers or trickling biofilters will usually be preferred since better process control can be realized. In some cases, the biological removal of given compounds with different reactor designs has been compared [3]. At industrial scale, treatment plant capacities have been increasing progressively [44]. It is well accepted that when biological treatment is feasible, biofiltration is one of the less expensive alternatives compared with physico-chemical cleaning technologies. It was reported that biofiltrationis competitive against incineration for the treatment of air pollution.

Full scale applications of biofilters

Biofiltration technology has been successfully applied in the following industrial sectors[45, 46]. Chemical Manufacturing, Industrial Waste Treatment Plants, Sewage Treatment and Sludge Drying, Chemical Storage, Adhesive Products, Composting facilities, Coating Industries, Food Processing Industries, Iron Foundries, Polyester Production, Waste Oil Recovery, Oil Mill, Flavors and Fragrance, Beer Yeast Industries, Tobacco Processing, Aroma Extraction, Live stock Farming, Animal Feed Production, Slaughterhouses, Fish Roasting, Coffee Roasting etc. Details about the some of the above industries using biofiltration Technology is given in Table 3 [45, 47-50]. Odour is one of the main problems in the tannery due to the emission of NH3 & H2S into atmosphere. These emissions are toxic beyond threshold limit value (TLV) of 25ppmV for NH3 &10 ppmV for H2S [51]. CSIR- Indian institute of chemical technology (IICT), Hyderabad and CSIR-Central leather research institute (CLRI), Chennai is developed a novel biofilter process for re-moval of odour causing compounds in tanneries. A full-scale modular (Three modules of 4.5 m3 each) biofilter was installed in a tannery in Tamilnadu for the removal of NH3 and H2S from drum yard section of the tannery and is in operation for the past three years and biofilter outlet (NH3 & H2S) was always below 1 ppmV well below the threshold value.

100

Concluding remarks

Biological filtration has gained popularity and is becoming an acceptable technology for the control of odour due to VOCs and VICs in Industries. Most of the compounds belonging to VICs and VOCs which would be in industrial emissions are being treated through biological processes recently due to intensive research efforts of various scientists and across globe. Research is needed for the optimization of process engineering and design parameters for variety of compounds so that this technology could penetrate rapidly for more applications. The new application opened up by biological gas cleaning technologies offers the possibility to treat low concentrations of volatile and/or non-water-soluble pollutants also. Biological gas cleaning is a complementary technology to the traditional treatment methods if the concentration of the compounds in waste gas is high. Whereas it would be standalone technology for the waste gas having less concentration of compounds. Purified air could be let off to the atmosphere safely since con-centration of compounds in treated air would be less than the threshold values in the biological processes.

References

1. Bhatia S.C, 2001, Environmental Pollution and Control in Chemical Process Industries, Khanna Publishers, New Delhi. 2. Todd S Webster and Joseph S. Devinny. 1996. Bio-filtration of odors, toxins and volatile organic compounds from publicly owned treatment works, Environmental Progress, 15, 3:141-147. 3. Christian Kennes and Frederic Thalasso, 1998, Waste Gas Biotreatment Technology, Jour-nal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, 72:303-319. 4. Danielson J.A (Edited), 1967, Air Pollution Engineering Manual (National Center for Air Pollution Control, Pub. No. 999-AP-40, Cincinnati, Ohio) 5. Waid D.E, 1972, Controlling Pollution Via Thermal Incineration, Chemical Engineering Progress, 68, 8:57-63. 6. Pichat, P. Photocatalytic Degradation of Pollutants in Water andAir: Basic Concepts and Applications. In Chemical DegradationMethods forWastes and Pollutants. Tarr, M.A., ed.;Marcel DekkerInc., New York, 2003. 7. Shen, Y.S.; Ku, Y. Decomposition of gas-phase trichloroethene bythe UV/TiO2 process in the presence of ozone. Chemosphere 2002, 46: 101–107. 8. Pengyi, Z.; Fuyan, L.; Gang, Y.; Qing, C.; Wanpeng, Z. A comparativestudy on decompo-sition of gaseous toluene by O3/UV,TiO2/UV and O3/TiO2/UV. J. Photochem. Photobiol. A: Chemistry2003,156: 189–194. 9. Robert H Perry and Don Green (Edited), 2001, Perry’s Chemical Engineers Hand Book, 7th Edition, Mc.Graw Hills International edition, New York,

