December - Alkali Manufacturers Association of India

12 December

| Alkali Bulletin December 2021

Alkali Bulletin December 2021 |


Dear Reader,

The year 2021 comes to a close on a promising note of a stronger revival of businesses. As Covid-19 variants continued to create havoc across the world, India also was hit hard in a second wave earlier this year in summer. The severity continued to haunt through the decision to impose lockdowns was left to individual state governments. The economy had barely shown signs of revival after a severe setback in the three quarters ending December 2020 when the emergence of a newer variant caused widespread disruption. The government’s aggressive push on vaccinating people is expected to reduce the severity of impacts, if newer variants of corona virus emerge as expected. The industry managed to tide through the crisis. However, the pressure on prices due to unabated imports continued to cause concern. AMAI filed petitions seeking imposition of anti-dumping duties against imports of caustic soda and soda ash.

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) issued their Final Findings on conclusion of their investigations against imports of caustic soda from four countries viz. Japan, Iran, Qatar and Oman. DGTR recommended imposition of duties on imports from all four countries. The industry awaits the notification by the ministry of finance to give effect to DGTR’s findings.

The ministry of power had in November 2017 introduced a policy recommending the use of blend with 5-10% biomass pellets, made primarily of agro residue along with coal in thermal power plants. The ministry has issued modifications in the policy in October 2021 mandating the use of 5% blend of biomass pellets in various types of thermal power plants. The obligation under this policy shall increase to 7% after two years. The use of biomass in pellets is to be introduced after assessing the safety and technical feasibility. This is a welcome step that is intended to also partly address the problem of crop residue burning in North India in the beginning of winter that causes a spike in pollution and poor air quality leading to high incidences of respiratory disorders. According to the revised policy, the co-firing of biomass would be in force for 25 years or till the useful life of the thermal power plant, whichever is earlier. Much before this policy was introduced by the government, some of the captive power plants in alkali industry had already introduced biomass pellet blends successfully. This was a conscious effort to reduce coal usage and increase agro waste utilization. This also resulted in reduction in waste residue generated from these thermal power plants.

K. Srinivasan Secretary General



I. ARTICLES & FEATURESA Write-up on Explosion of Sodium Chlorate Destruction Tank in Chlor-Alkali Plant - Mr. Hari Saran Das, Honorary SHE Advisor AMAI 01

Performance Evaluation Parallel Pumping & Reducing Cost of Operation - Mr. Mayank Shukla, Grasim Industires Limited 04

Effective and Efficient Sludge Removal System in a Chlor Alkali Plant - Mr. K.K. Kalra, Independent Technical Consultant 08

RIL firms up Investment in Abu Dhabi with focus on Vinyl Chain - Mr. Ravi Raghavan, Editor, Chemical Weekly 10

Incident Report 119: Chlorine Gas leak in Liquid Chlorine Storage Facility near Chithode 12

Jal Jeevan Mission - An Update 14

Beacon-Messages for Manufacturing Personnel 19

II. NEWS DIGEST

GeneralExporters across sectors are flushed with orders for next fiscal: FIEO 23

India-UAE FTA text likely to get Cabinet nod soon 23

World economy now set to surpass $100 trillion in 2022 23

FY23 exports growth may slip, goods shipments seen at $460-475 b: FIEO 24

Despite hiccups, $400-billion export goal seems within reach 24

Glasgow pact ‘not mandating’ coal phase-down: Union coal minister Pralhad Joshi 25

The World Is Burning the Most Coal Ever to Keep The Lights On 25

Four labour codes may be implemented by FY23 as many states ready draft rules 26

Former RBI Governor says need to go back to high growth in 2022 26

GST on ocean freight can’t be imposed on importers, companies tell SC 27

Investment proposals worth $121 bn in the pipeline 27

Exports up 27% in November but trade deficit hits record 28

Carbon Capture - CCUS emerges as a possible option for industry decarbonisation 28

Exports to cross $100 billion in Q3 29

Duty relief for hundreds of products likely 30

US largest trading partner of India during April-Oct: Govt 30

Govt. seeks greater industry role in boosting exports 30

CONTENTS

Chlorine Emergency Response Network Toll free no. 1800-11-1735

Chemicals and PetrochemicalsSigachi Industries gets LoI from Grasim Industries 30

Attero to invest Rs 300 cr to ramp up lithium-ion battery recycling capacity to 11,000 tons 31

Commerce Ministry for imposing anti-dumping duty on a chemical from four nations 31

Urgent need to regulate chemicals in products 31

Stall expansion of petrochemical industries: Experts 32

UK offers sustainability experience to Indian chemical industry 32

RIL, Abu Dhabi company form JV for $2-b chemicals facility in UAE 33

Sodium-ion batteries may dethrone lithium-ion batteries soon 33

Tamil Nadu govt categorises speciality chemicals and petrochemicals as ‘sunrise’ sectors 34

Members’ NewsGrasim Industries commissions caustic soda projects in India 34

Gujarat Fluorochemicals incorporates two subsidiaries 34

Tata Chemicals Bags India’s top 25 Most Innovative Companies Award from CII 35

TCC ready to supply gas for KSRTC hydrogen cell buses 35

Meghmani Finechem Ltd. appoints two senior leaders to lead key businesses and achieve sustainable growth 36

Tata Chemicals: Focus on sustainability gives edge 36

Tata Chemicals, Huntsman recognised at FICCI’s ‘Chemical and Petrochemical Industry Awards 2021’ 36

III. NOTIFICATIONS/PRESS RELEASES/ MEMORANDA 391. Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry,

Notification No. F. No. 6/36/2020-DGTR dated 16-12-21 Final recomendation for imposition of Anti-dumping duty on all imports of caustic soda originating in or exported from Japan, Iran, Qatar and Oman

2. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Notification No. S.O.5481(E) dated 31-12-21 Reg. Utilisation of ash from coal and lignite based thermal power plants

Disclaimer: Information published in this magazine is reproduced from various sources. Every effort is made to minimize errors while reproducing for publication in Alkali Bulletin. However, readers are requested to verify and make appropriate enquiries and satisfy themselves about the veracity of information published in this magazine before use. The publisher or AMAI will not be responsible for decisions taken by readers based on information published in Alkali Bulletin.

Alkali Bulletin Decem

ber, 2021


A Write-up on Explosion of Sodium Chlorate Destruction Tank in Chlor-Alkali Plant

Hari Saran Das, Honorary SHE Advisor AMAI

01

Often explosion occurs in Sodium chlorate destruction tank in membrane cell chlor-Alkali plants. The incident occurs due to formation of chlorine dioxide while reducing Sodium chlorate with Hydrochloric Acid.

This write up intends to explain the chemistry behind chlorate destruction and find the root cause of the explosion in the Sodium chlorate destruction tank. With the understanding of the chemistry of chlorate destruction and related process control, it will help to prevent explosion of the Sodium Chlorate destruction tanks in the membrane cell caustic soda plant.

In the production of chlorine and caustic by the electrolytic decomposition of brine in a membrane cell, depleted anolyte is recirculated, with salt resaturation. Chlorate build-up in this recirculating brine results from the side reaction of brine electrolysis due to membrane inefficiencies.

Reason of Generation of Sodium chlorateThe basic principle of anode and cathode reactions in the electrolysis of sodium chloride solution is as follows:

At the anode of the membrane cell electrolyser, chloride ions are oxidised and chlorine (Cl2) is formed. The anode reaction of membrane cell is as follows.

2 Cl- - Cl2 + 2 e

At the cathode of the membrane cell electrolyser, water decomposes to form hydrogen (H2) and hydroxide ions(OH-). The cathode reaction in membrane cells is as follows:

2 Na+ + 2e- + 2 H2O --- 2 NaOH + H2

The overall reaction of brine electrolysis is as follows.

2 NaCl + 2 H2O - 2 NaOH + H2 + Cl2

Along with the above main anodic and cathodic reaction, some side reactions also takes place during electrolysis of brine leading to loss of efficiency and formation of sodium chlorate.

The major side reactions leading to Sodium Chlorate formation are as follows:

At the anode, oxidation of water to oxygen takes place:

2 H2O - O2 + 4 H+ + 4 e- or

4 OH- - O2 + 2 H2O + 4eHypochlorous acid is formed by reaction of chlorine with water:

Cl2 + H2O - HClO + H+ + Cl-The Hypochlorous acid so formed is converted to chlorate at the anode:

12 HClO + 6 H2O - 4 ClO3 - + 8 Cl- + 24 H+ + 3 O2 + 12 e

Chlorate is also produced by chemical reactions in the anolyte

2 HClO + ClO- - ClO3 - + 2 Cl- + 2 H+

Sodium Chlorate so formed in the anolyte due to these side reactions passes over to the anolyte brine.

Controlling Sodium Chlorate in Recirculating BrineChlorate build-up in this recirculating brine results from the above side reactions because of membrane inefficiencies. Generally 7 gpl (grams per litre) of Sodium chlorate in the feed brine is considered to be normal. Anything above the normal sodium chlorate value of 7 gpl in the feed brine may be detrimental to the process.

High sodium chlorate in the brine circuit may damage the anode coating leading to increase in cell voltage and consequent increase in power consumption. High sodium chlorate in the brine circuit could also have negative effects on the ion-exchange resins, the caustic quality and other complications.

Therefore it is required to control the build-up of Sodium chlorate in the feed brine. In the membrane cell caustic soda plants, reduction of Sodium chlorate in the circulating brine is one of the important process controls in the brine purification process.

The Sodium chlorate in circulating brine can be reduced by one of the following two methods:

a. By purging a portion of the circulating brine periodically.

Alkali Bulletin December 2021 | 02

b. By reducing Sodium chlorate to chlorine in a portion of the anolyte brine continuously with strong Hydrochloric Acid and at temperatures higher than 85 °C

Brine purging for control of Sodium chlorate is a material loss as well as environmental issue. Brine purging is followed in such plants where there is provision for reusing the purged brine. Brine purging for control of sodium chlorate is rarely practised now.

Most of the membrane cells are following the second method of Sodium chlorate destruction. In this method, a portion of the anolyte brine stream is taken to a tank, named as Chlorate destruction tank. The part stream anolyte brine is reacted with strong Hydrochloric Acid at higher temperature to reduce the Sodium chlorate, resulting in production of additional chlorine, water, and salt. Such chlorine produced with the reduction of sodium chlorate is mixed with main cell chlorine gas, while the salt is utilized in the resaturation of the remainder of the recirculating brine stream. The Sodium chlorate destruction is a continuous process and is integral of the anolyte brine treatment process.

Reaction of Sodium chlorate with hydrochloric acid

Reaction (1)Chlorine is formed when 6 moles of concentrated Hydrochloric Acid is reacted with One mole of Sodium chlorate.

NaClO3 + 6HCl → NaCl + 3Cl2 + 3H2O

NaClO3 (aq) + 6 HCl (aq) →NaCl (aq) + 3 Cl2 (g) + 3 H2O (l)

This is an oxidation-reduction (redox) reaction:

5 Cl-I - 5 e- → 5 Cl0 (oxidation)

ClV + 5 e- → Cl0 (reduction)

HCl is a reducing agent,

NaClO3 is an oxidizing agent

This is a gas evolution reaction,

Cl2 is the formed gas.Reaction (2)However Chlorine dioxide is formed when less Hydrochloric Acid is added as per below reaction.

NaClO3 + 2HCl → NaCl + ClO →+ H2O

2NaClO3+4HCl =2ClO2+Cl2+2NaCl+2H2O

The reduction half reaction for the production of chlorine dioxide from the chlorate can be expressed as

ClO3- + 2H- + e- = ClO2 +H2O

The standard reduction potential, E0, of this half reaction is

1.152 V. Chlorine dioxide is a yellowish gas that is explosive at concentrations that is higher than 10% in air or at partial pressure above 76mmofHg (1.46 psig).

Reason of Explosion in Sodium Chlorate destruction tankFrom the reaction of sodium chlorate with Hydrochloric Acid, it is evident that when sodium chlorate is reacted with excess Hydrochloric acid, chlorine is liberated. On the other hand when less Hydrochloric Acid is added to Sodium chlorate, chlorine dioxide gas is liberated instead of chlorine gas. Chlorine dioxide is a highly explosive gas and causes explosion of the chlorate destruction tank.

How much Hydro chloric Acid is required to reduce Sodium Chlorate to Chlorine?

6 moles of concentrated Hydrochloric Acid is reacted with one mole of Sodium chlorate to reduce sodium chlorate to Chlorine as per chemical reaction given below.

NaClO3 + 6HCl → NaCl + 3Cl2 + 3H2O

From the above chemical reaction, Hydrochloric acid required for reduction of IKG of Sodium chlorate to chlorine and NaCl

= 36.45x6/106.45 =2.0545 KG HCl (100%)

= 2.0545/0.30 =6.848KG HCl (30%)

= 6.848/1.15 =5.955 LIR of HCl (30%)

Molecular Weight of Sodium Chlorate – 106.45

Molecular Weight of Hydro Chloric Acid – 36.45

Density of 30% Hydro Chloric Acid - 1.15ExampleSuppose in a plant 10M3 per hour of anolyte brine containing 10 gpl of sodium chlorate is taken for chlorate destruction, then the required Hydrochloric Acid flow per hour will be

= 10x10x 5.955 =595.5 LTR of HCl (30%) per Hour

Over and above acid requirement for reducing Sodium chlorate to chlorine and sodium chloride, an excess acidity of minimum 20 gpl is maintained. The excess acid in the brine from the Chlorate Destruction Tank outlet is used for maintaining Anolyte PH.


Therefore minimum required total Hydrochloric Acid flow per hour:

= 595.5 +20x10/1.15

=595.5 +173.91

=769.41 (770) LTR HCl (30%) per Hour.Control Measures to prevent Explosion in the Sodium chlorate destruction Tank.Main control in chlorate destruction tank is to prevent formation of chlorine dioxide for which proper acid concentration is maintained.

Following control measures are provided in the sodium chlorate destruction tank to prevent formation of chlorine dioxide:

1. Maintaining excess Acidity over required acidity for reduction of Sodium chlorate to chlorine and sodium chloride.

2. PH measurement3. Acid flow control 4. Brine flow control to Chlorate

Destruction Tank

Besides the above, other control measures may also be provided.

Photo graphs of Exploded Sodium chlorate Destruction Tank


Performance Evaluation Parallel Pumping & Reducing Cost of Operation

Mayank Shukla, Grasim Industries Limited

04

Abstract Over the lifetime of a typical pump, the amount of energy used can exceed the initial cost by as much as 15-fold. The performance optimization of pumps offers tremendous potential for energy conservation. By understanding the relation between energy and functionality, we can make informed decisions about procurement, installation, maintenance and operation of pump systems. Optimizing the energy performance of pumps, either stand alone or parallel or series operation, essentially requires that a “System Approach” is taken.

