MOSCOW (MRC) -- Deepak Nitrite’s fully-owned subsidiary Deepak Phenolics to begin production of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) at its plant in Dahej, Gujarat, India, according to Kemicalinfo.
The company confirmed in its official disclosure to the Bombay Stock Exchange that the company commissioned a 30,000 metric ton per annum plant at Dahej to make Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) from Acetone, thus significantly reducing the country’s dependence on imports.
IPA is an important input in the production of essential pharmaceuticals and manufacturing of sanitizers.
"The company has commissioned its plant to make IPA from acetone. This will significantly reduce the country’s import-dependence for IPA, which is an important input in the production of essential pharmaceuticals as well as hand-sanitizers," said a company spokesperson.
"Due care will be taken while ramping up the capacity utilization, taking manpower constraints and process safety into consideration," he added.
The demand for IPA based hand-sanitizers has gone up significantly due to the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic across the country.
The company has made an investment of Rs 200 crore (USD26.4 million) to set up the IPA manufacturing plant at its complex in Dahej.
As MRC reported before, the company started up its new phenol/acetone plant, located at Dahej in the state of Gujarat, on 16 August 2018. The plant, which is operated under Deepak Nitrite’s wholly-owned subsidiary Deepak Phenolics Limited, is able to produce 200,000 tonnes/year of phenol and 120,000 tonnes/year of acetone. There is also the potential for a capacity expansion in the future. Deepak Phenolics’ plant is the largest phenol/acetone plant in India.
Deepak Phenolics shut its phenol/acetone plant in Dahej on 25 March, 2020, because of the nationwide lockdown because of the spread of coronavirus. It is said to resume operations in late April, 2020.
Phenol is one of the main feedstocks for the production of bisphenol A (BPA), which, in its turn, is used for the production of polycarbonate (PC).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, overall estimated consumption of PC granules totalled 22,700 tonnes in the Russian market in the first quarter of 2020 (excluding imports and exports to/from Belarus), compared to 17,000 tonnes a year earlier. Demand increased by 33%.
MRC