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Utilisation of Alternative Fuels and Raw Materials in Indian Cement Industry: The Current Scenario and Future Prospects

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With the net zero target confirmed for India, the Indian cement sector needs to optimise its efforts in utilising alternative fuels and raw materials, as these two factors are instrumental in determining the industry’s contribution in the nation’s carbon neutral future

Climate Change, fast depleting natural resources like limestone, increased cost of conventional fuels like petcoke and coal, have become a matter of great concern for cement industry all over the world. Recently, our Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi has committed to cut the CO2 emissions in the COP 26 summit at Glasgow in November 2021 and has set a Net Zero Carbon target for India by the year 2070. Cement industry, generating 7 per cent of anthropogenic CO2 emissions will also have to move towards the path of decarbonisation. The process emissions from calcination are hard to abate, however, the emissions from fuel combustion can be avoided by replacing fossil fuels with alternative fuels.
Cement industry is making enormous efforts to enhance the utilisation of alternative fuels by co-processing of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes/by-products from various industries like pharma industry, paint industry, processed municipal solid waste from local bodies, etc. However, one of the pressing issues is to enhance the utilisation of alternative fuels to achieve TSR of 25 per cent by 2030 without impacting the productivity, product quality and environment emissions.
Niti Aayog has also focused on implementation of a circular economy in India by preparing comprehensive action plans for different wastes available in our country. Implementation of Circular Economy will not only help in reducing the dependence on natural resources but also help in gaining economic advantage to the industry. Rapid industrialisation has resulted in generation of large quantities of industrial wastes such as fly ash in thermal power plants, slag from steel industry, red mud from aluminium industry, copper slag from copper industry, dolochar from sponge iron industry, lime sludge from paper industry. Some of these wastes have high potential for utilization as raw mix / blending components in cement manufacturing and are being gainfully utilised in the cement industry. Cement industry plays a central role in the Circular Economy framework and is a key component of industrial waste management in India.
Utilisation of Alternative Fuels and Raw Materials (AFR) in cement industry, therefore, helps in reduction in carbon footprint, increased sustainability, avoiding consumption of fossil fuel and its associated higher cost as well as implementation of a circular economy in India.
Status of Alternative Fuel Utilisation in Indian Cement Industry
The utilisation of alternative fuels in cement kilns started in Year 2000 with the active support of the Central Pollution Control Board. With persistent efforts of the cement industry, Government of India and other stakeholders, the Thermal Substitution Rate (TSR) has now increased to ~5 per cent as compared to 0.6 per cent in 2010. The Indian cement industry has been using large quantities of wastes such as non-recyclable hazardous and other wastes, segregated combustible fractions from Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW), plastics wastes, tyre wastes, surplus biomass etc. as alternative fuel in cement plants. Some of the hazardous and non-hazardous wastes presently used in cement plants are:
Hazardous waste: textile ETP sludge, tannery ETP sludge, TDI tar, paint sludge, process waste, waste residue, chemical sludge, process sludge, phosphate sludge, chemical sludge from ETP, insulation waste, mixed salt, organic residue, liquid organic residue, spent solvent, benzofuran and waste lubricant oil.
Non-hazardous waste: Tyre chips, RDF, plastic waste, FMCG expired products, wood/bamboo chips, carbon black, biomass like rice husk, groundnut husk, cashew nut husk, poppy straw, opium marc etc.
The availability and characterisation of some of the non-hazardous waste and hazardous waste are given in Tables 1 and 2 respectively.
The leading cement companies in India have achieved Thermal substitution rate (%TSR) in the range of 3 – 7 per cent on an average annually as shown in Table 3. However, some cement plants in India have achieved high %TSR up to 15 – 25 per cent.

Thermal substitution rate of India is comparable with other countries such as 100 per cent TSR in Australia, 100 per cent TSR in France and South Korea is equivalent to 4 per cent, 8 per cent and 25 per cent TSR in India respectively. This indicates that TSR in India is still reasonably good considering high cement production capacity but still has huge potential to achieve high TSR.

