Two sustainability technologies developed by HZL’s research and development centre – ZnTech grated US Patent
Udaipur. In a constant pursuit of innovating for a sustainable future, Hindustan Zinc has achieved a big milestone, being granted US patents for two of their sustainability technologies. The two patents – US10844551B2 for manufacturing Paver Blocks from process waste; and US10919924B2 for the method of production of Potassium Antimony Tartrate (PAT) by utilizing Antimony bearing residues – were developed in-house by HZL’s state-of-the-art research and development centre – ZnTech (formerly known as Central Research and Development Laboratory).
Commitment towards Environment and Sustainability is one of the core principles that drive business operations at Hindustan Zinc. The company proactively works towards ensuring sustainable practices are an integral part of operations. Both these technologies are aimed to create value from waste that can be utilised within HZL’s operations and support local entrepreneurs and communities.
Commenting on this, Mr. Arun Misra, CEO, Hindustan Zinc said, ”Our outlook towards sustainability is not limited to just reducing our environmental footprint, but at the same time creating more value from our supply chain. Coupled with our approach of innovative thinking and best-in-class technologies, this culture propels us to be recognised as an industry benchmark. These US patents exemplify how sustainability, innovation and technology seamlessly come together at Hindustan Zinc to create to create smart and sustainable mines of the future.”
Fostering a culture of high performance and innovative thinking, employees of Hindustan Zinc always strive to create breakthrough solutions. The ZnTech team consisting of – Ms Sheeba Mashruwala, Mr Kiran Rokkam, Mr Ashish Kumar, Dr KD Sharma, Mr Sundar Sombhatla, and Mr Akhilesh Shukla played a pivotal role in developing and patenting these breakthrough solutions.
The method to produce PAT also has a European Patent (EP3192882) to its name. PAT is consumed by Zinc hydro smelters for purification and to produce Zinc Metal. This patented process has been successfully running at HZL since 2016. The technology for manufacturing paver blocks on the other hand, produces greener products that have a lower cost of production than conventional method while also conserving natural resources. This technology has produced 80,000 paver blocks that are laid at different HZL units as a test case. Two paver block machines are also setup in association with Self Help Groups (SHGs) to or support the community.