India has begun building roads, the main component of which is steel slag that has been accumulating at metallurgical enterprises.
The technology for using such slags in road construction was developed by scientists at the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI). According to their conclusions, the innovative method not only solves the problem of mountains of slag waste at steel mills, but also has a number of economic advantages.
The first road made of recycled steel slag built in Gujarat last June confirmed the findings: over the course of a year of operation, the roadway showed exceptional resistance to weather-related wear and tear. In addition, the technology for building a steel-slag road is about 30 percent more cost-effective than traditional paving methods.
The experimental six-lane road proved to be resistant not only to weather conditions, but also to heavy vehicles thanks to the slag base of the pavement. Even in the heat of the day, the road surface did not melt under the wheels of multi-ton trucks. No hints of rutting, which is typical for ordinary roads from the wheels of vehicles in the heat, were found on the track. At the same time, the slag surface was 30 percent thinner than that of roads paved with classic aggregates.
This year, the Border Roads Organization (BRO) has also taken advantage of this innovative technology to build a durable and strong Arunachal Pradesh road along the India-China border. To implement this environmentally friendly and safe construction technology, Tata Steel provided steel slag free of charge, and Indian railways delivered it to the construction area. On site, this material was processed into a paving component, poured and compacted into the roadway using classic rollers.
According to India’s Minister of Science and Technology Jitendra Singh, the construction of stronger and more durable roads along the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh will not be limited to the construction of more durable roads. Projects are already underway to build slag paved roads in other regions.
The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) plans to use steel slag to build part of the Mumbai-Goa highway. Surat Airport has applied for steel slag to build and strengthen the runway.
There will be no shortage of slag in the next few decades: India is the second largest steel producer in the world, producing about 200 kg of slag per ton of steel production. Thanks to the new technology, the country will turn this industrial waste into a first-class material for the construction of durable and high-quality roads.