Status of Alternative Raw Materials Utilisation in Indian Cement Industry
Cement industry uses a number of wastes and by-products as supplementary raw materials in cement raw mix which are referred to as alternative raw materials. Industrial and mineral wastes from mineral processing industries, such as metallurgy, petrochemicals, chemicals, paper and pulp account for nearly 275 million tonnes per annum. The more important wastes are fly ash from thermal power plants, slag from steel industry, metallurgical slags from non-ferrous industry, press mud from sugar industry, paper sludge from pulp and paper industry, phospho- chalk and phosphogypsum from fertilizer industry, red mud from aluminium industry, wollastonite mineral and ore tailings, catalyst fines, foundry sand and leather sludge from tannery effluent treatment plants. It is essential that the composition of the alternative raw materials considered for the cement raw mix be compatible with the materials they intend to replace or supplement. Marble slurry/dust, waste generated by the marble processing industries, particularly in the state of Rajasthan. Physical, chemical and mineralogical evaluation of these wastes showed their similarity with conventional limestone and could be used in cement and construction industry. Due to their compatibility with cement system, marble waste materials could be used in cement manufacture (i) as raw material in Portland clinker making (ii) in blended cement (iii) in the development of various building products such as marble coating, tiles and bricks (iv) as fine aggregate in concrete etc. High moisture content and inconsistent quality of marble wastes are the main factors for their limited use in cement manufacturing units.
Waste generated by different industries and their characteristics, which has the potential to be used in the Indian cement industry is shown in Tables 4 and 5 respectively.

ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN
INCREASING %TSR IN CEMENT INDUSTRY
The major issues faced by cement plants in enhancing AF utilization up to 25% TSR and above are:

  • Non homogeneity of MSW based RDF is one of the prominent issues faced by the industry. Although the quality of RDF has improved in recent years due to initiatives taken by the Government of India and local bodies. Some other alternatives to utilize MSW like MSW/RDF gasification to produce synthesis gas of consistent quality can be explored. Countries like China are already using gasification techniques to produce homogeneous synthesis gas.
  • High chloride content in the alternative fuel or raw material creates problems of coating/jamming. In order to achieve TSR of 25 per cent, cement plants will have to install kiln by-pass systems which needs substantial investment and adverse impact on unit cost of cement production. Handling of by-pass dust with high chlorine concentration will also be a critical task.
  • Lack of database on inventory of alternative fuels as well as district and sector wise break up is a major hurdle in sourcing the waste and eventually in increasing TSR.
  • Efficient shredding system is important to have proper output size of AF and avoid jamming issues. Pre-processing and handling of wastes bring the overall cost close to the price of conventional fuel in India and sometimes even higher in cement plants.
  • Plants need to upgrade their present testing laboratories which requires investment and skilled manpower. Upgradation of lab facilities includes sample preparation, testing of characterisation of hazardous waste like calorific value, proximate analysis, ultimate analysis, chlorine, fluorine and phosphorus, heavy metals, flash point, mixing compatibility, reactive sulphide, cyanide or halides.
  • Skill development of CCR operators to handle several types of waste in their calciners/kilns is also required.

NCB’s EXPERIENCE

  • NCB has vast experience of analytical studies, trial runs and system design for AFR utilization. Recently, NCB has carried out studies for feasibility of utilization of Tyre Derived Fuel (TDF) and system design to handle multi fuels for various cement plants in India. Recently, a detailed project report has been prepared to achieve 25 per cent TSR through RDF in kiln main burner for a cement plant in Southern India. Feasibility studies for liquid alternative fuels were also carried out in the recent past.
  • Presently, NCB is carrying out Project Management Consultancy project for Installation of Tyre Chips Storage, Feeding and Dosing System as well as enhancing AFR utilisation at cement plants. NCB has also undertaken a research project on design and development of Transfer Chute, which will be able to handle variation in characteristics of different kinds of solid wastes like RDF without any issues of chute jamming. NCB has also carried out studies on utilisation scenarios of 15 inorganic industrial wastes including lime sludge, wolstanite, leather sludge, jarosite, LD slag, red mud and marble slurry in cement manufacture as well as aggregate in concrete. NCB is also involved in preparing action plans for Phosphogypsum, FGD gypsum and C&D waste for the concerned ministries.
  • NCB is fully equipped to undertake any studies related to AFR utilisation owing to its vast experience coupled with state of art testing and evaluation facilities and has been providing its services to the industry in India and abroad.
  • Utilisation of AFR is a win-win situation for cement industry, society and the Government in India. Uncertainty in availability, higher cost of conventional fuels, and climate change are some of the key drivers to enhance AFR utilisation in India. Improving the quality of potential alternative fuels like RDF at minimal cost and making AF/RDF available to cement industry within their reach will make alternative fuels a lucrative option for cement industry. Waste management models adopted in Kerala and Indore, should be replicated in local bodies of other States. Promoting AFR usage will address the menace of the ever-growing problem of waste management, which poses serious environmental and ecological problems in the country.

