Page 130 - CW E-Magazine (7-11-2023)

Point of View

calendered products (6%) and profiles (3%). This pattern of resin usage is very distinct from the rest of the world, wherein profiles, in
particular, have sizeable market share. While demand for PVC in India is growing by 6-7% annually, and the share of other applications,
notably profiles, is expected to pick up, pipes are expected to be the main driver for a long time to come. The choice of additives by
this segment will count for a lot.

It is also pertinent to note is that the dominance of PVC as a preferred material for pipes is also unlikely to change. Though the
Rs. 60,000-crore Indian plastic pipes & fittings industry is served by a variety of polymeric materials, PVC and chlorinated PVC
(CPVC), account for about three-quarters of the market, with the balance served mainly by high density polyethylene and reinforced
polypropylene. Indeed, India is one of the fastest growing markets for CPVC in the world – a status that no doubt figured in the recent
decision by US-based company, Lubrizol Corporation – a world leader in the business – to invest in a world-scale plant for CPVC resin
and compounds, primarily to serve the Indian market (see news pages elsewhere in this issue).

Options to lead
The options for non-lead stabilisation that the Indian PVC industry – like others elsewhere in the world – are turning to come in two
chemical flavours: calcium (Ca) compounds, of which calcium-zinc (Ca-Zn) systems are most common; and organo-tin compounds,
including methyl-, butyl- and octyl-tins. Though Ca stabilisers are required in higher dosage compared to tin, their in-built lubrication
largely obviates the need for additional expensive lubricants, resulting in lower cost of the overall compound compared to tin.
Ca-based stabilisers also have no smell, unlike the typical sulphur smell of tins.

India’s PVC industry seems to be going more with Ca-based systems, and in so doing following European, not American, trends.
The reasons for this have to do with availability, price, performance and a reasonable assurance – based on current science – that
they are safe and unlikely to come under a cloud.

Ca-based stabilisers have been widely available in India for some time – from local as well international companies – and their
manufacture is relatively straightforward, unlike for tin where it is complex and polluting, (unless remedied). Only last month,
Baerlocher, the Germany-headquartered world-leader in PVC additives, inaugurated its second plant in India (see news pages in this
issue) to mainly produce Ca stabilisers (along with metallic soaps for processing other polymers), giving a further boost to local avail-
ability. The supply options for tins, on the other hand, are limited, and the markets still largely served by imports.

But the biggest factor that has given Ca stabilisers the edge – not just in India – is the fear that some tin products may also face
restrictions in the future (some are already on the radar of regulators). Tin is a heavy metal and is already restricted for use under
REACH, and butyl tin stabilisers are not approved by the US FDA. Ca-based systems, on the other hand, are REACH-compliant and
do not have a cloud of product safety hanging over them.
Shift will accelerate
The shift away from lead is already evident in some of the smaller applications for PVC in India. In window profiles (accounting for
~7% of PVC resin usage), most major brands have started using Ca-Zn stabilisers and the others are following. In wire & cable, more
than 80% of applications have already migrated, though some very high temperature rating cables still use lead due to performance
issues with alternatives. One area where organo-tins seem to be preferred is in PVC films, but this is a small market accounting for
only about 2% of PVC resin consumption in India. But even here partial, if not complete, substitution by Ca-stabilisers seems to be
on the cards.
While these changes are significant in their own right, they also send a signal that changeover is feasible and not the disruption it
was feared to be. The application development support forthcoming from many reputed suppliers to fine-tune additive packages can
make the switch facile, with little or no compromise on output of processing machines, or the quality of the output.
Though a full phase-out of lead is some years away, given the fragmented nature of the pipe-making industry, it is clear change
is coming even here. If things go as per plans, safer non-lead stabilisation systems may come to account for about 70% of the Indian
PVC stabiliser market in another 3-4 years. This is a welcome and will bring India in line somewhat in line with the rest of the world!
Ravi Raghavan

130 Chemical Weekly November 7, 2023

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