"Future of chemical industry will definitely depend on technology"

Back <strong>of</strong> BookInterview"<strong>Future</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>chemical</strong> <strong>industry</strong> <strong>will</strong><strong>definitely</strong> <strong>depend</strong> on technology"A majority <strong>of</strong> companies in India invest lesser than 1% <strong>of</strong> sales in researchwork . This figure needs to be increased says Dr. I. DayasagarExecutive Director (Engg .) & Member <strong>of</strong> the Board , Uhde India. In aninterview with Mittravinda Ranjan he said R &D should include cost effectivetechnologies , improvements in manufacturing processes , reductionin cost , automation , as well as new product development . Excerpts:Dr. I DayasagarnWell-diversifiedtechnologyportfolio, highquality engineeringandestablishedclient-base aresome <strong>of</strong> ourcore strengths.What are the core competencies<strong>of</strong> Uhde India and what aresome <strong>of</strong> the major projects andinternational assignments UhdeIndia is engaged in?A well-diversified technology portfoliois one <strong>of</strong> the core strengths <strong>of</strong> our group.With our own technology portfolio and inassociation with a number <strong>of</strong> well-reputedinternational Licensors, Uhde India<strong>of</strong>fers complete engineering solutions forFertilizers, Petro<strong>chemical</strong>s & Polymersand Refinery sectors. For example, inthe Fertilizer sector we are presentlyin the last stages <strong>of</strong> engineering <strong>of</strong> amajor Fertilizer Complex comprising <strong>of</strong> 2streams <strong>of</strong> 2,200 TPD Ammonia and 3,450TPD Urea Complex for Algeria.Petro<strong>chemical</strong>s and Polymersis another major area <strong>of</strong> expertise <strong>of</strong>Uhde India. We have engineered andimplemented projects for all types <strong>of</strong>polymers like HDPE, PVC, Polypropylene,Polystyrene , Expandable Polystyrene,LLDPE and in addition to a wide range <strong>of</strong>petro<strong>chemical</strong>s. We have just completedengineering for a 300,000 TPA HDPEcomplex (with Basell Poliolefine knowhow)for Indian Oil's Naphtha CrackerComplex at Panipat, which is now inthe final stage <strong>of</strong> construction . Uhde isalso involved as PMC for the LLDPE-HDPE Swing unit (Nova Chemicalsknow-how) plant <strong>of</strong> Indian Oil in Panipatin the same complex. We have alsocarried out complete engineering foriChemical Engineering World 1100 1 APRIL 2009

Back <strong>of</strong> Book"Uhde has strong marketpresence in the`State <strong>of</strong> Art' MembraneCell technologyand in India we havea market share <strong>of</strong> approximately75%. "Petro<strong>chemical</strong>sand Polymersi have been themajor area <strong>of</strong>competenceand in recentyears thecompany hasincreased itsmarket sharein the Refineryfield.EPPC Egypt's mega polypropylenecomplex being implemented by UhdeGmbH that <strong>will</strong> produce 350,000 TPA<strong>of</strong> Propylene and Polypropylene, usingPropane Dehydrogenation route (Propaneto Propylene).In recent years we have increasedour market share in the Refinery field.Presently, we are involved in severalRefineries, such as, Mangalore Refinery,IOC, Baroda, Bongaigaon Guwahatiand Digboi for various projects, such as,expansion <strong>of</strong> CDU VDU, Vacuum GasOil Hydro-treating and Motor SpiritUpgradation projects.We are also involved in engineering <strong>of</strong>some <strong>of</strong> the units for the new grass rootrefineries, such as, Paradeep Refinery,which <strong>will</strong> start implementation in comingmonths.Secondly, high quality engineeringand value addition. We have broughtup the capability <strong>of</strong> the organization toengineer mega complexes as explained.We have also a strong process engineeringset up with more than 100 well-qualifiedengineers with expertise in differentfields. With this set up, we are in aposition to carry out basic engineering forselected technologies and feed packagesin different fields.Thirdly, we have a very well establishedcustomer base. We have history <strong>of</strong> longtermassociation for several Indian Clientswith whom we have been working fordifferent projects over a period <strong>of</strong> time.Apart from Indian market, approximately25% <strong>of</strong> our workload comes from UhdeGermany, or neighbouring countries.EPPC Egypt, LAB Complex for GulfFarabi, is one <strong>of</strong> the recent examples.Well-diversified technology portfolio, highquality engineering and established clientbaseare some <strong>of</strong> our core strengths.What are the core technologies<strong>of</strong>fered by Uhde India for theProcess Industry?Our technology portfolio is more orless same as that <strong>of</strong> Uhde GmbH. In thefield <strong>of</strong> Fertilizers, the last major complexcompleted by Uhde is 3,300 TPD, theworld's largest single stream AmmoniaComplex along with 3,250 TPD Urea andOffsites & Utilities for SAFCO, SaudiArabia. Apart from Ammonia-Urea, weare also active in the field <strong>of</strong> NPK / DAPbased on technology from M/s. INCRO,Spain. We have implemented several DAPplants, based on pipe reactor technologyin India and presently we are engineeringa TSP / MAP Complex for Morocco alongwith INCRO <strong>of</strong> Spain.With