About the author:
Dr. BN Mohapatra is the Director General of National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCCBM). He is a Phd in Cement Mineral Chemistry, enriched with 13 years of research and development and over 22 years of industry experience with a strong academic relations with premier institutes. He is the chairman of the Cement Sectoral Committee of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).

Images Sources: Google Images

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Adani’s Strategic Emergence in India’s Cement Landscape

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5 days ago

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September 16, 2025

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Milind Khangan, Marketing Head, Vertex Market Research, sheds light on Adani’s rapid cement consolidation under its ‘One Business, One Company’ strategy while positioning it to rival UltraTech, and thus, shaping a potential duopoly in India’s booming cement market.

India is the second-largest cement-producing country in the world, following China. This expansion is being driven by tremendous public investment in the housing and infrastructure sectors. The industry is accelerating, with a boost from schemes such as PM Gati Shakti, Bharatmala, and the Vande Bharat corridors. An upsurge in affordable housing under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) further supports this expansion. In May 2025, local cement production increased about 9 per cent from last year to about 40 million metric tonnes for the month. The combined cement capacity in India was recorded at 670 million metric tonnes in the 2025 fiscal year, according to the Cement Manufacturers’ Association (CMA). For the financial year 2026, this is set to grow by another 9 per cent.
In spite of the growing demand, the Indian cement industry is highly competitive. UltraTech Cement (Aditya Birla Group) is still the market leader with domestic installed capacity of more than 186 MTPA as on 2025. It is targeted to achieve 200 MTPA. Adani Cement recently became a major player and is now India’s second-largest cement company. It did this through aggressive consolidation, operational synergies, and scale efficiencies. Indian players in the cement industry are increasingly valuing operational efficiency and sustainability. Some of the strategies with high impact are alternative fuels and materials (AFR) adoption, green cement expansion, and digital technology investments to offset changing regulatory pressure and increasing energy prices.

Building Adani Cement brand
Vertex Market Research explains that the Adani Group is executing a comprehensive reorganisation and consolidation of its cement business under the ‘One Business, One Company’ strategy. The plan is to integrate its diversified holdings into one consolidated corporate entity named Adani Cement. The focus is on operating integration, governance streamlining, and cost reduction in its expanding cement business.
Integration roadmap and key milestones:

  • September 2022: The consolidation process started with the $6.4 billion buyout of Holcim’s majority stakes in Ambuja Cements and ACC, with Ambuja becoming the focal point of the consolidation.
  • December 2023: Bought Sanghi Industries to strengthen the firm’s presence in western India.
  • August 2024: Added Penna Cement to the portfolio, improving penetration of the southern market of India.
  • April 2025: Further holding addition in Orient Cement to 46.66 per cent by purchasing the same from CK Birla Group, becoming the promoter with control.
  • Ambuja Cements amalgamated with Adani Cement: This was sanctioned by the NCLT on 18th July 2025 with effect from April 1, 2024. This amalgamation brings in limestone reserves and fresh assets into Ambuja.
  • Subject to Sanghi and Penna merger with Ambuja: Board approvals in December 2024 with the aim to finish between September to December 2025.
  • Ambuja-ACC future integration: The latter is being contemplated as the final step towards consolidation.
  • Orient Cement: It would serve as a principal manufacturing facility following the merger.

