The construction of a new storage tank, with a capacity to store 2500 MT of Ethylene di-chloride (EDC) was completed at the PVC Division, Plant 2, Mettur, at a cost of Rs 353 lakh. The tank has a diameter of 45 metres and stands 14.5 metre tall.
The decision to increase the storage capacity comes in the wake of the fluctuating cost of EDC in the domestic and world markets and to take advantage of the present softening of prices in the international market.
EDC is an intermediate raw material for the manufacture of Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM). It took five months to complete the civil work for this, the largest storage facility at Mettur.
A view of the newly constructed EDC storage tank
K Kanthimathinathan, Joint Manager-Production, Plant-3, Chemplast Sanmar, Mettur, retired from service on January 31, 2004, having served the group with distinction for over 38 years. K Muthuraman, General Manager, Plant-3, garlanded him at the farewell function.
S Ramasubramanian, Senior Officer - Administration, retired from service effective February 29, 2004, after 32 years of service. He was presented a plaque by T AN Thenappan, Vice President.
K Muthuraman, General Manager, Plant-3, garlanding K Kanthimathinathan
T AN Thenappan, Vice President, presenting a plaque to S Ramasubramanian
S Venkatesan, General Manager, receiving a certificate from A Namasivayam, Minister for Agriculture, Pondicherry
Chemplast Sanmar Limited, Karaikal, won the 3rd prize in the industrial garden category at the 11th Flower, Vegetable and Fruit Show sponsored by the Government of Pondicherry.
The three-day-long show is held each year with the aim of encouraging people to participate more actively in agriculture. Prizes were up for grabs in six categories (cut flower show, flower, grain and fruit decoration, pot culture, vegetables, medicinal plants and ornamental garden). A Namasivayam, Minister for Agriculture, Government of Pondicherry, gave away the prize certificate to S Venkatesan, General Manager of the Karaikal unit.
A reed bed system is a specially engineered simulation of a natural wet land ecosystem for treatment and recycle of sullage, sewage and industrial effluent. Combining mechanical filtration, chemical precipitation and biological degradation in one step, the system effectively removes suspended solids, BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand) and COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand). A pilot plant for the reed bed system, supplied by M/s Ion Exchange India Limited, was commissioned on February 24, 2004 to evaluate the reduction of organics in the alcohol bearing effluent. It has been planned to install the system at the Karaikal plant of Chemplast to treat the EDC plant effluent.
A view of the pilot plant