Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.(IOCL) will set up a superabsorbent Polymer (SAP) plant in Gujarat after Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. built India’s first SAP development plant in Kochi, said an official familiar with the matter.
IOCL had decided to commission an Acrylics/Oxo Alcohol Plant at Dumad, near the Gujarat refinery, which produces acrylic acid—the component used as a raw material to produce SAP.
Now, with IOCL possibly venturing into its production, there will be a foreign exchange of ₹1000 crore that can be saved annually, said an official on condition of anonymity to The Bottomline. Indian Oil Corporation did not respond to emails sent by The Bottomline till press time.
SAP is a key component used in sanitary napkins and diapers, which has a heavy retention capacity and can absorb liquids that are fifty times its volume. Seven to ten grams of SAP is used to produce a diaper and a pad. India imports 80,000 kilo tonnes per annum (KTPA) of SAP from China, Singapore, Korea, and Japan, for ₹240 crore per annum. Considering the potential of the SAP market in India, IOCL will commission a plant that will produce 90 KTPA, said an official familiar with the matter.
“India requires SAP. Since BPCL has the raw material for the same, we can produce as per the requirement of the country,” said V. Ravi, Project Manager of SAP at BPCL. BPCL currently produces 200 KTPA. “Within a year, BPCL will scale up the SAP plant that will produce a minimum of 5,000 to a maximum of 80,000 KTPA. “This will generate direct and indirect employment leading to a chain of development in the state”, he added.
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