Concrete

Plastic waste during pandemic

Published

5 years ago

March 5, 2021

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The Covid-19 pandemic has reemphasised the indispensable role of plastics in our daily life. Plastics in terms of personal protective equipment (PPEs) and other single-use medical equipment along with packaging solutions owing to their inherent properties have emerged as a life-savior for protecting the health and safety of the frontline health workers and the common citizens during the pandemic. However, plastics have been deemed as evil polluter due to their indiscriminate littering and mismanagement amid increased plastic usage and waste generation during this unprecedented crisis.

Plastic can be a protector if managed properly and complemented by the circular economy strategies in terms of reduction, recycle and recovery, and thereby preventing leakage into the environment. To safeguard the supply chain of PPEs, several decontamination techniques have been adopted worldwide ensuring their effective reprocessing to prioritise the circular economy within the system. Policy guidelines encouraging adopting safer practices and sustainable technical solutions along with consumers’ education for awareness creation are the need of the hour for preventing plastic to turn from protector with high utility to polluter. The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in skyrocket demand for essential PPE kits, which showed a tremendous increase in plastic manufacturing and distribution across the globe, India is no exception.

Various factors

Impact of takeaway services and e-commerce shopping on plastic usage during the pandemic. The dependency on e-commerce shopping and takeaway services for home delivery of essential items has resulted in the increased demand for SUP (single use plastic) carry bags and other types of plastic for packaging purposes. The consumers’ behavioral changes as dictated by hygienic concerns, panic buying, and stockpiling have led to a considerable surge in requirement for plastic-based packing materials. The estimated growth of plastic packaging is projected to surge with the annual growth rate of 5.5 per cent corresponding to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Amidst the concerns of cross-contamination by reusing the plastic bags and containers as propagated and supported by the plastic manufacturers, many countries like the US, the UK, Canada, Portugal have temporarily revoked or deferred the SUP bans in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic. India is working on a national policy aimed at completely phasing out single-use plastics by the second half of 2022, taking into account varied paces of compliance across states over the past five years.

Moreover, the drastic decrease in the cost of plastic manufacturing due to plummeting oil and petroleum prices. For example, a significant reduction in demand in the range of 30??0 percent for recycled plastics in the Southeast Asian countries has been reported. Revoking or postponement of bans on SUPs and unprecedented usage of PPEs have posed stiffer challenges in terms of effective waste management amid increased plastic waste generation during the pandemic.

About 14.5 tpd of plastic waste is generated from the testing alone in India. In addition to about 609 tpd of normal biomedical waste, a total of around 101 tpd of Covid-19 biomedical waste containing plastic waste is generated in India (CPCB, 2020b). The state-wise average daily generation of Covid-19 biomedical waste containing plastic waste in India is shown in Fig. A.

Global practices for plastic waste management

Though the usage and consumption of plastics have ensured the improved quality of life and public health protection during this unprecedented uncertainty, it is important to maintain a balance between public health protection and environmental sustainability. Considering the pros and cons of plastic in the time of the pandemic, an equitable appraisal suggests that the consumers??irresponsible behaviour, and attitude and poor awareness, and the stress on waste management infrastructure in terms of collection, operation, and financial constraints as the major factors, leading to mismanagement, turn plastic into an evil polluter of the environment. Plastic can be a protector if managed properly and complemented by the circular economy strategies in terms of reduction, recycle and recovery, and thereby preventing leakage into the environment.

Lack of efficient planning and important policy interventions exaggerated the leakage and mismanagement of plastic waste into the environment leading to another threat during the prevailing pandemic. Though the preliminary statistics on the amount of plastic waste generated during the Covid-19 is staggering, it will take time to understand how precisely such additional plastic waste is going to impact the environment. Advancements in the technological aspects along with sustainable approaches are required from corporate sectors, scientific community, and governments across the globe to address the sustainability challenges triggered during the pandemic.

Robust policies must be devised to encourage plastic packaging materials with uniform compositions rather than mixed or multi-layer materials for improved recyclability. Further, plastic packaging materials need to be resin coded to enhance the recyclability of SUPs. At the same time, research efforts are warranted to develop sustainable techniques like chemical recycling to manage mixed plastic waste into valuable products such as fuels and chemicals to ensure circularity.

