India has entered into an era of Steel roads

Dr Jitendra Singh complimented CSIR for coming out with unique innovations like Purple Revolution in J&K for lavender cultivation, Heliborne technology for water assessment for Jal Shakti Ministry.

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today said, India has entered into an era of ‘Steel” roads, by moving on from concrete to steel slag. He said, in a first of its kind initiative taken in the World by CSIR-CRRI, TATA Steel and Border Roads Organization, processed steel slag aggregates is going to be utilised in construction of steel slag road stretch in strategic areas.

The Minister was speaking after flagging off virtually the dispatch of 1600 metric ton of processed Steel Slag Aggregates railway rack from Tata Steel Jamshedpur to Border Road Organization Project Arunank, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh.

This is the first of its kind initiative in the world by CSIR-CRRI, TATA Steel and Border Roads Organization, wherein processed steel slag aggregates is going to be utilised in construction of steel slag road stretch in strategic areas.

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Dr Jitendra Singh said, 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- Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) to supply processed BOF 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. He said, one third of 37 labs of CSIR in the country are working for developing suitable technologies for creating Waste to Wealth.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, today’s event is yet another demonstration of application of science for “Ease of Living” and it also underlines the Integration and Whole of Government Approach, as 4 prominent entities TATA Steel, CSIR, Border Roads Organization and Ministry of Steel came together to take “Waste to Wealth” concept to a new level.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, it is worth mentioning that construction cost of this road is 30% less than the conventional road constructed with Natural aggregates, while it has 3 to 4 times higher strength. India has a vast road network and under the national highway development program, Bharatmala Project, massive Road construction is happening. The Minister hoped that the success of this technology would not only address the problem of the availability of natural aggregates for road construction but also be helpful in restraining the unsustainable quarrying of land resources.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, after learning through the success story of Steel Slag Road and its novel technological features on durability front, Border Roads Organization approached CSIR-CRRI to implement steel slag road technology in Arunachal Pradesh where they are facing acute shortage of good quality natural aggregates to construct durable all-weather road. He said, the conversion of steel slag into road-making aggregates will not only mitigate the problem of steel slag waste management for steel industries, but will also provide a long lasting, durable and viable alternative of natural aggregates for road construction.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, India is currently the world’s 2nd 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. He said, to address this challenge, CSIR- CRRI came up with technological innovation and guided build India’s First Steel Slag Road at Surat, Gujarat. He said, around 1 lakh tonne processed steel slag aggregates are developed under CSIR-CRRI technological guidance at Arcellor Mittal Nippon Steel Plant Hazira and successfully utilised as substitutes of natural aggregates in road construction.

Dr Jitendra Singh complimented CSIR for coming out with unique innovations like Purple Revolution in J&K for lavender cultivation, Heliborne technology for water assessment for Jal Shakti Ministry, Drone technology for use in agricultural applications, Drugs for Health Ministry and ICMR and use of cooked oil for making alternative fuel by CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun.

Dr. V.K.Saraswat, Member 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.

On this occasion Director General CSIR and Secretary DSIR, Dr. N. Kalaiselvi spoke that the CSIR-CRRI under the R&D study with 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 tonne of steel slag as road making aggregates, which set a good example of translational research under Waste to Wealth.

Director General Border Roads Lt. Gen. Rajeev Chaudhary, PVSM has informed that the BRO is looking forward to implement the steel slag road technology at Arunachal Pradesh for long lasting durable infrastructure and inducted Shri Satish Pandey, Principal Scientist CSIR-CRRI as officer on board in BRO for implementation at Arunachal Pradesh.

Prof. Manoranjan Parida, Director CSIR-Central Road Research Institute, in his welcome address at TATA Nagar Railway Station, highlighted the advantages of steel slag road technology such as high strength and long-term durability, thickness reduction and environmental benefits.

Uttam Singh, Vice President, Tata Steel, informed that around 1.6 million tonne steel slag is generated annually in TATA Steel, Jamshedpur plant. By supplying a value added industrial by product for road construction in the form of steel slag aggregates, TATA Steel has reiterated its commitment to building a more sustainable steel sector by adopting the principle of circular economy and has pioneered in a nation building initiative.