Eco Friendly Projects Galore Across India

With each passing day, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) seems to have become more pro-active as evident from the numerous directives on issues concerning ecological balance and environmental protection. Scores of industries have been pulled up for discharging untreated pollutants and also for emission of toxic substances. Thus numerous preventive measures have been initiated in bringing down the rate of pollution in air, water and other sources.

On this score, providers of systems in material handling for mines in India have a crucial role to play. Apart from the dust and other allied pollutants, properly designed and commissioned material handling systems will also help in loss prevention. They will also enable proper management of logistics of facilities at the pre-mining stage as well as the mined ore or excavated matter.

There are companies like Energo India with its headquarters in Delhi NCR which offer turnkey services in material handling systems for various projects in mining like coal washeries, ore/mineral beneficiation plants and dispersal yards at ports, railway stations and power generation stations, mega construction project sites, cement, fertiliser and steel factories among others. The system includes -

• High-speed conveyors
• Material storing facilities
• Rapid and regulated loading onto trucks and wagons for onward transportation
• Modes to arrest and collect Fly Ash at thermal power plants

In the context of environmental protection, it is interesting to note that this company is also engaged in solar power plant development in India. It designs, develops and executes clean and green power generation stations, better known as solar parks.

On its part, the Government of India has set up the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and it launched an ambitious project named the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). Earlier this month, it invited expression of interest (EOI) from private entrepreneurs for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of 2,000 MW of large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plants.

Key Factors in Turnkey Projects

Even a tiny pin or an obscure nut matters a lot in the overall functioning of any engineered process and system. To cite an example, if a single nut is missing in the hub of a vehicle’s wheel, one can imagine as to what could be the consequence. So in tune with the good old adage of ‘every dog has its day’ each and every part is very significant in the overall performance of any product, utility or system. The importance of this aspect gains further importance when it concerns the application being in motion than static.

Considering this fact, the makers of all these items deserve a special mention. For instance, there are certain engineering companies like the Energo Group. This concern not only manufactures a wide range of products but also renders services on a turnkey basis for mega projects like mining, power generation stations and steel, cement and fertiliser plants among others. The tasks range from design, development, production, execution and commissioning including management of logistics. Total involvement in varied projects has enabled this company to be among prominent knife gate valves manufacturers India can boast of.

Such valves are manufactured as per end-user industry standards and process applications. As for technicalities the focus is on choice of metal, elastomer and polymer seated knife gates, actuators and cylinders, suitability for use in abrasive, high pressure environment, temperature factors, superior liner, seat and packing for optimum performance.

Material handling systems and management of logistics play a key role in the overall execution of projects. Slight error at one stage could lead to adverse chain action and reaction as such every entity in this link is vital. On this score, as for pulley suppliers India has an effective network in providing these products with a stamp mark of -

• Durability
• High Quality
• Perfection in Work

Glance Over a Power Plant Audit

Imagination has brought mankind through the dark ages to its present state of civilization. Imagination led Columbus to discover America.
Imagination led Franklin to discover electricity.
These were the words of the American author L Frank Baum, better known as the creator of the popular story series, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Indeed, he was right and today, the electricity is referred as the POWER to reflect how vital this energy is in our day-to-day life.

On this count, the generating station of power deserves a special mention. Its upkeep, care and maintenance are of utmost top priority. This can be achieved by the regular as well as periodical power plant performance testing in a scheduled manner. So constant monitoring of the entire operation of the power is a must.

Assessment of a power plant is essential when one considers that India became the world's third largest producer of electricity in the year 2013 with 4.8% global share in electricity generation surpassing Japan and Russia. Both the Indian government and the ADB (Asian Development Bank) had projected India’s growth 2014 -15 as 5.5 per cent, a slight reduction of 0.2% than the earlier estimate of 5.7 per cent. As per the statistics of end August, 2014, power sector in India had an installed capacity of 253.389 GW.

An ideal agency to undertake this task would be one that has also been involved in the design, construction and commissioning of a power plant on a turnkey basis. To cite an instance, the Indian conglomerate Energo India undertakes this exercise after having proved its mettle as a provider of customized power plant solutions. It has been associated in the overall operation of both hydro and thermal power stations at different locations in the country.

Being engaged in allied engineering services including bulk material handling systems, this company has first hand information on the basic inputs in the functioning of the power plants. As one of the prominent conveyor idler manufacturers in India, it is aware of optimum utilization of coal in a power plant. Thus regulated supply of coal and numerous other factors also matter in the overall report on plant performance.

Pulleys, Cables, Valves, Plumbing in Mega Projects

While the wheel is considered to be among one of the greatest inventions of mankind, an application based on the very technique of a wheel’s operation, the pulley, too deserves a special mention. A pulley is a wheel that functions on an axle or a shaft to supplement and also steer direction of a cable or belt along its circumference. Basically, pulleys have found extensive utilisation in transmitting power of motion from one source to another, lifting of loads and also to exert forces.

In other words, the concept of pulley has revolutionised the systems in material handing and proper streamlined movements of logistics. Technically speaking, a high performance pulley holds the trump card in every industrial activity. Consequent to tens of thousands of mega and minor projects on infrastructure being undertaken across the country, for the pulley suppliers India has become an eternal fertile ground to reap it rich.

