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Godrej Chemicals Launches Expansion Drive to Reach $1-Billion Goal by 2030
Godrej Industries Ltd’s Chemical Business has initiated a major capacity expansion plan as it targets becoming a $1-billion global company by 2030. With over ₹750 crore earmarked for investments in the coming years, several key projects are already underway.
The company is doubling its fatty alcohol and erucic acid capacities (adding 35,000 TPA and 20,000 TPA, respectively), tripling its specialities capacity (21,000 TPA), and doubling glycerine output (24,000 TPA). Fermentation and primary surfactant capacities will also see significant increases—1,500 TPA and 30,000 TPA, respectively.
To support sustainable growth, Godrej plans to boost its hybrid power usage, aiming for 75% renewable energy.
Green chemistry, renewable feedstocks, and technologies like biocatalysis and continuous manufacturing are central to the company’s strategy. With four manufacturing sites and an R&D center, Godrej Chemicals serves diverse sectors—from personal care to pharmaceuticals—offering eco-friendly, high-performance solutions.
The company is doubling its fatty alcohol and erucic acid capacities (adding 35,000 TPA and 20,000 TPA, respectively), tripling its specialities capacity (21,000 TPA), and doubling glycerine output (24,000 TPA). Fermentation and primary surfactant capacities will also see significant increases—1,500 TPA and 30,000 TPA, respectively.
To support sustainable growth, Godrej plans to boost its hybrid power usage, aiming for 75% renewable energy.
Green chemistry, renewable feedstocks, and technologies like biocatalysis and continuous manufacturing are central to the company’s strategy. With four manufacturing sites and an R&D center, Godrej Chemicals serves diverse sectors—from personal care to pharmaceuticals—offering eco-friendly, high-performance solutions.
Sibur plans hexene unit at Nizhnemkamskneftekhim’s petchemical complex
Russian petrochemicals major, Sibur, is planning to build a
facility to produce up to 50,000-tpa of hexene at the Nizhnemkamskneftekhim
(NKNK) petrochemical plant’s olefins complex. NKNK located in the Republic of
Tatarstan, operates eight core production units producing rubber, plastics,
monomers and other petrochemicals, on two adjacent production sites. Sibur, via
its subsidiary, JSC TAIF, holds majority stake in NKNK. “Development of the
technology and its piloting have been successful, and a decision was made to
build the hexene facility using in-house technology at Nizhnemkamskneftekhim,”
said Sibur’s head, Mr. Mikhail Karisalov, at a petrochemical forum in Kazan,
Tatarstan. “This covers 125-130% of Sibur’s immediate demand, and what we used
to buy in the UK and Germany. We expect to start pilot operation of this
capacity within 18-20 months, and have it in our portfolio as a product from
the end of 2024,” Mr. Karisalov said. Hexene is used to produce polymers. It is
not currently produced in the former USSR, including in Russia, Mr. Karisalov
said.
Toray looking scale up bio-based adipic acid capabilities
Toray looking scale up bio-based adipic acid capabilities
Japan-based Toray Industries announced that it has developed the “world’s first” 100% bio-based adipic acid, a raw material for nylon 66 (polyamide 66), from sugars derived from inedible biomass. This achievement came from using a proprietary synthesis technique combining the company’s microbial fermentation technology and chemical purification technology that harnesses separation membranes. The company has started to scale up its capabilities in this area. It will test polymerisation of nylon 66, develop production technology, conduct market research, and take steps to commercialise applications for this biobased adipic acid by around 2030. Nylon 66 has been used for many years in fibres, resins, and other applications due to its exceptionally durable, strong, and rigid properties. Pressures to develop eco-friendly nylon 66 have risen in recent years amid a growing awareness of the need to realise a sustainable society. One challenge is that conventional chemical synthesis for producing adipic acid, the raw material of nylon 66, generates a greenhouse gas called nitrous oxide. Toray was the first in the world to discover microorganisms that produce an adipic acid intermediate from sugars.
Japan-based Toray Industries announced that it has developed the “world’s first” 100% bio-based adipic acid, a raw material for nylon 66 (polyamide 66), from sugars derived from inedible biomass. This achievement came from using a proprietary synthesis technique combining the company’s microbial fermentation technology and chemical purification technology that harnesses separation membranes. The company has started to scale up its capabilities in this area. It will test polymerisation of nylon 66, develop production technology, conduct market research, and take steps to commercialise applications for this biobased adipic acid by around 2030. Nylon 66 has been used for many years in fibres, resins, and other applications due to its exceptionally durable, strong, and rigid properties. Pressures to develop eco-friendly nylon 66 have risen in recent years amid a growing awareness of the need to realise a sustainable society. One challenge is that conventional chemical synthesis for producing adipic acid, the raw material of nylon 66, generates a greenhouse gas called nitrous oxide. Toray was the first in the world to discover microorganisms that produce an adipic acid intermediate from sugars.
The company reconfigured metabolic pathways within microorganisms to enhance production efficiency by applying genetic engineering technology, which artificially recombines genes to streamline synthesis in microorganisms. It also employed bioinformatics technologies to design optimal microbial fermentation pathways for synthesis. Quantity of the intermediate synthesised by microorganisms has increased more than 1,000-fold since the initial discovery, and the efficiency of synthesis has improved dramatically. Toray is using reverse osmosis separation membranes to concentrate the intermediate in the purification process. This approach is more energy efficient than other methods that do not use these membranes. This bio-adipic acid production technique is free of nitrous oxide emissions, unlike the manufacturing processes for petroleum-derived adipic acid, and is expected to help combat global warming
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