India’s Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) on Wednesday said it has dispatched the first consignment of acrylic acid from its Propylene Derivative Petrochemical (PDP) complex at Kochi Refinery.
Acrylic Acid is one of the six niche petrochemical products produced in the new PDP Complex at Kochi Refinery.
Built at the cost of Rs 6,000 crore (~$805 million), the complex utilises 250,000 metric tonnes per annum (mtpa) of Propylene and produce 180,000 mtpa Butyl Acrylate, 10,000 mtpa 2-Ethyl Hexyl Acrylate, 47,000 mtpa Acrylic Acid, 47,000 mtpa 2-Ethyl Hexanol and 38,000 mtpa nButanol.
“The first supplies of acrylic acid, which is used in hygienic medical products, detergents, and wastewater treatment chemicals, plastics, coatings, adhesives, elastomers, paints, and polishes, etc, were made to Rossari Biotech and Visen Industries,” the company said in a statement.
In the next few weeks, production of Oxo Alcohols and Acrylates is also expected to commence.
Acrylic acid unit is the largest single-train unit in the world with a capacity of 160,000 tonnes per annum.
Technology for these products has been sourced from Air Liquide Global E & C solutions, Germany, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, Japan & Johnson Matthey Davy Process Technologies, United Kingdom.
Commenting on this milestone, S Jena, ED (Industrial & Commercial), BPCL said products from the complex would replace almost 90 per cent of the country’s imports in this segment.
“These products are going to benefit the industries across a variety of sectors such as specialty chemicals, plasticizers, paints and Adhesives,” he said. “We are ready with Oxo Alcohols as well and in the next few weeks’ time, we will make Butyl Acrylate and 2 Ethyl Hexyl Acrylate available to the customers.”
The annual production of production Acrylic Acid, Oxo Alcohols and Acrylates is estimated to be 329,000 metric tonnes, which will substitute the import of these products, saving approximately Rs 4,000 crore (~$537 million) in foreign exchange and benefit the industries across a variety of business segments such as specialty chemicals, plasticizers and paints and adhesives.