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Biotreatments News & Views

Products & Processes

Biotreatments News & Views

Phenomene characteriz

10. Edward C. Moretti, 2002, Narendra Reduce VOCModi and HAP ence of Prime Minister andEmissions, Russian Chemical Engineering Pro-gress, June:30-40

President Vladimir Putin in Goa on the sidelines of the

11. Rao C.S, 2000, Environmental Pollution Control Engineering, BRICS summit. However, a final decision on the deal New age International Pub-lishers, New Delhi.

will be taken by the prime minister’s office as the cen12. Mudliar, S. B. Giri, K. Padoley, D. Satpute, R. Dixit, P. Bhatt, tral security agencies have raised concerns over the R. Pandey, A. Juwarkar, and A. Vaidya 2010. Bioreactors for mega deal citing theand proximity its part to Pakistan treatment of VOCs odours - aofreview. Journal of enviandronmental nearly defence assets . management, 91(5):1039–54. 13. Van Groenestijn, Hesselink, P.G.M., According to J.W., government rules, 1993. it is Biotechniques mandatory for airsecurity pollutionclearance control. Biodegradation 4:283–302. to take from the home ministry for 14. Michael C. Flickinger andin Stephen W. Drew,The 2001, Bioilters: any foreign investment the country. deal covby Mario Zilli and Attilio Converti, Encyclopedia of ers Essar Oil’s 20 million tonne refinery at Vadinar in Bioprocess Technology,Vol-1. Gujarat and its retail outlets for which the Russian con15. Kiared K, Bibeau L, and Brezezinski 1996, Biological sortium will pay $10.9 billion (aroundR,`70,000 crore).

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Elimination of VOC’s in Biofil-ter, Environmental Progress, 15, 3:148-152.

16. Gangagni Rao, A., Ravichnadra, P., Jetty, A., 2006. Operation ICTwith Mumbai to videograph and of biofilter mixed agri-cultural residue as filter material: effects of humidification and inlet hydrogen sulphide disseminate lectures volume fraction on the performance. Chem. Biochem. Eng. of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai Qhe 20Institute (2):189–196.

has selected Mediasite for lecture capture and man-

17. Gandu, B., Sandhya, K., Gangagni Rao, A., Swamy, Y.V., agement. The selection makes tri it the university in 2012. Removal of air containing ethylfirst amine (TEA) using India to deploy a large-scale academic video program. vapor phase biofilter packed with wood chips and rice husk. Bonfring Int. J. Ind. Eng. Manage. Sci. 2: 17–20.

“We realize the future of education lies in technol-

18. Gandu, B., Sandhya, K., Gangagni Rao, A., Swamy,Y.V., ogy that allows learning to be made available to stu2013. Gas phase bio-filter for the removal of triethylamine dents when not able to attend classes and for (TEA) fromthey’re air: Microbial diversity analysis with reference review of lectures anytime, anywhere,” said Professor to design parameters. Bioresource Technology 139: 155–160.

Ganapati D. Vice of ICT. “Mediasite 19. HinRich L. Yadav, Bohn, Karl K.Chancellor, Hohn, 1999, Moisture in Biofilters, makes that a reality for us Environmental Progress, 18,without 3:156-161.disrupting the way

our instructors teach. and Mediasite fully A.H..C, automated, 20. Simon P. Ottengraph Van Denis Oever 1983, andKinetics instructors don’tCompound even notice the camera.” of Organic Removal from Waste Gases with a Biological Filter, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, The university began using Mediasite in all its XXV:3089-3102.

27. Lichuan Riyad J.with Abumaizar andcapture Walter M. Kocher, classrooms in March plans to every lecProven forZhu, FGDP gypsum dewatering 1998, Biofiltration of Benzene contaminated Air streams ustureThe VACUBELT® filter belt 2015 has already provand make it available for students to review oning compost-activated carbon filter media, Environmental demand. The university will experiment with distance en its worth in the field of FGDP gypsum dewatering Progress, 17, 3:168-172. learning and flipped instruction. over many years. Whether in new systems or retrofit-

28. Cox, H.J., Deshusses, M.A., 1999. Chemical removal of bioting existing power plants, the belt made of pure polymass from waste air biotrickling filters: screening of chemicals of potential interest. Water Research 33: 2383–2392. ester monofilaments meets the strictest requirements.

