Pine needle-based plant to be set up in Almora
Shishir Prashant / New Delhi/ Dehradun July 17, 2008, 0:05 IST
Dry pine needles, which are mainly responsible for igniting forest fires in Uttarakhand and elsewhere in the north and have been of no productive use, will be put into some use now.
S R Verma, a chemical engineer from the hill resort of Almora, has developed and standardised the process to extract lignin chemicals from dry pine needles.
Based on an innovative technique, Verma is also planning to set up a factory at the industrial town of Mohan in Almora district to produce lignin, a chemical widely used in various industries in the country. According to a rough estimate, India imports 14,000 tonnes of lignin from Japan and some European nations.
There is a vast scope of lignin chemicals in the form of salts of lignosulphonates. There are more than 50 compounds of lignin of commercial value being used by industries. Lignin is also used in lead acid battery, oil well drilling, textile dying, water treatment, foundry chemicals and in many more areas,
Besides lignin, the factory would also produce pine wool for water cooler pads, which gives higher cooling effect at low cost. The water cooler pads are also used in packaging, air filters, doormats, false roofing and floor covering.
An investment of Rs 1.25 crore is proposed in the plant. For this purpose, Verma is looking for 2 acres of land at Mohan where he already has a big industrial plot.
Verma would also meet Chief Minister B C Khanduri to discuss his new project. "I want government support in my project," he said.
"My aim is to set up a model unit, which will help in the establishment of many such units elsewhere in the country where pine needles are found in plenty," said Verma.
Verma has also got permission from the Uttarakhand forest department for procuring 1,000 tonnes of pine needles every year at the rate of Rs 20 per tonne for a period of five years.
The project has also been approved by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in the central government.
"Such projects should be promoted in the hills, which have the potential of generating employment opportunities from the waste material," said Sudhir Nautiyal, additional director (Industries
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