Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal

Emerald Article: Utilisation potentials of industrial/mining rejects and tailings as building materials Amit Rai, D.B.N. Rao

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To cite this document: Amit Rai, D.B.N. Rao, (2005),"Utilisation potentials of industrial/mining rejects and tailings as building materials", Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, Vol. 16 Iss: 6 pp. 605 - 614 Permanent link to this document: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14777830510623673 Downloaded on: 16-04-2012 References: This document contains references to 6 other documents To copy this document: permissions@emeraldinsight.com This document has been downloaded 1226 times.

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Utilisation potentials of industrial/mining rejects and tailings as building materials

Amit Rai and D.B.N. Rao
Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India
Abstract
Purpose This paper aims to provide information on the present status of waste-based building materials technologies in India. Design/methodology/approach Numerous approaches are used, including the collection of authentic information on the demand for building materials in India; the availability of key building materials; the utilization of waste from mining, industrial and ore beneciation industries and R&D status in their role as secondary resource materials; abstract information on proven technologies and future prospects; and aspects of technology transfer. Findings Proven technologies in waste utilization are being standardized and a certication scheme has been introduced through the Building Material & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) and government incentives for all waste. Practical implications The paper emphasizes the role of the BMTPC in the dissemination of information and the demonstration of new technologies, and also on emphasizes the favorable impact on environmental aspects. Originality/value The papers ndings may encourage the establishment of a wide database on the new technologies of building materials utilizing various wastes. Keywords Waste, Buildings, Standardization, Housing, India Paper type General review

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Introduction Globalization, rapid population growth and industrial development have led to the generation of a huge quantity of industrial waste during the last few decades. Millions and millions of tonnes of waste have accumulated at different sites, and the fact that it is increasing at an alarming rate has prompted researchers, technologists and entrepreneurs to investigate solutions with technological options. Growing public awareness about various health hazards and stringent pollution norms of pollution monitoring authorities have also created pressure on governments as well as the private sector to devise waste management and utilsation solutions for various environmental hazards. Tables I and II give details about the increasing demand and shortfall of materials for housing in India (Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council, 2000). The gures give an idea of the need for the development of new building materials using industrial wastes to meet growing demand and to save natural resources. Therefore the appropriate utilisation of industrial wastes in the manufacture of building materials with a waste to wealth or refuse to resource or trash to cash approach needs to be emphasised to take advantage of dual benets. The National Housing and Habitat Policy lays special emphasis on promoting these environmentally

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal Vol. 16 No. 6, 2005 pp. 605-614 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1477-7835 DOI 10.1108/14777830510623673

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friendly alternative materials in order to reduce environmental damage and bridge the gap between demand and supply of traditional materials. Table III presents data on the availability of industrial wastes and their potential uses. There is a well recognised group of industrial wastes which has found wide applications, in almost all parts of India, as alternatives to clay, limestone and various other argillaceous and siliceous materials in the production of bricks, tiles, cement, concrete, glass and ceramics. This group of wastes has considerable advantages, not only in the conservation of natural resources, but also in saving precious energy as some of the wastes have their own intrinsic fuel value. Steel and aluminium and a variety of synthetic materials are now considered well established substitutes for traditional timbers in buildings. Now, India is moving towards an era of adopting all such technologies, in which industrial, mining and mineral wastes form an integral part. Waste as concrete aggregate Use of wastes and by-products as concrete aggregate is of great practical signicance because about 75 percent of concrete is comprised of aggregate. There are several types of waste materials that can be used as coarse, ne and lightweight aggregates. Group I waste materials (see Table IV) are characterized by properties like soundness, strength, shape, abrasion resistance and gradation. Hence, these have the greatest potential as building material and road ballast and llers. It has been estimated that Japan, USA, Canada and UK utilize approximately 90-100 percent of the total blast furnace slag that they produce (Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council, 1998). Group II materials are used to a limited extent because they need some processing. These materials include laterite waste, building rubble, steel slag (ferro-alloy industry metallurgical slag), slag waste, foundry waste and broken glass. These have been used as aggregates only occasionally. On testing they did not conform to IS specication 383 for aggregate, but at the same time, for some curious reason, these aggregates do not fail in soundness. These wastes have not been used very much because they need extensive processing. They are not uniform in terms of physical and chemical characteristics and do not meet the standard requirements of a good aggregate. Group III materials include tailings of zinc, copper and gold ore beneciation which have been studied for use as a ne aggregate or concrete ller material. Most of the wastes listed under Group III are yet to be evaluated, as they are in the form of sludge water has to be removed before they can be used as a ne aggregate or as ller in concrete or in bitumen mastic.

