Demand Potential of Indian Spun Pipes An Analytical Review uctile iron spun pipes and cast iron spun pipes both find Dusages in water supply, sanitation and housing. Cast iron spun pipes have traditionally been the major mode of potable water supply. Other materials have not been able to meet the requirements of this particular sector in a satisfactory way. Steel pipes offer greater strength, but are more susceptible to corrosion, in addition to being costlier. Grey cast iron contains graphite in the form of flakes, resulting in discontinuities in the matrix. Moreover, the pointed ends of the flakes act as regions of stress concentration, making the material brittle and weak. To overcome this limitation, ductile cast iron has been developed. Ductile cast iron or spheroidal graphite (SG) cast iron is produced by the addition of magnesium or cerium to molten iron, which results in the spheroidization of graphite. This results in the removal of discontinuities and improvement in machinability and abrasion resistance. Ductile iron spun pipes offer mechanical properties similar to that of steel pipes, in addition to good corrosion and wear resistance and the processing and economic advantage of cast iron spun pipes. A comparison of mechanical properties of C.I.S.P., D.I.S.P., and steel Ductile iron spun pipes are used in most countries because of its superiority over cast iron spun pipes. Even in India, there is a huge demand for spun pipes from various state governments and urban development bodies. They are used in irrigation projects, drinking water supply and sewerage projects, and other large infrastructure projects. The demand-supply gap in ductile iron spun pipes is expected to be 2 million tonnes by 2014 34 FEBRUARY 2011
Advantages of D.I. Spun Pipes The advantages of using ductile iron pipes are as follows: Better physical and mechanical properties compared to other pipe materials: High tensile and beam strength Withstands severe crushing load Extremely high impact resistance More water carrying capacity, as internal diameter is greater than nominal diameter. The wall thickness of ductile iron pipes can be upto 33 percent less than that of cast iron pipes and as such it is lighter per unit length. Highly corrosion resistant due to smooth inside cement mortar lining The ISO, BS, DIN and IS specifications are identical Offers high working pressure and safety against water hammer. Ductile iron pipes can withstand about double the hydraulic pressure than cast iron pipes of the same thickness. Speedy Laying/Installation procedure. Ease in handling Lightweight and superior mechanical property makes DI pipe easier to handle. Greater torque can be applied while tightening the connections and drilling and tapping do not require any special technique. Welding is possible. Ductile iron pipes possess all the advantages of cast iron pipes and they surpass the limitations of cast iron pipes because of their greater strength, elongation, impact resistance etc. As such, these pipes find application in areas like water supply, sewerage, tubewell casings etc. They have replaced grey cast iron pipes in the field of water supply in developed countries. They have also replaced steel pipes in certain applications due to economic considerations. The major consumers of DI/CI pipes in India The major consumer of DI/CI pipes are: l Public health engineering departments of various states & statutory bodies including MES, Railways etc. l Statutory bodies in charge of urban development including JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission), Mega City Projects, Bharat Nirman Project, BSUP (Basic Service for Urban Poor) etc. Water supply systems of different industrial projects. Water treatment plants for public and industrial use. Industrial effluent and sewage treatment plants. Housing projects. Irrigation schemes. Sewerage and drainage schemes. Demand Drivers For Iron Spun Pipes In India water supply is mainly met through monsoons. As a result the focus has been more towards surface water resources. Schemes of holding water in reservoirs for meeting domestic, agricultural and industrial water demand have increased. This has translated into a huge demand for reliable and durable pipes. Water supply projects in the county are partly funded by the Central Government through various water supply schemes viz. Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT), Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP), Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP), Mega Cities Project, Bharat Nirman Project etc. while the rest of the funds are raised by the respective state governments. In addition, the number of water supply & sanitation projects funded by the World Bank and other foreign agencies are 36 FEBRUARY 2011
also increasing in the county. Further, it is expected that the flow of private funds in water supply would increase. Although, other pipes viz. Asbestos cement pressure pipes, PVC pipes, Pre-stressed cement pipes, Hume steel pipes, Galvanized steel pipes, RCC pipes etc. are used in water supply and sanitation sector, barring the steel pipes which find application in rising mains and special terrain and field conditions, all other types of pipes are used only when the DI/CI spun pipes are not available or on account of cost considerations. The spun pipes are preferred due to their ability to sustain high pressures, long life span and also because of the fact that whenever corrosion occurs, the corrosion products are strongly adherent to the parent metal and form a protective barrier which checks further corrosion and inhibits further attack. By virtue of good lasting qualities and satisfactory service, the spun pipes had been in the use for water supply and sanitation schemes for more than a century. The total consumption of water in India is expected to rise by 20-40 per cent over the next 20 years. The demand projection for water in India by different using sectors, made by Central Water Commission is depicted in table-1. It is revealed from the table that agriculture accounts for 89 per cent of the total water consumption and domestic consumption accounts for 4.8 percent. Table-1 : Projected Water Demand in India (By Different Uses) (Unit; BCM) 2050 Sl. No. Sector 1990 2000 2010 2025 (Provision) 1 2 3 4 5 Domestic Irrigation Industry Energy Other Total 32 437 33 502 42 541 8 2 41 634 percent of urban households did not have access to safe drinking water. Further, tube-wells, hand-pumps and wells are still a major source of water supply in the country as depicted in fig- 2 and fig-3. In rural areas, about 75 percent of the water is sourced from tube-wells, hand-pumps and wells. The tap water source and other together is about 25 percent. 56 688 12 5 52 813 73 910 23 15 72 1093 102 1072 63 130 80 1447 Water Supply and Sanitation Scenario According to the 2001 census, about 27 percent of rural households and 10 In contrary to the rural area, the share of water source in urban areas through tube-wells, hand-pumps and wells is about 30 percent, rest 70 38 FEBRUARY 2011
