INDIA UNPREPARED FOR THE FUEL CRISIS

It is very unfortunate that in spite of warnings about impending energy crisis in India, nothing worthwhile has been done at required scale to overcome the problem.

The Government of India is certainly guilty of not organising its thoughts and strategies and providing the necessary direction and guidelines to the chemical industries is facing the crisis. While the problem of fuel crisis is the same for several countries all over the world, meaningful initiatives and steps are being taken in Europe and USA to overcome the problem. With no feasibility of stepping up the crude oil production in the immediate future and expectations of the gas exploration in the country not meeting the claims, one would not know now as to where the required energy would come from in the future.

Energy crisis is not a matter of simply raising the prices of Natural gas and liquid fuels at periodical intervals. It is much more serious issue and the country has to come to term with it. It requires very careful and thoughtful working out of strategies, based on the strength of the nation and the ground realities.

One meaningful solution that has been suggested is the rapid promotion of biofuel projects based on Jatropha. Elaborate discussions have already taken place at various forums. It is the responsibility of the Government of India to lay down policy for biofuel, which the government has failed to do so far. It is amazing that the Government is unwilling to take a firm policy decision with regard to pricing structure for the jatropha based biofuel and encourage and facilitate the necessary development work in the field . Jatropha biofuel has caught the imagination of the nation; with huge enthusiasm generated. But the government remains lethargic and clueless.

Obviously, the development of jatropha based biofuel project requires the introduction of strong incentive schemes from the government including tax concession and subsidies. This is necessary and such incentives have been provided by European countries and USA. The Government appears to be uncertain and does not seem to be clear about the subsidy policy.

Nations are not built and economies do not grow based on vision of politicians, economists and tax planners alone. Technologists and engineering personnel have a vital role to play.

In the case of jatropha biofuel, the government is yet to carry out any technology dialogue with the industry and it is losing time and is wasting opportunities

The chemical business should go through a strategic dynamic of trying to get focused around what they do best.

In the cost optimisation measures, one of the cutting edges is the recovery of product from waste streams, which means essentially capturing and recovering the value added products that exist in what would be considered a waste stream today.

The waste recovery does two things. It brings a valuable product that can be resold and it also recovers what would be a wastewater stream and what would typically need paying for to be treated as “waste”

Recovering waste from effluent water may also provide a pure water source.

The other thing that’s relevant particularly for the petrochemical industry is the removal of organics from aqueous streams. That is another opportunity, depending on the specific customer need and critical performance parameters i.e. discharge limits, product recovery, water energy recovery and waste

Many plants are now heading in the direction where they can achieve a much greener effluent today i.e. not just meet their environmental discharge targets but eliminating the effluent itself away. And if by doing this, they can also achieve savings for the plant through product, it would truly leverage the green solution; not just taking an approach driven by regulation, but because it is the right thing to do and they can leverage this from a PR perspective as well.

The nice thing is that financials pay for them to avoid effluent generation, which is a whole lot better than doing something being driven by legislation or penalties.

Focus areas

Recovery of products from waste streams would provide economic benefits to companies in the chemical industry, as well as reducing wastewater treatment costs and providing extra source water.

• Recovery of energy is key component
• Recovery of organics from aqueous streams;
• Membrane development is driving processes forward, especially those that can take organics from waste streams.

Indian Government’s two hundred years monopoly over processing of raw opium and morphine and other therapeutic alkaloids derived from the natural substance is to end soon.

The Government of India has decided to issue licenses to private sector pharmaceutical companies for opium processing as well as for manufacture of opium-based drugs like morphine, codeine, thebaine, noscapine etc. While licenses to private sector would be given, the government would, however, continue to exercise rigorous control on production, movement and pricing of opium/morphine, under the NDPS Act.

Opium poppy, common name for some members of the Papaveraceae, a family composed chiefly of herbs has been cultivated in India for more than 1000 years

Opium varies in colour from yellow to dark brown and has a characteristic odour and bitter taste

At present, cultivation of poppy is confined to the traditional poppy growing tracts in the States of Uttar Pradesh ., Madhya Pradesh. and Rajasthan.

This article contains the following details:

• Government Control and Regulation
• Area licensed Cultivation in the past ten years
• Cultivation Technology
• All India Imports of Opium Products
• All India Exports of Opium Products
• Indian Production Details
• Pharmaceuticals Derived from Opium
• Global Players

Potassium permanganate is a compound of manganese, potassium and oxygen. It is dark purple or bronze like odourless crystals. Its solutions are faint pink to deep violet, depending on concentration.