Table I. Projected demand for building materials (in millions of tonnes) over a ve-year interval (2001-2006)

Material Cement Steel Timber Bricks

Residential Urban Rural 195.89 21.80 13.24 501.76 77.26 8.23 9.26 443.92

Industrial 175.22 27.40 6.71 208.76

Non-residential RCC Load bearing 117.99 23.69 4.24 93.77 99.91 19.36 5.31 94.43

Other forms of construction 368.69 58.52 50.94 785.40

Plan period 623.63 895.30 2 32.39 (2 4.49) 2 139.67 (2 13.5) 2 6.48 (2 4.94) 2 27.93 (2 13.5) 100.57 158.72 104.18 167.74

Requirement

Availability

Cement Surplus/shortfall Average per year Requirement Availability

Steel Surplus/shortfall 3.61 ( 3.58) 9.02 ( 5.68)

Average per year 0.72 ( 3.58) 1.80 ( 5.68)

2001-2006 2006-2011

656.02 1034.97

Notes: Positive values indicate a surplus, while negative values indicate a shortfall; gures in parentheses are percentages

607

Table II. Projected shortfall/surplus of cement and steel (in millions of tonnes) for 2001-2006 and 2006-2011

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Waste Blast furnace slag Ferro-alloys slag

Annual production (millions of tonnes) 11 3.5 95 4.0 3.5 17.0

Potential uses Portland slag cement, super sulphated cement, oil well cement, aggregate, ceramics Masonry cement, blended cement, ceramics, aggregate Cement, Portland slag cement, concrete, cellular concrete, lightweight aggregate, calcium silicate brick, clay y ash brick Cement additive, plaster, building-blocks and brous gypsum board, special cement Cement raw material, brick and tiles, sintered aggregate Filler in concrete, calcium silicate brick, cellular concrete, clay brick and cement

608

Fly ash By-product gypsum

Table III. Production of inorganic industrial wastes in India and their potential uses

Red mud Mine tailings (zinc, copper, gold, iron)

Group I Blast furnace slag Bottom ash Fly ash Boiler slag Reclaimed concrete Anthracite coal refuse Scrap iron Scrap aluminium Stone waste Feldspar waste China clay waste Burnt clay tile waste Phosphogypsum Fluorogypsum Borogypsum

Group II Steel slag Bituminous coal rejects Phosphate slag Slate mining waste Laterite waste Foundry waste sand Incinerator residue Waste glass Zinc smelter slag Building rubble Sawdust Coconut pith

Group III Alumina red mud Acetylene lime sludge Sugar lime sludge Paper lime sludge Tannery lime sludge Gold tailing Copper tailing Zinc tailing Feldspar tailing Iron ore tailing Rubber tyres Marble-dressing waste

Table IV. Classication of wastes and by-products in India

Technology development in India In India y ash is one material which has attracted attention due to the fact that 95 million tonnes are generated annually in India. Apart from y ash, slag, by-product gypsum, red mud and mine tailing are the other wastes which are being commercially exploited. Due to all these efforts, y ash utilization has gone up to 28 percent, and the major credit goes to the cement industry, having a 49 percent share. Blast furnace slag has also been utilized commercially to some extent, and the problem of red mud and mine tailing waste has been addressed aggressively with the development and commercialization of a number of technologies. Institutes and other organisations involved in building materials research and development include the laboratories of the Council of Scientic and Industrial Research (CSIR) including the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), the Structural Engineering Research Centre (SERC), the National Environmental

Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) and the Regional Research Laboratories (RRL) and others such as the Centre for Application of Science and Technology in Rural Areas (ASTRA, Bangalore), Development Alternatives (DA), The Institute for Solid Waste Research and Ecological Balance (INSWAREB, Visakhapatnam), the Centre of Science for Villages (CSV, Wardha), the National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCB, Ballabhgarh), the India Plywood Industries Research Institute (IPIRI, Bangalore), the Forest Research Institute (FRI, Dehradun), the Indian Jute Industries Research Association (IJIRA, Kolkata), COSTFORD (Thrissur), COSTED (Chennai), CSR (Auroville) and other state-level institutes. These premier research and development bodies in India and creative professionals like Laurie Baker have come up with many innovative options which can contribute to cost reduction and at the same time offer solutions which are durable, functional and acceptable. The present scenario of mining and mineral waste utilization is based on the research ndings of various research groups in this area during the last few decades. About ve years ago, the BMTPC started a major project for the characterisation of mining and mineral wastes in order to understand their basic physical, chemical and mechanical/engineering properties in order to develop a database. The main emphasis of the project to create the database was to present all the information in a ready form of all the basic properties. One of the projects covered seven major wastes for characterization. These wastes were characterized and tested for the production of burnt clay bricks. These bricks were tested as per IS 1077 for burnt clay bricks. The test results are summarized in Table V (Rai, 2000). On the basis of the above nding a detailed study was conducted for bricks using copper tailing. Now the BMTPC is in the process to start a pilot plant to commercialize the plant near Hindustan Copper Limited, Khetri, Rajasthan, India. During the last few years BMTPC has initiated work on the development and promotion of the following other technologies (Table VI) (Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council, n.d.). Apart from this, in India, various technologies were developed from time to time in which y ash and slag-based technologies found wide acceptance. But other technology needs a lot of effort for commercialization, and various agencies (e.g. DST, NRDC, BMTPC, TIFAC) are working towards this. Networking and technology transfer In order to bridge the gap between research and development and large-scale application of new building materials and technologies, in 1990 the Government of
Water absorption Density Compressive strength (percent) (g/cc) (kg/cm2) 19.50 17.70 20.90 20.00 21.00 17.02 18.75 1.89 1.84 1.76 1.84 1.76 1.89 1.97 175.00 260.00 130.00 117.00 115.10 218.40 134.00

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Sample no. Sample mark 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ZT CT IT GT CO L H

Sample Zinc tailing Copper tailing Iron tailing Gold tailing Copper over burden Low MnO slag High MnO slag

Table V. The average values of properties of bricks made of mine tailings and slag

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Material Fly ash

Technology transferred/promoted Clay y ash bricks Fly ash sand lime bricks Fly ash lightweight aggregate Fly ash blended cement Red mud polymer door shutter Red mud binder Red mud bricks Red mud glass ceramics Blended cement Ceramic tiles Binder Door/window panel False ceiling/partition materials Walling/ooring building components

610

Red mud

Metallurgical slag Table VI. Mining and mineral-based technology promoted by BMTPC By-product gypsum

India established the Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) as an inter-ministerial body under the aegis of the Ministry of Urban Development. The mandate given to the Council includes tasks such as: . identication of potential technologies; . scaling up of proven technologies for commercialization; . diffusion of technologies; . services to industry for technical assistance and guidance; . standardization and certication; and . development, assistance and the promotion of alternate innovative building materials and technologies. The BMTPC has been playing a vital role creating and harnessing a fund of technological talent, useful for upgrading of construction materials and other aspects of construction industry. As an apex level institution and a nucleus of technology transfer in India, the Council interfaces with R&D institutions, standardization organisations, industrial promotion and nancial institutions, and different players from construction agencies in carrying out its multi-disciplinary activities. While functioning as a national apex coordination body, the Council fosters its linkages through national dialogues with the governmental organisations, professional bodies, the industry and active NGOs in the sector. The Council has been undertaking the following to improve productivity, efciency and quality in the construction sector: . collection of scientic and technological information comprehensively on a world wide scale; . processing of this information systematically; and . dissemination of information rapidly and appropriately to organisations and individuals, regularly or on request.

