Bhavnagar-based Central Salt & Marine Chemical Research Institute (CSMCRI) has standardised few processes to convert hazardous effluents, discharged from the dye manufacturing units into the value added products (VAP) which could have multiple applications.

These value added products find applications in fertiliser, plastic and detergent manufacturing industry.

Dye manufacturing units in Gujarat, which is a hub for the said industry, discharge tones of liquid waste which is hazardous for the environment. The research by the CSMCRI, if implemented by the industry, could significantly reduce pollution due to dye industry.

"We have standardised a few processes to covert effluents discharged by dye manufacturing units like ammonium carbonate, dilute sulphuric acid and ammonium chloride through waste streams," CSMCRI chief scientist M R Gandhi told PTI.

"Through these processes, by-products of dye units can successfully be converted into value added products such as Synthetic Hydro Talcite, Zeolite A and Ammonium Sulphate with a zero effluent discharge," he claimed.

Out of the hazardous waste, the technology for deriving one of the products from both ammonium carbonate and aluminium chloride waste--Synthetic Hydro Talcite--has been licensed by the institute to Heubach, a leading pigment manufacturer based in Ankleshwar in Bharuch district of the state.

The company which manufactures paint for Ferrari, is in the process of setting up a plant to manufacture this commercially viable product of international standards.

Synthetic Hydro Talcite-an important additive- finds usage largely in the plastic industry, Gandhi said.

The product is expected to be commercially manufactured by early next year in Gujarat, he added.

"The product also finds usage as a fire retardant. It is also used in making antacid drugs as it has the properties to stabilise acidity in human body," Gandhi said.

It is proposed by the industry that more such products can be taken up by CSMCRI with the support of international body of dye manufacturers-Ecological and Toxicological Association of Dyes (ETAD), for which discussions are in progress.

More such products from the waste like Zeolite A, which finds application in detergent industry, and ammonium sulphate which is used as a nutrient fertiliser will be taken up in the next phase for which discussions are underway, Gandhi said.

Zeolite A, serves as a replacement for poly phosphates that are used for reducing the hardness of water. Poly phosphates cause eutrobhication of water bodies (growth of unwanted vegetation/algal), so replacing phosphates is therefore environment friendly, he said.

While, Ammonium Sulphate is a two nutrient fertiliser containing both nitrogen and sulphur, and finds usage as a fertiliser, Gandhi added.

State-run fertilisers and industrial products manufacturer Gujarat State Fertilisers and Chemicals (GSFC) has evinced interest in the process of converting effluents of dye units into Ammonium Sulphate, developed by CSMCRI.