21. Shyh J.H, Hsiu-mu-Tang and Wen C.W, 1997, Modeling of E.R., Veiga, M.C. & Kennes, C., 2012. Combined bioFast dewatering and robust transverse stability are the Acetone Biofiltration Process, Environmental Progress, 16, 29. Rene, and contributing physicochemical cleaningDuring techniques. RIL commissions last crystallisation unitmain atlogical itsfactors Jamnagar paraxylene complex towaste-gas its superiority. the 3:187-192 J Environ Sci Health A Tox Hazard Subst Environ Eng, FILTECH fair, it became clear that the need for more 22. Mohseni, Allen, D.G., of mixtures of the paraxylene (PX) complex at Jamnagar. This plant eliance M., Industries Ltd2000. (RIL)Biofiltration has successfully com47:920–939. efficient gypsum dewatering in the field of flue gas dehydrophilic volatile organic compounds. missionedand thehydrophobic last crystallisation train (Train 3) of is built with state-of-the-art crystallisation technology 30. Alonso, C., Zhu, X., Suidan, M.T., Kim, B.R., Kim, B.J., 2000. Chemical Engineering Science 55:1545–1558. sulfurization, and thereby interest in this belt type, is from British Petroleum (BP) which is highly energy efParameter estimation in-biofilter systems. Environmental 23. Delhomenie, M.C., Bibeau, L., Bredin, N., Roy, S., Brousseau, still on the rise - particularly in South Africa and India. Science andthe Technology 34: 2318–2323. ficient. With commissioning of this plant, RIL’s PX S., Kugelmass, J.L., Brzez-inski, R., Heitz, M., 2002. Numerous users and well-known equipment mancapacity has more than doubled making themoisture, world’s 31. Lu, C., Lin, M.-R., Chu, C., 2002. Effects ofitpH, Biofiltration of air contaminated with toluene on a compostufacturers discussed concrete issues regarding the and flow pattern on tricklebe-dair biofilter performance for second largest producer of paraxylene at 11 percent of based bed. Advances in Environmental Research 6:239–244. BTEX removal. Advance Environmental Research 6: 99–106. design and range of potential applications of the horiglobal production. 24. Delhomenie, M.C., Bibeau, L., Gendron, J., Brzezinski, R., Naveau, H.,the Nyns, E.-J.,experts. 1996. Effects of dryBelt pezontal filter F.,belts with GKD Process Heitz, M., 2001b. Influence of nitrogen on the degradation 32. Thalasso, Pursuant to installation and mechanical compleriods inManager, a mist-foambioreactor design for gaseous substrate. Michael Seelert, therefore reflects of toluene in a compost-based biofilter. Journal of Chemical Division tionEnvironmental of the entire paraxylene complex in the previous 17:909–913 Technology and Biotechnology 76:997–1006. on the trade fairTechnology appearance with a sense of satisfac-

25. Beatriz C.G, Sarina J.E, Michael S.S.Z, and Norman P, 1999, Evaluation of Full Scale Biofilter Media Performance, Environmental Progress, 18, 3:205-211 26. Nobuyuki Furusawa, Iwao Togasshi, Mitsuyo Hirai, Marota Shoda and Hiroshi Kubota, 1994, Removal of Hydrogen Sulfide by a Biofilter with Fibrous Peat, Journal of Fermentation Technology, 62, 6:589-594.

quarter, Reliance Industries A.J., commissioned the second 33. Dolfing, J., Wijngaard, Janssen, D.B., 1993. tion: “FILTECH was a real success for us.” He also bephase of PX comprising second crystallisation train Microbiological aspects ofof theremoval of chlorinated hydrolieves that the excellent networking opportunities are carbons from air. Biodegradation 4:261–282. (Train 2), trans-alkylation and aromatic extraction units one of the most important aspects of this trade fair. at Jamnagar AprilW.J., 2017. 34. Janni, K.A.,inMaier, Kuehn, T.H., Yang, C.H., Bridges, “We were able to make new and promising contacts B.B., Velsey, D., Nellis, M.A.,2001. Evaluation of biofiltraand also welcome back visitors looking for more intion of air – an innovative air pollution controltechnol-ogy. depth information.” ASHRAE Transactions 107: 198–214. 72

Chemical Industry June 2018 ChemicalDigest. Industry Digest. July 2017

henomen and man separation sc of LC solutio biopharmace encompasses spanning tw mally modifi compatible ti featured seve characterizat antibodies, a The offering analysis of ag fragments, p glycan mapp As an add es and phase compatible t ondary react to provide be steel hardwa typically spe fere with pro The bioZ dia is produc synthetic the particle mech significantly secondary in The thermall efficiency Co increased res tion time wi stringent QC while all ind specific biolo formance and Simon Lo Marketing fo springs from wanted a com of their biose growing por biocompatibl gurus, that a come the ma terization of