Disinfection of common public places

Another health and environment hazard experienced during pandemic is indiscriminate use of disinfectants. As Covid-19 is transmitted by contaminated surfaces, several disinfection campaigns have been applied to several facilities such as hospitals, offices, clinics, universities, airports; and public places such streets, public gardens and even beaches. Yet, the choice of the chemical disinfectants and the places for disinfection have been highly questionable. For instance, the majority of products used to disinfect against Covid-19 that meets the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) criteria contain quaternary ammonium and sodium hypochlorite. But other mixtures of hydrogen peroxide, isopropanol, among others, have also been applied.

According to several studies, the regular use of ammonium and bleach have been leading to a negative impact on human health. For instance, several studies report a link between the use of disinfectants and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among healthcare workers, and between asthma and exposure to cleaning products and disinfectants in household settings. Furthermore, fetuses and very young children are sensitive to the effects of such toxic chemicals, which had been also related with childhood cancer and asthma. Moreover, most disinfectants used, such as quaternary ammonium and sodium hypochlorite, are rapidly exhausted in the presence of organic matter, reducing their activity and efficacy when simply sprayed over surfaces where organic matter can be found (e.g. streets).

Conclusion

The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted the essentiality of plastic as a protector in the healthcare sector and public health safety owing to its intrinsic properties. However, the general perception about plastic as an evil polluter has been further strengthened due to its mismanagement and underutilization of resource value considering the pandemic-induced surge in plastic usage and waste generation.

An equitable appraisal by comparing the functionalities and shortcomings of plastic suggests that the consumers’ attitude and behavioral aspect of poor social awareness and the inadequacies of the existing waste management system as the key drivers make plastic an environmental polluter. It is important to acknowledge that plastic could be a protector rather than a polluter if the circular economy approaches are properly integrated. To prioritise the circular economy, continued progress must be made in reprocessing and reusing the PPEs, especially FFRs by adopting efficient decontamination methods to keep the supply chain intact. Further, research and product innovation in developing eco-friendly and reusable PPE kits and carry bags made of bio-plastics with higher recyclability should be encouraged.

Existing waste management systems and infrastructures should be automated with the deployment of AI, ML, and IoTs for plastic waste segregation and recycling. Mechanical recycling following the sterilisation of infectious plastic waste must be incentivised with policy formulation to contribute towards the circular economy. Chemical recycling to manage mixed plastic waste into valuable products such as fuels and chemicals would certainly help in achieving circularity. Indian cement industry can see this as an opportunity and can emulate what Chinese cement industry is trying to do.

Source: Science of The Total Environment

Neha Parashar, Subrata Hait

Another dimension to Covid-19 waste processing

The China Cement Association issued a recommendation to all qualified cement manufacturers, approved by the government?? environmental authority, to scientifically use cement kilns to carry out coordinated disposal. Under the organisation of local governments, they should assist medical institutions in handling medical waste during Covid-19 epidemic period.

The co-processing technology of cement kiln has the advantages of large disposal capacity, safe disposal process, and environmental protection of disposal results. Up to now, there are 68 enterprises in China that have the qualification for co-processing of hazardous waste in cement kiln, covering 25 provinces and cities in China. After the Covid-19 epidemic occurred, Huaxin Cement, as a leading cement manufacturer in Hubei Province, used the dry-process cement rotary kiln production line to co-process medical waste.

In order to do a good job of resuming production and production of cement production enterprises, China Cement Association puts forward the following three suggestions:

To actively use cement kilns to coordinately treat medical waste during epidemic prevention and control. Member units of the China Cement Association and research institutions with co-processing technology for cement kilns should provide necessary technical support to enterprises that carry out treatment of medical waste in cement kilns so that co-processing technology for cement kilns can make new contributions to the country in the prevention and control of epidemics.

Wang Jiajun, manager of Huaxin cement company, said bags of medical waste would be disintegrated and gasified immediately in the precalciner with a temperature of about 1,150 degrees Celsius.

The remaining waste would continue to be burned in the rotary kiln at a temperature of about 1,400 degrees Celsius. All the waste would eventually be turned into cement after thorough burning. The high temperature, strong alkaline and high turbulent burning environment prevents the production of dioxins throughout the process.

Wang said the cement company has disposed of 55 tonnes of medical waste for Covid-19 designated hospitals in Hubei. The company also dispatched four container dump trucks that are fully enclosed, leak-proof and equipped with GPS positioning to transport the medical waste around the clock.

Concrete

Cement Demand Revives As Prices Decline In Q3 FY26

Nuvama reports improved volume growth after price correction

Published

1 day ago

February 24, 2026

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A report by Nuvama Financial Services (Nuvama) said cement sector demand revived in the third quarter of fiscal year twenty twenty six as prices declined, supporting volume growth across regions. The note indicated that sequential price correction helped replenish demand that had been subdued by elevated pricing earlier in the year. Nuvama quantified the price decline as a sequential correction that varied across states and segments, facilitating restocking by merchants and traders.