There is a tremendous energy saving potential in parallel pumping systems in industrial pumps, water supply pumps etc., The energy saving potential varies from 15% to as high as 30% of the actual energy consumption in pumping systems.

This study is focused on parallel pumping system and provide areas of improvement.

What is parallel Pumping? Parallel pumping refers to two or more pumps that are installed with the same suction and discharge headers. The pumps must be selected to provide system design flow and head at the discharge header.

The simplest parallel-pump installations use two small equally sized pumps each selected to provide full system head from Point B to Point A (as shown in figure-1), but only half of full system flow. When both pumps

are operating, the system experiences the combined effect of both pumps.

Reason behind Parallel PumpingNormally, single pump is preferable for operation to control the system with equal capacity standby. However, pumping capacities are two large and single pump is not available the two parallel pump operation is specified. Sometime site electrical infrastructure is also limitation for large single pump operation.

A combination of factors including desired process reliability, service factor, operating condition, maintenance philosophy and cost.

In certain applications redundancy is essential considering the criticality of

process requirement. Any breakdown in a critical application may lead to plant shutdown and huge loss in terms of production, energy and manpower. With a multiple pump arrangement, one pump can be repaired without disturbing the system.

Benefits of Parallel PumpingThe use of several pumps in parallel broadens the range of flow that can be delivered to the system. Additionally, by energizing and de-energizing pumps, the operating point of each pump can be kept more closely near its Best Efficiency Point (BEP). Caution should be used in operating parallel pumps to ensure that the minimum flow requirement is not violated for any pump. Sometimes single pump size is the restriction and


we have to go for parallel pumping.

Sometimes use two pumps in parallel even though one pump could handle 100-percent head and flow.If two 50-percent pumps can meet design conditions by operating together, and one of the pumps potentially could provide more than 50 percent of the flow.

However, if either of the pumps fails, full flow cannot be provided. In general, two 50-percent pumps cost only 79 percent as much as two 100- percent pumps.

If three 50-percent pumps in parallel are provided which are contributing a significant fraction of design flow, any two of these pumps can meet 100 percent of the flow, which allows one pump to be standby. Initial costs for improved redundancy can be surprisingly low. In general, three 50-percent pumps cost only 18 percent more than two 100-percent pumps.

However, this reduction in initial cost is not free of cost. This may increase energy consumption per unit quantity of flow because of reduced operating efficiency level in parallel pumping.

Maintenance in Parallel Pumping It is ideal to operate pump close to its BEP which lowers bearing wear and permits the pumps to run more smoothly. If perfect selection of pump is made, multiple pump configurations allow each pump to be operated close to its BEP, a potential advantage from multiple pumps is a higher overall efficiency level. By energizing or de-energizing pumps as necessary to meet changes in system demand, each pump can operate over a smaller region of its performance curve, ideally around the BEP.

Alternatively, a single pump would have to operate over a larger range forcing it to operate further away from the BEP, this is in case of large process

variation or part load operation. Which results into increase in operation and

maintenance cost. However, this efficiency advantage depends on the pump curves, the system curve, and the demand change that is being met.

In case of variable flow requirement, parallel pumping reduces reliance on energy dissipating flow control options such as bypass lines and throttle valves. The use of a single, large pump during low flow demand conditions forces the excess flow to be throttled or bypassed. Throttling the flow wears the throttle valves and creates energy losses. Similarly, bypassing the flow is highly inefficient; since all the energy used to push the excess flow through the bypass lines is wasted.

In systems, with high friction components, alternatives such as adjustable speed motors tend to provide a more efficient solution to variable demand requirements.

Basic behind Parallel Pumping The total system flow rate is equal to total flow rates or contributions from each pump at the discharge pressure. Parallel pumps provide balanced and equal flow rates when same models are used with same impeller diameter and rotational speed. A recommended design practice is to have parallel pumps moved from

beyond Best Efficiency Point (BEP) when single pump is running and to the left of BEP at the highest flow when more than one pump are running in parallel. In an ideal scenario, the pumps will have highest average operating efficiency for overall flow rate v/s time profile.

There is a myth about parallel pumping that operating two identical pumps in parallel doubles the flow rate. Although parallel operation does increase the flow rate, it also causes greater fluid friction losses which in turn results in a higher discharge pressure and reduces the flow rate provided by each pump, and finally alters the efficiency of each pump. Finally we are in a situation where we consume more energy to transfer a given fluid volume

a) Similar pumps in parallel operation

This is advisable and most of parallel pumping operating under this philosophy. This is very much clear from the figure-2 that the flow is not doubling in parallel pump operation and it is slight less than double flow.

The amount of flow is dictated by the system curve as it is moving upward, the steepness is goes off and the pump flow increase in minimum. As it is clearly visible in figure 1, the three-pump operation only have incremental change in flow.


b) Dissimilar pumps in parallel operation

Pumps having with different shutoff heads, the larger pump provides the high backpressure to other pump and try to close the check valve and reduces the output form second pump. Hence, manipulation of delivery valve is important in non-identical pump in parallel operation.

Hence, the non-identical pump with different flow can be sued in parallel operation as long as these have similar shut off heads.

c) Constant and variable pumps in parallel operation

The objective in using parallel constant and variable speed drive is to minimize system operating cost.

For example, there are two pumps in parallel and each has been selected for full system head and half of full system flow. The system also requires a controller and sensor to provide automatic operation, but initial costs are reduced because only one variable-speed drive is needed, and the constant-speed pump requires only a standard motor starter.

In a variable-volume hydronic system, the variable-speed pump handles part-load flows up to its full speed

capability and the constant-speed pump is turned off. If flow increases, the constant-speed pump stages on, and the variable-speed pump slows to meet the actual flow requirement. As flow continues to increase, the variable-speed pump again speeds up to the full revolutions-per-minute capacity so that at design flow both pumps are operating at full speed, splitting the flow between them.

It is important to understand that parallel pumps operating with variable speed drives and discharging into a common header behave similarly when operating a pump against a static head. The first pump discharging to the header pressurizes the header. The second and subsequent pumps that come online must then pump into a pressurized header. The more pumps that are running, the higher the pressure in the header and it limit the chances of saving energy by using a variable speed drive.

Optimization of the variable speed system is essential and specialist advice should be sought however as a common rule all the pumps should run to a similar characteristic, which usually means running identical pumps at an identical speed. Similarly, it is not recommended to run a fixed speed pump in parallel with a variable

speed pump of the same size. The potential problem that can rise and must be avoided is that one of the pumps operates at no flow.

Selection Aspects While selecting and operating pumps in parallel operation following three aspects need to be considered.

a. Design aspectb. Maintenance aspectc. Energy Efficiency aspect

Energy Effectiveness Pump selection for parallel operation is key to minimize the energy costs. However, many parallel systems are not operated in the most energy efficiency ways or combinations. A more optimum pump selection and operating plan can, therefore, provide substantial cost saving opportunities. The way to achieve optimum parallel pump selection is to calculate the energy effectiveness (gpm/kW) of each pump and then single pump or pump combination that yields higher energy effectiveness. The energy effectiveness of a pump over its flow range can be determined from the following equation.

kWh/GPM = 5310XnpXnd/H

Where np = Pump efficiency nd = drive efficiency H= Head developed in feet

Energy effectiveness selection for parallel pumping installation, the following guideline should be followed.

1. Calculate gpm/kW, flow rate curve for each pump and combination

2. Operate minimum number of pumps for any system required flow

3. Select highest energy effectiveness (normally lowest head/capacity) pumps for any flow requirment.

Recent in cooling tower pumps study, it was observed 3 pumps operating in parallel. The capacity of each pump


is 650 m3/hr and operating head is 35 meter. The one of pump is not contributing in to the flow and flow is changed only 10 m3 after stopping particular pump, this has saved significant energy of 110 kW.

The analysis of pumping system is done and shown below in the table.

Conclusion 1. Avoid parallel operation of

dissimilar pumps wherever possible.

2. Avoid parallel operation of pumps with drooping performance curve wherever possible.

3. Always calculate energy effectiveness while making decision of parallel pumping operation and compare the same with single pump operation.

4. Pumps should operate on right side of BEP when operating at low flow rate (Fewer pumps are running in parallel) and should

Mayank Shukla is BE (Chemical)-DGM (Process Engineer) and working with Technical Services in India largest Chlor-alkali business house. He is an Accredited Energy Auditor (Govt. of India). His current role involves process, design, troubleshooting, and project management for Grasim Industries.

He is executed various ENCON, Process improvement, and benchmarking project for ABG Group. Prior to join ABG, he worked in for India Largest refinery, Jamnagar. Technical review for CDU and Utilities off sites. He worked as senior process engineer in Air Liquid INC. (former Lurgi India Pvt. Comp.). Mr. Mayank Shukla has earned his chemical engineering from university of Meerut, India.

[email protected]

operate on left side of BEP5. when operating at higher flow

rates. This will allow pumps to operate with higher average operating efficiency.

6. Parallel pumping is best suitable for static head dominated systems.

7. The motor provided for parallel pumps must be sized for single pump operating mode.

8. Pumps with flat performance characteristic curves should not be run in parallel.

9. When dissimilar pumps are operated in parallel, avoid running pumps below minimum allowable flow rate.

Literature Cited 1. Bloch, H. P., Pump Wisdom, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,Hoboken, New Jersey, 2011.

2. Bloch, H. P. and F. K. Geitner, Compressors: How to Achieve High Reliability and Availability, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2012.


The desired brine quality in a Chlor Alkali plant is of paramount importance for the smooth running of a membrane cell Chlor Alkali plant. The turbidity control in brine at Clarifier outlet had always been a challenging task in maintaining the brine clarity. The Clarifier outlet turbidity has a great impact on the clarity of brine. As it is well known that any increase in suspended sludge in Clarified brine is known as rise in turbidity and measured in NTU. The Clarified brine with Turbidity level of 2 - 4 NTU is of desired value. The adequate dosing of Chemicals, viz barium Carbonate and Sodium Carbonate, coupled with Adequate dosing of Flocculant a temp of 600 C. and maintaining the specified, Level of Excess CO3

_ and NaOH in Brine. These parameters are necessary for adequate precipitation of Sulphate, Calcium, Magnesium, and Insolubles impurities. The critical process operation for assuring the Brine Clarity at Clarifier outlet is the Effective sludge removal from Clarifier.

The sludge removal from bottom of Clarifier in a Chlor-Alkali plant had always been a tedious problem. The concentrated sludge solution in brine is called slurry. The slurry emerging from clarifier bottom is a difficult fluid to flow smoothly, because the sludge slurry does not function or act like a free flowing liquid, and the sludge particles suspended in brine is a high density solids which need to be filtered out to recover brine. Many chlor alkali plants have faced Closure for longer periods or so due to high sludge accumulation in their Clarifier

which even make the Raker Arm Inoperative.

The level of sludge at the bottom of the clarifier is also of great significance, as it affects the rate of settling of precipitates in the Clarifier. A low level of sludge settled at the entire bottom surface of the clarifier, is required to be maintained as it acts as a settling bed for further precipitate to settle. A minimum of 50 mm of sludge level is automatically maintained as the raker arm moves at a height of 50 mm up from the bottom plate and the bottom plate is continuously sloping towards the centre cone of Clarifier.

The low level of sludge coupled with its continuous withdrawl from the conical shaped bottom, creates a very high eddy current force similar to VORTEX. This is Similar to the eddy currents Vortexes seen in small rivers, where a small outlet/hole at bottom creates a VORTEX which in turn creates very high pull down force. Similarly, in clarifier continuous sludge withdrawl from bottom creates a down-pull force on the settling precipitates and thus accelerates the precipitates settling rate, whereas a high level of sludge in the conical bottom covers the cone and its bottom hole too. As a result eddy current cavity is not formed. Consequently, the downward pull available due to VORTEX ceases to exist. In this situation the precipitation of sludge particles rate decreases and the turbidity at Clarifier outlet increases. Thus an optimized sludge level becomes a necessity, It is seen that a sludge level of 150 – 200 mm,

is sufficient at the clarifier bottom.

PUMPING SYSTEM FOR SLURRY FROM BOTTOM OF CLARIFIER: The pumping out of sludge from Clarifier to filtration system of Vacuum drum filter, is of key importance. The smooth and uninterrupted slurry removal system prevents the accumulation of sludge in the Clarifier.

To achieve it, following salient points need to be taken into consideration and followed, while deciding the sludge outlet pipe lines.

1. The bottom drain valve of clarifier should be of Y type Globe Valve of minimum 6” size, to avoid clogging at the Clarifier Bottom and inside the Valve as well.

2. Unhindered and easy moving accessibility to bottom drain valve of Clarifier is of great importance to carry out the flushing and cleaning operations of the Clarifier. For it an inlet and outlet tunnel needs to be provided for smooth manpower movement at the basement.

3. There should be effective DM water flushing system, with Rotameter device to remove choking up and down of the Clarifier drain valve. However, this flushing device is to be used sparingly only in case of chocking.

4. The slurry pipe line should be of same size as the down stream flange size of the drain valve, with no reducers, and it should have a slope towards the strainers before the slurry pumps. The pipe line should be provided with a

Effective and Efficient Sludge Removal Systemin a Chlor Alkali Plant

K.K. Kalra, Independent Technical Consultant


minimum of 2 Flange joints to remove choking (deposited sludge) in the pipeline. As water flushing alone is not completely effective to remove deposited sludge, the sludge deposits at the lower cross- section area of the pipeline due to its high density.

5. The valves before pump suction should be of plug type diaphragm valves, to reduce choking and ensure cleaning.

6. The sludge pump suction line elevation should be almost at the middle level of conical bottom of the clarifier. The pump should be installed as near to the Clarifier as feasible to keep the length of the suction pipeline to barest minimum to minimize sludge choking problem.

7. The pump selected should be ROTO pumps/Screw pumps. The ROTO pumps discharge pressure has to be around 2.1 – 2.4 Kg/Sq.cm only, (the lesser the better) sufficient to deliver slurry at the desired height to the trough of vacuum drum filter. Lower discharge velocity in the range of 0.4 – 0.6 m/sec is advantageous as it prevents the thorough inter mixing of sludge and brine due to turbulence in pipeline. The higher feed slurry concentration is advantageous for effective sludge filtration in V.D.F system from brine, and most pertinently it will also prevent the break-up of the bigger sludge particles into the smaller particles, because bigger sludge particles will ensure better filtration through the drum filter.

