Chemical based Products :

Calcium Carbide - The product and market potential
Calcium carbide is a rock-like solid, grayish / black in colour. Calcium carbide is a basic inorganic chemical intermediate, mainly used for the manufacture of acetylene. At present, in India, there are 8 major merchant manufacturers of calcium carbide with an installed capacity of 1.55 lac tonnes p.a.in the organised sector. Besides, there are over 50 small-scale units with an estimated capacity of 60,000 tonnes p.a. The total market demand for calcium carbide is estimated to be around 85,000 tonnes. At present, there are no units of calcium carbide in the organised sector in the North Eastern region. Suppliers from Calcutta and Orissa are meeting the total demand for calcium carbide from this region.

Market
The use of calcium carbide for the manufacture of calcium cynamide is practically non-existent in India because calcium cynamide has not found any prominence as a fertilizer material. Acetylene is the major end use product of calcium carbide. It is a colourless and inflammable gas obtained by the action of water on calcium carbide. Dissolved acetylene gas cylinders are widely used for welding and cutting of steel. The annual consumption of calcium carbide for this end-use is around 40,000 tonnes. Due to increased use of LPG for steel fabrication work, the consumption has remained stagnant. If illegal diversion of low cost domestic LPG cylinders is controlled, this segment is likely to grow at the rate of 10% p.a. The present requirement of calcium carbide for acetylene- black is around 18,000 tonnes. In the local market in and around eastern India there are only 2 units, Birla Jute in West Bengal and India Carbide and Chemicals in Orissa. It will be worth while to consider a new unit in Assam to cater to the demand of the NorthEastern sector. It is estimated that the demand in NorthEastern sector would be around 10,000 tonnes p.a.and hence a local unit would be in a position to effectively cater to this market.