Alkali BulletinAlkali Bulletin(For Restricted Circulation) July 2019Volume XLI No. 07

AMAI July 2019.indd 1 06-Sep-19 7:59:23 PM

AMAI July 2019.indd 2 06-Sep-19 7:59:24 PM

Dear Reader,

The Union Budget for 2019-20 presented by the newly appointed Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman proposed an increase in the basic customs duty (BCD) on Poly Vinyl Chlorine (PVC) from 7.5% to 10% and a reduction in BCD on Ethylene Di-Chloride (EDC) from 2% to nil. This is a welcome relief to the PVC industry that had been facing multi-fold challenges due to non-availability of merchant feedstock, cheap imports from the East and inadequate margins to sustain business. AMAI welcomes the announcement which will partly offset the disabilities of this fast growing industry. In its pre-budget memorandum, AMAI had sought an increase in BCD on PVC imports to 12.5% and also full exemption from BCD on Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM) imports. Imports of PVC have been growing over the past few years at a CAGR of about 9%. Imports now constitute more than 50% of domestic demand. The domestic capacity has not kept pace with growing demand resulting in rising imports and a drain in foreign exchange. The benefits announced will incentivise domestic capacity expansions and it is hoped that the government will consider further relief to have a significant impact to reduce imports.

AMAI had also sought an increase in customs duties on imports of caustic soda and soda ash. Annual imports of alkalies into India are valued at over Rs.3,000 crores, a major share in import of chemicals. Imports of caustic soda during 2018-19 were a little over half of that in the previous year, attributable to the imposition of mandatory compliance to BIS standards on all caustic soda imports. This provided temporary relief and with manufacturers in exporting countries obtaining BIS licences, imports have risen again. With the government’s aim to curb non-essential imports and reduce the foreign exchange burden, the industry had hoped for an increase in duties. Imports are severely affecting capacity utilisation. With India negotiating various trade agreements where there is pressure to offer greater tariff concessions, the problem will only exacerbate. An increase in customs duties on caustic soda and soda ash will improve the capacity utilisation and also secure the investments that these industries have committed to augment capacities to meet the growing demand.

The Department of Commerce organised a series of stakeholder consultative meetings to finalise the approach on negotiations for RCEP. Following various representations made by AMAI, DoC has agreed to favourably consider the recommendations to exclude alkalies and PVC from any tariff concessions. Excluding these items from tariff concessions will provide a significant relief to the industry that is already facing an onslaught due to incessant imports.

K. Srinivasan Secretary General

AMAI July 2019.indd 3 06-Sep-19 7:59:24 PM

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AMAI July 2019.indd 4 06-Sep-19 7:59:25 PM

I. ARTICLES & FEATURES

Union Budget 2019-20 – Highlights 1

Meghmani Finechem Limited commences commercial production of Chloromethanes (CMS) Project at GIDC Dahej 3

Failures of Heat Exchangers and their Trouble Shooting - Dr. S.K. Chakravorty, Consultant (Plant Engineering) 4

PAT Scan - Cycle I Surpasses Target, Scope of Next Cycles Enlarged 11

Poor Power Quality Leads to Economic Loss and Affects Electrical Safety – Mr. Sibaji Pattanaik, Corporate Technical & Energy Services, Aditya Birla Management Corporation Pvt. Ltd. 13

Safer Stabilisers for PVC: Industry-Wide Voluntary Initiatives are Need of the Hour- Ravi Raghavan, Editor, Chemical Weekly 17

Circular Economy: Preserving Value – Saving Resources 19

Incident Report No.110: Hydrochloric Acid Leakage from a Road Tanker 21

Beacon-Messages for Manufacturing Personnel 22

II. NEWS DIGESTGeneral

MEIS to be phased out, Centre to refund levies 23

CSR spending likely to be made mandatory; companies set to face penalties for non-compliance 23

CSIR-CMERI develops technology for quality drinking water 23

Government to grant environmental clearances for projects in 70-80 days: Prakash Javadekar 24

Piyush Goyal holds ‘marathon’ of consultations with industry players ahead of RCEP meet 24

Rollback of duty hike for captive power plants sought 24

Need focus on key exports to boost India’s global share, says CII 24

Commerce Ministry, exporters to discuss strategy to increase shipments to US, China 25

China promises greater market access to India if it improves RCEP offer 25

Exports shrink as global tariff war takes toll on Indian trade 25

US-India bilateral trade to reach USD 238 billion by 2025 26

High indirect taxes are hurting exports, Make in India initiative 26

India imposing tariffs on US products, no longer acceptable, says Trump 26

ASEAN Trade Ministers persuade India to speed up talks on RCEP 26

India, China bilateral trade declines by 3.59% in first 5 months of this year 27

Breather for exporters as Centre to pay ITC refund for State GST 27

CONTENTS

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AMAI July 2019.indd 5 06-Sep-19 7:59:25 PM