8. The length of the discharge pipe line of the pump, should be as short as possible. To ensure it, location of the vacuum drum filter area has to be nearest possible to Clarifier, and the horizontal

segment of the discharge pipeline should also be minimum as well as at the approachable height. Because the sludge has affinity to settle down in the horizontal segment of the pipe line, bigger the length of this horizontal segment, more the sludge choking problems occur which result in low discharge flow. The pipeline should be provided with minimum number of Bends and T’s and to be provided with 2 -3 flange joints to disconnect pipe line segments for thorough cleaning. The shorter length of the pipeline will facilitate its easy cleaning. The pipeline at its highest point of elevation should be sloping towards the discharge point.

9. An elevation difference of minimum 500 mm between Clarifier top and entry point of slurry in V.D.F. is highly preferred, as it will reduce the discharge head requirement and thus less rpm of the pump, and less turbulence in slurry flow.

PUMP SELECTION:It is found that The Roto pumps/screw pumps with low rpm (approx. 350 rpm) are advantageous over the Centrifugal pumps or the ODS pumps.

As in centrifugal pumps the sludge is thoroughly inter-mixed with liquid brine inside the casing due to high rpm, thus the very purpose of keeping separate, the sludge and brine is lost. Whereas in case of Roto pumps, its very low rpm prevents to a great extent thorough inter mixing. Also in case of Centrifugal pumps, the big sludge particles are fractured inside the casing of Centrifugal pump.

Whereas in Roto pumps, the sludge particles are not fractured to small

pieces due to low rpm. Also the movable area inside the casing is larger, and thus the separation of sludge from clear brine is maintained.

AS A CASE STUDY OF SLUDGE OUTPUT FROM THE CLARIFIER OF A CHLOR ALKALI PLANTThe Slurry to be filtered containing 10 -11% of Sludge:

The slurry containing 1400 Kg/hr of sludge (100%) and considering 12 hrs of vacuum drum filter operation per day.

Slurry generated = 1400/0.11 Kg/hr or 12730 Kg/hr = 12730 x 24 Kg/day = 305520 Kg/day

Slurry flow rate required= 305520/1.5 ltr/day (specific gravity of Slurry 1.5) =203680 ltr/day

Slurry flow rate to be handled per hour considering 12 hrs of vacuum drum filter operation = 203680/12 Kgs/hr = 16974 ltr/per hr

Taking an extra of 20% margin for pump capacity,

Flow rate required = 16974 x 1.2/ 1000 m3/hr = 20.4 or 21 m3/hr

The size of the suction and discharge pipelines can be selected as below:

The suction pump diameter 150 mm (corresponding suction velocity 0.35 mtr/sec)

The discharge pipe size : 120 mm (corresponding discharge velocity of 0.6 mtr/sec).

The above calculation can be taken as a guideline for the other plants to follow for their sludge filtration system.


The announcement a few days ago by Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) of plans to invest in a $2-bn joint venture (JV) in Ruwais (Abu Dhabi) is a significant milestone for the company. It marks the first investment by RIL in a manufacturing venture in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and builds on an earlier announcement in July this year of a strategic partnership between RIL and ADNOC, the emirates’ oil, gas and petrochemical giant. It is also a reiteration of the widely held belief that production of basic petrochemicals is best done either where feedstocks are available in abundance and cheaply, and/or where the markets are growing. The JV will benefit on both counts.

Project scopeAs per the announcement made by RIL now and earlier, the JV will be a fully integrated one, spanning the manufacture of caustic soda/chlorine, ethylene dichloride (EDC), vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and PVC resin. The overall investment is expected to be around $2-bn, but how this is to be shared between the two partners has not yet been revealed. The capacities planned were announced earlier and, unless revised, stand at 940-ktpa of chlor-alkali, 1.1-mtpa of EDC and 360-ktpa of PVC.

The project is to come up at the TA’ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone in Ruwais, which has been created by a JV between ADNOC and ADQ, a holding company working closely with the Abu Dhabi government to diversify economic activity in the emirate.

Routes to PVCPVC is produced by polymerisation of VCM, and the most widely practiced route to get to the monomer uses ethylene, chlorine and air (or oxygen) as the three main inputs. The Balanced Process involves direct chlorination of ethylene to produce EDC, which is dehydrohalogenated by thermal cracking to yield VCM, along with hydrogen chloride (HCl) gas, which feeds back into a oxychlorination step to produce more EDC.

This scheme accounts for nearly all of the VCM produced globally, except in China, where an alternate scheme starting from coal has accounted for a significant portion of the new PVC capacity that has come in that country in the last decade or so. The process spans the sequential production of calcium carbide (by reacting coal with limestone), acetylene (by the hydration of calcium carbide), VCM (by reacting acetylene with HCl in the presence of a catalyst) and eventually PVC (by polymerising VCM). The process is energy-intensive, has environmental problems associated with the use of toxic mercury as a catalyst in the VCM step (though some companies claim to have eliminated it by switching to a gold-based catalyst), and produces a PVC resin that is not considered at par with the high quality resin produced via the ethylene route (though good enough for most applications). The technology has not found much traction in any other market but China, and even there new projects based on this route are being discouraged.

Meeting needs in IndiaThe JV planned by RIL will clearly have India as its primary target market. While a chunk of the PVC resin produced willfind its way into India – possibly in proportion to the equity holding of RIL in the JV – a point to note is that the project has EDC capacity in excess of that needed for captive PVC production. RIL’s interest could also be in this spare EDC, some of which could be shipped to India as well and be used for making VCM and PVC at the company’s existing plants or even a new one that has been talked about for some time.

The cracking of this imported EDC to produce VCM will result in the co-production of HCl, which can also be gainfully utilised to make some more EDC by reacting it with ethylene (and air). The quantity of ethylene needed for this balancing is not large and could even come from debottlenecking of RIL’s crackers now optimised to work with imported ethane.

The caustic soda produced by the JV is expected to find outlets in the region’s alumina industry, which is sizeable, though it may even be shipped to India if the market conditions can compensate for the haul from the Middle East to the east coast of India where most of the alumina manufacturing industry is located.

The press release issued by RIL also talks about the JV accessing markets in South East Asia and Africa, besides

Reliance Industreis Limited firms up Investment in Abu Dhabi with focus on Vinyl Chain

Ravi Raghavan, Editor, Chemical Weekly


spawning economic activity locally, as well.

Growing gap between local demand and supplyPVC is one of the most important polymers manufactured and used globally. It is inexpensive and versatile, and offers a compelling value proposition in the end-uses it serves. In several applications it is the first choice, even if other materials – polymeric or otherwise – can also be used due to several advantages.

India’s PVC markets are one of the fastest growing in the world. While demand has historically been growing at a CAGR of about 7% over the last decade (2020 was an exception), supply has remained more or less stagnant. The last major investment in the sector

was Chemplast Sanmar’s plant at Cuddalore (Tamil Nadu) way back in 2009. Since then, there have only been small debottlenecking operations that have only marginally boosted output, and left the rapidly growing markets to be increasingly catered by imports.

Thanks to this trend, India now has the dubious distinction of being the largest import market in the world for the resin. In 2019-20, Indian PVC demand was around 3.8-mt, met through domestic production of about 1.5-mt and imports of about 2.3-mt.

Nearly 75% of all PVC consumed in the country is for making pipes & fittings for transport of potable water and sewage in homes, and irrigation water in farms. Applications such as window and door profiles are yet to catch on – unlike the rest of the world – for several reasons, but there is

strong and sizeable demand for use in making wires & cables and calendared sheets. Use for medical applications has received a leg-up due COVID-19.

The PVC markets have a lot of headspace to grow; per capita consumption here is a piffing 3.5-kg, compared to 14-kg in USA and the world, and 12-kg in China.

The challenges to make PVC in IndiaFactors holding up local PVC manufacturing can be put in two buckets: feedstock availability and its pricing. Integrated PVC manufacturing (via the oxy-chlorination route) requires ethylene and chlorine at competitive prices, and the availability of the former and the price of the latter have both been of concern. There is little ethylene to spare at existing crackers, and unlikely to be for some years till the next big cracker projects come about. This could be at Paradeep on the east coast, or as part of a petrochemical-refinery project to be set up on the west coast by a consortium of public sector oil refining companies. The latter is at least five years away, if that.

An easier option to boost production is to base domestic PVC production on imported EDC, which is a widely traded commodity, unlike its derivative VCM. While this approach will allow for a quick scale-up of PVC capacity, it is a half-measure, and not suitable for all.

A point to note here is that coal-based PVC is also produced in India – albeit to a small extent – by DCM Shriram Ltd. at Kota (Rajasthan). But expansions are unlikely. More significantly, the Adani’s have sought environmental clearance for a coal-

based PVC complex, at a scale of a whopping 2-mtpa of resin. No timelines have been revealed, but it could take 3-4 years for the full scheme to play out, once a firm ‘go no-go’ decision is taken. The technology source has also not been revealed, but it will be no surprise if it were to come from one of the leading Chinese producers. After all, no one else has more expertise!

Bad news for chlor-alkali industryWhile PVC consumers will welcome the announcement of the RIL- TA’ZIZ JV, it spells bad news for the Indian chlor-alkali industry, which has long suffered from the problem of gainful utilisation of chlorine. This lacuna has often forced chlorine producers to dispose the halogen cheap (even free) or convert it into low volume or low value products such as stable bleaching powder, hydrochloric acid, chlorinated paraffin waxes, inorganic chlorides, chloromethanes etc.

India’s chlorine utilisation pattern is very dfferent from the rest of world, and the divorce between the chlor-alkali and vinyl industries weighs heavily on the former’s Financials. There is no sink for chlorine as large as PVC, and in its absence here the chlor- alkali industry has to load all of its manufacturing costs on the price of the caustic soda co-produced, which in turn, exposes it to the threat of cheap imports. To tackle this the industry is forced to seek protection under safeguard and antidumping duties, as well as non-tariff measures such as product quality standards. It looks like their travails are unlikely to go away any time soon!

(Reproduced with permission from Chemical Weekly 14th December 2021)


Chlorine Gas leak in Liquid Chlorine Storage Facility near Chithode

12

Incident Report 119

On Saturday, the 11th December 2021, Chlorine gas leaked at 2.50pm from a chlorine tonner of a chlorine storage facility located at Sandaimedu village, Sadhaipettai on the Coimbatore-Salem Highway, near Chithode in Erode district, Tamil Nadu. R. Dhamodaran (47) from Nadupalayam was the owner of the factory/storage facility.

Dhamodaran and three other employees noticed on Saturday at around 2pm, leakage of chlorine gas from one of the stored tonners. The three employees immediately rushed out of the storage area while Mr. Dhamodaran, the owner of the facility went inside the storage area to close the valve of the leaking tonner. Dhamodaran while attempting to close the valve inhaled leaked chlorine gas and fell unconscious. There was no body to rescue him.

The chlorine gas continued to leak from the tonner and the leaked gas gradually spread to the neighbouring premises. About 20 persons including some workers of a neighbouring power loom factory who were working at the time of the chlorine leakage were affected with the leaked chlorine gas and reported difficulty in breathing.

Incident Control and Rescue OperationSince the chlorine was continuing to leak and affecting neighbouring population, the workers present at the site came to the rescue of the victims and informed the local police who, in turn, alerted the Fire and

A man in a gas mask moves cylinders at the gas leak site in Erode district

A view from the hospital of gas effected persons


Rescue Services. The firemen reached at the site. Trained persons wearing proper Personal protective equipment entered the leaking site and closed the valve while fire personnel were spraying water for over an hour to dilute the leaked chlorine gas present in the atmosphere.

Fourteen persons affected with chlorine gas including the facility owner, Mr Dhamodaran were admitted to the Erode Thanthai Periyar Government Hospital. Doctors in the above hospital declared Dhamodaran as brought dead. All other chlorine gas affected persons were given treatment and were stable.

Collector H Krishnanunni and Superintendent of Police (SP) Sasi Mohan conducted inquiry at the spot. Inspecting the place, Krishnanunni informed that all preventive measures have been taken by the fire personnel and further action will be taken he after the incident is investigated by the police to ascertain the reason for the chlorine leakage.

Minister for Housing, Mr.Muthusamy, later visited the hospital where the gas affected persons were admitted for treatment. He informed that appropriate treatment would be provided to the victims and steps will be taken to prevent such incidents in future.

Root cause AnalysisMr Dhamodaran, owner of the facility while trying to stop the leakage opened the valve because of confusion instead of closing the valve due to stress and anxiety of the emergency situation. This increased the leakage instead of stopping and more chlorine started coming out of the tonner and affected Dhamodaran. Most probably he entered the chlorine leaking area without wearing Self containing breathing apparatus (SCBA) which could have protected him from the chlorine effect.

The IDLH (Immediate Danger to life and health) limit of chlorine is 10 ppm. There is danger to life of any person if he is exposed to 10ppm chlorine. If any person is exposed to chlorine of 430 ppm concentration for half an hour, he may die and Incase a person is exposed to 1000 ppm of chlorine concentration, then the person may die instanteniously.Mr Dhamodaran died most probably due to exposure to high concentration of chlorine.

Recommendation1. One should not overlook the

danger of exposure to chlorine and become careless in its’ handling

2. One should always assume that the chlorine concentration is more than 10 ppm in case of chlorine leakage.

3. One should never enter into chlorine affected area without wearing proper PPES and SBCA.

4. For attending chlorine leakages, one should always wear SCBA set.

5. SCBA sets and chlorine emergency kits should always be available near chlorine storage area.

6. While one person enters into the chlorine area wearing SCBA set for attending chlorine leakage, a stand by person should wait outside Wearing SCBA set and other PPES to rescue the first person In case he falls unconscious or something happens to him while attending chlorine leakage.

7. Nobody should enter chlorine leakage area without stand by person waiting outside for rescue.

8. In emergency situation the person attending chlorine leakage should remain cool. Only Persons trained on handling chlorine tonners should attend chlorine leakage wearing SCBA set.

9. On site emergency plan for the chlorine storage facility should be developed and implemented.

10. It is the duty of the occupier to inform its employees and neighbouring population about the toxic properties of chlorine and what precautions have to be taken In case of chlorine leakage.

(Hari Saran Das, Honorary SHE Advisor, AMAI prepared the above report based on the information published in The New Indian Express dated 12.12.2021)

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Centre approves Drinking Water Supply Schemes worth Rs. 15,381.72 Cr for MP under JJMBusiness Standard | 31 December 2021

Drinking water supply schemes worth Rs 15,381.72 crore have been approved for Madhya Pradesh under the Jal Jeevan Mission at the State-level Scheme Sanctioning Committee (SLSSC) meeting.

As many as 22 multi-village schemes were sanctioned to provide tap water connection to more than 1.09 crore rural population, according to an official statement.

