New Delhi – A leading mining and metal company Vedanta Ltd is aiming to achieve fly ash utilisation of 80% by 2020. In recently released second integrated report company informed that it will adopt third-party review of tailings/ash dyke management system and development of site specific improvement plan in its India operations.
The current rate of fly ash utilisation of Vedanta is 111%.
“Our initiatives on water, energy and carbon management progressed well during the year. We recycled 94% of the high-volume, low-effect-wastes such as fly ash, slag, red-mud and jarosite,” the report revealed.
“Non-hazardous, high-volume and low-effect wastes such as fly ash, red mud and phosphogypsum are the predominant wastes generated from our operations. Hazardous waste includes used/spent oil, waste refractories, aluminium dross, spent pot lining and residual sludge from smelters,” the company said.
In Lanjigarh operation, as part of waste management, 101% of fly ash and 97% of lime grit was recycled.
One of the main environmental challenges for power plants is the management and recycling of fly ash. At our BALCO IPP, 100% of the fly ash was utilised at both the power plants, up from 62% and 58% respectively in the previous year, report said.
The plant also saw a significant reduction in auxiliary power consumption at 7.82% (FY2018: 8.14%). A similar downward trend was achieved in BALCO IPP’s specific water consumption at 2.20 m3 /MwH (FY2018: 2.8 m3 /MwH).
In power operations, it has been able to utilise 90% of the generated fly ash using it as road construction material and by selling them to local brick kilns. At Lanjigarh and Jhasuguda, 116% of fly ash from operations is recycled.
We remain committed to our agenda of “Zero Harm, Zero Waste, Zero Discharge”, report said.
Large volumes of our high calorific hazardous wastes are also sent to the cement industry to be used as clinker fuel, thereby preventing them from being sent to secure landfills. This year, we have recycled 94% of our overall High Volume and Low Effect waste in sustainable applications and are continuing to develop new and innovative ways to increase the proportion of waste we recycle, report added.
In 2018, we were proactive in starting to report our performance and strategy using the International Integrated Reporting framework, as outlined by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), it said.
Vedanta Limited is a globally diversified natural resources company with interests in zinc-lead-silver, oil & gas, aluminium, power, iron ore, steel and copper.
