Reliance Industries Ltd today announced the commissioning of two petrochemical plants for making polyester plastic used in clothing, packaging, foods & beverages and plastic bottles.
RIL said it has commissioned a 1,150 kilo tons per annum Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) plant and a 650 KTA PET resin (Polyethylene Terephthalate) capacity at Dahej in Gujarat.
PTA is used for making polyester plastics that are used in the production of everything from clothes and home furnishings to drinks bottles. PET is a form of polyester (just like the clothing fabric) that is extruded or molded into plastic bottles and containers for packaging foods and beverages, personal care products, and other products.
After the commissioning of the PTA plant, built using Invista technology, "the total Reliance PTA capacity will increase to 3.2 million tonnes per annum and global capacity share to 4 per cent", the company said in a statement.
Paraxylene, the feedstock for the PTA plant is captive, sourced from the firm's refinery at Jamnagar. It is also forward integrated with 640 KTA PET plant in the same complex.
"The integrated operation will help lower operating costs and capture full chain margins," it said. "Another PTA plant of similar capacity is under construction in the same location. This will propel Reliance among the top five PTA manufacturers globally."
India is the second largest producer of polyester with a production of 5.4 million tonnes per annum. Indian Polyester market is growing at 8-10 per cent per annum.
Indian market is currently in deficit of PTA by more than 1.5 million tonnes per annum. The current capacity will partially bridge this deficit.
"The commissioning of the PTA plant moves India to self-sufficiency in PTA and is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'Make in India'," RIL said.
PET plant consists of two lines with a combined manufacturing capacity of 650 KTA. The plant has been built with Invista Technology for Continuous Polymerization and Buhler AG Technology for Solid State Polymerization.
"This is one of the largest bottle grade PET resin capacity at a single location globally. This consolidates Reliance's position as a leading PET resin producer with more than 1.15 million tonnes of PET resin capacity," it said.
The company said PET resin from the new capacity would find application in packaging for water, carbonated soft drinks, pharmaceuticals and other foods and beverages.
"New capacity addition by Reliance will greatly help the downstream bottle and packaging industry in meeting the constantly increasing demand from India and the region," Reliance said.
India is one of the fastest growing markets for PET packaging with demand growing at 15-20 per cent per annum. Current global effective PET resin capacity is 30 MT.
PTA and Mono Ethylene Glycol (MEG), the two feedstocks for the new PET plant, are available within the complex. This offers significant logistics advantages in the form of lower freight costs along with consistent product quality due to in-house raw material supplies.
