Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has set up a superabsorbent polymer (SAP) technology demonstration plant of 200 tonnes per annum at the Kochi Refinery.
The plant was inaugurated by BPCL’s executive director in-charge (refineries) Sanjay Khanna, in the presence of other officials.
Using the in-house acrylic acid as feedstock, SAP technology is used in various hygiene products such as diapers and other incontinence products. The technology was developed by the R&D wing of BPCL for production of hygiene-grade SAP, officials said.
The polymerisation reactor and the drying units were shifted from BPCL’s Corporate Research & Development Centre at Noida. Other units like feed preparation unit, milling, coating and packing units were indigenously engineered and procured by the project team. The project was completed in just seven months.
SAP is a polymer that can absorb and retain extremely large amounts of a liquid relative to its own mass. Therefore, superabsorbent polymer is one of the key components in sanitary napkins, baby diapers, under-pads and adult diapers.