Making Building Products Using
Foundry Slag Waste

Foundry slag waste is a widespread by-product of the industrial process in India. Approximately 5 million tonnes of slag waste is generated annually in the country. Waste slag is dumped in landfills or in agricultural fields which creates a lot of ecological and land degradation problems. With increasing capacities, disposal of large quantities of slag is becoming an environmental concern and a critical issue for foundry industries. Improving the slag utilisation in a profitable manner is an important way to resolve this problem. Foundry Slag Waste has high amount of Silicon dioxide, which makes it a highly reactive material. This is useful in improving the strength attributes of the building material products made from Foundry Slag Waste.

Development Alternatives (DA) has carried out extensive research and development in application of industrial waste materials as resources in building material production. With the research carried out, Development Alternatives has found that Foundry Slag Waste can be used in making paver blocks of strength in the range of M10 - M40, by replacing the natural aggregates either partially or fully. It has been found that the quality of the paver blocks increased significantly. Additionally, these paver blocks have been certified by BIS code which gives an assurance on the quality of the blocks. Moreover, there are no technological modifications necessary in production of these blocks.

Development Alternatives has also created awareness among local communities by educating them that Foundry Slag should be treated as a resource and not as a waste material. The initiatives taken by DA, such as training programmes and technology packages have led to wide outreach and adoption of this technology, especially in Punjab and Haryana, where there are 26 enterprises set up, helping them in better income opportunities by creating a circular economy. Furthermore, a total of 40 enterprises have been set up all over the country. All the entrepreneurs who are producing these products are happy with the quality of these products and how their business is growing. ■

Shariq Meyraan
smeyraan@devalt.org