India has placed considerable and continued faith in science and technology to increase the pace of economic and industrial development and to improve the living standards and quality of life of its people. It has been easy to build a large infrastructure for education, research and industry. But India still nds it difcult to generate the common climate and culture for maximizing returns from them, by making education, research and industry interact intimately to form a trinity. Since 1965, a series of recommendations have been made at various forums for a regional mechanism to accelerate the transfer of technology with the Asia Pacic region in the eld of low-cost housing. In Europe, Basin is the rst attempt to coordinate and monitor this, with the support of a data bank created by appropriate technology institutions/organisations in specic areas relating to low-cost building materials and construction technologies for the initiation of information ow into developing countries. Its work is closely coordinated with resource centres in developing countries. A similar network centre is therefore of vital importance considering the housing conditions in the countries of the Asia Pacic region and the promotion of human settlements. Unfortunately, the lack of a database, the absence of a suitable technology transfer mechanism and a poor response in human resource development have slowed down the pace of development, particularly in the eld of production of low-cost building materials and the application of appropriate construction techniques. It is therefore necessary to create a regional network with the objective of carrying out this function. In this task, the utilization of industrial mining/mineral wastes and tailings assumes a signicant importance. International exhibitions organized by the Council . Exhibition on the theme IDNDR International Demonstration Projects during the World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction, Yokohama, May 23-27, 1994. . INDEXPO 94, organised by HUDCO on behalf of the Ministry of Urban Development, Johannesburg, August 22-28, 1994. . Exhibition on Building and Construction 94, Ho Chi Minh City, October 4-8, 1994. . Plastic Waste Management Technology Transfer Form in Commonwealth, Kuala Lumpur. . World Tech 95, International Trade Fair organised by ITPO Nekhon Ratchasima, Bangkok, November 4-December 16, 1995. . Exhibition titled Towards Goals of Habitat II, Sustainable Human Settlements & Housing for All, Display Centre, Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi, organised by the Council during the visit of the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, January 24, 1997. . Habitat II International Trade Fair, Istanbul, June 3-10, 1996. The India Pavilion was managed, coordinated and organised by BMTPC at the behest of the Ministry of Urban Affairs & Employment. . Exhibition titled Shelter for All Towards Visible Settlements The Indian Experience, at three locations in Trinidad and Tobago, April 14-May 4, 1997.

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Exhibition at UNCHS during the session of the Commission on Human Settlements, Nairobi, April 28-May 7, 1997. Exhibition titled Shelter for ALL Towards Viable Settlements: The Indian Experience, Kampala, April 3-10, 1998. India-UNIDO Exhibition on Building Materials and Manufacturing Technologies for Low Cost Housing in Africa, Dar-es-Salaam, June 30-July 9, 2000. India-UNIDO Exhibition-cum-Seminar on Building Materials and Manufacturing Technologies for Low Cost Housing in Latin America, Caracas, May 15-19, 2002. Participation of BMTPC in Technology Fair of the Future, Sao Paulo, June 14-18, 2004.