Chemical Industry Digest. May 2018

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Biotreatments 35. Cohen, Y., 2001. Biofiltration – the treatment of fluids by microorganisms immobilizedinto the filter bedding material: a review. Bioresource Technology 77:257–274. 36. Cai, Z., Kim, D., Sorial, G.A., 2004. Evaluation of tricklebed air biofilter performancefor MEK removal. Journal of Hazardous Material 114: 153–158. 37. Ottengraf, S. P. P. & Konings, J. H. G., Emission ofmicroorganisms from biofilters. Bio-process. Engin., 7(1991) 89È96. 38. Ottengraf, S.P.P., 1987. Biological systems for waste gas elimination. Trends in Biotech-nology 5, 132–136. 39. Reij, M.W., Keurenties, J.T.F., Hartmans, S., 1998. Membrane Bioreactors for wastegas treatment. Journal of Biotechnology 59: 155–167. 40. Yang, M.C., Cussler, E.L., 1986. Designing hollow-fiber contactors. AIChE Journal 32,1910–1916. 41. Karoor, S., Sirkar, K.K., 1993. Gas absorption studies in microporous hollowfiber mem-brane modules. Industrial Engineering Chemical Research 32:674–684. 42. Ottengraf, S. P. P. & Diks, R., Review paper: process technology of biotechniques. In Bio-techniques for Air Pollution Abatement and Odour Control Policies, eds A. J.Dragt & J. van Ham. Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1992, 1732. 43. Anonymous, Referentie lijst bioton instalaties, 1993 (obtained from: ClairTech b.v., Utrecht, The Netherlands). 44. Dalouche, A., Lemasle, M., Le Cloirec, P., Martin, G. &Besson, G., Utilisation de bioÐl-tres pour lÏe puration degaz charges en composes azotes et soufres. In Man andhis

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Ecosystem. 8th W orld Clean Air Congress. eds L. J.Brasser & W. C. Mulders. The Hague, The Netherlands,1989, 379-84. 45. Lackey, Laura W., Boles Jeff L, 1994, Biofiltration of trichloro ethylene- contaminated air streams using a propane oxidizing consortium, International In-situ on-site Bioremediation Symposium, 4, 5:189-194. 46. Michael S. Mcgrath, Jan-Carel Nieuwland and Chris Van Lith, 1999, Case study: Biofiltra-tion of Styrene and Butylacetate at a Dashboard Manufacturer, Environmental Progress, 18, 3:197-204. 47. Simon P. Ottengraph, 1987, Biological system for Waste Gas Elimination, Trends in Bio-technology, 5:132-136 48. Waren J Swanson and Raymond C. Loehr, 1997, Biofiltration: Fundamentals, Design and operations principles and applications, Journal Environmental Engineering, June, 152-165 49. Gero Leson and Barbara J smith, 1997, Petroleum Environmental Research Forum Field Study on Biofilters for control of Volatile Hydrocarbons, Journal of Environmental Engi-neering, June, 304-323. 50. Gangagni Rao, A., Gandu, B., Swamy, Y.V., 2012. Mass transfer dynamics of ammonia in high rate biomethanation of poultry litter leachate. Bioresour. Technol. 109:234–238. 51. HSDB, online database, Bethesda.(1993).U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Hazardous Substances Data Bank. National Toxicology Information Program, National Li-brary of Medicine.

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

Events To DiaryCome

Date

Title

Venue

Contact

2018 India 5th-8th August Su-Chem 2018 2018

August 2325, 2018

Everything About Water 2018

CSIR-Indian Institute of CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Chemical Technology, Technology Hyderabad Dr. M Chandrasekharam Tel: +91-9493409362 Email: suchem2018@iict.res.in Website: lictindia.org/suchem2018 Hall No. 12 A Pragati EA Water Pvt Ltd Maidan, New Delhi Nisha Aggarwal Tel: +91 11 43100521 M: + 91 9910629024 Email: nisha@eawater.com, Web: www.eawater.com/expo

