The Indian Chemical Council honored specialty chemicals company LANXESS India Private Limited with the ‘Water Resource Management’ Award. The award paid tribute to LANXESS’ production site in Nagda for its innovative approach to recycling domestic sewage water and harnessing it for industrial use. Neelanjan Banerjee, Director of LANXESS India, accepted the recognition from the Honorable Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilizers, Shri Srikant Jena at the ICC Awards, which was held in Mumbai last evening.
The award was given for setting up a treatment plant for domestic sewage water with recycle based on biological treatment with subsequent post-treatment by Reverse Osmosis Technology (RO). RO is effective in eliminating or substantially reducing a very wide array of contaminants and allows the removal of species as small as individual ions. RO is usually applied in addition to traditional effluent treatment for industrial effluents. Following such treatment the domestic sewage water from the township where the employee’s of Grasim SFD, Chemical Division and LIPL reside is now actually being put to use.
On this occasion Mr. Banerjee said, “We at LANXESS are honored to receive this award. In a city like Nagda where water is in short supply, the utilization of sewage water is a boon. We are glad to be contributing toward saving water of Chambal River that is so precious a commodity for Nagda”.
LANXESS’ production site in Nagda is situated at the bank of Chambal River. In May and June, the river becomes parched due dry weather as well as heavy consumption of water for industrial purposes and irrigational use by the villagers.
Today, at the Nagda plant domestic sewage water is treated to remove its organic fouling and sediments to make it useful as make-up water for Cooling Towers. A part of the treated water is further purified through RO and mixed bed resins to meet the requirement of Boiler feed water for steam generation in a CoGen plant. Multiple usage of the sewage water contributes significantly to the overall water balance and helps to keep the plant running through the dry months of May and June.
These initiatives underline LANXESS’ commitment to green chemistry. The systems and processes are not only crucial for the sustainability and long-term growth of the chemical industry in Nagda, but also benefit the local community.
Dr. Joerg Strassburger, Managing Director and Country Representative of LANXESS India, says, “LANXESS dedicates efforts to green the environment at our sites around the globe. Addressing the water scarcity issue in Nagda is a good example of corporate responsibility that makes a difference.”
About LANXESS
LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 6.58 billion in 2008 and currently 14,335 employees in 23 countries. The company is represented at 46 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.
Mayur
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