Details of all these events can be found in Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (various). Role of standardisation for new technologies The development and commercialization of new materials and technologies do not always guarantee success in the eld due to a variety of reasons. Major inhibitors in the use of new materials and technologies are: . ignorance about the new materials/technologies; . attachment to conventional materials/techniques on the part of architects, engineers and users; . indifference to the benets of change; . lack of design data and documentation; . lack of skill in using such materials; . fears regarding performance, durability, etc., in the absence of national standards; and . lack of adaptability on the part government of agencies to new materials and technologies. Performance Appraisal Certication Scheme Standardization has played an important role in achieving the desired objectives. Several materials and techniques have been standardized at different levels (e.g. company, association, national/international level) and documented as standard. However, at a national level, for the effective use of materials and systems, national standards are required. Compliance with a national standard, preferably one developed by third party/independent agencies like the Standard Mark Scheme operated by BIS, is considered a means to encourage condence in users regarding the suitability of materials/systems. However, not all materials/systems, especially newly developed ones, are covered by Indian standards and therefore cannot be covered under the Standard Mark Scheme. The process of the formulation of a standard at the national level requires necessary and authentic data regarding performance, including testing, durability, usability and a general acceptance of the material/technique by all those involved in the formulation of the standard. Due to a variety of reasons (e.g. a lack of technical data, the product being a proprietary item, the absence of a code of practice, lack of acceptance at national level, etc.) a time gap remains between the introduction

of a new/innovative material/system and the availability of a national standard on the subject. Therefore, many such technologies/materials are not easily translated into eld use, although they have the potential to replace conventional materials. The Performance Appraisal Certication Scheme (PACS), introduced by the Ministry of Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation of the Government of India through the BMTPC, aims to counter inhibitors to the adoption of new materials and technologies through the issuing of Performance Appraisal Certicates for many products (Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council, n.d.). PACS also focuses on those policies of the Government that are designed to encourage small-scale units, the use of local materials, environmental protection, pollution control and energy conservation. Conceived in a similar fashion to other such schemes in operation in other countries like the United Kingdom, France, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, PACS is a third-party operated voluntary scheme for providing a Performance Appraisal Certicate (PAC) to manufacturers/suppliers/installers of building products (including building materials, products, components, elements and systems, etc.) after a due process of assessment. The assessment process includes: . establishing criteria for the performance of the product; . verifying through laboratory and eld tests that the product conforms to requirements for satisfactory performance, durability and safety; . operation of a Quality Assurance Scheme by the manufacturer/supplier/installer; . issue of PAC providing, amongst other things, necessary data to designers and users; and . the operation of PAC includes a mechanism for obtaining proactive user feedback and user complaint redress. The verication process is a periodic activity, not merely conned to the initial granting of the Certicate. Conclusion This paper emphasises the role of the utilization of industrial, mining/mineral wastes and tailings as secondary raw materials in the manufacture of common building materials such as cement, bricks, concrete, panel products, etc. and also in other construction and infrastructure development activities. The information reported points towards global trends in this area, with the most desirable benets of savings in basic raw materials, energy conservation and the elimination of environmental degradation through protable avenues of disposal of waste, production of which in India is more than 500 million tonnes/year. The paper also highlights the importance of technology transfer through the compilation of a sound database and pilot demonstrations at national and international levels. The paper therefore outlines the role played by the Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC), part of the Ministry of Urban Employment & Poverty Alleviation in India. Another approach by BMTPC, through the use of the Performance Appraisal Certicates Scheme for materials and technologies, is also very appropriate.

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References Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (1998), Building Materials in India: 50 Years A Commemorative Volume, Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council, New Delhi. Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (2000), Housing & Key Building Materials in India: A Long Term Perspective 1991-2011, Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council, New Delhi. Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (n.d.), Information brochure for Performance Appraisal Certication Scheme of BMTPC, Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council, New Delhi, available at: http://www.bmtpc.org/pacs/ frequently_asked_questions.htm Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (n.d.), Strengthening the technological base of the building materials industry, Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council, New Delhi, available at: http://www.bmtpc.org/pubs/strengthening.pdf Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (various), Annual Reports, Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council, New Delhi. Rai, A. (2000), database on characterization of inorganic waste materials, submitted to Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council, New Delhi.