India’s First Steel Slag Road

In News 

• Surat has become the first city in the country to get a processed steel slag (industrial waste) road built as part of a joint-venture project by the CSIR, CRRI, Union Ministry of Steel, NITI Ayog, and ArcelorMittal-Nippon Steel (AM/NS), at Hazira. 

About the Road

• It is a six-lane public road. The construction began around a year ago by converting mounds of steel waste into steel slag aggregate. 
• The road is now being used by heavy-duty vehicles of multinationals located in the industrial estate on the outskirts of Surat.
• This project falls under the initiative of the Waste to Wealth and Clean India Campaign.
• Process:

• The slag is generated from a steel furnace burning at around 1,500-1,600 degree centigrade in the form of molten flux material as an impurity. 
• The molten material is poured into the slag pits for cooling as per the customised procedure and further processed to develop stable steel slag aggregates, with “better material properties in place of the natural aggregate commonly used in road constructions

• Benefits:
  • The utilisation of processed steel slag in road construction paves the way for sustainable use of waste and reduces the reliance on perishable natural aggregates. 
  • The construction cost of the processed steel slag road is 30 per cent cheaper than roads built from natural aggregates. 
  • The thickness of the road is also 30 per cent lesser than normal ones, while the durability is much longer due to the utilisation of steel slag. 
  • The lifespan of a cement or concrete road is over 30 years while that of bitumen and steel slag road is around 15 years.
  • These roads are also much more durable during the monsoon. 
  • It is in line with India’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 9 for building resilient infrastructure through inclusive and sustainable industrialization and green technologies.

Source:IE