percent are met through other sources like dams/reservoirs, rivers etc, which requires a good and quality networking of piping for supply of water from source to the ultimate end-using points. The literature survey reveals that the sanitation coverage as of 2006 was 22 percent for rural households and 80 percent for urban households. According to a recent report by the Ministry of Rural Development, the average household sanitation coverage is close to 30 percent. This is a dismal figure when compared to other Asian countries, as indicated in fig-4. So, safe drinking water and proper sanitation are still needed for millions in India, the demand for which is growing at a rapid pace with rise in population. The Govt. of India emphasizes that more and more population has to be covered under safe drinking water and proper sanitation in the country. The continuous efforts in this direction are very well visualize form the increase of plan expenditure/ layout in this sector as depicted in fig-5. As the government of India envisaged achieving 100 percent water and sanitation coverage of people in the country, more and more investments are required in the Water Supply and Sanitation sector in the coming Five-Year Plans. Consumption of Spun Pipes in India The apparent consumption of spun pipes during 2006-07 to 2008-09 has been estimated as furnished in table-2. Year 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Table-2 : Apparent Consumption of Spun Pipes (Tonnes) Production Imports Exports Apparent Consumption 576816 17 123149 453,684 568694 13 133136 435,571 628292 1 118335 509,958 The apparent consumption of spun pipes increased from around 454,000 t during 2006-07 to around 510,000 t during 2008-09, with a CAGR of around 6%. Further, table reveals that there have been substantial exports of spun pipes to other countries from India. The export has been hovering around 27 percent of the total apparent consumption during recent past. With a view to examine destination wise export potential and import contribution in domestic demand, more data needs to be analysed as illustrated briefly in the following paragraphs. Export Potential The foreign trade in spun pipes during 2001-02 to 2009-10 is furnished in table-3 Table-3 : Imports & Exports of Spun Pipes (tonnes) Year Imports Exports 2001-02 10 20,726 2002-03 29,384 2003-04 40,062 2004-05 1520 65,191 2005-06 63 87,341 2006-07 17 123,149 2007-08 13 133,136 2008-09 1 118,335 2009-10 2 99,038 40 FEBRUARY 2011
Imports of spun pipes in India observed to be meager due to various reasons like sufficient indigenous availability both by quality and quantity and fierce price competition from domestic spun pipe manufacturers leaving very little scope to overseas suppliers of spun pipes. India has been a substantial exporter of spun pipes as revealed by the table. Ductile iron spun pipes are fast substituting cast iron spun pipes in the water supply and sanitation schemes the world over. In developed countries mainly, ductile iron pipes are being used while in those countries where indigenous production capacity exists for cast iron pipes, these pipes are also being used. The developing countries of Middle East, Africa, South East Asia etc. which are mainly dependent on imports, prefer to use ductile iron spun pipes. In view of the above, it may not be unwise to expect that substantial potential exists for export of ductile iron spun pipes from India to the developing countries. The share of major importing countries of spun pipes from India during 2009-10 is depicted in fig-6. Producers Electro Steel Castings Jindal SAW Ltd. Kesoram Spun Pipes Ltd. Kalinga Iron Works Lanco Kalahasti Tata Metaliks Kapilansh Dhatu Jai Balaji* Total capacity Table - 4 : Installed Capacity Of DI/CI Spun Pipe (tpy) DISP 250,000 300,000 120,000 110,000 250,000 1,030,000 The estimated present installed capacity for production of spun pipes (DI/ CI) in the county is of order of 1066,800 tonnes/ annum of which the installed capacity for DISP is 1030,000 tonnes/annum and that of CISP is 286,800 tonnes/annum. Literature survey reveals that the capacity utilization in production of DI spun pipes is as high as of about 85 percent. The capacity utilization in production of CI spun pipes however, is estimated to be as low as around 20 percent. As investment in water supply and CISP 165,600 300,000 45,000 45,000 31,200 31,200 120,000 110000 45,000 45,000 286,800 Total 415,600 1,066,800 The major importers of spun pipes from India during 2009-10 were Algeria, Spain, UK, France, Qatar and Oman. Domestic Supply Scenario The installed capacities of the major producers of DI/CI spun pipes in India during 2010-11 are furnished in table4. sanitation sector is expected to be boost up further in future due to special emphasis put up by various states/ central government to provide safe drinking water and quality sanitation to huge mass not yet covered under these facilities. Further, the discussion with the experts in water supply and sanitation sector reveals that the share of piping of the aggregate investment in water supply and sanitation schemes, where treated water is stored and circulated to households is of the order of about 50 percent to 60 percent. The high growth of investment in water supply and sanitation sector over different plan periods is well elaborated in the previous paragraphs. The higher pace of growth of investment in this sector is likely to achieve in the future plan periods due to greater emphasis by the Government of India to provide safe drinking water and proper sanitation to all. This may result to demand for ductile iron/ cast iron spun pipe is likely to grow with higher pace in future years than observed in the past. 42 FEBRUARY 2011