Chemplast Sanmar to set up research lab at IIT-M.

Chemplast Sanmar, a leading manufacturer of chemicals and part of Chennai-headquartered Sanmar Group, plans to set up a research laboratory at IIT-Madras on Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD).

The lab, coming up at the Department of Environmental Engineering, will carry out research on ZLD and will have test bed facilities for user industries. The company will spend ₹1 crore on the laboratory that is being set up to commemorate its golden jubilee.

Chemplast Sanmar has adopted ZLD at its plants in Cuddalore and Mettur in Tamil Nadu and Karaikal in Puducherry. What this means is that no treated effluent from the plant operations will be discharged on to the land or sea. These plants completely recycle and reuse liquid effluents. “We were pioneers in adopting ZLD and it has since been adopted as the industry standard,” N Sankar, Chairman, Sanmar Group, told BusinessLine, on Friday.

Also, as part of Chemplast Sanmar’s golden jubilee celebrations, the company will improve the facilities at the IIT-Madras-Chemplast cricket ground inside the IIT campus. The pavilion at the ground was declared open in 1998 by legendary Australian cricket Neil Harvey. Chemplast, a patron of sports, particularly cricket, will now improve the facilities at the ground and establish the KS Narayanan Centre for Cricketing Excellence, named after late KS Narayanan, former Chairman of the group.

HBL