These 22 schemes will benefit 9,240 villages in Rewa, Satna, Sehore, Sidhi, Alirajpur, Badwani, Jabalpur, Panna, Mandla, Sagar, Katni, Dhar, Sheopur, Umaria and Khargone districts. The state plans to provide tap water supply to all rural households by 2023.

Many villages in these districts face drinking water problems in summer. It is expected that more than 22 lakh households living in these 9,240 villages will get adequate tap water supply for the next 30-40 years on a regular basis.

Under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), there is a provision for the constitution of SLSSC for consideration and approval of schemes to be taken up for making provision of tap water supply to rural households. The SLSSC acts as a state-level committee to consider water supply projects, and a nominee of the National Jal Jeevan Mission (NJJM is a member of the committee.

In 2021-22, Rs 5,117 crore has been allocated to the state, out of which Rs 2,558 crore has already been released to Madhya Pradesh for the implementation of the 'Har Ghar Jal' programme.

On August 15, 2019, at the time of the launch of Jal Jeevan Mission, only 13.53 lakh (11 per cent) rural homes in the state had tap water supply. In the last 28 months, the state has provided tap water connections to 31.63 lakh (25.8 per cent) households. As on date, out of 1.22 crore rural households in the state, 45.16 lakh (36.93 per cent) are getting tap water supply.

https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/madhya-pradesh-gets-drinking-water-supply-schemes-worth-over-rs-15k-cr-121123001509_1.html#:~:text=Drinking%20water%20supply%20schemes%20worth%20Rs%2015%2C381.72%20crore%20have%20been,Sanctioning%20Committee%20(SLSSC)%20meeting.&text=The%20state%20plans%20to%20provide,all%20rural%20households%20by%202023.

PM may launch Tap Water Facility for Bundelkhand, Vindhyachal in New YearHindustan Times| 30 December 2021

Prime Minister Narendra Modi could launch the tap water facility for residents of Bundelkhand and Vindhyachal regions in the New Year. Officials of the rural water supply department have nearly completed the trial run for the scheme ahead of Modi’s likely visit.

“The exact date of the VIP visit is yet to be decided but it is expected to be in the initial days of the New Year. During his visit, the Prime Minister might gift tap water to lakhs of families who reside in these regions,” a senior official said, adding that the state government has already made a request to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in this regard.

On the occasion, the Prime Minister could also lay the foundation stone of about 8,000 drinking water schemes for 45 lakh families of 13,000 villages. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, several of his ministers and party leaders could also be present on the occasion for the launch of the facility that the BJP is expected to market big time in the run-up to the 2022 UP polls.

The official privy to the PM’s likely visit said that the rural water supply department has completed preparations to connect more than 18 lakh families with water supply in the first phase of the Har Ghar Nal Yojana under the Jal Jeevan Mission and the Centre’s Namami Gange programme.

“Once water supply is operational, millions of villagers residing in hundreds of villages of Bundelkhand and Vindhyachal regions will get clean drinking water at their homes, which will also reduce the risk of waterborne diseases that they have been exposed to in the past due to non-availability of safe potable water,” the official said.

Jal Jeevan Mission - An Update


“In the villages of Sonbhadra and Mirzapur districts of Vindhyachal along with seven districts of Bundelkhand, the trial run is nearly complete. Every day, dozens of villages are being connected with tap water supply in the two regions and the feeling of relief is clearly visible on the faces of the villagers,” the official said.

“Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the government has decided to provide a functional household tap connection to people through the Har Ghar Nal Yojana. Many people in Bahadurpur and Piparat villages of Lalitpur got emotional during the trial run itself as they saw water coming from taps after decades,” the official said.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/lucknow-news/prime-minister-may-launch-tap-water-facility-for-bun-delkhand-vindhyachal-in-new-year-101640881540014.html

Rs 360.95 crore central grant released to expedite JJM in U’khandThe Pioneer | 29 December 2021

To expedite the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Uttarakhand, the Government of India has released a second tranche of Rs 360.95 crore to the State. So far, Rs. 721.90 crore has been released in two tranches to the State in 2020-21. For speedy implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission, Central fund of Rs 1,443.80 crore has been allocated to Uttarakhand in 2021-22, which is four times the allocation made during 2020-21.

The Union Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is according top priority to make provision of tap water supply in every rural household across the country, for which since August 2019, Jal Jeevan Mission is under implementation in partnership with States.

Uttarakhand plans to become ‘Har Ghar Jal’ State by December, 2022. The centre is providing full assistance to the State for making provision of clean tap water supply in every rural home of Uttarakhand by the end of year 2022, two years ahead of the national goal of ‘Har Ghar Jal’. Expediting the process of approval of big multi-village drinking water supply schemes, in last two months, schemes worth Rs. 714 crore for 58.5 thousand homes in 846

villages spread across 11 districts of Uttarakhand benefitting more than 3 lakh people have been approved by the State-level scheme sanctioning committee (SLSSC). This will immensely reduce the drudgery faced by women and children who spent many hours every day fetching water from distant water sources.

https://www.dailypioneer.com/2021/state-editions/rs-360-95-crore-central-grant-released-to-expedite-jjm-in-u---khand.html

Drinking Water Supply Schemes of Rs. 164.03 Crore approved under JJM in UttarakhandNews on Air | 24 December 2021

Drinking water supply schemes of Rs. 164.03 Crore were approved under Jal Jeevan Mission by Uttarakhand in the State-level scheme sanctioning committee (SLSSC) meeting held on 23rd December, 2021. Of the eight water supply schemes sanctioned, all are multi-village schemes. It will provide tap water connection to more than 9,200 rural homes.

These eight schemes will benefit 140 villages in Almora, Bageshwar, Dehradun, Nainital and Uttarkashi districts. Masi, Mangurkhal and Jhimar multi-village tap water supply schemes in Almora district will benefit about 20 thousand people living in 68 villages. Shama and Baidamajhera multi-village tap water supply schemes in Bageshwar district will benefit about 18 thousand people living in 38 villages. Basgaon Loshgyani multi-village tap water supply schemes will provide clean tap water to more than 3 thousand people living in 9 villages of Nainital district. Similarly, Kandari multi-village scheme in Uttarkashi and Motidhar Paniyala scheme in Dehradun will benefit more than 7 thousand people living in 25 villages of these two districts.

All these villages face serious drinking water problem during summer months. It is expected that by December, 2022 when these schemes will complete, more than 48 thousand people living in these 140 villages will get adequate clean tap water supply for next 30-40 years on regular basis.

In last two months, drinking water supply schemes worth


Rs. 714 Crore for 58.5 thousand homes in 846 villages spread across 11 districts of Uttarakhand benefitting more than 3 lakh people have been approved by the SLSSC. This will immensely reduce the drudgery faced by women and children who spent many hours every day in fetching water from distant water sources.

On 15th August 2019, at the time of launch of Jal Jeevan Mission, only 1.30 lakh (8.58%) rural homes had tap water supply. In 28 months, despite the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown disruptions, the State has provided tap water connection to 6.22 lakh (41.02%) households. Thus, as on date, out of 15.18 lakh rural household in the State, 7.53 lakh (49.60%) are getting tap water supply in their homes. In 2021-22, the State plans to provide tap water connections to 2.64 lakh household. Uttarakhand Government is aiming to provide clean tap water supply to all rural homes by December, 2022.

https://newsonair.com/2021/12/24/drinking-water-supply-schemes-of-rs-164-03-crore-approved-under-jal-jeevan-mission-in-uttarakhand/

Full roll out of multi-village scheme by March 2022 to boost piped water coverage of rural householdsThe Times of India | 20 December 2021

The government aims to accelerate the flagship programme to provide piped water connection to all village households with the complete roll out of its multi-village scheme by March 2022.

Under this scheme, dozens of villages have been clubbed to one drinking water supply project where the water is treated and purified near the source for supply to identified villages.

Officials said this increases the coverage fast, though the project preparation takes little more time as it needs integrated planning. “Some of such projects have started and are also operational but work on all projects of multi-village schemes will start in the next three months,” said an official dealing with the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).

The JJM mission director Bharat Lal said the government’s target of 100% functional tap water connection to all rural households by December 2024 is on track. As of this month, 45% village households have got tap water

connection, which was barely 17% when the scheme was launched in August 2019. He said the coverage will increase to 54% by March next year. He stressed the main focus of the scheme is to empower villages and communities to manage the entire water supply scheme in an efficient manner.

Lal said for transparency and accountability in implementation of the mission, all information has been put in the public domain and dashboard.

At the start of the mission in 2019, out of 19.2 crore rural households, only 3.23 crore had tap water supply and currently 8.67 crore rural households get tap water supply. Goa, Telangana, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Puducherry and Haryana have achieved 100% coverage.

Currently, every household in 83 districts and more than 1.28 lakh villages are receiving tap water supply, the government said.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/full-roll-out-of-multi-village-scheme-by-march-2022-to-boost-piped-water-coverage-of-rural-households/articleshow/88398330.cms

38,408 schools, 2.86 lakh anganwadi centres don't have functional toilets, govt tells Rajya SabhaThe Economic Times| 30 December 2021

As many as 38,408 schools and 2,86,310 anganwadi centres across the country do not have functional toilets, the Union government informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday. Replying to a question of NCP MP Vandana Chavan in the Upper House, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Prahlad Singh Patel also said that 2,85,103 schools do not have handwashing facilities. The minister said 6,50,481 schools sourced drinking water from handpumps, while 61,627 schools got it from unprotected wells. He added that 82,708 schools received drinking water from protected wells, while 4,15,102 schools had tap water supplies. As many as 68,374 schools supplied packaged or bottled drinking water, while 1,74,632 schools accessed drinking water from "other sources.

Of the 2,86,310 anganwadi centres without functional toilets, the maximum of 53,496 were in Maharashtra followed by 40,444 in Odisha. In Rajasthan, 29,098


anganwadi centres did not have toilet facilities, while in Assam 22,819 centres lacked such facilities, Patel said.

In West Bengal, 20,884 anganwadi centres did not have toilet facilities, followed by Telangana (18,072), Andhra Pradesh (14,731), Karnataka (13,518), Uttar Pradesh (12,891), Jharkhand (12,883). According to data from the states/Union Territories 47,022 tests for quality of water have been conducted in schools and anganwadi centres, using Field Test Kits during 2021-22, Patel said. He said under the Jal Jeevan Mission, a special campaign was launched on October 2, 2020, to provide potable piped water to all schools, anganwadi centres, tribal residential schools, across rural India for ensuring safe water, sanitation and hygiene facilities for the wellbeing of children. In reply to a separate question, Patel said 5.37 crore households have been provided tap water connections since August 2019, when the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) was launched. Before the launch of the mission, 3.23 crore or 17 per cent of the total 18.93 crore households had tap water connections, he said, adding that under JJM, tap water connection is provided to a household for potable water in adequate quantity of prescribed quality on a regular and long-term basis.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/38408-schools-2-86-lakh-anganwadi-centres-dont-have-functional-toilets-govt-tells-rajya-sabha/printarticle/88125384.cms

| Alkali Bulletin December 2021©AIChE 2021. All rights reserved. Reproduction for non-commercial, educational purposes is encouraged. However, reproduction for any commercial purpose without express written consent of AIChE is strictly prohibited. Contact us at [email protected] or 646-495-1371.

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December 2021Situational Awareness: A key to avoiding errors

Two operators were sent to change valve positions and bring a pump on-line. When the valve would not open, the operators decided to remove the gearbox to access the valve stem directly and open the valve with a wrench. This activity could be done without affecting the valve top cap on most valves of this type. However, this valve was a different model. When the operators removed the gearbox from this valve, the operators also removed the mounting bolts that secured the valve top cap.

When the valve was opened manually, a large vapor leak occurred, ignited, and caused serious damage.

Situational Awareness: Check Before You Act

Situational awareness is recognizing where you are and what is needed to perform the task safely.

Inadequate situational awareness is a major factor in accidents caused by human error.

Having several configurations for equipment in an area or unit can be confusing and create an error trap – making it easier for someone to make a mistake.

Having a second person to observe the operation is sometimes called the ‘4-Eyes Principle.’ However, this practice improves safety only if the observer knows how to perform the task and is willing to intervene if an error is made or an unsafe situation develops.

Prepare for an activity by reading the procedure BEFORE going to the field.

Take two minutes before doing the task to ask yourself “What could go wrong?”, to review/check if you have the procedure, PPE and equipment needed to perform the job safely.

If you observe an error trap, notify your supervisor and file a safety report.

If an error trap cannot be corrected quickly, tag the device to alert others.

Make sure all valve positions, the status of the equipment, and expected process conditions are identified in task procedures to reduce errors.

If asked to perform a task that you haven’t done in a while, review the procedures and ask a coworker if anything has changed.

Figure 1: Diagram showing correct and incorrect ways to remove the handwheel described in the incident (Ref . Figure 3 CSB report 2016-02-I-LA )

Did You Know?

What Can You Do?

This issue sponsored by

Messages for Manufacturing Personnelwww.aiche.org/ccps/process-safety-beacon

Valve Disassembled on Day of Incident

Actual Gearbox Removal Designed Gearbox Removal



NEWS DIGEST

GeneralExporters across sectors are flushed with orders for next fiscal: FIEOBusiness Standard | 29 December 2021

The country’s exports are expected to register healthy growth rate in the financial year 2022-23 and might touch USD 530 billion as exporters are “flushed” with orders, the Federa-tion of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said.

It added that additional exports will come from some of the PLI (produc-tion-linked incentive) sectors in the next fiscal.

“Since we are likely to cross USD 400 billion in 2021-22, we should focus and aim for exports in the vicinity of USD 525-530 billion in 2022-23,” FIEO President A Sakthivel said in a statement.

India-UAE FTA text likely to get Cabinet nod soonBusiness Line | 27 December 2021

The final text of the proposed India-UAE free trade agreement is likely to be taken up by the Union Cabinet for approval soon as negotiations between the two sides have been successfully concluded, according to a source.

“The Cabinet approval for the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Part-nership Agreement (CEPA) is expected to come in time for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Dubai, scheduled around January 6, where the pact is likely to be formalised”, the source told BusinessLine.

Exports from India that could benefit from the CEPA include textiles, gems & jewellery, petroleum products, engineering and machinery products and chemicals. Gains will, however, be limited as import duties on most goods are at 5 per cent in the UAE.

“Market access in services, including mutual recognition agreements for various professions, is also an area of primary interest for India,” the source said. The CEPA will also cover other areas including investments and gov-ernment procurement.

Since India’s import duties, on both industrial and agricultural goods, are much higher, especially for sensitive sectors, it has greater responsibility of protecting its industry against import surges. “New Delhi’s key concern is that the UAE should not be used by third countries to ship their products to India at concessional import duties negotiated under the CEPA. While the Indian industry can face competition from the UAE, the situation can get serious if items from other countries also start getting in. It is, therefore, important to fix strong rules of origin,” the source said.

