Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers Company (GNFC) has chalked out a major expansion plan that will assist the company to increase its domestic marketshare of acetic acid by 10 per cent.
It has decided to make an investment of Rs 250 crore for expanding its acetic acid manufacturing capacity.
As per the plan, it will increase the production to one lakh tonne per annum from the present 50,000 tonne per year.
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At present, GNFC enjoys a 20 per cent market share and the current demand for acetic acid in the country stands at 3.7 lakh tonne, of which nearly 45,000 tonne is imported.
According to the company, GNFC is the only domestic manufacturer of acetic acid through the methanol route using technology from BP Chemicals of the UK.
Major companies such as Reliance Industries and Gujarat Dyestuff Industries have tied up with GNFC because of the quality of acetic acid.
The plant is based on the modern methanol carbonylation technology. Other local manufacturers produce acetic acid through molasses route, which depends on the availability of sugarcane crop, which is seasonal.
Acetic acid is used in the textile industry for processing and printing and is used as a preservative in food industry. Besides, it is also used in the manufacture of other chemicals such as acetic anhydride, vinyl acetate monomer, purified terephthalic acid etc.