US drags India to WTO over duty hike on 28 American goods 27

Rising exports, investments could provide the tailwind 28

Indo-US trade talks set to resume 28

Economic Survey 2019: Strong growth potential for discretionary majors 28

FIEO to work with Kerala govt to double its exports 28

India’s trade deficit widened with 25 major countries in 3 years 29

India eyes gains from Sino-US trade tension 29

Birla group patriarch and industrialist B.K. Birla passes away in Mumbai at 98 30

Manufacturing loses momentum, PMI slips to 52.1 in June 30

Export sops that aren’t compatible with WTO norms to be replaced 30

In a first, Lucknow gets road constructed using plastic waste 31

Chemicals and Petrochemicals

After caustic soda, Govt. plans mandatory standards for more chemicals 31

Antidumping duty on PVC imports from China and US to stay 31

Nuberg EPC signs contract to deliver Chlor-Alkali Plant in Morocco 32

Member Units

DCM Shriram Q1 net up marginally 32

Tata Chemicals may make lithium-ion cells 32

Reliance Industries, IOC to gain from Budget move on PVC, Naphtha 33

Tata Chem to be a pure-play chemicals player now, says CEO R Mukundan; lays out roadmap for aggressive growth 33

Tata Chemicals gets green nod for soda ash plant expansion 33

III. NOTIFICATIONS/PRESS RELEASES/ MEMORANDA

Corrigendum Notification dated 31st July, 2019 by Dept. of Commerce, DGTR, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, GOI - Final Findings issued in anti-dumping duty investigation (SSR) concerning imports of “PVC Suspension Grade Resin” from China PR, Thailand and USA 37

IV. UPCOMING SEMINARS/CONFERENCES/ WORKSHOPS

AMAI to organise Two Day International Seminar on “Safe and Efficient Transportation of Chlor-Alkali Products in India” and Mini-Exhibition on 25-26 September 2019 at Vadodara, Gujarat 38

IHS Markit Global Soda Ash Conference 2019, 24-26 September 2019, Cannes, 39 France – AMAI is Association Partner

CCAON to organise The 8th China International Chlor-Alkali Conference on November 19-21, 2019, in Sanya, Hainan Province- AMAI is Partner to the Conference 40

Disclaimer: Information published in this magazine is reproduced from various sources. Every effort is made to minimize errors while reproducing for publication in Alkali Bulletin. However, readers are requested to verify and make appropriate enquiries and satisfy themselves about the veracity of information published in this magazine before use. The publisher or AMAI will not be responsible for decisions taken by readers based on information published in Alkali Bulletin.

AMAI July 2019.indd 6 06-Sep-19 7:59:25 PM

When you observe a small leak in a pipe or vessel, it is possible that the leak is from a small crack or pinhole in the pipe or vessel wall. The pipe or vessel wall may look like this:

It is also possible that the small leak is the first complete penetration of a pipe or vessel wall which has been significantly thinned by corrosion or erosion. It might look like this:

If a large area of the wall is thinned it may be ready to fail catastrophically, releasing a large amount of the pipe or vessel contents. Your efforts to respond to the leak may disturb the pipe or vessel, making failure more likely. Significant changes to the process conditions inside (pressure, temperature, flow rate) may also increase the likelihood of failure.

What Can You Do?

What if that small leak turns into a big leak?

If you find a small leak any process equipment, first, report the leak. Consider the possibility of a catastrophic failure, and make sure that the response plan will protect people, property, and the environment if this happens.

Understand the potential consequences of a catastrophic failure based on your knowledge of the properties of the material in the leaking pipe or vessel (flammability, toxicity, corrosiveness, etc.) and the process conditions (temperature, pressure, flow rate, quantity of material, etc.).

Consult your plant technical experts on the process and materials, corrosion hazards, materials of construction, and emergency response to help determine how to safely respond to the small leak.

Read the April 2011 Beacon about small leaks becoming large leaks for more information.

This issue sponsored by

http://www.aiche.org/CCPS/Publications/Beacon/index.aspxMessages for Manufacturing Personnelwww.aiche.org/ccps

July 2019

©AIChE 2019. All rights reserved. Reproduction for non-commercial, educational purposes is encouraged. However, reproduction for any commercial purpose without express written consent of AIChE is strictly prohibited. Contact us at ccps_beacon@aiche.org or 646-495-1371.

The Beacon is usually available in Afrikaans, Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Filipino, French, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Marathi, Mongolian, Persian (Farsi), Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Urdu, and Vietnamese.

Small leak leads to catastrophic failureThe June 2019 Beacon described an incident in which operators discovered a

small leak in an 8-inch (200 mm) pipe containing flammable hydrocarbon gas. While the pipe was being isolated and depressurized, it suddenly failed catastrophically (Figure 1) releasing flammable gas. Fortunately, there were no injuries.

