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STAYING AHEAD IMPLIES being constantly on the move, keeping track of
technology and market needs. And coming up with innovative solutions
every time. Something that DCW lays a great deal of emphasis on, with
a full fledged Research and Development Centre at Sahupuram. This R&D
Centre is recognised by the Department of Scientific and Industrial
Research of the Government of India.
Some of the significant efforts undertaken by our
people:
- The bench scale process developed by Wah Chang for benefication of ilmenite ore was scaled up and engineered entirely by DCW in the first plant of its kind in Asia. (1970)
- Development of a product called "Utox" from waste liquor of digestors in the ilmenite plant and used as a partial relplacement to Titanium Dioxide. (1978)
- Replacement of graphite anodes with metal anodes in the Caustic Soda cells for the first time in India - resulting in substantial energy savings. (1979-82)
- Covering for the first time, 205 acres of sandy waste land with polyethylene to avoid seepage of concentrated brine, increasing salt production by 60%. (1979-83)
- Improvisation of recipes, entirely in - house, resulting in a capacity utilisation of 180 % in the PVC plant. (1984 - 86)
- Process of de-mercurisation of mercury - bearing water effluent developed for the first time by DCW. (1985)
- Development of a new product called "Weldgrade beneficiated ilmenite" developed by DCW for the welding rods industry. (1985)
- In collaboration with CSIO, Chandigarh, a process for current monitoring based on microprocessors was developed in the Caustic Soda Cells to result in energy saving of 125 KWH per ton of Caustic Soda. (1986)
Apart from these, in 1992-93, DCW also perfected the production of high purity synthetic rutile wherein the purity of TiO2 is over 95%. The product has low silica and alumina content and radio active matter that is much below the normal levels.
The R&D section at DCW has also developed
Synthetic Iron Oxide pigment using leach liquor - a waste from the
ilmenite plant. The developmental work commernced in 1992 and the
pilot plant was commissioned in 1993. This is a prime example of DCW
being a forerunner in converting waste into wealth and in its
contribution towards pollution control.
The PVC plant has achieved significant energy efficiency by the installation of a fluidised bed drier which consumes 50% less steam than the conventional drying system and the installation of vapour absorption refrigeration for cooling during polymerisation during 1992. The PVC plant also utilises the steam produced from the waste heat of the Captive Power unit, slashing its fuel bills.
The company undertook an extensive energy audit
to not only effect savings in power, fuel oil and steam consumption
but to initiate an improvement in process, equipment optimisation and
upto date quality control monitoring in 1992 - 93. This energy audit
has resulted in a saving of almost Rs. 20 Million per annum. This has
been achieved mainly in the Caustic Soda Unit through the
following:
- Minimising bus bar losses at identified places to reduce the drop in bus bar
- Improving current distribution in identified cells to have uniform distribution of current
- Utilising gravity flow in the cooling tower in the HCL absorber to avoid the running of the hot water pump
GHH Turbine driven CO2 Screw
Compressor - Soda Ash Division
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Significant energy savings in the Ilmenite Unit have also been achieved by installation of steam traps in the drain line, improving the combustion efficiency of roasters and calciner and providing insulation bricks for avoiding dissipation of heat, etc.
The Soda Ash unit has already halved its energy consumption, as highlighted earlier, further emphasising the priority of the "total energy utilisation" concept for DCW, in all its plants.
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