The report suggested that improved affordability after the price correction encouraged housing and infrastructure activity, with developers and contractors adjusting procurement plans. It added that regional dynamics varied, with some markets showing faster recovery while others remained reliant on seasonal construction cycles. Housing demand was driven by both affordable and mid segment projects, while infrastructure segment recovery was contingent on timely execution of public works.

Analysts at Nuvama assessed that the price moderation eased inventory pressures for manufacturers and distributors and supported margin stabilisation at several producers. Demand improvement was visible in both urban and rural segments, although the pace of recovery differed by state and trade channel. Producers were seen balancing price realisations with volume targets and managing input cost volatility through operational efficiencies.

The report recommended that investors monitor volumes and realisations closely as market equilibrium emerges in the coming quarters, noting that sustainability of recovery would depend on monsoon patterns and government infrastructure outlays. Overall, the assessment pointed to a cautiously optimistic outlook for the cement industry as price correction translated into tangible volume gains. Market participants were advised to track early signs of demand broadening beyond core construction hubs to assess the depth of the rebound.

Concrete

Refractory demands in our kiln have changed

Published

5 days ago

February 20, 2026

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Radha Singh, Senior Manager (P&Q), Shree Digvijay Cement, points out why performance, predictability and life-cycle value now matter more than routine replacement in cement kilns.

As Indian cement plants push for higher throughput, increased alternative fuel usage and tighter shutdown cycles, refractory performance in kilns and pyro-processing systems is under growing pressure. In this interview, Radha Singh, Senior Manager (P&Q), Shree Digvijay Cement, shares how refractory demands have evolved on the ground and how smarter digital monitoring is improving kiln stability, uptime and clinker quality.

How have refractory demands changed in your kiln and pyro-processing line over the last five years?
Over the last five years, refractory demands in our kiln and pyro line have changed. Earlier, the focus was mostly on standard grades and routine shutdown-based replacement. But now, because of higher production loads, more alternative fuels and raw materials (AFR) usage and greater temperature variation, the expectation from refractory has increased.
In our own case, the current kiln refractory has already completed around 1.5 years, which itself shows how much more we now rely on materials that can handle thermal shock, alkali attack and coating fluctuations. We have moved towards more stable, high-performance linings so that we don’t have to enter the kiln frequently for repairs.
Overall, the shift has been from just ‘installation and run’ to selecting refractories that give longer life, better coating behaviour and more predictable performance under tougher operating conditions.

What are the biggest refractory challenges in the preheater, calciner and cooler zones?
• Preheater: Coating instability, chloride/sulphur cycles and brick erosion.
• Calciner: AFR firing, thermal shock and alkali infiltration.
• Cooler: Severe abrasion, red-river formation and mechanical stress on linings.
Overall, the biggest challenge is maintaining lining stability under highly variable operating conditions.

How do you evaluate and select refractory partners for long-term performance?
In real plant conditions, we don’t select a refractory partner just by looking at price. First, we see their past performance in similar kilns and whether their material has actually survived our operating conditions. We also check how strong their technical support is during shutdowns, because installation quality matters as much as the material itself.
Another key point is how quickly they respond during breakdowns or hot spots. A good partner should be available on short notice. We also look at their failure analysis capability, whether they can explain why a lining failed and suggest improvements.
On top of this, we review the life they delivered in the last few campaigns, their supply reliability and their willingness to offer plant-specific custom solutions instead of generic grades. Only a partner who supports us throughout the life cycle, which includes selection, installation, monitoring and post-failure analysis, fits our long-term requirement.

Can you share a recent example where better refractory selection improved uptime or clinker quality?
Recently, we upgraded to a high-abrasion basic brick at the kiln outlet. Earlier we had frequent chipping and coating loss. With the new lining, thermal stability improved and the coating became much more stable. As a result, our shutdown interval increased and clinker quality remained more consistent. It had a direct impact on our uptime.

How is increased AFR use affecting refractory behaviour?
Increased AFR use is definitely putting more stress on the refractory. The biggest issue we see daily is the rise in chlorine, alkalis and volatiles, which directly attack the lining, especially in the calciner and kiln inlet. AFR firing is also not as stable as conventional fuel, so we face frequent temperature fluctuations, which cause more thermal shock and small cracks in the lining.
Another real problem is coating instability. Some days the coating builds too fast, other days it suddenly drops, and both conditions impact refractory life. We also notice more dust circulation and buildup inside the calciner whenever the AFR mix changes, which again increases erosion.
Because of these practical issues, we have started relying more on alkali-resistant, low-porosity and better thermal shock–resistant materials to handle the additional stress coming from AFR.

