The responsibility of end-to-end engineering services for a decorative paint plant with an initial capacity of 300,000 kl per annum of paint was a dream project for the Hydrogen & Chemical business unit. Tata Consulting Engineers was entrusted with basic and detail engineering, procurement services, inspection and expediting and construction supervision services for the decorative paint plant.

The design engineering and planning was done on a fully-integrated 3D engineering platform with a client review interface, which helped in infusing predictability to the project. PDMS modelling of the entire plant, including civil, underground facilities, mechanical, equipment, piping, electrical and instrumentation also ensured greater accuracy and quality in the design.

An innovative aspect of the project was the ‘pigging’ for transfer of liquid raw materials and products. This technology helps transfer various chemicals through a dedicated pipe and is also useful in cleaning the pipelines. The use of this technology helped reduce the number of transfer lines, thereby reducing the complexity of the plant around the equipment. By simplifying the piping requirements, it was now possible to make the plant fully automatic. An automatic equipment cleaning system (automatic CIP) was also a part of the engineering plan. The plant design based on the ‘Zero Discharge’ concept ensures effluents in all forms i.e. solid, liquid and gaseous are treated within the plant. Solid effluents are managed through an incinerator followed by heat recovery and scrubber. Liquid effluents go through primary, secondary and tertiary treatment. Various types of scrubbers for gaseous effluents have also been designed and implemented. The treated water is also reused within the plant. Rooftop rainwater is collected and stored in roof water storage tank. This roof water is pumped to the water treatment plant and then directed into the production process. The 100% tertiary treatment and recycle of sewage reduced freshwater intake by about 40%.

Around 30% of the total plot area is earmarked as a greenbelt zone. The Hydrogen & Chemical business unit provided many value-additions to customer and the plant was successfully commissioned. The plant today stands as a modern facility with state-of-the-art technology and environmentally sustainable features incorporated in the design and plan.