Title of Process/ Know-how/ Product/Design/Equipment
Eco-friendly process for production of precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) of customized grades from calcium carbonate rich by-product/calcium resources.
Application/Uses/Problem being addressed
Precipitated calcium carbonate has various commercial applications such as manufacture of paper, rubber, plastics, glass, textiles, putties, chalks, sealant, adhesives, paints, inks, varnishes, food, cosmetics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
Commercial applications of PCC require specific powder characteristics, particularly, fine particles with a narrow size distribution, uniform shape and crystallinity and it should be free from impurities.
Salient Technical Features including Competing Features/ Impact
There are physical as well as chemical processes for the treatment of solid waste containing calcium carbonate. But these are time consuming, require specific equipment, specific reagent and higher energy consumption.
To address this problem CSIR-CSMCRI has developed an eco-friendly process to produce precipitated calcium carbonate from calcium carbonate rich by-product generated in a chemical processing industry. This process significantly purifies the calcium carbonate rich by-product in continuous manner. It is a semi-continuous process which can be linked to the plant generating the calcium carbonate-rich by-product, especially in nitrophosphate fertilizer plant, minimizing the pollution related to solid waste. The impurities associated with by-product can be removed, recollected and reused as fertilizers. The process significantly purifies the by-product and converts it to value added product.
TRL Level & Scale of Development:
Pilot Scale
Business scope & opportunity (in terms of scale, cost, market etc.):
Higher growth in segments such as poly vinyl chloride (PVC) and masterbatches offer significant potential for a supplier to target, primarily due to the large expansion plans of companies such as Plastiblends and Finolex in India. Additionally, there is significant import substitution potential for steric coated grades of ground calcium carbonate (GCC) and precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) in masterbatches and PVC applications
Environmental Considerations:
This process provides pollution abatement measures in nitrophosphate fertilizer plant by utilization of the calcium carbonate rich by-product generated in such plant and similar waste calcium generated from plant as alternative source to limestone and is used for producing precipitated calcium carbonate useful for commercial applications.
Status of Licensing:
Licensed technologyLicensed to GNFC, Bharuch
Status of Commercialization:
Not yet commercializedMajor Raw Materials Needed
Waste calcium carbonate; Calcium carbonate rich by-product generated from industrial processes
Major Plant Equipment and Machinery Required
General chemical process equipment like reactors, calciner, carbonation tower
Techno-Economics
As the process uses inexpensive solid waste as primary raw material, the process is techno-economically feasible; Economics of the process is governed by the nature of PCC being manufactured for ‘intended’ applications
Technology Package
License to operate IP-protected know-how, demonstration of the process, technology transfer document including basic engineering package. License fee and other financial details are available on request