In another incident, in a refinery in the United States, operators observed a leak in a pipe exiting the Crude Unit Atmospheric Column. The pipe contained high temperature light gas oil (Figures 2, 3). During the response to the leak, the pipe catastrophically failed releasing a large quantity of hot gas oil (Figure 4). The resulting fire (Figure 5) injured 6 people, put others at risk, and caused significant damage to the refinery. Thousands of people in the surrounding community sought medical attention. Important parts of the refinery were shut down for many months.

Did You Know?

1

32

4 5

1. Morey, A. “Corrosion Under Insulation Revisited: Aren’t We About to Finish that Project?” Process Safety Progress 37 (4), pp. 502-505, December 2018.

2. US Chemical Safety Board report, https://www.csb.gov/chevron-refinery-fire/References:

www.iomosaic.com

AMAI July 2019.indd 22 06-Sep-19 8:00:17 PM

BELLOW SEAL CHLORINE GLOBE VALVE

EURO CHLOR APPROVAL CERTIFICATE NO. 17/01 FOR MANUAL VALVE

Created for those insearch of perfection..!!

AMAI July 2019.indd 34 06-Sep-19 8:00:20 PM

AMAI July 2019.indd 36 06-Sep-19 8:00:23 PM

Corrigendum Notification

Subject: Final Finding issued in anti-dumping duty investigation (SSR) concerning imports of “PVC Suspension Grade Resin” from China PR, Thailandand USA.

F.No.7/34/2018-DGTR: Having regard to the CustomsTariff Act, 1975, as amended from time to time and the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Anti-Dumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules , 1995, as amended from time to time, there of, the Designated Authority has issued the Final Finding, vide notification No.7/34/2018-DGTR dated 18/07/2019, in respect of subject Anti-dumping investigation (SSR).

1. In Col. No.6 (producer) at SI.No.4 the entry is corrected to read as “M/s Westlake Vinyls Company LP or M s Westlake Vinyls, Inc. or M/s Axial, LLC”

2. In Col. No.6 (producer) at SI. No.5 the entry is corrected to read as “M/s Oxy Vinyls, LP”3. In Col. No.6 (producer) at SI.No.6 the entry is corrected to read as “Any other producer except M/s

WestlakeVinyls Company LP, M/s Westlake Vinyls, Inc., M/s Axial, LLC, M/s Oxy Vinyls, LP”

(Sunil Kumar) Additional Secretary & Designated Authority

F.NO.7/34/2018-DGTR Government of India

Ministry of Commerce & IndustryDepartment of Commerce

(Directorate General of Trade Remedies)4th Floor, Jeevan Tara Building,

5, Parliament Street, New Delhi-110001

Dated 31st July, 2019

Alkali Bulletin July 2019 | 37

AMAI July 2019.indd 37 06-Sep-19 8:00:23 PM

Alkali Manufacturers Association of India

TWO DAY INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON "SAFE AND EFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION OF CHLOR-ALKALI PRODUCTS IN INDIA”

25th& 26th September 2019 (Wednesday & Thursday) Grand Mercure Hotel Surya Palace, Vadodara, Gujarat

AMAI is organizing its next event consisting of two day Seminar on " Safe and Efficient Transportation of Chlor-alkali Products in India” andconcurrent Mini-Exhibition,NetworkingandB2BSessions.The event will be held on 25th&26thSeptember 2019at Vadodara, Gujarat.Eminent Speakers from World Chlorine Council, Euro Chlor, The Chlorine Institute USA and Various Subject Experts, Technology Know-how Suppliers/Licensors, Logistics Companies, Regulators and Implementing Agencies like Disaster Management Groups, Emergency Responders, EPC Consultants, Engineering Consultants, Equipment and Transport/Automobile Companies, Safety and Disaster ManagementExperts from Global & Indian Industry,would be making presentations and sharing theirknowledge &expertise. The focus will be onthe statutory requirements, regional regulations, issues and problems in implementation, latest developments to make the transportation a safe and efficient process through effectively handling the incidents, developments to optimise the operation and safety through upgraded automation and improved controls.

