Jharsuguda : Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium, dispatched its first rake consignment of 4,000 tonnes of fly-ash from the Jharsuguda plant to one of the plants of Holcim India – ACC Cement, Chaibasa Cement Works, for the production of low-carbon cement. This initiative is a part of Vedanta Jharsuguda’s waste-to-wealth imperatives and ensures gainful utilization of an industrial by-product such as fly-ash in circular economy avenues.
Fly-ash is a by-product of thermal power generation using coal, which caters to the electricity requirement of Vedanta’s aluminium smelters at Jharsuguda. The inherent properties of fly-ash can be utilised for improving product quality, conserving energy, water and other valuable resources, and reducing the industry’s carbon footprint. Further, being a voluminous industrial waste, fly ash comes with significant cost and energy advantages as well. In cement manufacturing, every tonne of fly-ash used can help save around 700-800 kg of carbon emissions, 4.2 million KJ of energy, and 341 litres of water. To find out innovative ways of utilizing this industrial by-product, the company also conducts various nationwide workshops with global experts to create greater awareness of the benefits of using fly-ash in cement construction.
Flagging off the first rake consignment, Sunil Gupta, CEO – Vedanta Ltd., Jharsuguda, said, “Our endeavours to reduce, reuse and recycle our industrial by-products is rooted in our business ethos of Zero Harm, Zero Waste and Zero Discharge. Fly-ash being a voluminous product of the thermal power-reliant aluminium industry, we are exploring strategic partnerships in the construction and infrastructure sectors to utilize our fly-ash through avenues of circular economy, such as cement production, brick manufacturing, and so on. At Vedanta Jharsuguda, we use high-quality coal which results in better quality fly-ash, and we are delighted to be ACC Cement’s supplier of choice in this regard, given that its parent company, Holcim is one of the largest cement manufacturers in the world.”
Speaking about the partnership, Niraj Kumar Bansal, Vice President and Head-India Raw Materials & Inward Logistics – Supply Chain; ACC & Ambuja Cements Ltd. (Holcim-India) said, “Holcim India’s (ACC & Ambuja) partnership with Vedanta for fly ash evacuation is in line with our organization’s endeavours to promote a circular economy, bringing in sustainable growth. Fly-ash is used by the cement industry for blending purposes and provides manifold benefits in terms of cost, quality and better workability, with high strength gains. The cement industry should look forward to harnessing this industrial by-product to their advantage.”
Vedanta has been supplying fly-ash to many cement manufacturers around its operations in Jharsuguda. In FY22, Vedanta Jharsuguda had supplied 190,000 tonnes of fly-ash to various cement plants in its vicinity and 60,000 tonnes to local brick manufacturing MSMEs. The company has also entered a long-term partnership with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for building greener roads with fly-ash. Through persistent endeavours in this direction, the company has recorded the highest ever fly-ash utilization this year. The initiative to dispatch fly-ash via rail is in line with the company’s vision of achieving its environmental sustainability targets, with the larger aim of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
Vedanta is India’s largest producer of green metal, aluminium, operating a world-class 1.6 MTPA aluminium smelter and 3615 MW thermal power generation facility in Jharsuguda, Odisha. The only Indian smelter in the global ‘1 Million Tonne’ production and export club, Vedanta Jharsuguda is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications across core industries. With its state-of-the-art facilities, unparalleled engineering prowess, R&D and innovation abilities, Vedanta Jharsuguda is working towards a sustainable and greener future for all by spurring emerging applications of aluminium, the ‘Metal of the Future’
