Foundry slag replaces the 8-12mm aggregate that are used in the conventional production of paving blocks. DA research facility at TARAgram in Orchha, Madhya Pradesh has set up a pilot plant for producing paver blocks using foundry slag. This slag paver block manufacturing plant produces paver blogs using slag reducing the cost and replaces the aggregate in all values. The quality of the slag paver blocks are tested at the Advanced Materials Processing & Research Institute (AMPRI) – CSIR Lab at Bhopal. The results were very positive and are higher than those manufactured by using aggregate. They comply with the standards of IS 15658:2006.
Foundry slag paver blocks are the solution to the problems that the environment and the slag dumpers are facing for decades. This innovative and economical production of pavers from slag benefits the slag users by reducing their cost and the environment.
Due to its benefits and success, the project was able to link up with the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the Government of India. In September 2015, it started a scheme to establish enterprises to develop paver blocks from foundry slag. The foundry wastes which are dumped in open space are used for manufacturing paver blocks under the ‘Promoting Sustainable and inclusive growth by Enterprise creation through Science and technology-based Innovative solutions (Sub-Sector-Foundry)’. This project encourages the investors by conveniently forming an enterprise that manufacturers paver blocks from foundry slag.
The confidence of stakeholders will be strengthened through test results of reliable institutions. The technology to use the foundry waste i.e. slag and burnt sand for making paving blocks and bricks has been devised by Development Alternatives with TARA. Further, the testing of the paver blocks/bricks, for comparing their characteristics to conventional paver blocks/bricks, produced by using foundry waste has been done by NIT, Bhopal.
We will provide Technical Support, Financial and Market Linkages, Regulatory Assistance and other support services to ensure grounding and smooth functioning of the enterprises of our clients. Those will also be monitored for a period for checking anomalies and corrective measures on the need basis.
Foundry owners who has a land and uses it to dump the slags from the foundry units can easily setup a paver block manufacturing unit . The accumulation of slag in their foundry enterprise for years and sub-urban foundry enterprises can provide adequate raw material to their new paver block manufacturing unit.
They can setup a paver block manufacturing unit and utilizes the slag dump. This unit can separate around 5% of the metal from the foundry slag through the crushing and magnetic separation process in manufacturing the paver blocks/bricks.
The extracted metal can again be reused. Transporters (Trolly-Wallas) who dump the foundry slags in empty fields can also be one of the very likely investors.
A community-owned enterprise can be a cost-effective solution. Apart from sharing the investment, it also gives a sense of ownership to the community and also the community will work together for the up-keeping of plant. The local assiciations, BMOs, a group of enterprises, SPVs, and local institutions will be approached for the awareness of benefits of such a preposition.
The existing manufacturers will also be approached for investment in this proposition. Since the process doesn’t involve a heavy restructuring of the paver blocks/bricks, our proposals to the manufacturers will be proved as even more beneficial.