Chemplast Sanmar Restarts 84,000 t/y EDC Unit

en.Wedoany.com Reported - India's Chemplast Sanmar has restarted the ethylene dichloride (EDC) production unit at its Karaikal site. The unit had been shut down after a fire in July and a suspension order from the Puducherry regulatory authorities; on September 26, the company restarted the EDC unit after the relevant prohibition was temporarily lifted. The final revocation process by the Puducherry Pollution Control Committee was still underway at that time.

The shutdown stemmed from a fire at the Karaikal EDC unit on July 17. Subsequently, the Inspector of Factories issued an order in July prohibiting further use of the unit, and the Puducherry Pollution Control Committee on July 22 required the EDC unit to be shut down immediately and not to resume operation pending further approval. Chemplast Sanmar then carried out rectification work and submitted compliance materials to the regulatory authorities.

The EDC unit at the Karaikal site has a designed capacity of 84,000 t/y, and the unit uses chlorine generated from the site's chlor-alkali production as one of its main raw materials. The existing chlor-alkali system at Karaikal has a capacity of 52,000 t/y caustic soda and 46,000 t/y chlorine, and the EDC unit connects to the company's PVC raw material chain by consuming chlorine downstream. The site also has a liquid ethylene import marine terminal facility, providing another major raw material source for EDC production.

What Chemplast Sanmar has formed at Karaikal is an integrated "chlor-alkali—EDC—PVC raw material" supply chain. According to the company's public information, the Karaikal EDC unit is mainly used to secure internal raw materials; the supporting marine facility handles liquid ethylene imports, and the site is also equipped with a 12 MW gas-fired captive power source. This restart has brought the EDC production link back into operation, with the key milestone shifting from a regulatory shutdown to a conditional restart.