Assam Petro-Chemicals Limited is a semi-governmental Indian company with major stakes held by

Government of Assam The Government of Assam is the subnational government of Assam, a state of India. It consists of the Governor appointed by the President of India as the head of the state, currently Jagdish Mukhi. The head of government is the Chief Minister, ...

Oil India Limited Oil India Limited (OIL) is a Public Sector Undertakings in India, central public sector undertaking under the ownership of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas oversees its op ...

and Assam Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC). The company was incorporated in 1971 and by 1976 had started production at their small

methanol Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical and the simplest aliphatic alcohol, with the formula C H3 O H (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often abbreviated as MeOH). It is a ...

plant located at

Namrup Namrup is a small town situated close to the foothills of the Patkai Hills in the extreme southeastern part of Assam, India. The river Dihing River, Dihing or Disang flows through it. Namrup is situated in amidst wet-paddy fields, indigenous A ...

along with

formaldehyde Formaldehyde ( , ) (systematic name methanal) is a naturally occurring organic compound with the formula and structure . The pure compound is a pungent, colourless gas that polymerises spontaneously into paraformaldehyde (refer to section F ...

and a few

urea-formaldehyde Urea-formaldehyde (UF), also known as urea-methanal, so named for its common synthesis pathway and overall structure, is a nontransparent thermosetting resin or polymer. It is produced from urea and formaldehyde. These resins are used in adhesive ...

resins like urea-formaldehyde glue and urea-formaldehyde moulding powder. Post expansion in 1989 and 1998, the company expanded the methanol plant to the capacity of 100TPD (tonnes per day) and formaldehyde plant to 100TPD. The company announced in September 2017 that it would invest and expand to produce 500TPD methanol and 200TPD

formalin Formaldehyde ( , ) (systematic name methanal) is a naturally occurring organic compound with the formula and structure . The pure compound is a pungent, colourless gas that polymerises spontaneously into paraformaldehyde (refer to section Fo ...

and become the largest producer of methanol in India. The required feedstock for these plants are

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

urea Urea, also known as carbamide, is an organic compound with chemical formula . This amide has two amino groups (–) joined by a carbonyl functional group (–C(=O)–). It is thus the simplest amide of carbamic acid. Urea serves an important r ...

and

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

. Natural gas, supplied by Oil India Ltd, is used as feedstock for methanol production. Urea and carbon dioxide are supplied by BVFCL Fertilizer Plant.

Methanol production

The company is among the top five producers of methanol in India; the other four being

Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers & Chemicals Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals (GNFC) is an Indian manufacturer of fertilizers and chemicals. GNFC was founded in 1976, jointly promoted by the Government of Gujarat and the Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals (GSFC). Locate ...

, Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation Limited,

Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd. (RCF) is an Indian central public sector undertaking which produces chemical and fertilizers and is based in Mumbai. It is under the ownership of Government of India and administrative control of Ministr ...

and National Fertilizers Limited. In October 2018, the company started a pilot project to use methanol as cooking gas in place of conventional

liquefied petroleum gas Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas) is a fuel gas which contains a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases, specifically propane, propylene, butylene, isobutane and n-butane. LPG is used as a fuel gas in heating appliances, cooking e ...

(LPG). The company was the first in India to offer methanol as an alternative to traditional cooking fuel. At the launch, the canisters, weighing each, were priced at each. Eighteen such canisters of methanol were equivalent to one LPG cylinder which is used for domestic cooking in India. The project was launched in support of

NITI Aayog The NITI Aayog (; abbreviation for National Institution for Transforming India) serves as the apex public policy think tank of the Government of India, and the nodal agency tasked with catalyzing economic development, and fostering cooperative ...

under their concept of "methanol economy" to reduce the cost of importing LPG.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://assampetrochemicals.com 1971 establishments in Assam Chemical companies of India Chemical companies established in 1971 Companies based in Assam Indian companies established in 1971 Companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange