ABOUT THE COMPANY

Narmada Chematur Petrochemicals Limited (NCPL),

a joint venture company promoted by GNFC, Chemcatur Engineering
AB, Sweden & IBI Chematur, Mumbai, was established in the Year 1992
to produce 20,000 MTA (Revamped 25,000 MTA) of Aniline and 10,000
MTA of Toluene Di-iso cyanate (TDI) with environment friendly Dupont,
USA Technology. Aniline plant started commercial production in
February 1995 whereas TDI plant in July 1998. While Aniline is the
largest single stream plant in the country, TDI is the only plant in entire
ASSRC countries. Both Aniline & TDI plants are being operated above
100 % capacity utilization.
NCPL has exported its Aniline to Taiwan, Japan, Netherlands, Turkey,
and Belgium & South Africa. Companys TDI, being sold by brand name
of Narmada-Nate-80 is widely accepted in domestic and international
market and has been exported to Belgium, Dubai, China, Turkey, Hong
Kong & Nigeria.
NCPL has been accredited with ISO 9002 by LRQA for its products
viz.,Nitrobenzene, Aniline and TDI for the quality excellence up to
international standards. NCPL has also been awarded prestigious ISO
14000 Certificate under Environmental Management System (EMS)
ISO 14000 for its efforts towards continual improvement in preservation
of environmental & pollution abatement. The Company has also bagged
the Best Environmental System & Awareness Award instituted by
Society of environmental Auditors & Consultants (SEAC).
The Company has commissioned its 6 MW Captive Power Plant based
on Natural Gas and Co-generation technology in the month of
November, 1999, which has been catering the entire power requirement
of the Company. This plant has been installed & commissioned in the
record period of only 10 months from zero date. The total project cost of
CPP is Rs. 30 crores.
The company has already spent around Rs. 40/- crores i.e. 10% of its
project Cost in setting up Effluent Treatment Plants, viz.,Nox absorption
unit, incinerator I & II to control generation of pollution and installation of
a LIST for the recovery of TDI , for preservation of environmental and
pollution abatement in the field of Air, Water & Solid Waste Generation.
NCPL is committed to environment protection and maintenance of
ecological balance. In its constant drive for better environment,
sustained efforts are made to create greenery in the factory premises. It
has planted around 26,000 nos. of trees of different varieties and
developed grassland on more than 37,000 m of areas. In the midst of
the factory, the Company has also developed a lotus-pond wherein one
can find ducks and fish, which is an evidence of NCPLs commitment to
eco-friendly environment.
SOMEWHAT MORE,
Share Capital (Paid up) : Rs. 16.19 million
Share Holders : Around 1,27,650 Nos.
Total Cost : Rs.4 billion
Captive Power Plant : 7.6 MW at 27 C
Plot Area : 65 Hectares
 INTRODUCTION TO MTD PLANT
Meta toluene diamine (MTD) is produced by the continuous
hydrogenation of dinitro toluene (DNT) in the presence of a palladium catalyst slurry.
The MTD product is then processed to remove catalyst, hydrogenation water, ortho-
TDA isomers and other impurities.

CHEMISTRY OF THE PROCESS:

Catalyst Manufacture :-
Palladium Metal Formation
Element palladium metal is used to catalyze the hydrogenation of
dinitro toluene(DNT) to toluene diamine (TDA). Several reactants and steps are
required to produce the palladium catalyst from the starting material, palladium
chloride.
Palladium chloride is dissolved in aqueous sodium chloride to form sodium chloro
palladite.
PdCl2 + 2NaCl ---------- NaPdCl4
Sodium chloro paladite is heated in the presence of excess sodium bicarbonate,
producing palladium hydroxide precipitate.
NaPdCl4 + 2NaHCO3 ---------- Pd(OH)2 + 4NaCl + CO2
Ferric chloride hexahydrate is converted to the basic iron carbonate with an excess of
aqueous sodium carbonate. It is then decomposed by heat to yield ferric hydroxide.
FeCl3.6H2O + 3NaHCO3 --------- Fe(OH)3 + 3NaCl + 6H2O + 3 CO2
Ferric hydroxides are reduced to the metal state in the presence of hydrogen and
while under pressure inside the hydrogenator.
Pd(OH)2 + H2 --------- Pd + 2H2O
By- Product Formation
No significant known by-products are formed in these inorganic reactions.

MTD Manufacture
Toluene Di- Amine formation:
The desired product of the hydrogenation reaction is 2,4 and 2,6 toluene
diamine isomers. The 80/20 mixture of these two isomers is commonly referred to as
MTD.

2,3 and 3,4 dinitro toluene are also reduced to corresponding toluene diamines, which
are commonly referred as ortho isomers (OTD). If the OTD is not separated from the
MTD it will react to cyclic urea in the phosgenation reaction. Cyclic urea reacts with
TDI, which results in yield loss.

By- Product Formation

Small amount of mononitro toluene in the dinitro toluene are hydrogenated to
toluidines, such as ortho-toluidine.

A highly reactive catalyst system results in the further reaction of toluene diamine to
form volatile by-products such as para-toluidine and methyl diamino cyclohexanes.

A catalyst system with low activity results in several incompletely reduced products,
such as nitro amines and azoxy compounds.
Small amounts of dinitro benzene and trinitro toluene present in the DNT are reduced
to the corresponding amines

MTD Storage
The oxidation reaction that can take place at storage produces hydrogen ions.

