Page 132 - CW E-Magazine (5-9-2023)

Point of View

About half of the industry’s output is consumed locally, and this part of the business has not been impacted as adversely as exports
and so provided some relief for producers. CareEdge Ratings, a ratings agency, sees a glimmer of hope for H2FY24 in the form of a revival in
demand from the textile industry and stabilisation of input prices, which could bolster the industry’s performance. In the last few weeks, there
have been reports of an uptick in export enquiries, but it is too soon to say whether this trend is here to stay. In any case, this fiscal year is
unlikely to be an improvement on the last.

Meeting the technical challenges
While the macro-economic conditions that underpin demand for colorants will certainly ease out at some point or the other, the industry
here will do well to realise that a business-as-usual way of operations is neither sustainable nor desirable. Concerted efforts need to be made
to overcome the many technical challenges that limit the range of products, the quality of those made, the efficiencies of the processes, their
safety, and environmental footprint.
It is the nature of the colorants industry that it handles several chemical processes such as nitration, reduction, sulphonation, neutralisation,
diazotisation, etc., many of have a high and recalcitrant waste burden. Indeed, it was this aspect of the industry that in substantial part led to
its migration from the West to Asia, notably China and India, about three decades ago. If the industry needs to grow sustainably here, it must
chart a new path of technology-led growth. In the coming years it will not only need to operate within the rules set by legislation in the country,
but also by customers overseas. In this respect, it has company. The pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries, to cite two examples, have
learnt to play by the agenda (in terms of standards and manufacturing practices) set largely in the developed world, and have only benefitted
from such compliance; both sectors now earn as much or more from exports than from domestic sales. There is no reason why Indian colorant
producers cannot rise to the task of becoming responsible players in global markets, earning the respect their counterparts in other parts of
the fine & speciality chemicals business have. While a few companies have risen to the challenge and have succeeded, more must to follow.

This is not to underplay the challenges ahead. The fragmented nature of the industry means that technology development efforts are
beyond the ability of most units (save the large ones) and considerable hand-holding will be necessary.

Common Research & Technology Develop Hub @ CSIR-NCL
It is therefore refreshing to learn that the CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), in Pune, is planning to set up a Common Research &
Technology Develop Hub (CRTDH), with part funding from the Ministry of Science and Technology, and a strong emphasis on technology
upgradation of the colorants industry. The aim here is to develop relevant technologies, suitable for SMEs, and to scale them up. Given the
existing competence in the lab in the area of continuous manufacturing (for the pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries), it is no surprise
that this will be one of the focus areas for the colorants industry as well.

Diazotisation, a key chemistry for making several dyes, is particularly well suited for this technology shift. Conventionally, this reaction
is carried out in a semi-batch mode in large reactors by maintaining low reaction temperature through the slow addition of reactants over a
long period of time. However, as the duration for which the product (i.e., the dye) remains in contact with the unreacted reactants is long,
they can undergo subsequent reactions, which affects consistency in colour of the final products. More importantly, utility consumptions as
well as inventory under reaction is large, which may make this approach economically or ecologically unsustainable. A shift to continuous
mode, on the other hand, affords the advantages of consistent product quality and small real time process volumes, making them safer and
more environmentally-friendly.

Industry & associations must partner
The CRTDH aims to address some of the common operational problems faced by the colorants industry – be it related to energy consumption,
chemical footprint, solvent choices, effluent load, etc. The solutions are expected to be free of intellectual property (IP) restrictions and
expected to be widely available for the industry to exploit. While the hub has been conceived with public funding, it will probably need to be
supplemented with assistance from industries. Given the shared nature of the problems and the benefits that can accrue to many, it will be
in the interest of the colorants industry and its industry associations to partner this initiative.

The Dyestuffs and Pigments Manufacturers Association of India and the Gujarat Dyestuffs Manufacturers Association, which claim to
represent the interests of the industry, will do well to take cognisance of this effort and provide financial support generated from its membership.
Industry associations cannot merely be bodies lobbying for concessions on the industry’s behalf. When sound initiatives are taken to serve
a larger good, they must lend a hand, if only for selfish reasons!

Ravi Raghavan

132 Chemical Weekly September 5, 2023

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