Steel Slag (industrial waste) Road
Context:
• Surat has become the first city in the country to get a processed steel slag (industrial waste) road built as part of a joint-venture project by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), Union Ministry of Steel, government think-tank NITI Aayog, and Arcelor Mitttal-Nippon Steel (AM/NS).
What is it?
• The slag is generated from a steel furnace burning at around 1,500-1,600 degree centigrade in the form of molten flux material as an impurity.
• The six-lane public road is a kilometre-long stretch in Hazira industries, which also houses the AM/NS plant.
• The construction began around a year ago by converting mounds of steel waste into steel slag aggregate.
Cost Efficiency:
• The construction cost of the processed steel slag road is 30 per cent cheaper than roads built from natural aggregates.
• This project falls under the initiative of the Waste to Wealth and Clean India Campaign.
• According to the Indian Road Congress guidelines for construction of a heavy traffic road that is capable of taking the load of 1,000 to 1,200 trucks per day, around 600 to 700 mm thickness of road layers are required on the foundation with 8 per cent CBR (California Bearing Ratio).
Source: THE HINDU.