vast experience in Reformers,Uhde has strong presence in the field<strong>of</strong> Hydrogen. Uhde has built more than200 Nitric Acid plants and presently weare building 300 TPD Nitric Acid plantfor GNFC. Uhde has strong marketpresence in the `State <strong>of</strong> Art' MembraneCell technology and in India we have amarket share <strong>of</strong> approximately 75%. Wehave recently introduced 5th GenerationElectrolysers in India. These arecharacterized by high current densityand very low power consumption. Withthis development, due to power saving, itwould be economical to change secondgenerationcell elements to 5th Generationduring recoating and remembraning.As already mentioned, Petro<strong>chemical</strong>sand Polymers have been our major area<strong>of</strong> competence and in recent years wehave increased our market share in theRefinery field.Cryogenic storages represent one <strong>of</strong> thecore technologies <strong>of</strong>fered by Uhde India.India imports large quantities <strong>of</strong> ammoniato make fertilizers and almost every majorport and harbour has a Uhde AmmoniaTerminal. Total installed capacity <strong>of</strong>Cryogenic Ammonia storage built by UhdeIndia exceeds 600,000 tonnes.Uhde has experience in building moreChemical Engineering World 1 101 1 APRIL 2009

Chemical Eneineering World 1 102 1 APRii. 2009Back <strong>of</strong> Bookthan 100 gasifiers based on differenttechnologies covering a variety <strong>of</strong>feedstocks. Coal gasification plant withUhde "PRENFLO" technology is inoperation at Puertollano in Spain since1990.How has the economic meltdownaffected the business <strong>of</strong> UhdeIndia and which are the ongoingprojects? What is your opinion onde-globalisation as a strategy foreconomic revival?Presently we are not so pessimisticabout the situation. We have substantialorder booking <strong>of</strong> last year, which is undervarious stages <strong>of</strong> implementation. Theprojects for which we have done largeamount <strong>of</strong> engineering work last yearhave now moved to the constructionphase and there is good amount <strong>of</strong>workload in Project and Site Managementdepartments. On the other hand, we havealso substantial engineering to be donefor our new projects. In recent years wehave increased our market share in theRefinery field. Presently, we are involvedwith leading public sector refineriesfor various projects. Uhde India is alsoinvolved in engineering VGO-HDT andDHDT units for the new IOCL grassrootsParadeep Refinery. Currently we arealso actively pursuing revamp projectsto improve efficiency <strong>of</strong> operation, bringdown raw material and utility consumptionfigures.As regards de-globalisation, it is onlyright that every country <strong>will</strong> try its utmostto protect its own industries, economy andemployment. However, in the process <strong>of</strong>strengthening its own <strong>industry</strong>, a countrycan never ignore the need to constantlymake goods and services at globallyattractive prices. India's economy, incomparison to other global economies, isrelatively stable at the moment, thoughthe forthcoming elections <strong>will</strong> be lookedat with interest from the point <strong>of</strong> view<strong>of</strong> further investments by FII and FDI.In India, we are forecasting 7% growtheven under the present situation, which<strong>will</strong> <strong>definitely</strong> improve in the comingyears. The question is the capital.We may miss foreign investment forsome period <strong>of</strong> time, but if we are in aposition to produce goods and servicesat globally competitive rates, foreigninvestment <strong>will</strong> <strong>definitely</strong> come. Alreadythere are reports in the press that we areexperiencing the first signs <strong>of</strong> revival.This augurs well for organizations suchas ours, whose focus has always been thedomestic markets first, and then othergeographical regions, based on grouppriorities. It <strong>will</strong> take some time for thingsto stabilize, but in my opinion, we neednot be unduly worried.What are the initiatives taken byUhde toward R&D and train theyoung talent?At Uhde we are constantly workingon developing newer technologies andupgrading the ones that have alreadybeen developed. All the research work iscarried out in Uhde Germany, and UhdeIndia participates actively in processimprovements for select technologies.We are very much focused on achievingquality, schedules, safety and meetingenvironmental requirements. Overthe years, we have raised our qualitystandards to a very high level. Due to highconstruction costs, the demands on qualityare very high since changes at site are notonly expensive but also time consuming.We place a lot <strong>of</strong> emphasis on trainingand development <strong>of</strong> our own skilledmanpower through structured trainingsessions. We have well-planned classroomand practical training sessions for freshengineers and refresher courses forexperienced engineers. `Lessons learnt'sessions are organized after completion<strong>of</strong> a project; and we have a KnowledgeManagement system in place, wherein"We are not so pessimisticabout the situation- or rather quiteOptimistic. "Though Indiahas a wealth <strong>of</strong>talent and haslarge number<strong>of</strong> premierengineeringinstitutes, researchwork isstill lagging.

