Reference to “Also worrying is the news of pet coke ban across India.” I am trying to put down my understanding of pet coke and the role it may play/not play with regard to Rain Industries.
- Pet coke is a byproduct of oil refining. The term “green” used in connection to petcoke refers to the raw, unprocessed pet coke which comes out of the coker. It does not refer to environmental friendliness.
- The raw coke which comes out of the coker may be either FUEL grade (high in sulphur and metals) or ANODE grade (low in sulphur and metals).
- It is the FUEL grade coke which the Supreme court is thinking of banning because petcoke emits between 30 and 80 percent more CO2 than coal per unit of weight.This fuel grade coke is used by cement companies and others and harms the environment.
- If Rain industries is using FUEL grade coke for its CEMENT business then the ban on petcoke will affect its cement business - short or long term - till they find other substitutes for fuel.
- The ANODE grade coke (refer to point 2 above) is further processed by calcining to manufacture CALCINED petcoke which is used by the aluminium and batteries sector. THIS activity of Rain Industries - manufacturing of CALCINED PETCOKE ought not to be affected by the Supreme Court ban.
This is my understanding of petcoke and its role in Rain Industries. Please feel free to correct me.