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Special Report                                                                                                                                                                      Interview


       Recovery  of  Ca  and  S from  reported : acetone/n-heptane; dichloro-  Purfn. Technol. 2024, 330, Part C, 1    MIKE ROBINSON, CEO, BRITISH SAFETY COUNCIL
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       phosphogypsum (PG) with zero      methane/ethanol and methanol/toluene.  Feb, 125536).
       by-product generation using a     Heat integration is also reported. (Ind.                                    “Collaboration between industry and safety organisations
       preparative vertical fl ow electro-  Eng. Chem. Res., 2023; DOI:10.1021/  Application of Seeded Mem-
       phoresis system                   acs.iecr.3C01951).               brane Distillation Crystallisa-            is vital to drive improvements in safety performance in
                                                                          tion (SMDC) for zero liquid
       This is an interesting process by L. Lu   Optimal design and multi-cri-  discharge (ZLD)                      chemicals sector”
       et al of valorising PG (valorisaton of   teria comparison of extractive
       PG has been covered in this column).  distillation (ED) processes   S. Flatscher  et al have stressed the           ritish  Safety  Council,  the  UK-          adequate training to   Current safety levels in the
       Here, NaOH was used to convert PG into  for separating a quaternary   importance of ZLD (and in India also          based registered charity set up in          workers on safety  Indian chemical industry exhibits both
       slaked lime and Na SO  with a maximum  low-boiling solvent mixture  it is becoming increasingly important     B1957, has been in the forefront                  protocols, includ-  strengths and areas still needing some
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       leaching effi ciency of 98.6% with 2M                               particularly in land-locked locations).    of campaigning to protect workers from            ing proper han-   improvement. While signifi cant strides
       NaOH and a molar ratio of Na to S of  Z. Zhang  et al have worked on the   Here high-saline NaCl solution were   accidents, hazards and unsafe conditions.      dling  of hazardous  have been made in enhancing safety
       2.1. The slaked lime is of high standard.  separation of a complex quaternary   used to evaluate the performance of   Its members in more than 60 countries     substances,  use of  standards and regulatory compliance,
       Then electrophoresis separation of the  azeotropic mixture of methanol, n-hex-  SMDC. Excellent recovery rates both   are committed to protecting and improv-   personal protective  challenges persist, particularly regard-
       resulting Na SO  demonstrated that the  ane, ethyl acetate and ethanol from   for water (over 95%) and salt (over   ing the wellbeing of workers, believing     equipment (PPE),  ing the management of hazardous sub-
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       NaOH effl uent output could reach the  a pharma enterprise to arrive at the   95.5%) are demonstrated. The seeded   that a healthy and safe work environment  and emergency response procedures.  stances, risk assessment practices, and
       desired concentration for reusing. The  eco-effi cient process. Two alternative   system in SMDC was found to inhibit   is also good for business.  Additionally, maintaining  a clean  emergency preparedness.  Areas need-
       addition of a solid supporting media  entrainers, namely aniline (A) and   membrane coating. An average thermal                                 and well-organised work environment,  ing improvement include strengthening
       (quartz sands) was a key factor in the  ethylene glycol (EG) were considered.   effi ciency of 61.5% is reported. (Chem.   British Safety Council India re-  implementing  effective  safety policies  safety management systems, enhancing
       above separation. Optimal conditions  Low-pressure side-stream ED process   Eng. Technique;  DOI:  10.1002/cite-  cently organised its ‘360 Degree Safety  and procedures, and fostering open com-  training and awareness programmes,
       are reported. (Sep. Purfn. Technol., 2024,  with AN and DWED process with EG   202300084).                    and  Wellbeing Transformation  Confe-  munication  between  management and  and ensuring robust incident reporting
            st
       331, 1  March, 125579; DOI:10.1016/j.  were considered. It seems  aniline-                                    rence’,  a  global  summit  on  wellbeing  employees are essential for promoting a  and investigation mechanisms. More-
       seppur.2023.125579).              based process is best economic choice.   Permylene Membrane Techno-         and safety in Mumbai and New Delhi,  culture of safety. Regular safety inspec-  over, fostering a culture of proactive risk
                                         (Sep. Purfn. Technol., 2024, 330, part   logy for C H /C H  separation      which witnessed health and safety  tions,  incident reporting mechanisms,  mitigation and continuous improvement
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       Efficient single-column ex-       C, 1 Feb, 125564; DOI:10.1016/j.sep-  [This column has covered many papers   experts sharing their knowledge on  and continuous improvement  efforts  is essential to address emerging safety
       tractive distillation (ED) process  pur.2023.225564).              on this subject as the conventional        transformational safety performance,  also contribute to creating a healthy and  challenges in the chemical industry.
       achieved through vapour-liquid                                     distillation column based separation of    process safety management,  cultural  safe work environment.
