In a significant relaxation of the ban on industrial usage of oxygen to ensure higher diversion of volumes for medical use, the Indian government has permitted ferroalloy plants to use oxygen subject to a daily limit, a government official said on Monday, May 24.
The official said that the 48 ferroalloy producers in the country can use industrial oxygen to operate their plants subject to a maximum daily usage of 17 mt.
The ferroalloy plants can source their oxygen requirements either from refillers or from supplies from integrated steel mills, the directive from the government department said.
Since early last month, the Indian government had banned the usage of oxygen for industrial purposes, barring a few exempted industries to ensure higher availability of medical grade liquid oxygen for hospitals.
The Indian Steel Association (ISA) had petitioned the government to include ferroalloy plants in a list of exempted categories allowed to use oxygen to maintain production levels, as steel mills are dependent on their output to maintain operations of steel mills.