The Hindu Business Line : NFC's zirconium project gets green signal

THE Rs 185 crore, strategic material plant to produce zirconium products at Palayakayal near Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu, by the Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), here has got a shot in the arm with the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), giving the `green signal.'

The much-delayed plant will now be implemented on a `fast track,' with Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) providing key inputs. It is scheduled to be operational by end of 2006, according to Dr R. Kalidas, Chairman and Chief Executive of NFC.

The MoEF has given the environment clearance for the project early this week, after a thorough environmental impact assessment (EIA), was conducted, paving the way for accelerated implementation, he told Business Line.

The Palayakayal plant will have a capacity to produce 500 tonnes of zirconium oxide and 250 tonnes of zirconium sponge per annum. The NFC top brass had a series of meetings with the TCE recently to firm up various aspects of the project.

Once completed India would be the fourth country to have the zirconium technology and production facilities. The US, Russia and France are the other nations with the technological and manufacturing capacity.

The ambitious project first conceived by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), during the 1980's was to have produced titanium sponge and zirconium sponge. However, it ran into several problems. The DAE also tried to go in for a joint venture with a private company, but gave up. In the late 1990's, it decided to go on its own, after changing the product mix and downsizing the investments, with the Hyderabad-based, NFC, a part of the DAE given the responsibility to implement it.

At Palayakayal, one unit would produce zirconium oxide, which would be converted to zirconium sponge (a metal), which would then be brought to NFC, Hyderabad, where it would be converted to zircalloy. Zircalloy is widely used in making tubes, which hold the fuel bundles for the nuclear power reactors.

More Stories on : Power | Environment | Science & Technology | Metals

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page