Back <strong>of</strong> Book"Government shouldcontinue its focus oninfrastructure power,water, transportationsystem etc, as these affectthe performance <strong>of</strong>all industries. "Presently, evena mediumsized<strong>chemical</strong><strong>industry</strong> cannotrely on gridpower and hasto have its ownpower plant.such experiences are documented.How can academia and <strong>industry</strong>work in tandem for the growth <strong>of</strong>the process <strong>industry</strong>?There are two aspects <strong>of</strong> the academiaand <strong>industry</strong> interface. First, to makeavailable well-qualified manpowerfor the <strong>industry</strong> and second is in thefield <strong>of</strong> research and development.Several academic institutions havetaken considerable initiative to conductspecialized courses tailored to therequirement <strong>of</strong> the <strong>industry</strong>, e.g. severalinstitutions <strong>of</strong>fer piping engineering asan elective, and also certification courseon piping engineering.However, though India has a wealth <strong>of</strong>talent and has large number <strong>of</strong> premierengineering institutes, research workis still lagging. Investments in R&D areextremely low. A majority <strong>of</strong> companiesin India invest lesser than 1% <strong>of</strong> salesin research work. This figure needs tobe increased. R&D should include costeffective technologies, improvementsin manufacturing processes, reductionin cost, automation, as well as newproduct development. The future <strong>of</strong> the<strong>chemical</strong> <strong>industry</strong> <strong>will</strong> <strong>definitely</strong> <strong>depend</strong>on technology. In India, there is a vastscope for this and a large talent pool toaccomplish these.When the markets were good, thesalaries <strong>of</strong> fresh engineers had gone upto very high levels and it was not possiblefor Indian companies to recruit themat those high levels. A recent report inEconomic Times suggests that one out<strong>of</strong> every four companies interviewed bythem <strong>will</strong> recruit in April to June, whichI understand, is the highest in the world.Or, in other words, looking at it positively,talents from premium institutions wouldbe available for Indian companies forinnovation and to invest on much neededresearch & development.Which sectors in your opinionshould be provided the stimulus tosustain growth momentum? Willthe nuclear deal be a booster forthe power sector in India?In my opinion, the Government shouldcontinue its focus on infrastructure power,water, transportation system etc, as theseaffect the performance <strong>of</strong> all industries.Many key industries including oil & gas,petro<strong>chemical</strong>s, fertilizers, etc. <strong>will</strong> benefitmanifold by this. Take the case <strong>of</strong> a powerplant. Presently, even a medium-sized<strong>chemical</strong> <strong>industry</strong> cannot rely on gridpower and has to have its own powerplant. This increases the investment,since the clients have not only to considerthe investment for the <strong>chemical</strong> complex,but also for the power plant and alsoexplore various feedstock possibilitiesfor power generation, <strong>depend</strong>ing uponthe location.As per recent announcementsmade, there are ambitious plans to addapproximately 78,000 Megawatts by 2012and 78,000 Megawatts in every 5 year planthereafter. In other words, substantialinvestment & trained manpower isrequired in the field <strong>of</strong> power generationand distribution. Similarly, availability<strong>of</strong> water is another major concern. Asthe <strong>industry</strong> progresses, the demandon transportation system <strong>will</strong> furtherincrease.As regards power, presently 65% <strong>of</strong>power generation comes from thermalpower plants and more than 50% is coalbasedpower. Out <strong>of</strong> 147,000 MW only 4,120MW comes from nuclear energy, which isless than 3%. Here again, we understandthat there are ambitious plans to generate20,000 MW <strong>of</strong> nuclear power by 2010. I amsure this <strong>will</strong> go a long way in addressingour country's energy needs.nChemical Engineering World 1103 1 APRIL 2009