Concrete

Fly ash: The New Cement

Published

12 years ago

July 31, 2014

admin

If the merits of fly ash are so well established and if it is available at about one fifth the cost of cement, then why are we consuming only about 38 per cent of the fly ash available in the country? ICR interacts with leaders in construction world to understand the benefits and finer points of using fly ash.

As much as 60 per cent of power in India is generated by burning coal. And looking at the vast reserves of coal available, it will continue to be the primary source of power in the country.

But coal-fired power stations make more than just power. In a way they are also making cement called "Fly Ash." You could also call a power station, a cement factory, having steam as its by-product. Unfortunately, rather than being seen as a resource, fly ash has been considered as industrial waste. Till about a decade ago it was being disposed of in ash ponds. The cement consumer industry still sees fly ash as a pollutant, which it is using for blending in cement/concrete and contributing to the betterment of environment while improving the strength of the construction material.

Fly ash is neither free nor is it cheap. At least not the good quality fly ash. Good quality fly ash is produced by passing the fly ash generated at the power stations through electrostatic precipitators. Here fly ash is screened and classified. Only 15-20 per cent of the fly ash screened is retained back and is considered as a superior quality material. The process, and the low yield of high quality fly ash, adds to cost.

Merits of fly ash are well known in the industry and it is being used as a partial cement replacement (on average 30 per cent) in structural concrete. Thus, today fly ash has become the fourth ingredient in concrete, next to cement, aggregate and water. Despite this realisation though, fly ash is still under utilised in the construction sector. One of the prime reasons is the lack of properly detailed standards pertaining to use of fly ash. Though there are various Indian Standards published by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) that specify the use of fly ash as part replacement of cement in concrete, in actual practice the guidelines are still in nascent stage. During mid seventies and early eighties, the quality of fly ash was not that good due to high content of unburnt carbon and negligible awareness. The eighties ushered in the era of super thermal power stations. Equipped with high-efficiency boilers and coal mills, the quality of fly ash produced in these power stations was good. These improvements, however, were not communicated adequately. The doubts regarding using fly ash in cement probably have lingered too long, and even today it is not odd to find engineers hesitant to use fly ash in their mix. Besides, fly ash being a high volume low value product, transportation adds severe restrictions to its reach and use. It is not economically viable to use fly ash beyond a radius of 100 km from the point of production.

Considering the tremendous growth required in the power sector for the development of Indian economy, it is expected that ash generation will reach 225 million tonnes by 2017. The quality of fly ash produced in India is superior due to low sulphur and unburnt carbon content. Growth in infrastructure will create huge cement demand. And if encouraged properly, fly ash can provide for at least 30 per cent of this demand. Using fly ash is economical too. Shailesh Puranik, Managing Director, Puranik Builders, puts it in numbers stating that, "Fly ash reduces 20 per cent of cement cost in a project. Today fly ash costs about Rs 50 to Rs 60 per bag, while cement on an average is sold at Rs 250-300 per bag. Fly ash reduces the construction cost by about Rs 10-15 per sq.ft. On top of that projects based on fly ash utilisation receive green credits that could be traded." That leaves us with no reason not to use fly ash when available.

Today utilisation of fly ash is limited mainly due to lack of required information to actual users like State/Central Governments, construction departments, builders, developers, etc. There is a need to communicate these benefits to todays nation builders. In a series of interviews that follow, we look at the benefits of using fly ash and the parameters to examine while picking up the right product.

Benefits of using fly ash

Reduced permeability of the structure to water and aggressive chemicals
Reduction in the amount of water needed for mixing
Consumes fly ash, which is other wise dumped in fly ash ponds leading to pollution
Serves as a substitute to cement which is about five times costlier than fly ash.

Concrete

Jammu Division Begins First Cement Rail Traffic to Anantnag

Cement Loading From Kathua for Anantnag to Begin on September 14

Published

1 day ago

September 21, 2026

admin

Jammu Railway Division has placed an indent for the first movement of cement by rail within the division, linking Shaheed Captain Sunil Kumar Choudhary Kathua Railway Station with Anantnag Railway Station. Loading for the consignment is scheduled to begin on September 14.

