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Essar Steel has developed an eco-friendly variety of sand for the construction sector, which will help reduce dependence on river sand mining, which is banned in most States.
“We have developed an eco-friendly sand from slag, a byproduct generated from iron-making furnaces. Slag sand is approved by BIS 2016 for use as fine aggregate in all construction applications,” Essar Steel chief executive officer Dilip Oommen told PTI.
“The initial and final strength of the concrete made using slag sand is better compared to natural sand. It can be used in all construction activities and can replace river sand,” Oommen added.
In view of the ban on sand mining in most States, there is a shortage of availability of quality sand, which impacts construction activity.
Seamless supplies
In Mumbai alone, the sand requirement is in the region of 1,500 trucks per day. Slag sand can address this need with seamless supplies, the official said.
Slag sand can also be used in various applications in construction from road-making to buildings and even heavy industrial construction by replacing natural sand or any other manufactured sand, Oommen said.
The properties of slag sand meet the most stringent requirements, he claimed.
Commenting on the new product, Oommen said, “this is an innovative solution to protect our rivers from sand mining and associated problems. This product is in line with our sustainability target.”
Slag sand is being manufactured at its Hazira plant.
Cost-effective
The plant is linked to a port, which allows Essar Steel to transport the material to any part of the country at a lower cost, Oommen said.
Essar Steel has been working on becoming a zero-waste company, and developing slag sand is another step in that direction.
It is already using coal fines through pellet making and effluent gas in power generation and recycling treated water.
Essar Steel, which enjoys 50 per cent market share in the colour-coated products, focusses on the value-added segment and caters to high-end steel requirements of the construction, energy, defence, automotive, general engineering and yellow and white goods segments.
“The initial and final strength of the concrete made using the slag sand is better compared to natural sand. It can be used in all construction activities and can replace river sand,”
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