What role does digital monitoring or thermal profiling play in your refractory strategy?
Digital tools like kiln shell scanners, IR imaging and thermal profiling help us detect weakening areas much earlier. This reduces unplanned shutdowns, helps identify hotspots accurately and allows us to replace only the critical sections. Overall, our maintenance has shifted from reactive to predictive, improving lining life significantly.

How do you balance cost, durability and installation speed during refractory shutdowns?
We focus on three points:
• Material quality that suits our thermal profile and chemistry.
• Installation speed, in fast turnarounds, we prefer monolithic.
• Life-cycle cost—the cheapest material is not the most economical. We look at durability, future downtime and total cost of ownership.
This balance ensures reliable performance without unnecessary expenditure.

What refractory or pyro-processing innovations could transform Indian cement operations?
Some promising developments include:
• High-performance, low-porosity and nano-bonded refractories
• Precast modular linings to drastically reduce shutdown time
• AI-driven kiln thermal analytics
• Advanced coating management solutions
• More AFR-compatible refractory mixes

These innovations can significantly improve kiln stability, efficiency and maintenance planning across the industry.

Concrete

Digital supply chain visibility is critical

Published

5 days ago

February 20, 2026

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MSR Kali Prasad, Chief Digital and Information Officer, Shree Cement, discusses how data, discipline and scale are turning Industry 4.0 into everyday business reality.

Over the past five years, digitalisation in Indian cement manufacturing has moved decisively beyond experimentation. Today, it is a strategic lever for cost control, operational resilience and sustainability. In this interview, MSR Kali Prasad, Chief Digital and Information Officer, Shree Cement, explains how integrated digital foundations, advanced analytics and real-time visibility are helping deliver measurable business outcomes.

How has digitalisation moved from pilot projects to core strategy in Indian cement manufacturing over the past five years?
Digitalisation in Indian cement has evolved from isolated pilot initiatives into a core business strategy because outcomes are now measurable, repeatable and scalable. The key shift has been the move away from standalone solutions toward an integrated digital foundation built on standardised processes, governed data and enterprise platforms that can be deployed consistently across plants and functions.
At Shree Cement, this transition has been very pragmatic. The early phase focused on visibility through dashboards, reporting, and digitisation of critical workflows. Over time, this has progressed into enterprise-level analytics and decision support across manufacturing and the supply chain,
with clear outcomes in cost optimisation, margin protection and revenue improvement through enhanced customer experience.
Equally important, digital is no longer the responsibility of a single function. It is embedded into day-to-day operations across planning, production, maintenance, despatch and customer servicing, supported by enterprise systems, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) data platforms, and a structured approach to change management.

Which digital interventions are delivering the highest ROI across mining, production and logistics today?
In a capital- and cost-intensive sector like cement, the highest returns come from digital interventions that directly reduce unit costs or unlock latent capacity without significant capex.
Supply chain and planning (advanced analytics): Tools for demand forecasting, S&OP, network optimisation and scheduling deliver strong returns by lowering logistics costs, improving service levels, and aligning production with demand in a fragmented and regionally diverse market.
Mining (fleet and productivity analytics): Data-led mine planning, fleet analytics, despatch discipline, and idle-time reduction improve fuel efficiency and equipment utilisation, generating meaningful savings in a cost-heavy operation.
Manufacturing (APC and process analytics): Advanced Process Control, mill optimisation, and variability reduction improve thermal and electrical efficiency, stabilise quality and reduce rework and unplanned stoppages.
Customer experience and revenue enablement (digital platforms): Dealer and retailer apps, order visibility and digitally enabled technical services improve ease of doing business and responsiveness. We are also empowering channel partners with transparent, real-time information on schemes, including eligibility, utilisation status and actionable recommendations, which improves channel satisfaction and market execution while supporting revenue growth.
Overall, while Artificial Intelligence (AI) and IIoT are powerful enablers, it is advanced analytics anchored in strong processes that typically delivers the fastest and most reliable ROI.

