BOC India to Install Air Separator Unit at Jindal Steel Plant in Orissa

BOC India Limited (Kolkata, West Bengal), a subsidiary of Linde AG (Munich, Germany), entered into a long-term agreement with Jindal Stainless Limited (New Delhi) for the installation of an air separation unit (ASU) at the latter's integrated steel plant located at the Kalinganagar Industrial Complex in the state of Orissa. Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, TX) reports that the ASU will supply the steel plant with 55 tons per day of argon, 70 tons per day of nitrogen, and 300 tons per day of oxygen. The scope of the contract also includes operations as well as maintenance related activities onsite.

BOC has a product range of 20,000 gases and mixtures used across a variety of industries. The company has three air separation plants, all of which are capable of producing medical-grade oxygen. In addition, BOC also operates several chemical gas compression units across the country.

The air separation plant in Jamshedpur, among the largest ASUs in the world, has a production capacity of 1,250 tons of medical-grade oxygen per day. The Taloja plant, with a daily capacity of 110 tons per day, caters to industrial requirements and also meets most of the medical-grade oxygen demand arising in the city of Mumbai and its suburban districts. BOC's first ASU, located in Tarapore, near Mumbai, has a production capacity of 100 tons per day.

BOC is planning to expand production capacities by 2011 at an estimated investment of $208 million. The firm has already invested $21 million and will allot additional funds of $10.4 million to develop a 250-ton-per-year merchant ASU in Selaqui, Uttarakhand, which is expected to commence operations in June 2010.

Another ASU, catering exclusively to the electronics industry, is being planned at a Special Economic Zone in Andhra Pradesh. BOC has already found potential buyers, including Moser Baer India Limited (New Delhi) and Surya Roshni Limited (New Delhi) for the venture, which will produce mainly nitrogen and hydrogen specific to the industry. BOC also plans to import chemical mixtures required for photovoltaic cells at this facility.

BOC is on the verge of signing another contract with Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) (New Delhi) for the long-term supply of gas to SAIL's integrated steel plant in Burnpur, West Bengal. The 15-year supply deal will be serviced by a new ASU planned at the premises of the steel-manufacturing facility. The 2,000-ton-per-day ASU will be set up over a period of 30 months at a cost of $104 million.

Earlier this year, BOC signed a 15-year supply contract for 2,600 tons per day of oxygen, nitrogen and argon gases required for capacity expansions at SAIL's steel plant in Rourkela, Orissa. Accordingly, two ASUs, each with a capacity of 2,855 tons per day, are being planned to meet the contract terms. These units will also be designed to produce 400 tons per day of liquid products for the merchant market.

Potential orders in the pipeline include the development of two ASUs, each with capacities of 1,250 tons per day, for SAIL's steel plant in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh. BOC has also entered into a 10-year contract with Adhunik Metaliks Limited (Kolkata, West Bengal) for installing and operating a 100-ton-per-day ASU at the latter's steel plant in Orissa. The ASU will supply the steel plant with oxygen, argon and nitrogen gases.

Pure gases such as oxygen, argon and nitrogen are used for refining molten metal. As a part of the decarburization process, carried out to remove carbon impurities from the metal bath, a controlled ratio of argon-oxygen mix or nitrogen is passed through the liquid metal at an optimum temperature and pressure to facilitate formation of carbon monoxide, which is siphoned off. Pressure in the system is controlled by argon and nitrogen, while the rate of gas flow regulates the high temperatures caused by burning oxygen.