India’s largest aluminium manufacturer, Vedanta Aluminium, has delivered its first rake of 4,000 tonnes of fly-ash from its Jharsuguda facility to one of Holcim India’s ACC Cement Chaibasa Cement Works for the manufacturing of low-carbon cement.

This programme is one of Vedanta Jharsuguda’s waste-to-wealth imperatives, and it guarantees that an industrial by-product like fly-ash is used profitably in circular economy channels.

Fly-ash is a by-product of coal-fired thermal power generation and is used to meet the energy needs of Vedanta’s Jharsuguda aluminium smelters.

Fly-intrinsic ash’s properties may be used to improve product quality while also conserving energy, water, and other critical resources and lowering the industry’s carbon impact.

It offers considerable cost and energy savings as a large-scale industrial waste. Every tonne of fly-ash used in cement production may help save 700 kg to 800 kg of carbon emissions, 4.2 million kilojoules of energy, and 341 litres of water.

To identify new methods to use this industrial byproduct, the company holds workshops around the country with international specialists to raise awareness about the advantages of employing fly-ash in a cement building.

Vedanta has been supplying fly-ash to several cement firms in the Jharsuguda area. Vedanta Jharsuguda delivered 190,000 tonnes of fly-ash to local cement factories and 60,000 tonnes to local brick-making Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in fiscal year (FY) 2022.

In addition, the firm has formed a long-term relationship with India’s National Highways Authority (NHAI) to develop greener roads using fly-ash. The company has achieved the greatest ever fly-ash usage this year as a result of its consistent efforts in this regard.

The decision to ship fly ash via rail is to the company’s ambition of meeting its environmental sustainability goals, with the ultimate goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

Niraj Kumar Bansal, Vice President and Head-India Raw Materials & Inward Logistics ? Supply Chain; ACC & Ambuja Cements Ltd (Holcim-India), told the media that Holcim India’s (ACC & Ambuja) partnership with Vedanta for fly ash evacuation is in line with their organisation’s endeavours to promote a circular economy, bringing in sustainable growth.

He said that the cement industry uses fly-ash for blending purposes, and it offers several advantages in terms of cost, quality, and workability, as well as increased strength.

Bansal said that the cement industry should be keen on the prospect of using this industrial byproduct to its benefit.

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