The Indian Scenario Today N B Chandran THE STORY OF DEVELOPMENT FROM the first synthetic ammonia plant of five tonnes per day capacity of Belagula in the state of Mysore to the present string of a number of1,350 TPD plants in Western and Northern India, it is a long story of development. The wood gasification plant at Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd Thivancore (FACT) and the coke gasification plants at Sindri were two small steps; but then came the big leap in the early 1960s resulting in ammonia plants being set up at Nangal, Rourkela, Neyveli, Trombay, Barauni, Namrup, Gorakhpur and Udyoga- mandal. The increase was not only in number of plants and locations; but also for improvements in processes and use of different feedstocks also. Electrolysis of water at Nangal, refinery gases and naphtha at Trombay, coke oven gas recovery at Rourkela, associated gas from oil-fields in Namrup, lignite at Neyveli and partial oxidation of naphtha in Udyoga- mandal
