Page 176 - CW E-Magazine (22-10-2024)

Special Report Special Report

of 150gm per litre is covered. (Desali- different sources. Membraneless water Recovering Li with INDUSTRIAL SAFETY
nation, 2024, 582, 5 August, 117511; extraction (MWE) is reported, which thermal-swing liquid-liquid
th
DOI: 10.1016/j. desal.2024.117511). uses DME to selectively extract water deionization 12th Phosgene Conference takes stock of global
from the above type of brines, which
Crystallisation leverage the volatility of DME to M.P. Bailey has referred to the low con- best practices for a safer industry
realise rapid solvent recovery. Thus, centration of Li in brines and typically
A. Haghighizadeh et al have reviewed the deleterious effects of scaling on recovery may be in the range of 30-60%. ndian Phosgene Council, probably implemented and modern tools are used Industrial Safety and Health, Govern-
the recent progress in Antisolvent membranes are avoided. Multistage ADIONICSC (France) has developed a the only industry-group focused on for risk management at phosgene pro- ment of Gujarat, noted that better
Crystallisation of pharmaceuticals solvent regenerator that uses vapour proprietary liquid-extraction medium Ia single molecule – phosgene, in this ducing/using companies. understanding of hazards and ways to
with a focus on membrane-based tech- compression is discussed. Thus, the called FLIONEX, which allows ther- case – organized the 12th India Inter- handle accidents needs to be a focus
nologies. Continuous crystallisation is seawater desalination brine, which has mal-swing liquid-liquid deionization national Phosgene Safety Conference, in “Medical response capacity needs to area. “Accidents have become very
practical for APIs which require high 1.0 mole NaCl per kg can be treated process for extremely high recovery and Vadodara on September 12, 2024. The be strengthened especially in the region expensive for the companies where they
throughput of drug crystals with dif- for zero discharge and entailing 99.9% selectivity for Li; Na and Ca are extrac- event, which had to postponed from its around the phosgene plants,” he noted, occur,” pointing to the legal and moral
ferent solubilities, stabilities, shapes, recovery of DME and energy usage of ted in a very limited way. Here K, B, Mg earlier schedule due the unprecedented while calling for the publication of the consequences of fatalities and injuries,
habits, polymorphs, and size distri- 50 kWh per cu.m. of water. (Ind. Eng. and sulphates are rejected. The loaded rains in Vadodara and surrounding phosgene safety guidelines in languages besides loss of property and reputation.
butions. Here there is ease of scale-up, Chem. Res., 2024; DOI: 10.1021/acs. medium is then washed with cool water regions, was attended by more than 100 other than English and Gujarati to bene-
and superior control over polymorph iecr.4C00517). to remove the undesired Na and Ca. delegates, representing all the major fi t a larger cross-section of the industry. Mr. Bamaniya reiterated that safety
and size distribution of crystals. This Heated demineralised water extracts Li producers and users of the hazardous requires top-level commitment, which
review covers recent efforts to tackle Harnessing dimethyl ether from the solvent to give a concentrated gas. Speakers at the event included Mr. Singhal also complimented the is not always available. However, he
the above problems. Further, coupling (DME) with ultra-low-grade stream of LiCl. (Chem. Eng. Magazine, several from Covestro, a leading phosgene industry for taking safety audits seri- cautioned that merely having safety
of antisolvent crystallisation with cool- heat for scaling-resistant brine 2024, 1 April). producer in Europe, all of whom made ously, with the aim of strengthening systems is not enough. “Workers need
st
ing, supercritical-assisted, microfl ui concentration and fractional the presentation via a video link. safety systems. “They are a great way to be trained properly,” he said.
dics-assisted, and membrane-assisted crystallisation Industrial distillation aspects to learn as auditors, especially inter-
are discussed. This review is expected of diketene (DK) Inaugurating the event, Mr. Vikram national ones, bring valuable expertise, ‘Severe incidents rare, but small
to assist concerned technocrats. (Chem. Z.H. Foo et al have worked on hyper- Singhal, Vice-Chairman, ICC Gujarat, and should not be seen merely as a incidents increasing’
Eng. Technol., 2024; DOI: 10.1002/ saline brines coming from different M.O. Bicer et al have and President, Gulbrandsen Techno- compliance measure.” Mr. Stefan Drees, Head, Global
ceat.202300412). types of streams. This work refers to a discussed at length logies. Inc. noted that the event will Phosgene Steering Group, Covestro,
novel solvent-driven water extraction distillation of DK, enable better use of limited resources ‘Accidents are expensive’ Germany, pointed to the improved safety
Electrically powered high- (SDWE) using DME as the solvent and which has different so that the highest safety practices are Mr. S.C. Bamaniya, Joint Director, record of the global phosgene indus-
salinity brine separation using ultra-low grade heat. The low dielectric requirements. Al-
dimethyl ether (DME) constant facilitates salt concentration though this distilla- Hungary
in the aqueous phase. A liquid-liquid tion has been done 12 India
A. Deshmukh et al have come out separator is included along with solvent for several years there are some aspects China
with a new strategy for dewatering concentrator. 99%+ DME is regenerated which deserve special attention, and this 10
highly saline aqueous streams from with specific thermal energy cost of paper consider these aspects. (Chimia, Argentina
36.6 kWh per cu.m. 2024, 78, No. 3, 148-158; DOI:10.2533/ Thailand
The cost-effective chimia.2024.1438). 8 6
process entails a USA
projected specific Highly selective CO / Korea
2
cost of US$1.93 CH membranes based on 6 Japan
4
per cu.m. [This ethanolamine ionic liquids 2 7
strategy should (ILs) 4 2 4 6 Poland
be considered for UK
zero discharge sys- M.L. Alcantara et al have referred to the 2 5
tems where MEE promise of IL-based membranes which 4 3 1 1 1
are used for the are highly selective for CO . This is 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1
2
retentate.] (Chem. ethanolamine-based IL and polyvinyl 0
Eng. J., 2024,489, alcohol (PVA). CO permeability up to
2
1 June, 151159; 20g Barrer and selectivities up to 241 are 1989/90 1991/92 1993/94 1995/96 1997/98 1999/00 2001/02 2003/04 2005/06 2007/08 2009/10 2011/12 2013/14 2015/16 2017/18 2019/20 2021/22 2023/24
DOI:10.1016/j. reported. (Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 2024; Fig. 1: Global reported phosgene-related fatalities
cej.2024.151159). DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.3C04533). Source: Stefan Drees

176 Chemical Weekly October 22, 2024 Chemical Weekly October 22, 2024 177

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