July 2012

After the excitement of our annual Awards in June, there was a brief lull in the ChemTech offices, but not for long. The July issue had to be compiled and here it is. Readers of the hard copy, paper version, should have received theirs in the mail by now.

In the interim, I have received an invitation from the High Commissioner of India to South Africa, His Excellency Mr Virendra Gupta, to the INDIAN CHEMICAL EXHIBITION 2012, organized by CHEMEXCIL (Basic Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals & Cosmetics Export Promotion Council), on 26th & 27th July 2012. This exhibition enjoys the active support of the High Commission of India, Pretoria, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry - Johannesburg, and the Chemical and Allied Industries Association - South Africa (CAIA).

At a luncheon media briefing on Friday 20th July, Mr Gupta talked about our two countries having a very dynamic and vibrant economic relationship and said that the main objective of this chemical industries' exhibition is to showcase India's capabilities as a supplier of steady and sustainable, low cost, international, quality products to African countries. It will also provide an opportunity to major buyers from African countries to interact with Indian manufacturers for sourcing their products requirements from India, as well as establishing joint ventures. Mr Gupta encouraged small and medium enterprises to get more involved in multilateral business.

CHEMEXCIL was established by the Government of India, Ministry of Commerce & Industry with the objective of promoting exports of dyes and dye intermediates, organic and inorganic chemicals, agro chemicals, pesticides, bio fertilizers, soaps, detergents, cosmetics, toiletries, essential oils, castor oil, etc. CHEMEXCIL has a membership base of over 4000 and provides free service as a reliable single point source of contact to help overseas buyers in sourcing from India.

The INDIAN CHEMICAL EXHIBITION will be held on 26-27 July, 2012, in the North and South Maroela Halls, at the Sandton Sun Hotel in Johannesburg. Opening hours are from 10 am until 5 pm. Over 60 chemical companies from India will be represented.

In this issue of the magazine we look at the subject of Acid Mine Drainage in our Special Report entitled 'Acid rising - the opportunity, and threat, beneath Gauteng' by Gavin Chait. In the water treatment feature, a report by the CSIR examines groundwater research in support of sustainable development in South Africa.

'Energy monitoring and targeting' by Chris Gimson, General Manager, Endress + Hauser Pyrotemp, South Africa, is the title of our article in the control and instrumentation engineering feature, while the environmental engineering and management feature consists of the second part of the article which began in the June issue, on recycling of electronic waste:

The plant maintenance and risk analysis story entitled 'The importance of a clear Safety Requirements
Specification as part of the overall Safety Lifecycle' is by Andy Crosland, SIS Business Development
Manager, Europe - Emerson Process Management and is kindly published with the permission of IDC Training.

Enjoy the read!

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