Chemplast Sanmar’s Rs 650-crore greenfield PVC complex at Cuddalore will be operational soon with TamilNadu deputy chief minister MK Stalin officially inaugurating the facility on Saturday.
The plant, with a capacity to manufacture 1,70,000 tonne of PVC per annum, is the only one of this scale to be established in Tamil Nadu in the last 15 years, said PS Jayaraman, managing director, Chemplast Sanmar. Chemplast was among the first to bring in PVC manufacturing technology in India, with a joint venture with BF Goodrich, USA, in the late 1960s.
The main production facility is spread over 80 acres, allotted specifically for the complex by the State Industrial Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu. Apart from a production facility, a desalination facility and a zero liquid discharge facility has also been set up within the complex. The plant employs a simple polymerisation process of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) into PVC.
After rigorous scrutiny, the Cuddalore plant has received approvals from Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, Union ministry of environment & forests and the National Institute of Hydrography, Dehradun.
Explaining in details, Jayaraman said the raw material, VCM, for the manufacture of PVC will be imported. The marine terminal facility (MTF) is an advanced docking and pipeline corridor built on 7.56 acres on the seafront. The MTF enables ships carrying VCM to dock and transfer materials directly from ship to storage units. The special double-walled pipes ensure safe material passage through the pipes that stretch to 2,500 metre on the land, and goes directly to the production facility.
The plant will employ modern technology in the production process. The zero liquid discharge facility treats the effluent wastes, reuses it and the residual salts. The complex process ensures zero discharge of effluents. The desalination facility makes the complex self-reliant in its water requirements and that there is no withdrawal of ground water.
According to a senior official of the company, PVC is a very versatile product and its end-application is an extremely environment-friendly option that is cheap and durable compared to other materials. The downstream product applications for PVC are in the building, construction and agricultural sector-primarily for long-life application products with a life-time range of 50-100 years.
In India, 69 % of PVC resin consumption is in pipes and fittings.