Conference Papers will cover ➢ International & Indian Regulations and Experiences for chlorine transport through pipeline ➢ Regulations, Precautions/Recommendations and Experiences for gaseous and liquid chlorine transport through

pipelines – US, China, Europe, India➢ Chlorine & Hydrogen tonners/cylinders Handling, Inventory & Tracking ➢ Emergency Preparedness & Response System ➢ Safe and Efficient Transportation of Chlor-Alkali Products➢ Chlorine & Hydrogen tonners/cylinders Handling, Inventory & Tracking ➢ Industry Experiences and In-House Developments to improve transit efficiency and enhanced safety during

transportation of chlor-alkali products ➢ ISO Containers for transfer of hazardous chemicals in India ➢ Integration in chlor-alkali industry, Chemical Park Concept and infrastructure development/improvement to make

bulk chlorine transportation viable in India ➢ Smart Transit using AI Technology ➢ Proposed New Designs of Chlorine and Hydrogen tonners with inbuilt tracking devices like RFID and GPS➢ Road Safety Education & Defensive Driving Institute ➢ Industry Perspective on importance of educating drivers carrying hazardous chemicals on road ➢ Procedures/Practices & Precautions for loading & unloading of Chlorine as well as Hydrogen tonners/cylinders

PARTICIPATION FEE*Members Rs.12,000 (+ GST as applicable) Non-Members Rs.18,000 (+ GST as applicable) Foreign Delegates US$ 600 (inclusive of GST)

CONTACT PERSONMs. Harjeet Kaur AnandJoint Director (Tech.)09818904989hkanand@ama-india.org

*SPECIAL DISCOUNTS (FOR DELEGATES ONLY):

• Early Bird Discount of 10% Valid till 31.07.2019 (Wednesday)

• Multiple Delegate Discount:10% for three or more delegates registered from the same organization

• Pre-Registration & Pre-Payment is obligatory. • Participation charges are non-refundable, however

change in nomination will be acceptable upto 20.09.2019 (Friday)

• Last date of registration is 20.09.2019 (Friday)

SPONSOR MEDIA PARTNERS

AMAI July 2019.indd 38 06-Sep-19 8:00:23 PM

WSA2019WORLD SODA ASH CONFERENCE

309031511-0119-SK-CHE

See you on the French Riviera!Join us in Cannes for the World Soda Ash Conference 2019, bringing together all the stars of the soda ash industry for in-depth discussion and exciting networking opportunities.

Don’t miss the must-attend soda ash event of the year. Get your business updates, deep analysis and insight, meet old friends and make new ones at the IHS Markit World Soda Ash Conference taking place this year on the glamourous French Riviera.

The conference takes place on 25-26 September, and is preceded by the Soda Ash Workshop on the 24 September.

Commercial Impacts of Soda Ash Technologies 24 September 2019, Tuesday

The full-day workshop is the only one offering a broad understanding of soda ash technologies and their commercial impact on the global soda ash industry.

REGISTER NOWFor more information visit ihsmarkit.com/WSA2019

LYNN URBAN | DELEGATE SALEST +1 303 397 2801 E Lynn.Urban@ihsmarkit.com

BEN KINBERG | PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIEST (212) 425 8116 M (917) 399 3911 E Ben.Kinberg@ihsmarkit.com

Copyright © 2019 IHS Markit. All Rights Reserved

24-26 September 2019 | Cannes, France

Association Partner:

AMAI July 2019.indd 39 06-Sep-19 8:00:24 PM

CCAON will hold the 8th China International Chlor-Alkali Conference on November 19-21, 2019, in Sanya, Hainan Province. The conference will track

the global hot topics and market trends as in the past conferences, meanwhile, the conference will create a platform for both domestic and foreign

industrial insiders to exchange market information.

Agenda of the Conference1. The evolution of the global energy structure and its impact on the chlor-alkali industry

2. The development pattern of the global vinyl industry and the impact of raw material routes on the chlor-alkali industry

3. The trade pattern and future evolution of the global caustic soda industry

4. General situation and future development trend of chlor-alkali industry in North America

5. The latest pattern distribution and future development direction of the chlor-alkali industry in Russia

6. The rapid development and future evolution trend of Indian caustic soda industry

7. Development of the Indian PVC industry and its downstream applications

8. Development Status of PVC Industry in ASEAN and Development of Downstream Industry

9. Industrial layout and trend of Asian caustic soda industry

10. The development status of the global alumina industry and its impact on the global caustic soda industry pattern

11. The pattern and evolution of China plastic products industry

12. Development Status and Trends of China Caustic Soda Industry

13. The latest development technology and policy of China chlor-alkali industry

14. The pattern and evolution of China PVC industry

15. The development of PVC futures market and forecast

16. Analysis of China caustic soda export market and EDC/VCM international market

Look forward to your participation!

Partner：

AMAI July 2019.indd 40 06-Sep-19 8:00:26 PM

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Published by ALKALI MANUFACTURES ASSOCIATION OF INDIA 3rd Floor, Pankaj Chambers, Preet Vihar Commercial Complex, Vikas Marg, Delhi 110092 Ph: 011-22432003, 22410150 Email:hkanand@ama-india.org; info@ama-india.org; website: www.ama-india.org

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AMAI July 2019.indd 42 06-Sep-19 8:00:27 PM