Concrete

Hard Worker Wins Three Honours at Kyoorius Design Awards

Ramco Cements’ brand secures Grand Prix and two Blue Elephant honours.

Published

1 day ago

September 21, 2026

admin

The Ramco Cements Limited’s construction chemicals brand, Hard Worker, has won three honours at the Kyoorius Design Awards 2026, including the Grand Prix – Grey Elephant in the Design in Action category.

The brand also secured two Blue Elephant honours, one for Design in Action and another for Packaging, recognising the design approach behind its brand identity and packaging.

Launched in 2025, Hard Worker entered the construction chemicals segment with the brand promise, “Hard-working products for hardworking people.” Its visual identity uses animals and birds to represent product benefits. The camel represents the water-retention capability of Hard Worker Eco Plaster, while the cheetah represents the speed and performance of Hard Worker Block Fix.

The visual language has been extended across packaging, retail, communication, literature, digital platforms and other brand touchpoints. Hard Worker uses bold colours, distinctive animal illustrations and simple visual storytelling to communicate product benefits across markets and audiences, including construction workers and applicators.

“For Hard Worker, design was never an afterthought. It was fundamental to how we wanted to build the brand. In a category that is largely functional, we wanted to create a brand that people could recognise, understand and remember instantly. The Kyoorius recognition is a wonderful validation of this design-led approach,” said Mr. AV Dharmakrishnan, CEO, The Ramco Cements Limited.

Mr. Balaji K. Moorthy, Executive Director – Marketing, Ramco Cements said “In a category where communication has traditionally been product-led and functional, we wanted Hard Worker to stand apart by making design an integral part of the brand experience. From the distinctive animal-led packaging to our communication across consumer and trade touchpoints, every element was designed to make the brand more memorable and the product benefits easier to understand.”

Within its first 12 months, Hard Worker crossed Rs 3.5 bn in sales. The latest recognition follows six honours secured by the brand’s campaign at the Kyoorius Creative Awards earlier in 2026, including the Grey Elephant Grand Prix for its Eco Plaster film.

The Kyoorius Design Awards recognise outstanding design work in India’s visual communications sector across multiple categories and platforms. The 2026 awards were announced on 12 September in Goa.

The Ramco Cements Limited is part of the Ramco Group and operates across cement and allied building-material solutions. Hard Worker is its construction chemicals brand, offering solutions across key construction applications.

Concrete

Cement Firms to Invest Rs. 130 bn in Green Energy by FY28

Cement companies plan to expand clean energy capacity to 6 GW by FY28

Published

5 days ago

September 17, 2026

admin

India’s major cement companies are set to raise their clean energy capacity to 6 GW by March 2028 from around 4 GW at the end of March 2026, according to ratings agency ICRA. The planned expansion is expected to involve investments of Rs. 130 bn over the next two years.

The additional capacity could generate annual savings of Rs. 62 bn to Rs. 67 bn, resulting in an estimated payback period of 1.8 to 2.2 years. Cement is an emission-intensive industry, and leading producers have established net-zero roadmaps covering the next 15 to 20 years.

The calcination process accounts for 57 to 60 per cent of the sector’s total emissions, while fuel combustion contributes 27 to 30 per cent and electricity consumption accounts for 10 to 13 per cent. ICRA said the figures highlighted the need for a broad decarbonisation strategy involving green power, blended cement, alternative fuels and improvements in clinker efficiency.

Green energy is considered one of the most commercially attractive decarbonisation options because it can reduce emissions while lowering operating costs. Every 5 per cent increase in green power replacement can reduce power and fuel costs by Rs. 15 to Rs. 16 per tonne. A 25 per cent replacement level could therefore save Rs. 75 to Rs. 80 per tonne and expand operating margins by 140 to 160 basis points.

Cement producers are also assessing carbon capture, utilisation and storage, although high implementation costs, energy requirements and limited transport and storage infrastructure are expected to slow commercial adoption. The government has proposed Rs. 200 bn over five years to support deployment across key sectors. Meanwhile, companies are targeting thermal substitution rates of 10 to 15 per cent over the next three to five years, compared with the current industry level of around 6 per cent.