Scale, capacity expansion and market position
In financial year-2025, Adani Cement, including Ambuja, surpassed 100 MTPA. This makes it one of the world’s top ten cement companies. Along with ACC’s operations, it is now firmly placed as India’s second-largest cement company. In FY25, the Adani group’s sales volume per annum clocked 65 million metric tonnes. Adani Group claims that it now supplies close to 30 per cent of the cement consumed in India’s homes and infrastructure as of June 2025.
The organisation is pursuing aggressive brownfield expansion:

  • By FY 2026: Reach 118 MTPA
  • By FY 2028: Target 140 MTPA

These goals will be driven by commissioning new clinker and grinding units at key sites, with civil and mechanical works underway.
As of 2024, Adani Cement had its market share pegged at around 14 to 15 per cent, with an ambition to scale this up to 20 per cent by FY?2028, emerging as a potent competitor to UltraTech’s 192?MTPA capacity (186 domestic and overseas).

Strategic advantages and competitive benefits
The consolidation simplifies decision-making by reducing legal entities, centralising oversight, and removing redundant functions. This drives compliance efficiency and transparent reporting. Using procurement power for raw materials and energy lowers costs per ton. Integrated logistics with Adani Ports and freight infrastructure has resulted in an estimated 6 per cent savings in logistics. The group aims for additional savings of INR 500 to 550 per tonne by FY 2028 by integrating green energy, using alternative fuel resources, and improving sourcing methods.

Market coverage and brand consistency
Brand integration under one strategy will provide uniform product quality and easier distribution networks. Integration with Orient Cement’s dealer base, 60 per cent of which already distributes Ambuja/ACC products, enhances outreach and responsiveness.
By having captive limestone reserves at Lakhpat (approximately 275 million tonnes) and proposed new manufacturing facilities in Raigad, Maharashtra, Adani Cement derives cost advantage, raw material security, and long-term operational robustness.

Strategic implications and risks
Consolidation at Adani Cement makes it not just a capacity leader but also an operationally agile competitor with the ability to reap digital and sustainability benefits. Its vertically integrated platform enables cost leadership, market responsiveness, and scalability.

Challenges potentially include:

  • Integration challenges across systems, corporate cultures, and plant operations
  • Regulatory sanctions for pending mergers and new capacity additions
  • Environmental clearances in environmentally sensitive areas and debt management with input price volatility

When materialised, this revolution would create a formidable Adani–UltraTech duopoly, redefining Indian cement on the basis of scale, innovation, and sustainability. India’s leading four cement players such as Adani (ACC and Ambuja), Dalmia Cement, Shree Cement, and UltraTech are expected to dominate the cement market.

Conclusion
Adani’s aggressive consolidation under the ‘One Business, One Company’ strategy signals a decisive shift in the Indian cement industry, positioning the group as a formidable challenger to UltraTech and setting the stage for a potential duopoly that could dominate the sector for years to come. By unifying operations, leveraging economies of scale, and securing vertical integration—from raw material reserves to distribution networks—Adani Cement is building both capacity and resilience, with clear advantages in cost efficiency, market reach, and sustainability. While integration complexities, regulatory hurdles, and environmental approvals remain key challenges, the scale and strategic alignment of this consolidation promise to redefine competition, pricing dynamics, and operational benchmarks in one of the world’s fastest-growing cement markets.

About the author:
Milind Khangan is the Marketing Head at Vertex Market Research and comes with over five years of experience in market research, lead generation and team management.

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Precision in Motion: A Deep Dive into PowerBuild’s Core Gear Series

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1 month ago

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August 16, 2025

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PowerBuild’s flagship Series M, C, F, and K geared motors deliver robust, efficient, and versatile power transmission solutions for industries worldwide.