4th – 6th India Chem 2018 October 2018

Bombay Exhibition Centre, FICCI NSE Nesco Complex Nachiket Basole, Assistant Director Goregaon, Mumbai Tel: +91-98673 12834 Fax: +91 22 2496 8000 Email: nachiket.basole@ficci.com Web: www.indiachem.in

11th – 12th 2nd Indian Surfactants October 2018 Conference

Mumbai

ICIS Conference Tel: +44 (0) 20 86524659 Email: events.registration@icis.com Web: www.icisevents.com/asianbaseoils

23 – 27, 19th IUFoST World ConOctober 2018 gress 2018

Navi Mumbai

International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) Mahinder Singh Phone: +91 9901994905 Email: mahinder.singh@mmactiv.com Website: www.iufost2018.com

1st – 3rd November 2018

4th Envirotech Asia 2018

Bombay Exhibition Centre, Divyesh Bhavsar Mumbai Radeecal Phone: 07802077033, 09409084661 Email: events@radeecal.in Website: www.envirotechasia.com

11 November 2018

4th International Conference on Application of RadiotraCer and Energetic beams in Science (ARCEBS-2018)

Raichak, Kolkatta

ARCEBS web: indico.cern.ch email: arcebs.2018@gmail.com

22 – 25, November 2018

BioSD 2018

Hyderabad

CSIR Dr. S. Venkata Mohan Phone: +91 40 27191765/1679 Email: biosd2018@gmail.com Website: www.iictindia.org/biosd

Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

103

Diary

29 September WEFTEC 2018: 91st An– 3 October nual Technical Exhibition 2018 & Conference

2018 Foreign

New Orleans, USA

WEFTEC Tel: 800-666-0206 Web: https://www.weftec.org/

29 September WEFTEC 2018: 91st Annual New Orleans, USA – 3 October Technical Exhibition & 2018 Conference

WEFTEC Tel: 800-666-0206 Web: https://www.weftec.org/

24th to 27th October

WATEC ITALY 2018 – WA- Cremona, Italy TER TECHNOLOGIES AND MORE

KENES EXHIBITIONS Tamar Bagdadi Phone: +972-74-7457480 Email: tbagdadi@kenes-exhibitions.com Web: www.kenes-exhibitions.com

12th – 13th September

7th ICIS European Butadiene and Derivatives Conference

Novotel Munchen ICIS City, Munich, Ger- Gabriella Gillett-Perez many Tel: +44 (0) 207 911 1479 Email: gabriella.gillett-perez@icis.com

10th – 11th October

Biofuels International Conference and Expo

Berlin

Biofuels Inernational Edward McCauley edward@woodcotemedia.com +44 (0)203 551 5751 Web: https://biofuels-news.com/conference/ biofuels/biofuels_index.php

11-13th December 2018

5th Winter Process Chemistry Conference & Exhibition

Manchester, UK

Scientific Update Hanna May Phone: +44 (O) 1435873062 Email: hannah@scientificupdate.com Web: www.scientificupdate/events

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS Sr. No.

Advertiser

1. Aero Therm Systems Pvt Ltd 2. Covestro India Pvt Ltd. 3. Clearsep Technologies (I) Pvt Ltd

Page No.

89 Back Cover

Advertiser

Page No.

13. Haystack Marketing Services

14. Heubach Colour Pvt Ltd

Front Cover

15. Inkarp instruments Pvt Ltd

4. Dow Chemical International Pvt Ltd 2nd Cover

16. Ion Exchange (India) Ltd

5. Duflon Industries Pvt ltd

17. Mazda Ltd

6. Environ Engineering Company

Sr. No.

80 101

18. Mettler Toledo India Pvt Ltd

2 Inside Front nd

7. Envirotech Asia

19. SAP Filter Pvt Ltd

8. Excel Industries Ltd

20. SSP Pvt Ltd

Inside Back Cover

21. Tata Chemicals Ltd

Inside Front Cover

9. Evonik India Pvt. Ltd. 10. GMM Pfaudler Ltd 11. Godrej Industries Ltd 12. Haver Ibau India Pvt Ltd 104

5 43 8

22. Transport Corporation of India Ltd

23. UNP Polyvalves India Pvt. Ltd.

31 Chemical Industry Digest. June 2018

ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED & ASME ‘U’ STAMP HOLDER

Registered with Registrar of Newspaper, New Delhi under R.N. No. 47002/1988. Total Pages: 106 Postal Reg. No. MCN/31/2017-19. Publishing date: 26th of each month. Posting date: 26/27th of each month.

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