Pollution abatement measures and development of green belts around all its facilities have been a continuous process at Chemplast Sanmar over the years. Equal attention is paid to minimising the toxicity of effluents through the use of appropriate technology and controlling the emission of particulate matter that could harm the ambient air. Substantial investments exceeding Rs. 43 crore have been made in the last five years in pursuit of a cleaner, greener environment. More initiatives costing Rs. 4.5 crore are in the pipeline.
The Oxychlorination plant installed in 2000 at Mettur enables the gainful of the by-product Hydrogen Chloride in the VCM Plant. It uses HCl instead of chlorine for the manufacture of Ethylene Dichloride, used in manufacture of PVC.
A state-of-the-art incinerator is used for the complete destruction of waste chlorinated hydrocarbons, Chloromethanes and Chloroethanes, generated in the manufacture of PVC. The stack emission in the incinerator meets international standards.
Bio-composting facilities have been installed to manufacture environment friendly biomanure from the liquid-spent wash from the distillery at the company’s industrial alcohol distillery at Panruti. The wash is combined with pressmud from the solid waste stream of sugar mills.
Making bio-manure available in large quantities from the alcohol plant has far-reaching consequences on the environment front as its use helps in preserving and enhancing soil quality and eliminating residual chemical fertiliser in the agricultural crops produced.
Continuous fermentation technology is applied to convert sugarcane molasses to Industrial Alcohol. It is not only energy-efficient but also aids in eliminating solid waste generation by enabling complete yeast recycling. In-house process improvements have enabled further reduction in effluent generation at source.
The secondary chlorine liquefaction plant, installed in 1998 to increase chlorine liquefaction efficiency to a high 98%, is the first of its kind in India, based on German knowhow. The covered salt storage sheds prevent salt being washed away during heavy rains and percolating into the subsoil.
Chemplast investments in pollution control and environment protection | ||
Rs. in crores |
||
In the last 5 years | ||
Oxychlorination plant | 23.06 |
|
Incinerator | 8.16 |
|
Bio-composting at Alcohol Distillery | 7.21 |
|
Secondary liquefaction system | 4.57 |
|
Salt storage shed | 0.42 |
|
Chlorine monitors | 0.10 |
|
Total (A) | 43.52 |
|
For the next two years | ||
Reverse osmosis (RO) plant | 0.85 |
|
Sewage treatment plant | 0.65 |
|
Rainwater harvesting | 0.33 |
|
Other environment improvement related schemes | 0.71 |
|
Complete recycling of mercury bearing effluent, treatment of cell room ventilation gas and installation of mercury distillation units in Caustic Chlor business | 1.85 |
|
Total (B) | 4.39 |
|
Grand total (A+B) | 47.91 |
Bio-composting facilities have been installed to manufacture environment friendly biomanure from the liquid-spent wash from the distillery at the company’s industrial alcohol distillery at Panruti. The wash is combined with pressmud from the solid waste stream of sugar mills. Making bio-manure available in large quantities from the alcohol plant has far-reaching consequences on the environment front as its use helps in preserving and enhancing soil quality and eliminating residual chemical fertiliser in the agricultural crops produced. Continuous fermentation technology is applied to convert sugarcane molasses to Industrial Alcohol.
It is not only energy-efficient but also aids in eliminating solid waste generation by enabling complete yeast recycling. In-house process improvements have enabled further reduction in effluent generation at source.
The secondary chlorine liquefaction plant, installed in 1998 to increase chlorine liquefaction efficiency to a high 98%, is the first of its kind in India, based on German knowhow. The covered salt storage sheds prevent salt being washed away during heavy rains and percolating into the subsoil.
Thirteen chlorine monitors with recording facilities have been installed at strategic locations inside the plants to monitor the chlorine in the ambient air. In strict conformity with Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) guidelines, all the mercury-bearing brine sludge generated since the commissioning of the Caustic Chlor plant has been disposed of in securely capped impervious pits. Monitoring borewells have been dug around the dumpsite and water samples drawn periodically from these wells and analysed, for the continuous monitoring of these pits.
The entire mercury present in the brine sludge is stabilised, fixed and immobilised by the addition of sodium sulphide to convert the mercury into mercuric sulphide, the basic ore of mercury. A mercury removal unit has been installed to recover and recycle the mercury present in the mercury-bearing liquid effluent, ensuring Below Detectable Levels (BDL) of mercury in the treated effluent.
The salt washery or salt upgradation plant installed in 1990 at the company’s salt works at Vedaranyam ensures the use of washed salt at the Caustic Chlor plants at Mettur and Karaikal, thereby minimising solid effluent generation at both locations. High efficiency graphite absorber units maximize the absorption of by-product HCl vapours to produce saleable grade HCl liquid. Venturi absorption units have been installed in the Silicon Tetrachloride (STC) and Ethyl Silicate plants to absorb vent gases and produce saleable soda bleach. All Chemplast plants have undertaken continuous effluent reduction measures by resorting to the principles of 3 Rs (Reduction at source, Reuse and Recycling).
Low sulphur fuel like LSHS and captively produced hydrogen are used to control stack emissions with respect to SOx, NOx and particulate matter from fired equipment like boilers and heaters and power generating equipment. High-efficiency burners and burner management systems have been installed for precise control of excess air. In addition, well designed tall stacks of adequate heights have also been installed. State-of-the-artenvironment-friendly systems have been scrupulously chosen to supplement and replace existing systems. An example is the installation of a Vapour Absorption Refrigeration System using water as a refrigerant in place of Ammonia or CFC commonly used as a refrigerant medium in conventional refrigeration equipment. The Fumed Silica plant has achieved zero discharge of liquid effluent by resorting to total recycling of the effluents generated.
Citizen Chemplast
Chemplast, and indeed the Sanmar Group as a whole, have always striven to be a good corporate citizen, playing an active role in providing quality school education for children in its vicinity, clean drinking water and street lighting, establishing primary health centres and contributing to the protection of the flora and fauna around it. The group has also been a generous supporter of good causes.