                                                                                                                                                                                         How can reporting of safety incidents
       separation of feed                Mass transfer and reac-          C H /C H  is both capital and energy       leadership, risk management, risk pro-  What  kind  of activities targeted at  in the chemicals sector be improved?
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                                                                                                                     fi ling, and employee wellbeing.
                                         tion-mechanism of CO  capture    intensive.]                                                                  the industry in general – and chemi-  Your comments on setting up an in-
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       N. Hu et al have proposed a single-  into a novel amino acid ionic  D. Zhang et al have reported a pilot         In this email interaction  with  cal sector in particular – are cur-  dependent agency to investigate in-
       column side-stream ED combined with   liquid phase-change absorbent  plant demonstration system designed      Chemical Weekly, the  CEO of British  rently being promoted by the British  dustrial chemical accidents in the
       a front-side reboiler. Three cases are   [CO  absorption in amines continues to  and fabricated by Imtex Membranes   Safety Council, Mr. Mike Robinson,  Safety Council India in the country?  country and how can the British
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                                         attract attention even after 60 years and  Corp. This pilot plant handles 3-kg   shares his views on health  & safety                           Safety Council contribute.
                                         this column has covered several papers.]  per hour of olefin/paraffin mixture.   culture in the Indian chemical industry   We are actively engaged in promot-
                                                                          Both C H /C H   and C H /C H , and         and the Council’s activities in these areas.  ing  safety initiatives targeted at the   Improving the reporting of safety
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                                         T. Song et al have worked on reducing  even butene/butane systems have been                                   industry, including the chemical sector.  incidents in the chemicals sector
                                         heat duty in reboilers as an item of  assessed. Remarkable performance for     Excerpts from the interview:   We work with organisations to under-  requires a concerted effort from indus-
                                         economics. A novel amino acid ionic  C H /C H  is reported and C H  purity                                    stand their needs. We support organisa-  try stakeholders.  We can  contribute to
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                                         liquid (AAILS) phase change absorbent  of over of over 98.5% (vol) has been   What are the prerequisites of a  tions in their journey through critical  this initiative by providing expertise in
                                         with tetraethylene pentaamine as cation,  realised in the permeate. The membrane   healthy and safe work environment?  risk safety audits, process safety man-  incident investigation methodologies,
                                         L-proline as anion and n-propanol (NPA)  system is stable. A case study of recove-                            agement  techniques and behaviour-  offering training programmes on incident
                                         as phase separator.  The absorption  ring 90% C H from 15-tph (tonnes          Prerequisites of a healthy and safe  based training programmes. This helps  reporting  and analysis,  and  facilitating
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                                         loading was as high as 2.001 mol CO   per  hour)  of  C3  was  performed  and   work environment include several key  create a system where the organisations  knowledge-sharing platforms for industry
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                                         per mol absorbent and the rich phase  the energy consumption is extremely   elements. Firstly,  comprehensive risk  can support themselves after our inter-  professionals. Collaboration between the
                                         viscosity was only 8.06 mPaS. The  low and is only 8% of that required      assessments or audits must be con-  vention.                        industry and safety organisations is vital
                                         desorption effi ciency was 84.4%. The  for distillation. [This is a remarkable   ducted to identify potential  hazards                           to ensure the effective implementation
                                         heat duty was 87% lower than that for  performance.] [J. Membrane Sci., 2024,   in the workplace, including  chemical  Your comments on the safety sce-  of such measures and drive continuous
                                         30 wt% MEA. At 40°C the rate constant  Jan. 15, 690, 122204; DOI:10.1016/j.  exposures, ergonomic risks, and physi-  nario in the Indian chemical industry  improvement in safety performance
                                         for fresh absorbent was 51346 s . (Sep.  memSci.,2023, 122204).             cal hazards. Employers should provide  and areas needing improvement.  across the chemicals sector.
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       162                                                                      Chemical Weekly  April 23, 2024      Chemical Weekly  April 23, 2024                                                                 163
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