Products – M, C, F, K: At the heart of every high-performance industrial system lies the need for robust, reliable, and efficient power transmission. PowerBuild answers this need with its flagship geared motor series: M, C, F, and K. Each series is meticulously engineered to serve specific operational demands while maintaining the universal promise of durability, efficiency, and performance.
Series M – Helical Inline Geared Motors: Compact and powerful, the Series M delivers exceptional drive solutions for a broad range of applications. With power handling up to 160kW and torque capacity reaching 20,000 Nm, it is the trusted solution for industries requiring quiet operation, high efficiency, and space-saving design. Series M is available with multiple mounting and motor options, making it a versatile choice for manufacturers and OEMs globally.
Series C – Right Angled Heli-Worm Geared Motors: Combining the benefits of helical and worm gearing, the Series C is designed for right-angled power transmission. With gear ratios of up to 16,000:1 and torque capacities of up to 10,000 Nm, this series is optimal for applications demanding precision in compact spaces. Industries looking for a smooth, low-noise operation with maximum torque efficiency rely on Series C for dependable performance.
Series F – Parallel Shaft Mounted Geared Motors: Built for endurance in the most demanding environments, Series F is widely adopted in steel plants, hoists, cranes, and heavy-duty conveyors. Offering torque up to 10,000 Nm and high gear ratios up to 20,000:1, this product features an integral torque arm and diverse output configurations to meet industry-specific challenges head-on.
Series K – Right Angle Helical Bevel Geared Motors: For industries seeking high efficiency and torque-heavy performance, Series K is the answer. This right-angled geared motor series delivers torque up to 50,000 Nm, making it a preferred choice in core infrastructure sectors such as cement, power, mining, and material handling. Its flexibility in mounting and broad motor options offer engineers’ freedom in design and reliability in execution.
Together, these four series reflect PowerBuild’s commitment to excellence in mechanical power transmission. From compact inline designs to robust right-angle drives, each geared motor is a result of decades of engineering innovation, customer-focused design, and field-tested reliability. Whether the requirement is speed control, torque multiplication, or space efficiency, Radicon’s Series M, C, F, and K stand as trusted powerhouses for global industries.

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Driving Measurable Gains

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1 month ago

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August 16, 2025

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Klüber Lubrication India’s Klübersynth GEM 4-320 N upgrades synthetic gear oil for energy efficiency.

Klüber Lubrication India has introduced a strategic upgrade for the tyre manufacturing industry by retrofitting its high-performance synthetic gear oil, Klübersynth GEM 4-320 N, into Barrel Cold Feed Extruder gearboxes. This smart substitution, requiring no hardware changes, delivered energy savings of 4-6 per cent, as validated by an internationally recognised energy audit firm under IPMVP – Option B protocols, aligned with
ISO 50015 standards.

Beyond energy efficiency, the retrofit significantly improved operational parameters:

  • Lower thermal stress on equipment
  • Extended lubricant drain intervals
  • Reduction in CO2 emissions and operational costs

These benefits position Klübersynth GEM 4-320 N as a powerful enabler of sustainability goals in line with India’s Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) guidelines and global Net Zero commitments.

Verified sustainability, zero compromise
This retrofit case illustrates that meaningful environmental impact doesn’t always require capital-intensive overhauls. Klübersynth GEM 4-320 N demonstrated high performance in demanding operating environments, offering:

  • Enhanced component protection
  • Extended oil life under high loads
  • Stable performance across fluctuating temperatures

By enabling quick wins in efficiency and sustainability without disrupting operations, Klüber reinforces its role as a trusted partner in India’s evolving industrial landscape.

Klüber wins EcoVadis Gold again
Further affirming its global leadership in responsible business practices, Klüber Lubrication has been awarded the EcoVadis Gold certification for the fourth consecutive year in 2025. This recognition places it in the top three per cent
of over 150,000 companies worldwide evaluated for environmental, ethical and sustainable procurement practices.
Klüber’s ongoing investments in R&D and product innovation reflect its commitment to providing data-backed, application-specific lubrication solutions that exceed industry expectations and support long-term sustainability goals.

A trusted industrial ally
Backed by 90+ years of tribology expertise and a global support network, Klüber Lubrication is helping customers transition toward a greener tomorrow. With Klübersynth GEM 4-320 N, tyre manufacturers can take measurable, low-risk steps to boost energy efficiency and regulatory alignment—proving that even the smallest change can spark a significant transformation.

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