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We see a future without waste

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Sunil Kumbhar, CEO and Director, AltSF Process, talks about how automation, technology and a commitment to sustainability is driving them to reshape the future of cement production.

Tell us about the range of materials that your equipment can handle and process.
AltSF Process has designed various equipment for application of co-processing of the solid alternative fuels. All the equipment is designed to accept all possible materials, so that the cement factory gets the flexible system. With a flexible system they are always ready to receive any material having some calorific value for energy substitution. In general, we accept grain size up to 500mm, surface moisture content up to 45 per cent and density between 0.1 and 1.2 t/m3.

How does your process convert bulk material fit for consumption as an alternative fuel?
Ideally, suppliers of the alternative fuel or bulk materials should provide a processed waste to the cement industry. But if quality is poor, shredder and screening machines are necessary to pre-process the waste to convert them to RDF. Based on the type of available bulk material, we can select the appropriate equipment shredder, screening, separation and sorting for preparation of the RDF.

Tell us about your products and their role in the cement manufacturing process?
AltSF Process products are used mainly for co-processing of the alternative solid fuels. For cement factories using fuels in their process, it requires uniform flow of the fuel, safe feeding in the calciner or kiln. All our equipment is designed to handle this uniform flow needed. Alternative fuels tend to jam at every location, so critical design thinking is necessary for optimised layout designing, which the AltSF team is delivering to users.

What is the role of automation and technology in your products and services?
Handling alternative fuels, specifically these days, unprocessed municipal solid waste coming to cement plants is of very hazardous nature. Bad odour, unhygienic waste has a hazard to deploy people to work in handling these materials. Hence, cement plants require fully automated arrangements monitored from their control room for all operations. AltSF delivers fully automated arrangements for all handling stages like storage management, extraction of waste, accurate weighing, conveying and safe feeding inside the kiln.

How does the use of your products and services impact the productivity and efficiency of cement making?
For cement factories the priority is to make cement and this is achieved through a precise control of temperature and process times inside a pyro-process section. We help by providing a solution that works for them without hampering the cement making process. Our unique solutions with uniform flow and safe feeding at high temperature of calciner allows cement factories to use alternative fuels in big volumes. One of our installations is able to feed 60 tph of RDF, after necessary cement manufacturing process updates.

What are the major challenges that you face as a provider to the cement industry?
Working conditions in alternative fuels are not favourable for a person to work in, resulting in less manpower with correct skills available in this sector. AltSF Process management is very much service oriented and wishes their customers to use alternative fuels in its best possible way. But we need to spend a lot of time training new people at this stage. We are sure, with positive work on training from ASAPP, CII and NCCBM this skill levels will go up soon. We are sure, industry just started because of the high volume of fuels and within a few years,
our industry will have more skilled manpower for this sector.

How do you envision the future of use of alternative fuels in the cement industry?
We are sure, in the near future, the quantity of alternative fuels in the cement industry will grow. Cement industry co-processing provides the right platform for waste recycling, as there is no residue after use, everything becomes part of cement itself. Since we are the second largest cement manufacturer, we also have the capability to consume our waste in the right way, without hampering the environment. We see a future without waste and a cement industry with more than 80 per cent alternative fuels.

Concrete

Molecor Renews OCS Europe Certification Across Spanish Plants

Certification reinforces commitment to preventing microplastic pollution

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Molecor has renewed its OCS Europe certification for another year across all its production facilities in Spain under the Operation Clean Sweep (OCS) voluntary initiative, reaffirming its commitment to sustainability and environmental protection. The renewal underlines the company’s continued focus on preventing the unintentional release of plastic particles during manufacturing, with particular attention to safeguarding marine ecosystems from microplastic pollution.

All Molecor plants in Spain have been compliant with OCS Europe standards for several years, implementing best practices designed to avoid pellet loss and the release of plastic particles during the production of PVC pipes and fittings. The OCS-based management system enables the company to maintain strict operational controls while aligning with evolving regulatory expectations on microplastic prevention.

