CHEMICAL AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES

Published on 18 Feb 2025

The chemical industry is central to the modern world economy, concentrating raw materials like oil, Natural Gas, water, minerals into thousands of products.

Use of the products from the chemical industry is given in the table below

Heavy Inorganic Chemical Industry

• Sulphuric Acid:

• Importance: Essential ingredient for fertilizers, synthetic fibers, plastics, paints, and more.

• Challenges: Limited domestic sulphur reserves (90% imported).

• Production Hubs: Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal.

• Nitric Acid:

• Production: Primarily associated with fertilizer plants and explosives (e.g., Trombay unit of Fertilizer Corporation of India).

• Alkali Industry:

• Raw Materials: Common salt, limestone, and coal (resource-intensive).

• Location Factors: Proximity to raw materials, cheap electricity, and market.

• Products: Soda Ash (glass, paper, soap, detergent), Caustic Soda (soap, detergent, textiles, alumina), Liquid Chlorine (water treatment, paper, pulp), Calcium Carbide, etc.

• Soda Ash:

• Production Centers: Okha and Mithapur (Gujarat) due to abundant sodium chloride and limestone.

• Caustic Soda:

• Applications: Soap, detergents, textiles, alumina.

• Byproduct: Chlorine (water treatment, paper, pulp, soap, detergent, textiles).

• Challenges: High power consumption (over 2/3rd of production cost).

• Production Hubs: Porbander, Mithapur, Thane, Kalyan, and Titagarh.

Heavy Organic Chemical Industry

•  Origin & Products:

• Derived from crude oil refining, petrochemicals are essential for synthetic fibers, rubber, plastics, and pharmaceuticals.

• Production Hubs:

• Mumbai (major hub) along with cracker units in Auraiya (UP), Jamnagar, Gandhar, Hazira (Gujarat), Ratnagiri (Maharashtra), Haldia (West Bengal), and Vishakhapatnam 

• Key Segments:

• Polymers: The foundation for plastics, with India emerging as a major exporter. (e.g., NOCIL in Mumbai)

• Synthetic Fibers: Used for various fabrics due to their desirable properties. Production centers include Kota, Pimpri, Mumbai, and others.

• Elastomers: Offer elasticity and regain their shape after stretching (e.g., natural rubber, polyurethanes).

• Surfactant Intermediates: Reduce surface tension in liquids, aiding in processes like textile dyeing.

Tags:
Geography

Keywords:
CHEMICAL AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES Heavy Inorganic Chemical Industry Heavy Organic Chemical Industry

Syllabus:
General Studies Paper 1

Topics:
Resources Distribution