Molecular formula: KMNO4

Grades and assay

Potassium permanganate is offered in several standard grades, including technical, technical freeflowing, USP and reagent.

Guaranteed assay for the various products range from 97% Potassium permanganate for the free flowing grade (which contains an anticaking additive) to 98% for the technical grade and 99% for both USP and reagent grades (typical assays are usually approximately 0.5% above the guaranteed levels).

In addition to assay requirements, reagent grade and USP grade Potassium permanganate conform to specifications setforth in the USP.

Materials intended for drinking water treatment must conform to NSF standard 60 in the United States and to DIN 19169 in the Federal Republic of Germany

Product Applications

Potassium permanganate is used for environmental applications, such as drinking water treatment (removal of tastes, odours, iron and manganese), waste water treatment (destruction of hydrogen sulphide and other toxic and/or corrosive compounds, including phenols and plating wastes) and air purification (degradation of malodorous or toxic constituents in industrial off-gases).

Potassium permanganate is used in the manufacture of Saccharin which is used as sweetening agent. It is extensively used in fisheries to prevent oxygen depletion and to control fish parasites. It is also used in the manufacture of number of pharmaceutical products.

This article also contains the following details :

• Countrywise Imports
• Individual Imports from Chennai, Mumbai and JNPT ports
• Anti Dumping Duty
• Countrywise Exports
• Individual Exports from Chennai, Mumbai and JNPT ports
• Indian Manufacturers
• Demand Supply Trends
• Manufacturing Process
• Global Scenario
• Recommendation

This article discusses the application aspects and process technology as well as Indian import/export trends for Omega 3 Fatty Acids.

Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are those that are necessary for health, but cannot be synthesized by the human body. Essential fatty acids are important ingredients for the growth and maintenance of living cells.Essential fatty acids are necessary for hormone production. Essential fatty acids are necessary for the proper functioning of biological system

There are basically two types of essential fatty acids, namely, omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids. The two types are distinguished by their chemical structures.

Important omega-3 fatty acids in human nutrition are as follows:

Ø a-linolenic acid (ALA),
Ø Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA),
Ø Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

This article contains the following details :

• General Details
• Uses of Omega 3 Fatty Acid
• Sources of Omega 3 Fatty Acid
• Production Process of Omega 3 Fatty Acid
• Global Scenario
• Indian Scenario

BIO FUEL PROJECTS IN EUROPE

Europe’s bio- fuels production is likely to triple to more than 15 Million tonne per year by 2009 as suppliers carry out major expansion projects across the continent.

This surge in demand is stemming from the European Commission (EC) legislation requiring oil companies to blend 5.75% of biofuels into transport gasoline by 2010, and is likely to continue, as the EC is expected to step up its blend target to 8% by 2015 and perhaps 20% by 2020.

Acciona Biocombustibles, a unit of Spanish company Acciona, recently announced a joint venture to build Spanish biofuel factories with Repsol YPF.

The European bioethanol fuel association Ebio, says that the EU’s legislation will give the industry a stable regulatory framework, spurring new investment initiatives. Once there would a more stable legal framework, the industry could triple by 2009.

This article also contains the following details :

• Consultant’s View
• Important producing countries
• Major Spanish Bioethanol Projects

PROSPECTS FOR PLANT DESIGN ASSIGNMENTS: FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

Demand for plant design software and services is set to grow by an estimated 11% in 2006 to $800m, according to US technology market research firm Daratech.

Growth is being driven partly as a result of ‘robust demand for oil and other forms of energy’, which is encouraging investments in IT solutions to control plant lifecycle costs and speed production of products.

‘As energy demand increases, the need for new energy production plants increases, but so does the need to retrofit other manufacturing processes to use energy more effectively,’ says Daratech. It is seen that design technology are used in projects to reconfigure manufacturing facilities to use cheaper sources of energy and draw on electrical and other utilities at nonpeak times.’

Daratech estimates that the chemical industry accounts for 10% of the market for plant design software/services. But exact figures are hard to obtain because most firms outsource their design, engineering and construction to the engineering, procurement and construction contractors.

The important aspect of these design/engineering solutions, is to digitally model an entire plant before building anything physically. This includes modelling the chemistry, the physical layout of the plant, access for maintenance, which allows the designers to craft a better design, with less re-work required once construction is under way. It lets the asset owner examine the virtual plant for maintainability, access, safety, regulatory compliance and other aspects - and enables all participants to collaborate better on the final design.

This article discusses the following details :

o German companies in oil rich countries
o Performance of German Companies
o Linde
o Uhde
o Lurgi
o Middle East Customers
o Competition from China

EMERGING EXPORT MARKET FOR FARM PRODUCTS

India’s peaches, mangoes and oranges could make their way into US and European markets in the next 3 to 5 years, if India can push ahead of countries like Holland and Denmark which are the lead-runners in fruit and vegetable exports to the US. Indian cereals, soups and milk derivatives like butter and cheese are the other products that are waiting to knock on international doors.

As agricultural subsidies in the US are fast disappearing, soon India could start competing. Outsourcing of milk and milk products is certainly the next big thing.

Given the potential, the Govt of India has decided to invest $22 billion over the next eight years in processing and packaging of fruits, vegetable and other agricultural products.

This article discusses the following details :

• Entry of Corporates
• Gherkin Farming in Karnataka
• Protocols with China for Mangoes, Grapes export
• Pilot project for growing corn

MEMBRANE DISTILLATION PROCESS FOR REMOVAL OF ARSENIC IN WATER

Membrane distillation (MD) is a process in which liquid (such as water) is separated from impurities by heating and evaporating the liquid and allowing the vapour to pass through a micro-porous hydrophobic membrane. Then the vapours are allowed to condense into liquid by cooling in the other side of the membranes. The membrane pores are sufficiently small that capillary forces prevent direct mixing of the phases on either side of the membrane. The vapour pressure difference across the membrane caused by the corresponding temperature difference provides the driving force that causes diffusion of vapours through the membrane pores.

Membrane distillation process can be used for efficient purification of drinking water, which can remove all sorts of non-volatiles.

HVR Water Purification AB is a Stockholm based company, which has commercialized a household level drinking water purifier. The purifier is based on membrane distillation process. The purifier has been proved to be efficient in removing all sorts of non-volatiles from drinking water including arsenic. This purifier can be an effective tool for efficient removal of arsenic from arsenic contaminated ground water.

This article further discusses the following details:

• The Membrane Distillation Process
• Commercially available Membrane commonly used in MD
• Advantages of Membrane Distillation process over other membrane technologies
• Conclusion

POLYMER COATINGS FOR CORROSION PREVENTION: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Environmental factors drive the technology behind polymer coatings, replacing chrome and cadmium coatings. This is partly due to increasing concern about the use of heavy metals. Also, automakers must now contend with acid rain in addition to salt spray and the polymers surpass chrome and cadmium in acid rain resistance.

Polymeric coatings designed for corrosion protection are usually tougher and are applied in heavier films than are appearance coatings. Requirements of such coatings are much more stringent: They must adhere well to the substrate and must not chip easily or degrade from heat, moisture, salt, or chemicals.

This article contains the following details :

• Acrylic and Alkyd resins
• Water based Silicone Modified Alkyds
• Polyurethane Enamels
• Epoxy Coatings
• Nylon Coatings
• Fluorocarbon Coatings
• Combination Coatings
• Other proprietary coatings

• Story of Thorium-Can it be India’s Saviour in energy Crisis?
• Deficiencies in NTPC Gas based Power Plants
• Anti Dumping Page
• Update on Biofuel
• Update on Carbon Trading
• Update on nanotechnology
• Proceedings of National Petrochemical & Refiners Conference in USA
• Pomegranate: Success Story
• Use of Chemicals to Ripen Mangoes
• Biobased Polymer
• Gas Exploration Projects of Reliance-Delay and Uncertainities
• Cane Processing Project of Reliance
• Global Presence of Aditya Birla Group in Carbon Black
• Use of Methyl Bromide for Fumigation in India The Controversies
• Process Flow-Titanium Dioxide
• Hazardous Waste Management Programmes in IIT Madras
• News Round Up-International/India
• Refinery project of Saudi Aramco & ConocoPhillips
• Technology Development-International/India
• Certification Issues
• Global Oil Demand forecast for 2006
• Pharma Page-International/India
• Herbal Page
• Energy Page-International/India
• Environmental Page -International/India
• China News
• Biotechnology page
• Agrochemical Page-India
• Safety & Accident Page
• International Maritime Dangerous Good Code-Part XXXLIII
• New Projects-International
• Directory of Chemical Industries in China-Manufacturers, Trading Houses and Promotional Organisations-Part XXXVIII
• Price Details
• Business Opportunities
• Tender
• Chemicals Exported at Chennai Port During the Month of February 2006
• Chemicals Exported at Visakhapatnam Port During the Month of April 2006
• Chemicals Imported at Visakhapatnam Port During the Month of April 2006
• Book Review