HYDERABAD: Agri solutions provider Coromandel International Limited has commissioned its third sulphuric acid plant at its fertiliser complex at Visakhapatnam as part of efforts to strengthen its backward integration capabilities and drive self-sufficiency in operations.
The plant, which will have a 1,650 metric tonnes per day capacity, has been set up at an investment of Rs 400 crore. The new capacity will boost the company’s sulphuric acid capacity to 11 lakh tonnes per annum from the existing six lakh tonnes per annum, Coromandel International said on Wednesday.
This new plant will support the company’s requirement for downstream processes for phosphoric acid and phosphatic fertilizer production, it added.
Pointing out that the new facility was commissioned in a record 18 months, Coromandel International Ltd executive vice chairman Arun Alagappan said the investment is in line with Coromandel’s strategy of strengthening its backward integration and ensuring supply security of key raw materials for achieving self-reliance in operations.
“India is the third largest importer of sulphuric acid globally, importing nearly 20 lakh tonnes of the acid per annum. With the commissioning of our new sulphuric acid plant, India’s import dependence will go down by 25-30%,” he added.
Coromandel, which has a production capacity of 3.5 million tonnes per annum of complex fertilisers, has been focusing on strengthening its backward integration capabilities across key raw materials and intermediates like phosphoric acid, sulphuric acid, and rock phosphate. Last year, it had also invested in Senegal-based Baobab Mining Corporation.
The company said the plant has been designed with double conversion and double absorption (DCDA) process with a five-bed catalyst converter and an automated DCS system and has been designed to meet one of the lowest emission standards globally.
The steam generated by the sulphuric acid plant will be used for captive power generation. The company engaged Monsanto Enviro-Chem Systems (MECS) and detailed engineering provider ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions (TKIS) for executing the project.
The company has also set up a six MLD (million litres per day) desalination plant in partnership with Veolia Water Technology and Solutions to meet its additional water requirements.
The plant, which will have a 1,650 metric tonnes per day capacity, has been set up at an investment of Rs 400 crore. The new capacity will boost the company’s sulphuric acid capacity to 11 lakh tonnes per annum from the existing six lakh tonnes per annum, Coromandel International said on Wednesday.
This new plant will support the company’s requirement for downstream processes for phosphoric acid and phosphatic fertilizer production, it added.
Pointing out that the new facility was commissioned in a record 18 months, Coromandel International Ltd executive vice chairman Arun Alagappan said the investment is in line with Coromandel’s strategy of strengthening its backward integration and ensuring supply security of key raw materials for achieving self-reliance in operations.
“India is the third largest importer of sulphuric acid globally, importing nearly 20 lakh tonnes of the acid per annum. With the commissioning of our new sulphuric acid plant, India’s import dependence will go down by 25-30%,” he added.
Coromandel, which has a production capacity of 3.5 million tonnes per annum of complex fertilisers, has been focusing on strengthening its backward integration capabilities across key raw materials and intermediates like phosphoric acid, sulphuric acid, and rock phosphate. Last year, it had also invested in Senegal-based Baobab Mining Corporation.
The company said the plant has been designed with double conversion and double absorption (DCDA) process with a five-bed catalyst converter and an automated DCS system and has been designed to meet one of the lowest emission standards globally.
The steam generated by the sulphuric acid plant will be used for captive power generation. The company engaged Monsanto Enviro-Chem Systems (MECS) and detailed engineering provider ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions (TKIS) for executing the project.
The company has also set up a six MLD (million litres per day) desalination plant in partnership with Veolia Water Technology and Solutions to meet its additional water requirements.