With hydrogen ions present this by-product can react with other MTD molecules in
different ways. Water and ammonia produced in these reactions later reacts with TDI
and HCl to produce urea and ammonium chloride respectively and thus yield loss.

PROCESS DESCRIPTION:-
CATALYST PREPARATION
The catalyst for the MTD manufacture is produced batch wise in the tank reactor,
where demineralized water and other ingredients are mixed under specific conditions.
The ferric chloride solutions is first prepared with demineralized water and ferric
chloride in the dissolving tank. The solution is heated with the tanks low pressure
steam jacket and agitated with a nitrogen sparger. The solution is then held for
charging to the reactor kettle.
A second solution is then prepared in the reactor kettle with demineralized water. The
water is heated to 30 C with the vesselss low pressure steam jacket. The agitator is
started and the kettle charged with sodium chloride. After 15 minutes the solution is
checked for alkalinity and reagent grade HCl is added if necessary. Than palladium
chloride is slowly added to the reactor kettle. The resulting solution is agitated for 30
minutes.
Next, the ferric chloride solution is charged to the reactor kettle and Shawinigam
Black 100 is added. Sodium bicarbonate is then slowly added. More water is added
and the kettle is agitated for 30 minutes. The solution temperature is then increased to
90C and held for one hour, while continuing agitation.
The slurry is tested for precipitation completeness, then cooled rapidly to 60 C and
finally filtered with the catalyst filter. The filter cake is washed with demineralized
water. Filtrate and wash water are collected in the filtrate hold tank before being
discharged. The filter cake is sluiced to the catalyst slurry hold tank with
demineralized water. The agitator in the catalyst slurry hold tank is started and a
specified amount of demineralized water us used to wash the remaining catalyst from
the filter plates to the catalyst slurry hold tank.
Shawinigan Black 50 is added to the catalyst slurry hold tank, along with a metered
amount of demineralized water. This solution is agitated for two hours. The slurry is
then pumped to the catalyst slurry feed tank. From here, the slurry is then fed to the
hydrogenator as required, via the catalyst feed pump.
DEMINERALIZED WATER:
Demineralized water is pumped into the demineralized water tank from battery limit
for use in the MTD plant. The high pressure seal water pumps provide demineralized
water for the shaft seals of several process pumps. The lower pressure demineralized
water pump is used to supply demineralized water to the catalyst preparation process,
as well as for flushing the hydrogenation system at shutdown.

HYDROGENATION
Dinitro toluene is pumped for DNT plant at 70 C to the hydrogenator. DNT is fed
continuously at the rate needed to maintain the selected MTD production rate.
The hydrogen gas is supplied from battery limits and fed continuously at a rate
sufficient to maintain the hydrogenator pressure. The pressure of the hydrogen gas
supplied from battery limits id approx. reduced before injection in to the
hydrogenator.
Catalyst is fed at periodic intervals to the suction of the slurry recycle pumps which
discharges to the hydrogenator. Catalyst feed is stopped automatically when a pre-set
weight of catalyst slurry has been charged. The amount of catalyst feed is normally
calculated on the basis of DNT reduced. Occasionally, the feed rate is adjusted for
special reasons such as high or low DNT reactivity, or low solids in the
hydrogenator.
DNT is continuously hydrogenated to MTD in the presence of the catalyst. DNT and
hydrogen are fed continuously in to a reaction mass containing toluene
diamine(TDA), water and catalyst. The reaction mass is circulated by the
hydrogenator recycle pump through the hydrogenator recycle cooler to remove the
heat of reaction and then back to the top of the reactor, where it passes through the
jet-plate nozzles. The high velocity streams emerging from the jets impinge on the
liquid surface in the hydrogenator causing the gas to be entrained into the liquid, thus
producing intimate contact between the hydrogen gas and reaction mass.
The reactor temperature is maintained at 115C by controlling the cooling rate in the
external cooler. The hydrogenator is vented automatically through a vapour liquid
separator at a rate required to prevent the build of inerts in the hydrogenator. Vapor
space below the jet plate is maintained at a min. of 85 volume percent hydrogen on
water free basis. The venting rate varies with the inerts level in the hydrogen feed and
hydrogenation rate. The vent gases pas through the hydrogen vent seal pot for TDA
removal and continue to the incinerator or flare.
SLURRY THICKENING
TDA/water catalyst slurry is pumped from the hydrogenator and fed to a continuous
slurry thickener. The thickened slurry containing all of the catalyst, is then pumped
back to the hydrogenator, while the filtered TDA/water solution is sent to the wet
TDA storage tanks at a rate sufficient to maintain a constant level in the hydrogenator
. Periodically, some of the spent catalyst is removed and pumped to the unfiltered
TDA storage tank in order to maintain a constant inventory of active catalyst in the
hydrogenator.

SPENT CATALYST RECOVERY

Spent catalyst is recovered by batch filtration of the thickened slurry which has
accumulated in the unfiltered TDA tank. Slurry is pumped through the spent catalyst
filter. Cleat filtrate passes through the clean up filter into the wet TDA tanks.
Filtration is complete when the filter is loaded with the filter cake, producing a high
slurry feed pressure. Then the cake is washed with hot water and blown dry with
nitrogen gas. The filter cake wash water is sent to the waste water treatment system
and spent catalyst cake is discharged into drums.