Tata’s Jamshedpur Plant Supplies 1,600 MT Of Steel Slag To BRO For Road Construction In Arunachal Pradesh

Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh said that India has entered into an era of 'Steel’ roads, by moving on from concrete to steel slag.

The Minister on Wednesday (2 November) flagged off the dispatch of 1,600 metric ton of processed steel slag aggregates from Tata Steel Jamshedpur to Border Road Organization’s Project Arunank in Arunachal Pradesh.

He said, in a first of its kind initiative taken in the World by CSIR-CRRI (Central Road Research Institute), Tata Steel and Border Roads Organization (BRO), processed steel slag aggregates are going to be utilised in construction of steel slag road stretch in strategic areas.

“To meet the demand of Border Roads, India’s second largest and oldest Steel Company, TATA Steel has come forward under the collaborative R&D alliance with CSIR-CRRI to supply steel slag aggregates developed at Tata Steel Jamshedpur plant under CRRI technological guidance,” Dr Jitendra Singh said.

“As per Prime Minister Modi’s vision for ‘Waste to Wealth’ and NITI Aayog instructions, CSIR CRRI has developed this technology under the sponsored research project of the Ministry of Steel. One third of 37 labs of CSIR in the country are working to develop suitable technologies for creating Waste to Wealth,” he added.

Speaking at the event, Dr V K Saraswat, Member of Niti Aayog emphasised the urgent need of utilisation of waste steel slag in Roads, Railways and Runways and informed that the CSIR-CRRI is also exploring utilisation of steel slag as substitute of railway ballast for Indian Railways.

India is currently the world's second largest producer of crude steel, producing over 118 million tonnes (MT) crude steel of which around 20 percent steel slag is generated as solid waste and its disposal is a big challenge to the steel industries.

TATA Steel’s Jamshedpur plant alone annually generates around 1.6 million tonne steel slag.

The CSIR-CRRI under the R&D study with the Ministry of Steel and four major leading steel industries TATA Steel, JSW Steel, AMNS India and RINL has successfully explored the potential utilisation of 195 lakh tonnes of steel slag as road making aggregates.

India’s first steel slag road was laid at Surat, Gujarat. Also, around one lakh tonne processed steel slag aggregates are developed under CSIR-CRRI technological guidance at Arcelormittal Nippon Steel Plant at Hazira in Gujarat.

The advantages of steel slag road technology include high strength, long-term durability, thickness reduction and environmental benefits.