FCC

Innovations that lower cement consumption and provide greener concrete structures

2018-12-01

There's good news for the cement industry: Demand grew 6 per cent in FY2018, and 14 per cent just between April and September 2018. This momentum is expected to sustain, given the government's focus on Housing for All, sustained infrastructure spends and rural housing, which is driving demand for cement positively. A new patented BIS-approved innovation from Dalmia Cement (Bharat), Dalmia InfraGreen has been specially crafted for heavy duty infrastructure construction, says Ashwani Pahuja, Chief Sustainability Officer, Dalmia Cement (Bharat). 'It is suited to repairs, where quick setting and hardening and strengthening are critical. We did a Rapid Exit Taxiway project in Chennai, in March this year, which is a good example of its application. Dalmia InfraGreen can cut the project completion time by about 70 per cent.' Dalmia InfraGreen can lower the cement consumption and provide a greener concrete structure (230 kg of embedded CO2 per cu m of traditional cement M40 concrete vs. 150 kg of embedded CO2 per cu m of Dalmia InfraGreen M40 concrete). Nano Concrete is the latest patented invention from the Institute for Solid Waste Research & Ecological Balance, wherein, a mix of 76 per cent fly-ash, 20 per cent cement and 4 per cent mineral and chemical admixtures achieve a concrete strength of 60 MPa. Nano Concrete eliminates the use of aggregate (sand and stone) since the unreactive crystalline portion of fly-ash works as a micro-aggregate. In field demonstrations, Nano Concrete has been used to cast a 1,200-sq-ft RCC slab for Uyyala Kameswari Temple in Madhupada village, Andhra Pradesh, and also to install the sacred pillar of Balaji Temple at BHPV Junction, Visakhapatnam. - CHARU BAHRI To share your views on the market for Cement and Concrete in India, write in at feedback@ConstructionWorld.in