Tata Steel Earns DSIR Award for Hexavalent Chromium Research
11/16/2007 - Tata Steel wins Department of Scientific & Industrial Research Award 2007 for R&D effort in implementing an indigenous technology for removing hexavalent chromium from chrome-ore concentrates.
Tata Steel has won the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR) Award 2007 for R&D effort in implementing an indigenous technology for removing hexavalent chromium from chrome-ore concentrates.
In addition to the environmental benefits, this technology will save 250 liters of water per tonne of concentrate in its mines, which translates to a savings of approximately 125 million liters of water per annum.
Through its research Tata Steel has managed to bring down the hexavalent Cr levels from 0.4 ppm to 0.001 ppm in Cr ore concentrate, well below the 0.05 ppm Cr VI cut-off set by the WHO. The team that worked on the project was highly cross-functional, including contributions from CLRI, Sukinda operations, chemical labs for measuring low levels of hexavalent Cr, the Environment Department, and R&D. The team was led by Gajanan Kapure, a researcher in R&D.
Tata Steel’s Dr. Debashish Bhattacharjee, Chief of R&D and Scientific Services, received the award on behalf of the company at a function held in New Delhi. "With innovative research and tenacious implementation, the hexavalent Cr level has been brought down from 0.4 to 0.001 ppm in our Cr ore concentrate,” said Dr Bhattacharjee. “The cut-off set by WHO is 0.05 ppm. This is indeed a huge achievement for us and we are very proud to have received this prestigious award."
In nature, chromium exists in valences of two to six. Trivalent compounds (Cr III) do not cause any serious damage to body tissue; in fact, it is an important component of a balanced human and animal diet. The toxic action of chromium is confined to the hexavalent compound (Cr VI). It is this hexavalent molecule that is the 'rogue' molecule, a highly toxic carcinogen, and may cause death to humans and animals if ingested in large doses. The metallurgical industry commonly uses chromium for the production of stainless steels, alloy cast iron and nonferrous alloys as well as for plating steel.
Tata Steel is the world's sixth-largest steel maker.
