India's first road constructed from steel slag inaugurated in Surat

Tags: State News National News

Union Steel Minister Ram Chandra Prasad Singh on June 15 inaugurated the first 6-lane highway built using steel slag in Gujarat's Surat city to connect the port with the city.

• The road, built using 100 percent steel-processed slag, is a true example of "converting waste into wealth" and improving the sustainability of steel plants.

• The Minister emphasized the need to promote circular economy and resource efficiency by converting all waste into money.

• Promoting a circular economy is the need of the hour as all types of natural resources are getting depleted in the world.

• The use of such material in road construction will not only increase the durability but will also help in reducing the cost of construction as the slag-based material has better properties.

• The production of steel slag through various processes in India is expected to increase by 2030.

• What is a steel slag road?

• 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 then poured into slag pits for cooling as per the optimized process and further processed to develop stable steel slag aggregates.

• It is a substitute for natural aggregates commonly used in road construction with better physical properties.

• What is a circular economy?

• In the current economy, products are made from materials taken from the earth, and they are finally thrown away as waste.

• In a circular economy, by contrast, we first stop producing waste.

• In such an economy, all kinds of waste such as clothing, scrap metals and obsolete electronics are returned to the economy or used more efficiently.

• The circular economy is based on three principles-

1. Eliminate waste and pollution

2. Circulating products and materials (at their highest value)

3. Nature of regenerate