Feature

GACL Focus Product - Anhydrous Aluminum Chloride

Posted on 21 January, 2010 | Tags: Special Report

GACL is the largest producer of Aluminum Chloride in the country. Keeping in view the need to consume chlorine captively to the maximum possible extent GACL is focused on manufacturing value added products. The company plans to increase the capacity to 3000 MT/ month during the approaching months.

Anhydrous Aluminum chloride (AlCl3) is a compound of aluminum and chlorine. The anhydrous material has a very interesting structure: despite being the halide of a highly electropositive metal, its bonding is principally covalent. This is seen in the fact that it has a low melting and boiling point (it sublimes at 178 °C), and it conducts electricity poorly in the liquid state, unlike ionic halides such as sodium chloride. It exists in the solid state as a six-coordinate layer lattice. This melts to a four-coordinate dimmer, Al2Cl6, which can vaporize, but at higher temperatures this dissociates into a simple AlCl3 species analogous to BF3.
Anhydrous Aluminum chloride is highly deliquescent, and it can explode in contact with water because of the high hydration. It partially hydrolyses with H2O, forming some hydrogen chloride and/or hydrochloric acid. Aqueous solutions of AlCl3 are fully ionized, and thus conduct electricity well. Such solutions are found to be acidic, indicating that partial hydrolysis of the Al3+ ion is occurring.
 AlCl3 is probably the most commonly used Lewis acid and also one of the most powerful. It finds widespread application in the chemical industry as a catalyst for Friedel-Crafts reactions, both acylations and alkylations. It also finds use in polymerization and isomerization reactions of hydrocarbons. Aluminum also forms a lower chloride, aluminum chloride, but this is very unstable and only known in the vapour phase.

GACL's Experience on Anhydrous Aluminum Chloride
Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited (GACL) is a name to reckon with in chemical industry in India. Initiated with a modest capacity of just 37,425 TPA caustic soda, today GACL has become the largest caustic soda producer in India. GACL has been focusing on manufacture of value added products keeping in view the need to consume chlorine captively to the extent possible.
In line with this and to add a new product in its basket, GACL has started manufacturing of Anhydrous Aluminum Chloride (AAC) on job work basis giving technical, financial, and marketing support to one of the local producer. After understanding and establishing itself in AAC market and to meet growing demand, GACL has decided to put up additional AAC unit and commissioned the same during 2007. One of the reasons of putting its own facility was to cater to specifications of special customers who need low iron content in the product. With low iron content product, GACL has entered in European market offering supply of material in ISO container also. It has organized a fleet of ISO containers and these ISO containers are monitored for optimum utilisation. In order to fulfill the customer's requirement the company has started delivering the material in customer's silo in European market through ISO containers. Further to meet some of the customer's requirement, company is also developing customized packing.
Today, GACL is the largest producer of Aluminium Chloride in the country having two units with a capacity of 2400 MT/ Month. It has plans to increase the capacity to 3000 MT/ Month in next few months. Its approach towards quality product and customer satisfaction is helping GACL in its objective of being the leading player for the product.
In order to focus more in international market it has set up debagging facilities in Europe. The specially designed debagging facilities and product storage will help GACL to further cut freight cost and offer quality product to European established players and ensure regular delivery of product to major users. Customers can plan its requirement with minimum inventory and need not wait for shipping time for the product. The European market has stipulated the requirement of REACH registration and company has geared itself for that along with other producers and users of AAC in Europe
The company has also entered in non- European market in a big way and has plans to further increase its exports of AAC from 2010 onwards.

-V.K.Gulati is Senior Executive Director (Commercial), GACL

Email: vijay.gulati@gacl.co.in