How is real-time data helping plants shift from reactive maintenance to predictive and prescriptive operations?
Real-time and near real-time data is driving a more proactive and disciplined maintenance culture, beginning with visibility and progressively moving toward prediction and prescription.
At Shree Cement, we have implemented a robust SAP Plant Maintenance framework to standardise maintenance workflows. This is complemented by IIoT-driven condition monitoring, ensuring consistent capture of equipment health indicators such as vibration, temperature, load, operating patterns and alarms.
Real-time visibility enables early detection of abnormal conditions, allowing teams to intervene before failures occur. As data quality improves and failure histories become structured, predictive models can anticipate likely failure modes and recommend timely interventions, improving MTBF and reducing downtime. Over time, these insights will evolve into prescriptive actions, including spares readiness, maintenance scheduling, and operating parameter adjustments, enabling reliability optimisation with minimal disruption.
A critical success factor is adoption. Predictive insights deliver value only when they are embedded into daily workflows, roles and accountability structures. Without this, they remain insights without action.

In a cost-sensitive market like India, how do cement companies balance digital investment with price competitiveness?
In India’s intensely competitive cement market, digital investments must be tightly linked to tangible business outcomes, particularly cost reduction, service improvement, and faster decision-making.
This balance is achieved by prioritising high-impact use cases such as planning efficiency, logistics optimisation, asset reliability, and process stability, all of which typically deliver quick payback. Equally important is building scalable and governed digital foundations that reduce the marginal cost of rolling out new use cases across plants.
Digitally enabled order management, live despatch visibility, and channel partner platforms also improve customer centricity while controlling cost-to-serve, allowing service levels to improve without proportionate increases in headcount or overheads.
In essence, the most effective digital investments do not add cost. They protect margins by reducing variability, improving planning accuracy, and strengthening execution discipline.

How is digitalisation enabling measurable reductions in energy consumption, emissions, and overall carbon footprint?
Digitalisation plays a pivotal role in improving energy efficiency, reducing emissions and lowering overall carbon intensity.
Real-time monitoring and analytics enable near real-time tracking of energy consumption and critical operating parameters, allowing inefficiencies to be identified quickly and corrective actions to be implemented. Centralised data consolidation across plants enables benchmarking, accelerates best-practice adoption, and drives consistent improvements in energy performance.
Improved asset reliability through predictive maintenance reduces unplanned downtime and process instability, directly lowering energy losses. Digital platforms also support more effective planning and control of renewable energy sources and waste heat recovery systems, reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
Most importantly, digitalisation enables sustainability progress to be tracked with greater accuracy and consistency, supporting long-term ESG commitments.

What role does digital supply chain visibility play in managing demand volatility and regional market dynamics in India?
Digital supply chain visibility is critical in India, where demand is highly regional, seasonality is pronounced, and logistics constraints can shift rapidly.
At Shree Cement, planning operates across multiple horizons. Annual planning focuses on capacity, network footprint and medium-term demand. Monthly S&OP aligns demand, production and logistics, while daily scheduling drives execution-level decisions on despatch, sourcing and prioritisation.
As digital maturity increases, this structure is being augmented by central command-and-control capabilities that manage exceptions such as plant constraints, demand spikes, route disruptions and order prioritisation. Planning is also shifting from aggregated averages to granular, cost-to-serve and exception-based decision-making, improving responsiveness, lowering logistics costs and strengthening service reliability.

How prepared is the current workforce for Industry 4.0, and what reskilling strategies are proving most effective?
Workforce preparedness for Industry 4.0 is improving, though the primary challenge lies in scaling capabilities consistently across diverse roles.
The most effective approach is to define capability requirements by role and tailor enablement accordingly. Senior leadership focuses on digital literacy for governance, investment prioritisation, and value tracking. Middle management is enabled to use analytics for execution discipline and adoption. Frontline sales and service teams benefit from
mobile-first tools and KPI-driven workflows, while shop-floor and plant teams focus on data-driven operations, APC usage, maintenance discipline, safety and quality routines.
Personalised, role-based learning paths, supported by on-ground champions and a clear articulation of practical benefits, drive adoption far more effectively than generic training programmes.

Which emerging digital technologies will fundamentally reshape cement manufacturing in the next decade?
AI and GenAI are expected to have the most significant impact, particularly when combined with connected operations and disciplined processes.
Key technologies likely to reshape the sector include GenAI and agentic AI for faster root-cause analysis, knowledge access, and standardisation of best practices; industrial foundation models that learn patterns across large sensor datasets; digital twins that allow simulation of process changes before implementation; and increasingly autonomous control systems that integrate sensors, AI, and APC to maintain stability with minimal manual intervention.
Over time, this will enable more centralised monitoring and management of plant operations, supported by strong processes, training and capability-building.