Green chemistry technologies need to be competitive to survive

From innovating less toxic processes based on biological sources to create efficient sustainability mechanisms, India chemical industry is poised to make a remarkable difference in green chemistry

Today sustainability is a common theme and as an industry, all of us are endeavoring on it, says S. Sunil Kumar, President, Henkel India as he explains how his company is working towards it. 

Talking about green chemistry use cases, S. Sunil Kumar said, “Keeping safety and health of people in view, we have introduced completely toluene free products. Second example is in the area of the automotive industry, where we have worked closely with auto parts component makers and OEM manufacturers to bring out certain technologies to ensure reduction of emissions and light weighting of vehicles. In the area of plastic waste management, we have come up with an alternative to mostly used plastic straw which is a paper with coatings and can work at both low and high temperatures, and all kinds of fluids. In the packaging industry, we have innovated hotmill adhesives to replace the secondary film packaging." 

From a sustainability perspective, Kumar says his company aims to enhance value and reduce the footprint. “We have taken three big matrices to measure our progress. These are responsible use of energy, reduction of waste and reduction in water consumption. Starting 2010, we aimed at reducing 3% on a year on year basis across all values. We have been able to achieve an overall 30% reduction, out of which 44% in energy and waste, and 28% in water consumption.” 

Kumar shared his thoughts alongside other leading experts at the Indian Chemical News E-conference titled, "Green Chemistry and Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities" held on June 25, 2021. The virtual event was moderated by Pravin Prashant, Editor, Indian Chemical News. 

Green fuels are the cleanest form of fuels, says Vinod Paremal, Regional President of the Indian Subcontinent, Evonik. “India is looking for sustainable fuel alternatives in transportation. In this regard, the government is targeting 5,000 compressed biogas plants by 2025 and about 15 million metric tonnes of green gas production annually. To support the production of a pure green fuel, Evonik offers SEPURAN Green membrane technology for turning organic waste into green gas. The membrane upgrades the biogas produced and converts it into very pure methane. So it separates out CO2 and delivers it directly to the gas grid without any additional chemicals or water being used. This is a real green fuel that emits less CO2 than conventional fuels, 99% less dust particles, 90% less nitride oxide, and noise reduction by 50%.” 

Sharing his company’s initiatives in driving sustainability initiatives, Maulik Mehta, CEO & Executive Director, Deepak Nitrite Ltd. says, “Having taken actions to improve productivity at plants, our responsibility doesn’t end at the gates of our factories. During COVID-19 pandemic, we have ensured that the handling of material and its transportation at customer end, in terms of sustainability and safety, is not negatively impacted. Deepak Group has been complying with all the latest standards. In the last few years we have reduced our emission by more than 115 lakh tonnes. Treatment facilities have led to conserving more than 2 lakh kilo litres of water." 

"During the last four months, we have commissioned 4 new biological treatment plants across all our locations. Our Phenol and Acetone plants have the lowest thermal footprint anywhere in the world. All of our plants are entirely IoT enabled and as a part of it, all the trucks that come in and leave the premises are always in full capacity. Despite the fact that we lost many projects due to it, we have taken a conscious decision not to manufacture anything with less than 77% yields. As a part of our journey, we believe in the documentation of learnings, cross fertilization of ideas, sharing of competencies across locations. That’s how our smart factories work,” added Mehta. 

Sharing his cautiously optimistic views on green chemistry, Dr. Kamlesh Pai Fondekar - Head Research & Development, Godrej Agrovet Ltd. mentions, “Typically, out of 12 principles only a few sustainable practices are implemented in actuality. Only green chemistry is not good enough for commercialization as the economic factors hinder the implementation. While a chemist has the knowledge on chemistry part, the engineering skills are lacking, impacting the implementation at industrial scale. Apart from capital investment not working in its favor, the green technology might not also succeed if these are not competitive. These will have to be economical with respect to the cost of the product. Over the last few years, we have seen the commercialization of only a few green technologies globally." 

"At the same time, I am still optimistic that flow chemistry will be the key. I strongly feel it will provide tremendous opportunities and very likely we see better products with cost being competitive to classic processes and better prices. At Agrovet, we discuss the economic viability of ideas and set criteria before we go for any product development. Optimization is the key,” commented Fondekar. 

As per Dr. Pramod Kumbhar - President & CTO, Praj Industries Ltd., the climate change has worsened in the last few years and sustainability has to be looked at from that perspective. Explaining the key activities undertaken to promote green chemistry, Kumbhar says, “8% of global ethanol comes from Praj. We have 300 plus patents in various processes, also including biological and green chemistries. We are working on two major flagship technology platforms. First are our Bio-Mobility technologies which include first generation and second generation ethanol produced from agri-residues such as bagasse, corn, cob, rice and wheat straw etc. These also include marine biofuels produced from ligin based feedstock. We are working on Sustainable Avian Fuel (SAF), a bio-isobutanol jet fuel and also our own biodiesel which is based on enzymatic technology, eliminating the feedstock issues. Second is Bio-Prism technology which is helping us to create bioplastic from sugarcane bagasse." 

"We are looking at chemicals and materials from low carbon sources. We are looking at renewable sugars based Bio PE, PET Butadiene, Spandex. Bioplastics such as PLA, PHA and starch/cellulose blends. We have to work on both renewable as well as biodegradable aspects,” added Kumbhar. 

Sharing his thoughts on the yield side of the value chain, Mirik Gogri, Head Corporate Strategy, Aarti Industries Ltd. mentions, “To develop the products with desired yields and waste reduction, we set our R&D targets carefully at the beginning itself. We don't do it just for the sake of publications. Since we handle few very hard chemical reactions, we make sure that the information on the safe handling and new learnings is passed on every day. On a daily basis, 500 people listen to safety guidelines and information through presentations by employees themselves. As the temperature increases, the work hours might get reduced to 6 hours a day instead of 8 hours due to heat. We can’t predict how and in what ways climate change is going to affect us." 

"Since electricity has a huge cost factor, biofuel and wind energy are being worked upon but many of these technologies are at an early stage. Comparatively, water and steam energy seem to be the way forward. The biopolymers could be an alternative to develop light weight vehicles and replacement of lithium ion batteries as it will be difficult to deploy them beyond a certain stage. Green transmission is an opportunity in this direction,” added Gogri.