BPCL dispatches indigenous Super Absorbent Polymer, first of its kind in India

Mumbai, July 26, 2022: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), one of the leading companies in petroleum sector in India, has dispatched the first indigenous Super Absorbent Polymer from the Propylene Derivatives Petrochemical Complex at BPCL Refinery in Kochi.

Super Absorbent Polymer, the key component of sanitary napkins and other incontinence products, is being produced for the first time in India.

The transportation of the first consignment to M/s Bapuji Surgical, Bangalore was flagged off by Shri Ajith Kumar K, Executive Director (Kochi Refinery) in the presence of other senior officials of BPCL.

Speaking on the development Shri Ajith Kumar, Executive Director (Kochi Refinery) said: “The dispatch of the first indigenous Super Absorbent Polymer marks the culmination of the pioneering R&D effort of BPCL towards value enhancement of acrylic acid produced from the first world scale acrylic acid unit installed in India by BPCL.”

“The demonstration project will be followed by setting up a commercial plant of 50,000 tonne per annum capacity, thereby saving foreign exchange worth ₹1,000 crore to make India #AtmaNirbhar in this niche and fast-growing segment”, the company said.

The technology for niche petrochemical is not available for licensing however, the BPCL R&D center has taken up the challenge to develop end to end processes for the production of hygiene SAP. A demonstration plant of 200 tonne per annum has been set up at Kochi Refinery, where SAP is produced using their in-house acrylic acid.