Tata Steel adopts organic method to treat effluent at Sukinda

Kolkata : At a time when the mining industry is grappling with the challenge of environmental protection and conservation of natural resources, Tata Steel has adopted an organic method to tackle the problem of hexavalent chromium at its chromite mines at Sukinda in Jajpur district. This method is being used to remove toxic hexavalent chromium from chromite concentrates.

To produce eco-friendly chromite concentrates, the company has made use of an alternative technology for converting toxic hexavalent chromium to non-toxic trivalent chromium at its Sukinda mines. “The alternative technology has been developed by the steel maker in collaboration with the Central Leather Research Institute-Chennai. The technology seeks to reduce the hexavalent chromium to trace levels (less than 0.01 ppm) in concentrates by using an organic reductant known as Terminalia Chebula", said a senior company official. Since the chromium present in the hexavalent state is environmentally unfriendly, the organic method for removing hexavalent chromium from chromite concentrates is considered significant.