The UAE was India’s third largest trading partner in 2020-21 with the country exporting goods worth $16.7 billion and importing items valued at $26.6 billion. India’s major imports from the UAE include petroleum and petroleum products, precious metals, gems and jewellery, minerals, chemi-cals and wood products.

UAE has also investments worth $11 billion into India since 2000 and is among the top 10 investors for the country.

The proposed CEPA is also important

because of its strategic interest to In-dia since UAE is a top supplier of pe-troleum to the country and could play a major part in strengthening relations with the entire Gulf region.

India’s goal is to become the “No. 1 trading partner’’ of the UAE, Com-merce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said at a recent interaction with the industry. “UAE is a gateway to Gulf Cooperation Council and all of Africa,” he said.

The negotiations for the pact, which started in September 23-24 this year, were fast-tracked following an intensive round between officials from both sides earlier this month when demands and offers were finalised in all key areas including rules of origin. //The legal procedures and ratifica-tions to implement the CEPA may take some more time. It is expected to cover a wide range of areas including goods (both industrial and agricultur-al), services, investments and govern-ment procurement.

World economy now set to surpass $100 trillion in 2022The Times of India | 27 December 2021

The world economy is set to surpass $100 trillion for the first time in 2022, two years earlier than previously forecast, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

Global gross domestic product will be lifted by the continued recovery from the pandemic, although if inflation persists it may be hard for policy mak-ers to avoid tipping their economies back into recession, the London-based think tank said.

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“The important issue for the 2020s is how the world economies cope with inflation,” said Douglas McWilliams, the CEBR’s deputy chairman. “We hope that a relatively modest adjust-ment to the tiller will bring the non-transitory elements under control. If not, then the world will need to brace itself for a recession in 2023 or 2024.”

The forecast is in line with estimates of the International Monetary Fund, which also predicts global GDP mea-sured in dollars and in current prices will pass $100 trillion in 2022.

In its annual World Economic League Table, the CEBR also predicted:

China will overtake the US in 2030, two years later than forecast a year ago

India will regain sixth position from France next year and become third largest economy in 2031, a year later the previously predicted

The U.K. is on track to be 16 per cent larger than France in 2036 despite Brexit

Germany will overtake the Japanese economy in 2033

Climate change will lower consumer spending by $2 trillion a year on aver-age through 2036 as companies pass on the cost of decarbonizing invest-ment

FY23 exports growth may slip, goods shipments seen at $460-475 b: FIEOThe Economic Times | 24 December 2021

India’s exports growth may slow to 15-17.5% in FY23 but containment of Covid-19 through massive vaccina-tion across the globe and creation of required capacity will be the decisive factors, the country’s top export-ers body has said. The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said that FY22 is expected to end with merchandise exports of $400 billion, a growth of 37.6% over $290.6 billion of exports in FY21, but the aim for the

next fiscal is $460-475 billion. Since $400 billion would be a high base for FY23, an export growth of 30-35% on such numbers would be difficult, particularly as additional exports may require augmenting the capacity as well, FIEO said in a statement

Despite hiccups, $400-billion export goal seems within reachFinancial Express | 22 December 2021

India’s exports to eight of its top 15 markets are trailing the official tar-gets. Nonetheless, the country is still on course to realise its lofty goal of shipping out merchandise worth $400 billion in FY22, as despatches to some other economies beat expectations, reflecting deeper market penetration. In an unusual move, the commerce ministry this year fixed targets for each of the top 30 markets, instead of restricting the practice to a few or setting just a full-year goal.

The ministry then followed it up with regular meetings with stakeholders and overseas missions for targeted interventions to enable exporters to better cash in on a global industrial resurgence, an official source told FE. In the first seven months of this fiscal, exports to the UAE, Singapore, the

UK, Netherland, Germany, Nepal, Malaysia and Turkey were in the range of only 32% to 54% of the full-year target. Exports to three economies — Turkey, Malaysia and the UAE — did falter more dramatically, achieving just 32-44% of the full-year aim.

In a business-as-usual scenario, actual outbound shipments until October should have exceeded 55-58% of the full-year target, analysts said. They blamed persistent supply-chain bottle-necks, Covid-related curbs (especially in parts of Europe) and frosty political ties for the lower-than-expected ex-ports to these economies. The top 15 markets are expected to fetch $246 billion in FY22, or 61% of the overall target of $400 billion.

However, robust exports to other important markets–including the US, China, Bangladesh, Belgium, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia—almost offset the shortfall. Exports to these markets remained in the range of 62% to 71%. On top of this, outbound shipments to some others among the top 30 destinations, such as Korea, Brazil, Italy and Japan, too, remained strong. In the first seven months of this fiscal, goods exports hit as much as $234 billion, almost 59% of the full-year target.

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Glasgow pact ‘not mandating’ coal phase-down: Union coal minister Pralhad JoshiFinancial Express | 21 December 2021

Stating that the Glasgow Climate Pact does not mandate the phase down of coal power, “and it is not setting any timelines” for the same, Union coal minister Pralhad Joshi said on Monday that “despite the push for renewables, the country will require base load capacity of coal-based generation for stability and also for energy security”.

Pointing out that the agreement only calls upon parties to accelerate efforts towards the phase down of unabated coal power in line with national cir-cumstances and recognising the need for support towards a just transition,” in a written reply to the Parliament the minister said that “the pace of transition to cleaner energy sources in India is to be viewed in the light of national circumstances, and principle of common but differentiated respon-sibilities and respective capabilities, the transfer of climate finance and low cost climate technologies”.

Analysts in India had said that the Glasgow agreement fell short of realising the ambition of meaningfully addressing the issue of global warning, even as it claimed to have ‘kept alive’ the hope of capping global warm-ing at 1.5 degrees Celsius. They also averred that coal phase-out timelines or urgency cannot be the same for all countries, and particularly when there is no mention of phase-out of oil and natural gas in the pact.

Based on the analysis of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the coal-based power generation capacity is expected to reduce from the current level to 54% of India’s total power generation capacity to 33% by FY30. Currently, the total installed power generation capacity in the country is 391 GW, of which coal-fired units make up for 209 GW. By FY30, CEA has projected that out of the total in-

stalled capacity of 795 GW, 266 GW will be coal-based. The government had earlier estimated that the country will need 892 million tonne (MT) of coal in FY30 for power generation. India currently produces around 600 MT of coal annually, and even if the share of the fuel in power generation decreases, coal output will have to increase to cater to local demand.

The World Is Burning the Most Coal Ever to Keep The Lights OnBloomberg | 20 December 2021

The world likely will generate more electricity from the dirtiest source this year than ever before, indicat-ing just how far the energy transition still needs to run in the fight against climate change.

Coal-fueled generation is set to jump 9% from last year, according to an In-ternational Energy Agency report. That U-turn from the declines of the previ-ous two years threatens the world’s trajectory to reach net-zero emissions

by 2050, the organization said. The U.S. and European Union had the biggest increases in coal use at about 20% each, followed by India at 12% and China -- the world’s largest con-sumer -- at 9%, the IEA estimated.

The comeback is being driven by economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, which is outpacing the ability of low-carbon energy sources to maintain supply. “Coal is the single largest source of global carbon emis-sions, and this year’s historically high level of coal power generation is a worrying sign of how far off track the world is in its efforts to put emissions into decline toward net zero,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said. Re-cord natural gas prices have increased reliance on other sources, including coal, and amplified calls for faster in-vestments in renewables. Power prices in Europe have more than tripled in the past six months, and it’s become more profitable to burn coal than gas. Still, utilities have struggled to get their hands on it even as China and the U.S. boost production.

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Carbon-dioxide emissions from coal in 2024 are now predicted to be at least 3 billion tons higher than in a scenario reaching net-zero by 2050, the report said. The IEA expects peak coal to occur next year at 8.11 billion tons, with the biggest production increases coming from China, Russia and Pakistan.

For now, China accounts for about half of global coal production and needs to meet rising domestic de-mand. The government has pressured miners to reduce prices and lower the cost of burning coal during this year’s energy crisis, which triggered black-outs and rationing in the country.

Four labour codes may be implemented by FY23 as many states ready draft rulesBusiness Today | 19 December 2021

The four labour codes on wages, social security, industrial relations and occupation safety, health and working conditions are likely to be implemented by the next fiscal year as at least 13 states have pre-published draft rules on these laws, a senior official said. The Centre has already finalised the rules under these codes and now states are required to frame regulations on their part as labour is a concurrent subject.

A senior official said that the four labour codes are likely to be imple-mented by the next fiscal year.

Union Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav in a reply to the Rajya Sabha had said that the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code is the only code on which the least number of 13 states have pre-pub-lished the draft rules.

The highest number of draft notifica-tions are pre-published on The Code on Wages by 24 states/UTs followed by The Industrial Relations Code (by 20 states) and The Code on Social Security (18) states.

In his reply to the Upper House, the minister explained that labour is in the Concurrent List of the Constitu-tion and under the Labour Codes, rules are required to be framed by the central government as well as by the state governments.

The central government and some of the States/UTs have pre-published rules under the four labour codes. The central government is pursuing with the remaining state governments to frame the rules under all four Codes, he had said.

The central government has notified four labour codes, namely, the Code on Wages, 2019, on August 8, 2019, and the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 on September 29, 2020.

However, the Centre as well as states are required to notify rules under the four codes to enforce these laws in respective jurisdictions. Under the Codes, the power to make rules has been entrusted to the Central Govern-ment, State Government and ap-propriate Government and there is a requirement of publication of Rules in their official Gazette for a period of 30 or 45 days for public consultation.

As per the minister’s reply, draft rules are pre-published by 24 states on The Code on Wages viz. Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Him-achal Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Goa, Mizoram, Telangana, Assam, Manipur, UTs of Jammu and Kashmir, Puducherry and GNCT of Delhi.

Similarly, the 20 states which have pre-published draft rules on The Industrial Relations Code are Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Hary-ana, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Manipur, Assam, Goa, UTs of Jammu

and Kashmir and Puducherry.

As many as 18 states have pre-pub-lished draft rules on The Code on So-cial Security. These states are Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Odi-sha, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Assam, Gujarat, Goa and UT of Jammu and Kashmir

As many as 13 states have pre-pub-lished draft rules on The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Condi-tions Code. These are Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Punjab, Manipur, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

Former RBI Governor says need to go back to high growth in 2022Business Line | 19 December 2021

Dr C Rangarajan, Chancellor of The ICFAI Foundation for Higher Educa-tion, Hyderabad and former Chair-man, Prime Minister’s Economic Advi-sory Council, said that there is a need to go back to high growth in 2022 and the top three focus areas for govern-ment to spend would be healthcare, relief for poor, and stimulation to restart businesses.

“Due to Covid-19, the economy has lost two years — one in decline and another to cope up with the decline and there is a need to go back to high growth in 2022,” Rangarajan said while delivering a lecture on “Growth and Policy Coordination in the con-text of Covid-19 on Friday.

According to him, the world was going through an economic crisis trig-gered by a non-economic factor and the impact of Covid-19 can be seen in terms of human tragedy and eco-nomic loss. While India fared better than many developed economies in terms of number of deaths per lakh of population, some developing coun-

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tries performed better than India.

When the economic impact is consid-ered, there was huge loss in output, which was due to the lockdown and restrictions imposed to contain the spread of Covid. While domestic de-mand was weak, exports grew in the first half of 2021-22, compared to the previous years.

While financial markets were expect-ed to be adversely impacted, it did not happen, and the finance market continued to boom and touched new highs. Talking about the impact of the pandemic on different sectors, he said that while hospitality sector suffered, agriculture did well.

The government initiated both mone-tary and fiscal policy measures to help improve money supply and liquidity in the system. The monetary policy measures included reducing interest rates, providing credit, and improving liquidity of banks, NBFCs and others, in order to make credit available. The government also came up with mora-torium, to help the borrowers tide over the crisis. By December 2021, the reserve money, money supply and credit have all increased. However, he cautioned that this might lead to too much liquidity and inflation could increase.

On the fiscal policy front, he said that government should expand expendi-tures in three categories. Healthcare — for vaccines, oxygen supply, venti-lators, improving hospitals; providing relief to the vulnerable poor — direct cash and cash relief to the poor; stimulation expenses — support to restart businesses, credit guarantee to commercial banks to support MSMEs.

GST on ocean freight can’t be imposed on importers, companies tell SCBusiness Standard | 18 December 2021

Importers have argued against the imposition of integrated goods and services tax (IGST) on ocean freight in the Supreme Court. They pleaded

for the quashing of a petition by the government filed in the apex court against a Gujarat High Court judg-ment that had declared IGSTon ocean freight as violative of the Constitution.

Ocean freight is the cost incurred through an agreement between two foreign parties to ship goods to India. For instance, if goods are exported from Washington, the exporter con-cerned may enter into an agreement with a shipping line there and pay ocean freight to it.

A provision in the Central GST Act permitted levy of both basic customs duty and IGST on the cost, insur-ance and freight (CIF) value of goods brought into India. A government notification later also extended IGST to ocean freight on importers on the reverse charge mechanism. Under GST, service tax is usually paid by sell-ers of services, but where it becomes difficult for the government to receive tax from sellers, it imposes it on re-cipients of services. This is called the reverse charge mechanism.

Arguing on behalf of companies, Abhishek Rastogi, partner at Khaitan & Co., said Indian importers will not fall within the definition of recipient under the GST Act as the exporters of goods situated outside India are liable to pay ocean freight to the foreign shipping line.

He said only the recipient can be burdened with the tax on liability of services which draw GST.

Companies such as Gujarat Petro-chem are respondents to the case in the Supreme Court.

Additional Solicitor General N Ven-kataraman, on the other hand, argued that the levy is not extra territorial and that it is not a case of double taxation. Last year, the Gujarat High Court had declared imposition of IGST on ocean freight as violative of the Constitution.

The court had said the levy and col-lection of tax on ocean freight was not permissible under the law.

Investment proposals worth $121 bn in the pipelineFinancial Express | 17 December 2021

As many as 863 proposals involving total investment of $121 billion are under consideration of the project development cells (PDCs) of various ministries, the commerce and industry ministry said.

These proposals include 272 “highly probable” (more than 90% probability of fruition) ones with envisaged invest-ments of $41 billion; 279 “moder-ately probable” (51-90% probability) proposals with potential investments of $69 billion; and long-term (less than 50% probability) projects involv-ing $11 billion in investments, it said. PDCs have been set up by the govern-ment in 29 ministries.