The renewed certification also positions Molecor ahead of newly published European regulations. The company’s practices are aligned with Regulation (EU) 2025/2365, recently adopted by the European Parliament, which sets out requirements to prevent pellet loss and reduce microplastic pollution across industrial operations.

Extending its sustainability commitment beyond its own operations, Molecor is actively engaging its wider value chain by informing suppliers and customers of its participation in the OCS programme and encouraging responsible microplastic management practices. Through these efforts, the company contributes directly to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 14 ‘Life below water’, reinforcing its role as a responsible industrial manufacturer committed to environmental stewardship and long-term sustainability.

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Concrete

Coforge Launches AI-Led Data Cosmos Analytics Platform

New cloud-native platform targets enterprise data modernisation and GenAI adoption

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Coforge Limited has recently announced the launch of Coforge Data Cosmos, an AI-enabled, cloud-native data engineering and advanced analytics platform aimed at helping enterprises convert fragmented data environments into intelligent, high-performance data ecosystems. The platform strengthens Coforge’s technology stack by introducing a foundational innovation layer that supports cloud-native, domain-specific solutions built on reusable blueprints, proprietary IP, accelerators, agentic components and industry-aligned capabilities.

Data Cosmos is designed to address persistent enterprise challenges such as data fragmentation, legacy modernisation, high operational costs, limited self-service analytics, lack of unified governance and the complexity of GenAI adoption. The platform is structured around five technology portfolios—Supernova, Nebula, Hypernova, Pulsar and Quasar—covering the full data transformation lifecycle, from legacy-to-cloud migration and governance to cloud-native data platforms, autonomous DataOps and scaled GenAI orchestration.

To accelerate speed-to-value, Coforge has introduced the Data Cosmos Toolkit, comprising over 55 IPs and accelerators and 38 AI agents powered by the Data Cosmos Engine. The platform also enables Galaxy solutions, which combine industry-specific data models with the core technology stack to deliver tailored solutions across sectors including BFS, insurance, travel, transportation and hospitality, healthcare, public sector and retail.

“With Data Cosmos, we are setting a new benchmark for how enterprises convert data complexity into competitive advantage,” said Deepak Manjarekar, Global Head – Data HBU, Coforge. “Our objective is to provide clients with a fast, adaptive and AI-ready data foundation from day one.”

Supported by a strong ecosystem of cloud and technology partners, Data Cosmos operates across multi-cloud and hybrid environments and is already being deployed in large-scale transformation programmes for global clients.

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Concrete

India, Sweden Launch Seven Low-Carbon Steel, Cement Projects

Joint studies to cut industrial emissions under LeadIT

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India and Sweden have announced seven joint projects aimed at reducing carbon emissions in the steel and cement sectors, with funding support from India’s Department of Science and Technology and the Swedish Energy Agency.

The initiatives, launched under the LeadIT Industry Transition Partnership, bring together major Indian companies including Tata Steel, JK Cement, Ambuja Cements, Jindal Steel and Power, and Prism Johnson, alongside Swedish technology firms such as Cemvision, Kanthal and Swerim. Leading Indian academic institutions, including IIT Bombay, IIT-ISM Dhanbad, IIT Bhubaneswar and IIT Hyderabad, are also participating.

The projects will undertake pre-pilot feasibility studies on a range of low-carbon technologies. These include the use of hydrogen in steel rotary kilns, recycling steel slag for green cement production, and applying artificial intelligence to optimise concrete mix designs. Other studies will explore converting blast furnace carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide for reuse and assessing electric heating solutions for steelmaking.

India’s steel sector currently accounts for about 10–12 per cent of the country’s carbon emissions, while cement contributes nearly 6 per cent. Globally, heavy industry is responsible for roughly one-quarter of greenhouse gas emissions and consumes around one-third of total energy.

The collaboration aims to develop scalable, low-carbon industrial technologies that can support India’s net-zero emissions target by 2070. As part of the programme, Tata Steel and Cemvision will examine methods to convert steel slag into construction materials, creating a circular value chain for industrial byproducts.

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