Page 174 - CW E-Magazine (15-10-2024)

ICC Annual Awards 2023 ICC Annual Awards 2023

COMPETING WITH CHINA AWARDS SEMINAR

“Insight-driven process design and innovation Top performers in chemical industry share best

can help cut operating and capital costs” practices

nsights, innovations and intensifi - The ICC seminar featured presen- try span across medicine, agriculture, the chemical industry is dependent on
cation should form the core of tations made by selected winners technology and numerous other fi elds, sharing knowledge and learnings.
Imanufacturing strategy for the of the ‘ICC Annual Awards’ for the signifi cantly enhancing the quality of
Indian chemical industry to tackle the year 2023. In these presentations the life globally and the “dedication, inno- He emphasised the need for im-
domination of China, according to award-winning companies showcased vation and resilience demonstrated proved interaction between academia
Professor J.B. Joshi, Chancellor, Insti- the exceptional work that earned them by the individuals and organisations and industry, particularly in terms of
tute of Chemical Technology (ICT), the recognition. These spanned topics within this industry are truly extraor- sustainability, optimisation, and model-
Mumbai. like excellence in management of dinary.” He said the awards seminar ling.
health, safety, environment; energy enables sharing of knowledge, ex-
Delivering the guest lecture at the conservation; human resource; and change of ideas, and fosters collabo- The seminar also witnessed the
15th Annual Seminar on “Recognising commitment to ‘Responsible Care’ ration among experts and enthusiasts presentation of the ‘ICC – Epsilon
excellence of performance in various and ‘Nicer Globe’ initiatives. from various sectors within the chemi- Carbon’ Certifi cates of Merit for Best
facets of chemical industry” organised cal industry. Compliant Company under Respon-
by the Indian Chemical Council (ICC) Mr. Karthik Bharat Ram, Joint sible Care, in the presence of Mr. Vi-
in Mumbai on September 20, Prof. Managing Director, SRF Ltd., and Sharing best practices kram Handa, Managing Director, Ep-
Joshi sought to address the challenges incoming President, ICC, in his wel- In his speech, Professor Aniruddha silon Carbon Pvt. Ltd. The companies
arising out of the wide disparities bet- come address, pointed out that the B. Pandit, Vice Chancellor, ICT- winning Responsible Care logos were
ween the Indian and Chinese chemi- contributions of the chemical indus- Mumbai, stressed that the growth of also felicitated in this session.
cal industries in his presentation titled Prof. J. B. Joshi on ‘Why Envy China – Let’s Introspet’
“Why Envy China – Let’s Introspect”. “There is the need to shift from fer and reaction control. With another NOVEL DESIGN
empirical methods to insight-driven example, he highlighted the need for
“India is importing chemicals design and innovation. Insights involve uniform catalyst distribution and the Reliance bags process design award for work
worth over Rs. 3 lakh-crores from deep understanding of the process in- role of computational fl uid dynamics
China. It will be a Himalayan task to cluding the mechanism & kinetics of in enhanced conversion effi ciencies. on LPG sulphur removal
reduce this dependence,” he conceded. the reaction and rate-controlling steps.
Insights are the origins of innova- Prof. Joshi emphasised the need for Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) was
He compared the educational and tions. This can lead to intensifi cation. a systematic approach to developing conferred the ICC award for excellence
industrial achievements of China and My experience is that the gap in cost insights and applying them to practical in process design and engineering for
India, highlighting the need for India of production can be eliminated, and problems in the chemical industry. the implementation of LPG sulphur
to improve its R&D & capital spend- we can become globally competitive,” removal technology at its Jamnagar
ings, besides ramping up industry- he said. The discussions in his presenta- refi nery in Gujarat.
academia collaborations. tion covered various chemical engi-
Speaking about gaining insights neering innovations and their applica- The unsaturated LPG sulphur re-
Prof. Joshi pointed out the com- into topics like reactor and separation tions. Prof. Joshi gave the example of moval unit, which removes impurities
petitiveness of the Indian chemicals equipment design, Prof. Joshi dis- development of a reactor to recover from cracked LPG, was facing prob-
sector vis-à-vis China is impacted cussed the importance of understand- uranium from phosphate rocks at one- lems associated with high fl ow rate
by higher cost of production, with ing the reaction mechanism, chemis- fi fth of the cost of a similar reactor of LPG, informed Mr. Rahul Patil,
Chinese products being cheaper by tries, kinetics, hydrodynamics and sourced from Europe. Another project Sr. General Manager, RIL.
around 10-15%. “Smart manufacturing heat & mass transfer, and the interplay optimised a reactor’s impeller design,
will require cutting down operating of these factors in driving up capital saving 50% in capital and power costs. The in-house process engineering
and capital expenditures, which in turn, costs. A gas phase fermentation process for team conceptualised, designed, and
can help us compete effectively,” he manufacturing methanol achieved implemented a pilot-scale column ad-
said, adding that this can be achieved He provided an example of improv- high mass transfer rates using micro- jacent to the commercial unit to study
through “insights, innovations and ing the selectivity and conversion of a bubbles, thus enabling lower operating and improve the amine absorption and ICC–Alkyl Amines Prof. M.M. Sharma Award for Excellence in Process Design & Engineering
intensifi cation.” reaction by understanding mass trans- and capital costs. caustic extraction processes. This work being presented to Reliance Industries.

174 Chemical Weekly October 15, 2024 Chemical Weekly October 15, 2024 175

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