Investments remain critical to the country’s economic resurgence, as private consumption has been badly bruised by income losses in the aftermath of the pandemic. Gross fixed capital formation grew 11% in the September quarter, although it was aided by a conducive base (it was -8.6% a year before). Earlier this month, chief economic advisor Krish-namurthy V Subramanian said that private investment is gathering pace and would see a spurt once pandem-ic-induced uncertainties subside.

The commerce and industry ministry said the high number of investment proposals, coupled with sustained inflows of record foreign direct invest-ments in recent years, are the cul-mination of several investor-friendly policies adopted by the government. These include a cut in the corporate tax rate, easing liquidity problems of NBFCs and banks, improving ease of doing business and FDI policy reforms, reduction in compliance bur-den and production-linked incentive schemes.

India reported a record FDI inflow of $82 billion in FY21 despite the pan-demic. FDI inflows in the last seven fi-

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nancial years (2014-21) stood at $440 billion, about 58% of the total FDI inflow in the last 21 financial years.

To facilitate investments, measures such as India Industrial Land Bank, Industrial Park Rating System, soft launch of the National Single Window System, and National Infrastructure Pipeline and National Monetisation Pipeline have also been put in place, the ministry said.

Exports up 27% in November but trade deficit hits recordFinancial Express | 15 December 2021

Merchandise exports rose 27.2% in November from a year before but an almost 57% surge in imports inflated trade deficit to a record $22.9 billion last month, according to the provi-sional estimate released by the com-merce ministry.

The November deficit is not just double the level witnessed a year before, but also significantly higher than the November 2019 mark. This is a “cause for concern regarding the implications for the size of the current account deficit (CAD) in the second half of this fiscal”, according to ICRA chief economist Aditi Nayar.

She forecast the CAD to widen to $25-30 billion in the third quarter itself, exceeding the full-year deficit recorded in the pre-pandemic year of FY20. Still, it would remain well within control, said a senior govern-ment official.

Having hit a monthly record of $35.7 billion in October, merchandise exports dropped to $30 billion in November, as fresh supply bottlenecks across the globe, including a spike in shipping costs and container shortage, hurt exporters’ ability to ship out.

Nevertheless, exports registered a 16.6% rise from the pre-pandemic (same month in FY20) level to $30 billion. However, imports shot up by 37.4% from the pre-Covid level to $52.9 billion.

Of course, imports were driven partly by a spill-over of pent-up domestic demand that remained mostly muted in the wake of the pandemic. But import bill was greatly inflated by elevated global crude oil prices and massive purchases of coal, cooking oil and gold.

Carbon Capture - CCUS emerges as a possible option for industry decarbonisationRenewable Watch | 14 December 2021

There is a growing realisation that a net zero carbon economy won’t be achieved without deep decarbonisa-tion of the power and industry sectors. During the recently concluded COP26 (26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties), India has pledged to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2070. The coal-reliant power sector, including hard-to-abate industry sub-sectors such as iron and steel, cement, fertilisers and petroleum refining, is highly emission intensive. India’s energy transition is primarily being driven through its renewable energy expansion programme. However, to achieve net zero carbon economy and related green energy transition targets, primarily for the industry segment, there is a need to focus on alterna-tive technological options such as carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS).

For quite some time there has been a marginal interest in the domestic deployment of CCUS technology in India because of the concerns about the public’s reaction to underground carbon dioxide storage, poor geo-logical carbon dioxide storage data, higher cost and technical uncertainties associated with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. Therefore, CCUS technology is relatively in a budding stage in the country. Due to increased focus on climate change aspects, there is certainly a mount-ing interest in the CCUS domain. Targeted research and development (R&D) initiatives are being undertaken

to develop a better understanding and promote CCUS in the country. The Department of Science and Technol-ogy (DST), Government of India, took the lead, and in 2007, established the Indian Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Applied Research network. The Na-tional Action Plan on Climate Change, unveiled in 2008, also talked about CCS for reducing emissions from coal-fired power plants. The DST, in collaboration with the Department of Biotechnology, jointly launched “IC3 – the Carbon Capture Innovation Chal-lenge”, in July 2018, for undertaking joint R&D with member countries of the Mission Innovation to identify and prioritise breakthrough technologies in the field of carbon dioxide capture, separation, storage and value addi-tion. Under this initiative, 22 research, development and demonstration (RD&D) projects addressing various research areas related to CCUS have been recommended for support.

Under the Accelerating CCS Technol-ogies (ACT) Initiative, for which India has committed 1 million euros to sup-port Indian participants, the DST has also established a national programme on carbon dioxide storage research and intends to support CCUS RD&D projects. Currently, 13 countries, regions and provinces are working together in ACT to fund R&D that can lead to the development of safe and cost-effective CCUS technology.

The Government of India has also approved a policy framework to “Promote and Incentivise Enhanced Recovery Methods for Oil and Gas” to provide various fiscal incentives such as reduction in oil industry develop-ment cess and reduced royalties for oil and gas production through enhanced recovery. Leading aca-demic institutions are also focusing on various facets of CCUS. The Institute of Reservoir Studies is carrying out carbon dioxide capture and enhanced oil recovery field studies in Gujarat. Similarly, the National Geological Research Institute, Hyderabad is test-ing the feasibility of storing carbon dioxide in basalt formations.

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CCUS has also started gaining mo-mentum across various industrial subsectors in the country. Some of the leading Indian industries that have initiated the process of setting up CCUS facilities are National Alu-minium Company Limited (NALCO), the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation Limited. Reliance Industries Limited has also announced that it is developing CCS technology as part of its net-zero commitment. In September 2020, an “Industry Charter” for near-zero emissions by 2050 was agreed to by six Indian companies. The pledged companies will explore different decarbonisation measures, includ-ing carbon sequestration. The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), which has been at the forefront of assessing future pathways for India’s energy and industry transition, will serve as the secretariat of this industry coalition.

The Indian cement and steel indus-try sub-sectors are now proactively pursuing CCUS as part of their emis-sion reduction goals. Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited has committed to becoming carbon negative by 2040 and carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) is among the options that will be deployed to meet this target. The company has announced building, in collaboration with Carbon Clean Solu-tions Limited (CCSL) UK, a large-scale 500,000 tonne per annum carbon capture facility at its cement plant in Tamil Nadu. India’s leading steel man-ufacturer, Tata Steel commissioned a 5 tonne per day (tpa) carbon capture plant at its Jamshedpur Works in Sep-tember 2021, making it the country’s first steel company to adopt a carbon capture technology that will extract carbon dioxide directly from the blast furnace gas. The leading Indian oil and gas sector players, ONGC and Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) have also joined hands to implement CCUS projects in India. ONGC plans to establish a pilot plant in Gujarat to capture carbon dioxide from IOCL’s Koyali refinery. The captured carbon

dioxide would be injected into a depleted onshore crude oil reservoir at the Gandhar field, where it would be recompressed and injected for enhanced recovery of crude oil.

The Indian chemical and fertiliser sector is also focusing on CCUS tech-nologies. In 2016, Tuticorin Alkali Chemicals and Fertilisers Limited, Tamil Nadu, in partnership with CCSL, UK, initiated the first unsubsidised industrial-scale plant for CCU. The patented carbon stripping technology will lock up 60,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year from its own coal-powered boiler and utilise it to make soda ash, a base chemical used in glass manufacturing, paper production and detergents.

The energy conglomerate NTPC Lim-ited is also engaged in various CCU projects. NETRA, the R&D wing of NTPC, is setting up a carbon dioxide to methanol demonstration plant at NTPC Vindhyachal, India. CCSL, along with Green Power International Private Limited, has been selected to design and build a carbon capture plant with a 20 tpa capacity at this demonstration plant. NALCO, Angul, Odisha has successfully commissioned a pilot-cum-demonstration carbon di-oxide sequestration plant in its captive power plant.

To move ahead in fully utilising the potential of CCUS, it is vital to undertake R&D in this domain. Policymakers as well as industry lead-ers are trying to better understand the technology’s techno-economic feasibility and scalability. It is high time we carried out cluster-wise studies to identify the potential of CCU. New industrial zones may be planned in a way to maximise the CCU potential. Large industrial units should identify the potential sites for utilising captured carbon. The local administration as well as the respec-tive industry associations can play an active role in this regard. However, commercial-scale penetration of CCS seems to be a challenging proposition for India. At present, the comprehen-

sive geological assessment for carbon dioxide storage potential has not been studied. Precise information about the geo-sequestration potential and ap-propriate sites will play an important role in building confidence among stakeholders of CCS. Being a costly technological option, the uptake of CCS will require putting in place an enabling policy environment and ap-propriate financial incentives. It is also important to appropriately address the public concerns regarding groundwa-ter contamination and possibilities of carbon dioxide leakage. To success-fully address the challenges faced by CCUS in the country, there is a need to develop an ecosystem that focuses on key aspects of R&D, policy and finance.

Exports to cross $100 billion in Q3Deccan Chronicle | 14 December 2021

The Export-Import Bank of India has forecast that merchandise exports in the December quarter will cross the $100-billion mark for the second consecutive quarter. By the end of the December quarter, the country would have crossed $300 billion in exports and would be well poised to achieve the $400billion target for the fiscal, the Exim Bank said.

For the December quarter, the bank predicts merchandise exports of $105.8 billion. This would be a 39.6 per cent growth over $75.8 billion exports in the same quarter last year. Of this, non-oil exports are expected to amount to $89.1 billion, growing at 26.8 per cent over $70.3 billion in the corresponding quarter of FY21.

The Exim Bank has attributed the rise in India’s exports largely to the contin-ued growth momentum in advanced economies and the resultant increase in global import demand along with favourable global commodity prices.

In the June quarter, Indian merchan-dise exports were a little over $95 billion. Exports surpassed the $100 billion mark in the quarter ending

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September. India clocked a total of $101.89 billion in exports during the July-September quarter. With this, India’s exports reached $197 billion in the first two quarters of the fiscal.

Considering the forecast of exports turnover moving beyond $300 billion, if the export turnover in the March quarter touches $100 billion, then the country will achieve exports of $400 billion– the target fixed by the govern-ment for the fiscal.

“The exports for the fiscal will cross the target of $400 billion. Usually, February and March record higher exports compared to the preced-ing months,” said K. Unnikrishnan, deputy director general, FIEO.

Duty relief for hundreds of products likelyThe Free Press Journal | 13 December 2021

India has zeroed in on more than 1,000 products across sectors, in-cluding textiles & garments, gem & jewellery, leather, spices, engineering goods, chemicals and poultry, where it wants duty concessions from the UAE under a proposed free trade agree-ment (FTA), sources told FE.

New Delhi and Abu Dhabi held the third round of FTA negotiations from December 6 to 10. They have ham-mered out broad contours of the deal and are giving final touches to it, said an official source. It would be the first FTA to be signed by India in over a decade.

While the UAE, India’s third-largest export destination, currently slaps a 5% duty on textiles & garments and jewellery, certain steel products are taxed at 10%. These three segments alone made up for 34% of India’s $16.7 billion exports to the UAE last fiscal and 43% in the pre-pandemic year of FY20.

The negotiations with the UAE are a part of India’s broader strategy to forge “fair and balanced” trade agreements with key economies and

revamp existing pacts to boost trade. The move gained traction after India pulled out of the China-dominated RCEP talks in November 2019. India is also engaged in talks with Australia, the UK and the EU for FTAs.

Balanced FTAs will enable the country to achieve sustained growth rates in exports in the coming years. Already, India has set an ambitious merchan-dise export target of $400 billion for FY22, against $291 billion in FY21.

The UAE was India’s second-biggest goods export market until FY20, behind only the US, before China pipped it in FY21 when the pandemic caused severe trade disruptions.

India’s major exports to the UAE include petroleum products, precious metals, stones, gems and jewellery, textiles and garments, food items, engineering goods and chemicals. Its main imports from the UAE include petroleum and petroleum products, precious metals, stones, gems and jewellery, minerals, chemicals and wood and wood products.

US largest trading partner of India during April-Oct: GovtMillennium Post | 03 December 2021

During the April-October period this fiscal, the US has once again emerged as the largest trading partner of India with bilateral merchandise trade of $67.41 billion. The US has been the largest trading partner of India with respect to merchandise trade since 2018-19, except in 2020-21, when trade with America declined margin-ally on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, Minister of State for Com-merce and Industry Anupriya Patel said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

“In the current 2021-22 (April- Oc-tober), the US has once again be-come the largest trading partner with bilateral merchandise trade of $67.41 billion, accounting for 11.98 per cent of India’s total merchandise trade,”

she said. Also Read - Rupee up 4 paise at 75.05 against US dollar She also said that India’s bilateral trade with Australia has increased to $13.88 billion in 2021, from $7.48 billion in the corresponding period of 2020. Similarly, the bilateral trade with UAE has grown to $49.06 billion in 2021, from $29.48 billion in 2020 for the same period.

Govt. seeks greater industry role in boosting exportsFinancial Express | 03 December 2021

The commerce ministry has asked state-backed export councils and key industry bodies to work more closely with various government departments and overseas missions, and suggest, through research and studies, “rel-evant areas for intervention”, as part of its broader effort to realise the lofty $400-billion export target for FY22.

Having successfully weathered the damage caused by two Covid waves, Indian exporters face fresh uncertain-ties now from the emergence of a new Covid variant in Africa that can further disrupt the already-burdened global supply chains.

For its part, the ministry is planning to bring in a new set of reforms to invigorate special economic zones (SEZs), once considered to be drivers of export growth in future, under an “SEZ-plus” initiative, an official source told FE. The new plan could include revised norms for SEZs to sell in the domestic market at lower duties and easier exit route for loss-making firms in these duty-free enclaves.

Chemicals and Petrochemicals Sigachi Industries gets LoI from Grasim IndustriesUdaipur Kiran | 27 December 2021

Sigachi Industries has received Letter

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of Intent (LoI) from Grasim Industries (Aditya Birla Group), for the opera-tions and management of the three Chlorine Product Plants- SBP-48 TPD, CPW-30TPD & MCAA-20TPD. The agreement shall be for an amount of 20 crore and will be valid for a period of 3 years.

Sigachi Industries is an industry leader in the field of Pharma Excipients, Nutra and food ingredients. The company has rapidly established itself as one of the largest manufacturers of Microcrystalline Cellulose worldwide.

Attero to invest Rs 300 cr to ramp up lithium-ion battery recycling capacity to 11,000 tonsThe Free Press Journal | 25 December 2021

E-waste recycling firm Attero is plan-ning to invest Rs 300 crore in a bid to increase its existing lithium-ion battery recycling capacity by 11 times to 11,000 tons by the end of 2022, a top company official said.

According to the market estimates, In-dia generates more than 50,000 tons of lithium-ion battery waste every year and it is growing in the range of 40-80 per cent depending on different mod-els used for computing electric vehicle growth in India, Attero Recycling CEO and co-founder Nitin Gupta told.

