India’s Graphite electrodes (GE) major Graphite India Ltd (GIL) is likely to run into fresh trouble after Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) inspection showed lapses in measures to reduce air quality.
On Wednesday, KPSCB carried out the inspection in two units of Graphite India in Doddanekundi ward near Whitefield, in the wake of allegation that these units are causing pollution. During the inspection, it was found that the roof of the unit in which graphitisation takes place was found broken and side panels were also missing. The inspecting team also discovered that the air pollution sensors had been placed in an incorrect location so as not to show the true readings.
While as per the KPSCB findings, the GIL’s unit is supposed to be shut down immediately, the case is pending with NGT (National Green Tribunal) and the unit can be closed only after NGT will give its approval for the same. NGT was established in 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act and is a specialised body equipped with the necessary expertise to handle environmental disputes.
Graphite India’s legal trouble started in 2012 when KSPCB issued a closure order. The company approached the Appellate Court, which consented to their operation with seven conditions.
In response to this the residents Whitefield area where GIL unit is located approached the National Green Tribunal in 2013 against the order. Post this there has been little progress in the case apart from an order to the KSPCB to conduct a random inspection last year.
Based on the findings, the pollution control board will file an interlocutory application (IA) with the Southern bench of NGT. IA is usually filed when urgent relief is being asked or to bring certain new facts to the knowledge of the court.
Does GIL prepare itself for Bengaluru plant closure?
GIL which is India’s largest graphite electrodes producer has three plants in India at Durgapur, Nashik and Bengaluru and one plant in Germany. The company’s total capacity was 78,000 tonnes and was increased to 98,000 tonnes two years back by undergoing expansion at Durgpaur unit.
According to the market sources, as the pollution case against Bengaluru unit has been going since long, the company had prepared itself for this and has already replicated the Bengaluru’s plant capacity (13,000 tonnes) by expanding Durgapur unit’s GE capacity from 34,000 tonnes to 54,000 tonnes. Thus, the at present company’s total capacity stands at 98,000 tonnes (Durgapur – 54,000 tonnes, Nashik – 13,000 tonnes, Bengaluru – 13,000 tonnes, and Germany – 18,000 tonnes). Thus suppose if GIL’s Bengaluru unit shuts down, the company will have total GE capacity of 85,000 tonnes which is still higher than earlier level of 78,000 tonnes.
China’s push for blue skies has pushed the demand for graphite electrodes especially since the latter half of 2017. China unveiled a 3-year “blue-sky protection plan” widening anti-pollution controls that are shuttering plants that make the graphite electrodes and traditional blast-furnace steel mills. Companies that recycle China’s increasing mountains of scrap metal are being forced to switch to electric-arc furnaces that burn through about 2.5 kilograms of graphite electrodes for each tonne of steel produced.
China’s pollution curbs could double the share of electric arc mills to 20% of total production by 2020, from less than 10% now, pushing global demand for electrodes up 60%. This growth in GE demand has definitely helped the graphite electrodes manufacturers including GIL to grow as there are only a few players in the GE market.
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