Vedanta Aluminium expresses its interest for partnership from cement companies to use its fly ash and bauxite residue for low-carbon cement

Vedanta Aluminium Business announced that the company has invited partnerships from cement industry players for using fly ash (a by-product in thermal power generation) and bauxite residue (a by-product of producing alumina from bauxite) in cement manufacturing.

The company expressed its interest for long-term collaboration in a national workshop conducted with global industry experts.

Fly ash and bauxite residue are ideal in cement and concrete manufacturing and provide benefits in terms of quality output, cost and sustainability.

Rahul Sharma, CEO, Vedanta Aluminium Business, said: "We firmly believe that industries must develop waste-to-wealth value-chains to truly become sustainable. At Vedanta, we have made encouraging progress in this direction and intend to pursue it further. Long-term strategic collaborations, such as between Vedanta and India's key cement producers, will not only eliminate significant volumes of industrial waste from the system, but also provide the trifecta of quality, sustainability and cost benefits for the cement industry. We hope the Indian cement producers come forth to work with us on this innovative solution, which is a true win-win scenario for the industry and environment."

De Beer said: "Good quality fly ash can help reduce water demand, lower heat of hydration and significantly enhance workability of concrete, resulting in long-term strength and durability. This technical workshop is a great initiative by Vedanta to create awareness on how fly ash can support the sustainability agenda of the cement and concrete industry, while significantly improving the product performance."

Fly ash can partially replace cement in concrete (or be used to produce blended cement), significantly improving durability and workability of cement. It can help save 270 kg of carbon emissions for every tonne of cement produced.

Bauxite residue can be added to the raw mix in clinker manufacturing to replace virgin bauxite, improving its hydraulic properties and strength.

Khadilkar added: "Bauxite residue has multiple advantages in cement manufacturing, such as lower silica relative to laterite/bauxite, higher alkali content and fine particles, which reduces grinding cost. It also improves hydraulic properties of cement. Indian cement industry should leverage this innovative opportunity to reap benefits of quality and sustainability."

In FY21, Vedanta Aluminium delivered more thanb 3 lakh metric tonnes of fly ash to various cement plants in India. Since February 21, the company has also supplied over 30,000 metric tonnes of bauxite residue to cement manufacturers.