‘’By the end of 2022, we will be around 22 per cent of the current market size. In terms of tons, it will be 11,000 tons. We are making fresh investments and will soon have a sig-nificant amount of investment to build up this capacity... We are planning to invest close to around Rs 300 crore,’’ he said.

Lithium-ion batteries turn hazardous when they come towards the end of life and need to be treated in an envi-ronmentally friendly manner. Almost 30 per cent of the value of a lithium-ion battery cell is the value of metals which make it up, which include cobalt, lithium, nickel, and graphite.

‘’Almost 70 per cent of the world’s co-balt today is mined in the DR Congo region, which is known for child labour, terrorists regimes etc. At the current consumption rate, the world will run out of cobalt by 2030.

‘’Therefore, recycling lithium-ion bat-teries, and extracting cobalt and reus-ing cobalt in battery manufacturing is not only a good thing to do from an environmental perspective, but also supply security issues,’’ he said.

Gupta said that almost 60 per cent of the world’s lithium is mined in the Bo-livia Argentina triangle, which is also considered the world’s driest region and the traditional lithium mining is a water guzzling process.

‘’To extract one ton of lithium using a traditional lithium mining process requires more than 500,000 gallons of water, which creates a whole amount of ecological issues and social issues around the region as well,’’ he said.

The company is looking at becom-ing a big player in not only recycling lithium-ion batteries but also becom-ing a significant player in the supply chain of critical materials, which include cobalt, Lithium, Graphite, and Nickel.

Commerce Ministry for imposing anti-dumping duty on a chemical from four nationsThe Economic Times | 24 December 2021

The commerce ministry’s investiga-tion arm DGTR has recommended imposition of anti-dumping duty on caustic soda, used in diverse indus-trial sectors, for five years from Japan, Iran, Qatar and Oman, to guard domestic players from cheap imports. The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has recommended the duty after concluding in its probe that the product has been exported at dumped prices into India, which impacted the domestic industry. “The authority considers it necessary to

recommend imposition of defini-tive antidumping duty...for a period of five (5) years on all imports of the goods...from Japan, Iran, Oman and Qatar from the date of notification to be issued in this regard by the central government,” the directorate has said in a notification. DGTR had conduct-ed the probe following a complaint from Alkali Manufacturers Association of India (AMAI), which had requested for a probe.

The recommended duty ranges be-tween USD 8.32-8.61 per Dry Metric Tonne (DMT). The finance ministry takes the final decision to impose duty.

“The authority is of the view that imposition of anti-dumping is re-quired to offset dumping and injury,” the notification said. The imposition of anti-dumping duty is permissible under the World Trade Organization (WTO) regime. The duty is aimed at ensuring fair trading practices and cre-ating a level-playing field for domestic producers vis-a-vis foreign producers and exporters.

Urgent need to regulate chemicals in productsHindustan Times | 20 December 2021

I’ll begin with a grim conclusion: Even in countries with good regula-tory apparatus, trusting consumers are sometimes left to fend for them-selves, particularly in the case of toxic chemicals.

On Friday, Procter and Gamble recalled a line of dry shampoos and conditioners in the US, because they contained the cancer-causing Ben-zene. These include brand names very familiar to urban Indians. The recall, according to the US Govern-ment’s Food and Drug Administration website, is voluntary.

One might ask why, after various trysts with toxicity, the US does not have a system in place to prevent this. On the other hand, the bigger question is

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how chemicals per se are regulated. Most of them are not tested for their toxicity before entering the market. Often, their toxicity is discovered only retrospectively, and the only action possible is preventing future damage. In India, we face additional challenges with products made informally or at small scale, because these are even harder to regulate. This makes us all vulnerable.

What we need is a regulatory system where the manufacturer is obliged to declare the chemicals in a product with proof of their safety before being allowed to put them in the market. For imported products, the importer must provide the proof, because there’s no other way to keep a check on consumer goods from say, China. This requires a highly technical but transparent framework. This is a very hard but essential task. Consumers cannot rely on corporate decisions to recall or otherwise to stay safe.

Stall expansion of petrochemical industries: ExpertsTimes of India | 19 December 2021

Experts and activists have urged the government to stop the expansion of petrochemical industry, hold polluters accountable and implement the ban on single use plastics.

Speaking at a discussion on the title “The Plastic Emergency” organized by #BreakFreeFromPlastic movement and Citizen consumer and civic action group (CAG), experts said that the governments may have banned single use plastics, but they are still manu-factured for exports and they are also pushing to increase the capacity by incentivising petrochemical industry.

Tamil Nadu generates around 79,114 tonnes of plastic waste every year. Vishvaja Sambath, Chennai Climate Action Group, said from cancers and neurological disorders to reproductive and developmental disorders plastic has its impact on health. “Tamil Nadu has announced three new large indus-

tries in Tuticorin, Nagapattinam and Cuddalore. If we think that we are not affected in Chennai, we are wrong. We have one huge impact-causing a petrochemical hub in our backyard at Manali,” he said.

S Saroja, CAG, said a study they had conducted earlier this year showed that there is a disparity in the ban.

Experts also stressed on waste man-agement on the lines of Bengaluru. Nalini Shekar of Hasiru Dala said they set up a dry waste collection center and an effective implementation of ban on single use plastics by holding a stakeholder meeting discussing the impacts of plastic use. This reduced dry waste from 1.5tonnes to 60 to 80kg in a ward.

UK offers sustainability experience to Indian chemical industryIndian Chemical News | 15 December 2021

“United Kingdom is actively work-ing for the growth of the chemicals sector through promotion of exports and inward investment support. Our agenda includes promotion of clean growth opportunities and delivering a strong management programme for key chemicals investors and export-ers,” says Ivan Lima, Head of Chemi-cals, Healthcare, Life Sciences and Chemicals Cluster, Department for International Trade, London.

As a part of the UK-India Enhanced Trade Partnership, our intent is to ne-gotiate a free trade agreement, double UK-India trade over the next decade, and deliver a market access package that progresses both quick wins and long-standing UK asks in the UK-India relationship. We are currently shaping our objectives and we hope nego-tiations commence early next year,” added Lima.

Lima was speaking at the UK - In-dia Chemicals webinar themed ‘UK as a partner of choice to the Indian Chemical Industry’.

“The chemicals sector in the UK has four strong clusters which are linked by an Ethylene pipeline. Most of the large elements of the industry will be found in Grangemouth in Edinburgh, Scotland; Rocksavage International in North West England; Saltend Chemi-cals Park in North East England; and Wilton International in North East England. However, there is also significant chemical industry activ-ity, mainly in more speciality areas, which is outside these main clusters. On the high agenda are developing sustainable ingredients for personal care and consumer products includ-ing shampoo, detergents, glues, paints etc.; Investing in decarbonisation of chemicals manufacturing; and Decarbonised power through use of hydrogen and carbon capture as well as utilizing green electricity. The other areas include: Developing and manu-facturing chemical inputs into the Electric Vehicle battery supply chain; Making plastic packaging that de-grades completely or can be recycled fully; and digitalization of production processes,” said Lima.

Sharing his perspective on UK chemi-cals export capability, Alastair Gard-ner, Chemical Sector Specialist, Trade, Department for International Trade, London said, “There are approximate-ly 4,500 businesses in the UK chemi-cals supply chain. The UK Chemicals and petrochemical industry is the 2nd largest contributor to the country’s manufacturing GDP with revenues of around €55 billion per annum. These include manufacturers, formulators, and downstream high value consumer goods manufacturers. UK speciality chemical expertise includes adhesives and sealants, additives, agrochemicals, aerosols, inks, paints and coatings, personal care, lubricants, pharma, circular economy, batteries, laboratory and equipment suppliers, electron-ics, and miscellaneous specialities. Organic chemicals, polymers, and plastic products are in high demand in the UK. While we do import from India which is an important specialty market, we are looking at building more partnerships, especially for sell-

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ing downstream process equipment.”

“Speciality chemicals and organic fertilizers are among few major areas of trade between UK and India. For water and industrial effluent treatment plants, we can bring in technologies from the UK. Going forward, we plan to organize business to business (B2B) programs in the months of March - April, 2022. If the COVID situation permits, hopefully the delegation from the UK will visit India and reach out to the Indian companies,” says Jasdeep Jassal, Senior Sector Manager - Chem-icals, Department for International Trade (DIT) India.

RIL, Abu Dhabi company form JV for $2-b chemicals facility in UAEBusiness Line | 08 December 2021

Abu Dhabi Chemicals Derivatives Company RSC Ltd (TA’ZIZ) and Reli-ance Industries (RIL) have formed a joint venture that will invest more than $2 billion in a chemical produc-tion facility at the TA’ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone in Ruwais, UAE.

The joint venture will construct and operate a chlor-alkali, ethylene di-chloride (EDC) and polyvinyl chlo-ride (PVC) production unit, Reliance Industries said in a statement.

Representing the first production of these chemicals in the UAE, the project will enable substitution of im-ports and creation of new local value chains, while also meeting growing demand for these chemicals globally. The TA’ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone is a joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and ADQ.

The project builds on ADNOC and Reliance’s long-standing strategic partnership and is Reliance’s first investment in the MENA region. The joint venture agreement was signed in the presence of Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO,

and Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director, Mukesh Ambani.

“This joint venture marks a major milestone in ADNOC’s downstream expansion and the development of the TA’ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone. It will help strengthen domestic supply chains, drive in-country value and ac-celerate the UAE’s economic diversi-fication, in line with the leadership’s wise directives,” said Al Jaber.

The JV agreement builds on the sig-nificant interest in TA’ZIZ from local and international investors in recent months. TA’ZIZ comprises three zones — the first is an industrial chemicals zone that will host chemicals produc-tion, with seven world-scale projects already in the design phase.

The second is a light industrial zone, which will be home to downstream conversion industries that will convert the outputs of the chemical zone into consumable products and, finally, an industrial services zone that will house a variety of companies providing the necessary services required by the TA’ZIZ industrial zones and the wider Ruwais Industrial Complex.

The TA’ZIZ Industrial Chemical Zone projects are currently in the design phase with project start up targeted in 2025.

Sodium-ion batteries may dethrone lithium-ion batteries soonHindustan Times | 07 December 2021

Even two decades ago, driving an electric vehicle used to be something out of science fiction books. How-ever, the story is completely different in 2021. While lithium-ion batteries are predominantly being used as the power source for a wide range of electric vehicles, there are other dif-ferent battery technologies as well.

Several auto manufacturer, battery technology developers and startups are working on new battery technolo-

gies that are more efficient, offers a longer range and have higher power density compared to conventional batteries.

While conventional and widely-used lithium-ion batteries are playing a vital role in the development of electric vehicles, they are very expensive to produce and unstable in high tem-peratures.

As the researchers and battery manufacturers are searching for more sustainable replacement materials for lithium, one alternative is making quite a buzz - sodium.

In the periodic table, lithium and sodium are neighbours, which means they offer similar properties and can both be used for battery cell manufac-turing.

Sodium-ion batteries can offer some crucial advantages to EV manufactur-ers and consumers - sustainability, affordability, and increased safety. However, the energy density in sodi-um-ion batteries is lower than lithium-ion counterparts. Though this issue is likely to be improved over the next few years with constantly improving technologies.

This is why several battery manufac-turers are exploring the possibility to use sodium-ion batteries in the upcoming electric vehicles, in place of the traditional lithium-ion batter-ies. Here are three key reasons why sodium-ion batteries can become a suitable alternative to lithium-ion bat-teries.

While lithium’s availability is scarce across the world and concentrated in a few specific regions, sodium is a common element available in plenty of amounts and across the world. Sodium is usually mined from soda ash and can be found anywhere. It can be found even in seawater as well. Sodium is the seventh most abundant material in the world and in comparison to lithium, it is available 1,200 times more. The rich availability and even distribution of the mate-

33


rial around the world make the case in favour of sodium as a battery cell element.

Sodium’s abundance makes this material much cheaper than lithium. The element costs less to extract and purify compared to lithium. Sodium-ion battery cells can be manufactured with ample metals such as iron and manganese. Lithium-ion batteries on the other hand require cobalt, which is limited in reserve and distributed across the world in an uneven man-ner. Also, cobalt is highly expensive to obtain and comes as the most expen-sive part of EV batteries. As sodium-ion batteries can be built using exist-ing battery equipment, production too will not cost a hefty amount, as there won’t be massive redesigning effort.

Sodium-ion batteries offer better performance and can operate at a wider temperature range. They work much more efficiently in cold environments, compared to lithium-ion batteries. Another advantage of sodium-ion batteries over lithium-ion batteries is they are nonflammable and there is no thermal runaway. This means the risk of battery catching fire is less. The safety risk during transit is also nil. Manufacturers can transport the sodium-ion batteries with battery terminals connected and voltage held at zero.

Sodium-ion batteries are lightweight compared to lithium-ion batteries. This means, that sodium-ion batteries will ensure more efficient and agile handling of electric vehicles.

Tamil Nadu govt categorises speciality chemicals and petrochemicals as ‘sunrise’ sectorsChemical Weekly | 07 December 2021

Tamil Nadu has categorised special-ity chemicals and petrochemicals as ‘sunrise’ sectors to extend financial support through additional incentives, according to State Minister for Indus-

tries, Mr. Thangam Thennarasu. The government has leveraged investments for setting up three large petrochemi-cal projects in Tuticorin, Nagapat-tinam and Cuddalore, the Minister said while addressing the summit on ‘Global Chemical and Petrochemical Manufacturing Hubs’ in New Delhi recently.

“This would ensure supply of all required feedstock to strengthen and position the state as the petrochemi-cal investment destination,” he said. He pointed out that the projects would create immense potential for downstream investment opportunities from large to smaller companies to be a part of the growth story. Not-ing that the vision of Tamil Nadu and the Union government was aligned together to capitalise the manufac-turing sector’s growth potential, he said the aspiration of the government was to make Tamil Nadu a $1 trillion economy by 2030.

According to Mr. Thennarasu, Tamil Nadu is the third largest contributor to country’s chemical output housing more than 2,500 chemical industries with strong chemical industrial eco-system.

To further strengthen the ecosystem, he said the state government has established a Tamil Nadu Polymer Park across 306 acres near Chennai to cater to the needs of plastic manufac-turing and logistics.

Members’ NewsGrasim Industries commissions caustic soda projects in IndiaIndian Chemical News | 29 December 2021

Grasim Industries Limited has suc-cessfully commissioned projects at the Rehla, Jharkhand - Caustic Expansion Project and Balabhadrapuram, Andhra Pradesh - Commencement of Caustic production.