A pulley is a highly precision engineered product in which the base metal or material is of prime importance. Pulleys are fabricated in different sizes as per the needs. They are also classified by various parameters such as Split, Taper Lock, Normal or Flat Belt Pulley, Brush Taper Lock, Timing Belt, Variable Drive, Clutch, Multi Groove, Cone, Rolling Mill, Paper Mill, Chain, etc. It is the live-wire medium of progress on all the socio-economic fronts.

Thus the pulleys are of utmost importance in turnkey projects. In India, there are a couple of such turnkey consultants engaged in providing services and products right from the blue-print stage to the ultimate execution of a project. Be it cement, a steel, a paper, a fertiliser or a chemical plant, a mining, a port or a granary project or a huge mill, these consultants would insist on pulleys of highest quality.

Apart from pulleys, these industrial consultants also pay utmost attention to numerous other products used in all the projects executed by them. For instance, if it is a chemical industry, the consultant would meticulously specify each system like the boilers, coolers, valves, etc. To cite an example, a gate or sluice valve controls the passage of liquid in a system. For extremely thick fluids, a specialty valve known as a knife valve is used to cut through the liquid while regulating its flow. Expert chemical engineers have evolved exclusive specifications for the knife gate valves manufacturers India. The component of metal, safety aspects such as leak-proof and corrosion are among the entities governing the design and production of these valves.

Multi pronged role of EPC Companies in Power Sector

The overall efficiency of a company in generation and supply of power and also the effective power capacity of any state could be assessed by the quality of transmission and distribution services (TDS). In the absence of proper monitoring and management of the TDS, severe outages would occur. People in north India would definitely recall the mega blackout that they had to endure for nearly two days at a stretch on 30 July in 2012. Grid failure had resulted in the worst possible load shedding ever recorded in the history of India.

The country’s apex business forum, FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) attributed the collapse of the power grid to a major gap between demand and supply. It observed in a statement that there is an urgent need to reform the power sector and bring about infrastructural improvements to meet the new challenges of the growing economy.

Let alone the grid failure, voltage drops are frequently experienced on the network of TDS that are termed as transmission losses. Hence prior to commissioning of any network, the engineers have to conduct an in-depth survey of the intended project covering various aspects like the topography, the weather, the booster points and reception stations. Based on this feasibility studies, the planning, detailed design and independent technical appraisals have to be worked out for the entire network. The economic, environmental and human factors are also reckoned before commissioning the TDS. Effective TDS also depend on the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) companies engaged in the commissioning of power plants.

EPC companies in India have made a mark not only on the domestic front but across the seven seas too as evident from the hundreds of projects executed by them. An EPC boasts of experts and consultants from the streams of architecture, structural, mechanical and chemical engineering depending upon the nature of the project, environmental science and materials management among others. These companies play a pivotal role in the core sector and almost every segment of the industry.

The versatile expertise of an EPC can be assessed from certain projects undertaken by them. For instance, as an EPC, Energo, a leader in power plant development in India, has proved its mettle by executing 21MW Patnazi Bunjwah Hydro Power Project in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir. It has been built over an isolated stretch in the foothills of the mighty Himalayas. This company has also undertaken the project of Periyar Energy Limited, a 2x300 MW thermal power plant near the port city of Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu.

Indian Material Handling Systems

To protect the biodiversity and prevent dumping of fly ash, there exists a law on collection and disposal of fly ash from coal-based industries and thermal power plants. Prior to the development of a technology to collect and recycle ash to make bricks and other items, it used to pollute the entire environment. It also posed serious health hazards like respiratory ailments. The enactment of a rigid policy on the disposal of ash ushered a new segment in the Indian industry. It resulted in the rapid growth of ash handling system manufacturers in India. Makers of material handling aids took the lead in this direction as they were already abreast with the boiler and turbine sectors.

Depending on the location and the process in vogue at a thermal-based plant, makers of ash

handling systems have evolved applicable technologies. Certain factors like the availability of ash disposal area, size of boiler, need for fly ash utilisation, pollution control requirement are kept in view while designing, manufacturing and commissioning of the handling systems. Apart from integrated and turnkey concepts, a good number of manufacturers undertake tailor-made systems.

The various systems manufactured in India are dry bottom ash collection, water impounded bottom ash hopper, hydro-bins, separator, decantation, hydro jet pumps, pneumatic conveyor and scrapper chain conveyor etc. The technology involves method of collection, conveying, interim storage and load out all sorts of ash residue from solid fuel combustion.

Another segment related to this sector is the system of handling coal and other fuels like lignite to respective plants. The coal handling equipment suppliers in India play a very vital role in the overall economy of the country. Often referred as the black diamond, coal has been the prime source of energy in the operation of thermal power stations and the steel and cement plants. Manufacture of conveyor belts and mechanized earth-moving systems like shovels and scoopers are the major players in coal handling equipment industry. In addition to catering to the domestic needs, this sector has also made a mark around the world. Stiff competition has been posed by makers of such systems from the USA, UK, Germany, Japan, Korea and China. Yet the Indian manufacturers of material handling aids have carved out a niche in the global market.