Many-Sided Expansion

Many-Sided Expansion Hansavivek HINDUSTAN ORGANIC CHEMICALS is going ahead with its expansion plans which include the setting up of a 16,500 tonnes per annum concentrated nitric acid 'giant and doubling of the nitrobenzene, aniline, hydrogen and acetanilide plant capacities. Work is expected to be completed by 1980. Among other schemes, a 900 tonnes per annum nitrophenols plant through a process developed at National Chemical Laboratory is ready for trial. Other major projects, recommended by the corporate long range planning cell, Jbave been referred to the Central vemment. The company is also considering proposals to undertake manufacture of a few chemicals such as MDI, synthetic amino acids, etc, which are capital-intensive and which small- sized units cannot take up. The company's long-range plans extend upto the next 15 years and are based pri marily on environmental intelligence. These plans concentrate on new products and diversification schemes. The company continues to lay special emphasis on research and development activity. A recovery plant for extracting resorcinol from waste liquor of meta-aminophenol plant has been commissioned. This product has good commercial potential. A 600 tonnes per annum aniline plant with fluidised bed reactor was commissioned last December for trial and data collection. A pilot plant for manufacturing and testing of various types of catalysts is being set up. Also, a pilot plant for manufacture of meta-nitrochloroben- zene with a capacity of 300 tonnes per annum was commissioned for trial operation in July last. The work of developing process knowhow for bu- tene-diol at NCL, Pune, is in progress. Initially, the process will be tried out on a pilot plant scale of 150 tonnes per annum. A multipurpose plant is being erected and will be completed for trial operations soon. A high pressure pilot plant is a feature in this set-up. A pilot plant to produce 500 tonnes per annum of cyclohexyla- mine/dicyclohexylamine is expected to be put up, at a cost of about Rs 40 lakhs, during 1978-79. HOC has sponsored a research project with the Regional Research Laboratory, Hyderabad, for developing an indigenous technology for manufacture of phosgene which is used in pesticides and foams such as diphenyl methane di-isocyanate. Another research project has been sponsored for hexachlorocyclo-pentadi- ene with NCL, Pune. It is being developed for the first time in India and is a basic raw material for manufacture of Endo-sulfan. The company has earmarked Rs 2 crores for pollution control measures to ensure a healthier environment in and around Rasyani and has taken several important steps in this direction. HOC achieved