The ongoing expansion project at Rehla has been completed and the Company has successfully com-missioned the second phase of the expansion project at Rehla (80 TPD Caustic Soda Lye), taking overall Caustic Soda Lye capacity of Rehla unit to 550 TPD. The company had earlier commissioned the first phase in October, 21 with a capacity of 170 TPD caustic soda lye.

The Company had acquired the stalled Chlor Alkali Project of 200 TPD in the year 2019 from KPR Industries (India) Ltd situated at Balabhadra-puram, Andhra Pradesh. With system-atic investments, the Company is in the process of increasing the capacity at Balabhadrapuram unit to 400 TPD of caustic soda and three value added chlorine derivatives. The Company has now successfully commissioned Phase-I of the project (70 TPD Caustic Soda Lye) at Balabhadrapuram and it is in ramp up phase

Gujarat Fluorochemicals incorporates two subsidiariesIndian Chemical News | 28 December 2021

Gujarat Fluorochemicals Limited (GFL) has incorporated two wholly owned subsidiary companies - GFCL Solar and Green Hydrogen Products Limited (GSGHPL) and Gujarat Fluo-rochemicals FZE.

GFCL Solar and Green Hydrogen Products Limited will provide solu-tions for the entire value chain of all types of products and components for solar power systems, green hydrogen production etc. whereas Gujarat Fluo-rochemicals FZE will focus on trading and manufacturing of chemicals.

Headquartered in Noida, Gujarat Fluorochemicals Limited is a part of the INOX Group of companies. The group has diversified business seg-ments comprising chemicals, fluoro-specialities, fluoropolymers, cryogenic engineering, entertainment, industrial gasses, and renewable energy.

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Tata Chemicals Bags India’s top 25 Most Innovative Companies Award from CIIChemical Industry Digest | 24 December 2021

Tata Chemicals has been ranked among the top 25 most innovative In-dian companies by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The award evaluates all kinds of new processes, products, services, technologies, innovations and approaches which brought about tangible results. Tata Chemicals was felicitated with ‘CII Industrial Innovation Awards 2021’ in a virtual award ceremony held during the 27th edition of DST-CII Technol-ogy Summit 2021. Kris Gopalakrish-nan, Past President, CII and Chair-man, CII Industrial Innovation Awards 2021 along with Dr S Chandrasekhar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India pre-sented the award to Tata Chemicals at the virtual event.

R Mukundan, MD and CEO, Tata Chemicals says, “It is an honour to be recognised by CII for Excellence in In-novation and be counted amongst the Top 25 Innovative companies for the third year in a row. We will continue to focus on science differentiated In-novation, digitisation and sustainabil-ity as key pillars of our mission serving society through science. This award is a testimony of our commitment to emerge stronger as a sustainable, in-novative and science-led company.”

Tata Chemicals is focused on deliver-ing value to its customers. At present, the company has four centres for innovation and advancement in India, of which Rallis Innovation Chemistry Hub (RICH) and Agri-Biotech R&D facility are located in Bengaluru. The other two are – Tata Chemicals Innovation Centre in Pune and Tata Chemicals R&D Centre in Mithapur. These Centres are hub for technology and innovation to support growth of Tata Chemicals’ in basic chemistry sciences, AgroSciences, nutritional

sciences and material sciences. These centers are currently working on more than 20 projects in the areas of food, nanotechnology and biotechnology.

TCC ready to supply gas for KSRTC hydrogen cell busesThe New Indian Express | 18 December 2021

Kerala PSU Travancore Cochin Chemi-cals (TCC) will be a key supplier of hydrogen for the state government’s move to introduce 10 hydrogen fuel cell buses on Kerala roads. The high-powered committee meeting headed by the chief secretary, which was held last week, has asked Udyogamandal-based TCC to submit a detailed proj-ect report (DPR) to provide hydrogen fuel cells to KSRTC buses as part of the ambitious move to achieve green hydrogen mission.

TCC Ltd managing director K Hariku-mar said that a tender has been float-ed for preparing the DPR to set up a hydrogen purification plant, compres-sion, and dispensing/refuelling units. “The government asked us to submit a detailed project report for providing hydrogen to operate hydrogen fuel cell buses in Kerala. Some multina-tional companies have also submitted their tenders. We hope a final picture on setting up hydrogen purification, compression and dispensing units will emerge soon, “ Harikumar told TNIE.

According to the report, the govern-ment has requested 350 kg of hydro-gen cells to operate the buses. Central PSUs, NTPC and Indian Oil Corpora-tion (IOC), informed the government that they are ready to implement the hydrogen fuel cell project at Rs 1,000 crore and Rs 900 crore, respectively. “The state government has prioritised the TCC’s participation in the hydro-gen mission project. With the com-missioning of our new 75 PTD caustic soda plant, we will be able to gener-ate nearly 600 tonnes of hydrogen per day. Since we need only 300 tonnes per day, the remaining hydrogen can be used for other purposes,” he said.

Harikumar said that TCC will be able to provide 300 tonnes of hydrogen. Because hydrogen is a byproduct of caustic soda, the cost of the same will be half that of other firms. “At present, we are producing hydrogen which is 99.7% pure, but for use in vehicles it needs to have 99.9% purity. For this, we only need to set up a purification plant,” he explained.

TCC is planning to set up hydrogen cell dispenser units in Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, and Kochi. “In Kochi, the dispensing unit will be set up near Vyttila mobility hub. Since there is a plan to introduce hydrogen fuel cell boats, they will be used for both purposes. The call will be taken on the basis of government’s deci-sion,” he added.

Meghmani Finechem Ltd. appoints two senior leaders to lead key businesses and achieve sustainable growthIndia Education Diary | 13 December 2021

Meghmani Finechem Ltd, a leading manufacturer of Chlor-alkali products and value-added derivatives, an-nounced appointment of two senior leaders to their team, who will be part of key business verticals and streamline sustainable growth in the organisation. The new additions to the top-level management reflect on the growth strategy and trajectory of MFL to develop a robust continuity and succession plan by consulting some of the greatest and experienced minds in the country.

Mr. Vijay Vasudeva and Mr. Yas-hodhan Chitnis, both veterans and thought leaders from their domains, bring over 30 years of experience and expertise to the table. Mr Vijay Vasudeva has officially joined in the capacity of Senior Vice President (Op-erations), while Mr. Yashodhan Chitnis as Vice President (Marketing). Before joining Meghmani Finechem Ltd, Mr. Vijay Vasudeva was associated

35


with Deepak Nitrite Ltd as Associate Vice President & Site head, whereas Mr. Yashodhan was operational with Fine Organics Ltd as Vice President (Polymer Additives) – Global Busi-ness. In addition to sustainable growth and capabilities, the addition of such experienced and dynamic profession-als also establishes the management capabilities and visionary leadership within the organisation.

As the Senior VP (Operations), Mr. Vijay Vasudeva will be leading all the functions of Operations, Manufactur-ing and Maintenance at the Dahej plant. In a career spanning across 35 years, he has worked with Grasim Industries and at Reliance Industries Ltd. He is also a certified Process Safety Management professional from DuPont & Leadership Coach from British petroleum.

Similarly as Vice President (Market-ing), Mr. Yashodhan Chitnis, will be leading the functions of Marketing and Business Development Strate-gies for the derivatives products. Mr. Chitnis started his career in 1989 from Raymond Woollen Mills and later worked for Chemiequip Limited, Jaysynth Group of Companies, Megh-mani Organics and Fine Organics. During his 14 year long stint at Jay-synth, he was instrumental in setting up the US subsidiary for the group.

Going forward, Meghmani Finechem Ltd is looking to further strengthen and add to its human capital to accel-erate growth and maximize value for the shareholders.

Tata Chemicals: Focus on sustainability gives edgeThe Free Press Journal | 11 December 2021

Tata Chemicals Ltd is confident of growth as its focus on sustainability makes its offerings stand out, the com-pany management said.

A strong track record and changing global competitive landscape are expected to keep the business envi-ronment favourable, the company’s management said. The company’s key product, soda ash, is seeing robust de-mand thanks to growing new applica-tions in sustainability solutions, it said.

Soda ash sales may pick up with the help of usage of glass panels into solar cells, lithium carbonate demand, and the move to container glasses from plastics, it said.

The company noted that Indian soda ash suppliers are in a sweet spot, given the surplus availability of salt, abundance of limestone, and improv-ing green focus due to the shift to compliant fuels across the globe.

Tata Chemicals, Huntsman recognised at FICCI’s ‘Chemical and Petrochemical Industry Awards 2021’Chemical Weekly | 07 December 2021

Leading chemical companies - Tata Chemicals and Huntsman – were conferred with awards at the FICCI-

organised ‘India @75: Chemical and Petrochemical Industry Awards 2021’. The awards event was a part of the ‘Global Chemicals & Petrochemicals Manufacturing Hubs in India Summit 2021, (GCPMH 2021) that was organ-ised in a hybrid format recently.

Tata Chemicals bagged the ‘The ‘Heri-tage Company of India’ award for its “pioneering contribution to the chem-ical industry since inception”. The company also bagged a joint award for ‘Excellence in CSR’ in chemicals category for its contribution towards community and development.

Huntsman won the award for excel-lence in manufacturing of dyes and dyestuff and remarkable contribution towards the chemical and petrochem-ical industry.

The awards were given away by Ms. Anupriya Patel, MoS of Ministry of Commerce and Industry in the pres-ence of Mr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Chemicals & Fertilisers and Mr. Bhagwanth Khuba, Union Minis-ter of State for Chemicals & Fertilisers, New and Renewable Energy.

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Alkali Bulletin December 2021 | Corporate Office: Nuberg House, A38 H, Sector 64, Noida 201301, Delhi NCR, India

NUBERG EPCMaking Ideas Happen

EPC & LSTK PROJECTSDELIVERED ACROSS INDUSTRIESChemicals & FertilizersSteel

Energy & Infrastructure

Nuclear & Defence

* Basis number of plants delivered worldwide as turnkey projects.

www.nubergepc.com | [email protected]

World’s No. 2 EPC Company *for Chlor-Alkali

World’s No. 1 EPC Company *for Calcium Chloride

World’s No. 1 EPC Company *for Hydrogen Peroxide

SINGLE POINT SOLUTION EPC COMPANYEngineering Technology Know-How Procurement Construction Project Management. . . . .


NOTIFICATIONS/PRESS RELEASES/MEMORANDA

1. Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Notification No. F. No. 6/36/2020-DGTR dated 16-12-21 - Final recomendation for imposition of Anti-dumping duty on all imports of caustic soda originating in or exported from Japan, Iran, Qatar and Oman

https://www.dgtr.gov.in/sites/default/files/FF_NCV_Caustic%20Soda.pdf

2. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Notification No. S.O.5481(E) dated 31-12-21 - Reg. Utilisation of ash from coal and lignite based thermal power plants

https://moef.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Fly-ash-notification-2021.pdf

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1 Alkali Imports (MT)

KEY INDICATORS NOVEMBER 2021Qty (Nov

2021)Qty (Nov

2020)"% Difference

(Y-o-Y)"Qty (Oct 2021) "% Difference

(M-o-M)""FY 2021-22 (upto Nov)"

"FY 2020-21 (upto Nov)"

% Difference "Total Imports 2020-21"

Caustic Soda 30,319 29,930 1.3% 13,723 120.9% 136,799 204,379 -33.1% 314,110

Soda Ash 32,467 63,956 -49.2% 32,388 0.2% 375,744 435,659 -13.8% 705,966

Sodium Bicarbonate 980 2,051 -52.2% 908 7.9% 10,889 15,876 -31.4% 24,451

Average Price in November 2021: Average Price in Nov 2021: Caustic Soda - 563 USD/MT (Lye), 701 USD/MT (Flakes) & 597 USD/MT (Solids); Soda Ash - 234 USD/MT; Sodium Bicarbonate - 459 USD/MT

2 Foreign Trade - Merchandise (US$ billion)

Nov 2021 Nov 2020 % Difference "FY 2021-22 (upto Nov)"

"FY 2020-21 (upto Nov)"

% Difference Total Imports 2020-21

Imports 53.2 33.8 57.2% 384.4 219.2 75.4% 389.2

Exports 29.9 23.6 26.5% 262.5 174.2 50.7% 290.6

Surplus/Deficit -23.3 -10.2 -122.0 -45.0 -98.6

Nov 2021 Nov 2020 % Difference#

Mining 111.9 106.6 5.0%

Manufacturing 129.6 128.5 0.9%

Electricity 147.9 144.8 2.1%


Chemical & Chemical Products 118.1 120.4 -1.9%

Textiles 117.6 108.9 8.0%

Paper & Paper Products 80.1 71.6 11.9%

Basic Metals 177.4 165.4 7.3%

Nov 2021 Nov 2020 % Difference

India NA NA -

Russia 118.9 111.7 6.4%

Brazil 92.2 99.0 -6.9%

European Union (27) 106.5 106.2 0.3%

USA 101.1 96.3 5.0%

3 Exchange Rate (Rs./USD)

Nov 2021 Oct 2021 % Difference

Net Foreign Direct Investment

1,641 1,914 -14.3%

Net Portfolio Investment

-42 -2,663 -

Total 1,599 -749 -

11 Foreign Investment Inflows (US$ Million)

4 Index of Industrial Production (Base: 2011-12=100)

5 Index of Core Industries (Base: 2011-12=100)

6 Index of Industrial Production - Broad Sectors (Base: 2011-12=100)

7 Index of Industrial Production - Manufacturing Sub-groups (Base: 2011-12=100)

8 Index of Industrial Production Country-wise Comparisons (Base: 2015=100)

Nov 2021 Oct 2021 Sep 2021

74.50 74.92 73.56

10 Consumer Price Inflation - Industrial Workers (Base: 2016=100)


125.7 119.9 4.8%


128.5 126.7 1.4%


131.7 127.7 3.1%

12 Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) Approvals (US$ Million)

Nov 2021 Oct 2021 Sep 2021

112 1,105 46

13 Foreign Exchange Reserves (US$ billion)

"Nov 2021 (as on 26 Nov 2021)"

"Oct 2021 (as on 29 Oct 2021)"

% Difference

638 642 -0.7%

14 Fiscal Deficit (Mar 2020-Apr 2021)

% of Actuals to Budget Estimates FY 2021-22

% of Actuals to Budget Estimates FY 2020-21

46.2% 135.1%

15 Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)

Nov 2021 Oct 2021 Sep 2021

57.6 55.9 53.7

Index over 50 shows expansion, while below 50 means contraction

9 All India Inflation Rates (Base: 2012=100)


166.7 158.9 4.9%

#The growth rates over corresponding period of previous year are to be interpreted considering the unusual circumstances on account of Covid-19 since March 2020

Data Source: GOI, OECD, IHS & AMAI Research


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