First Steel Slag Road

• Context: Surat has become the first city in the country to get a processed steel slag (industrial waste) road. 
• The six-lane public road is a joint-venture of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), Union Ministry of Steel, NITI Ayog, and Arcelor Mitttal-Nippon Steel (AM/NS).
• The thickness of the road is 30% lesser than normal ones, while its durability is much longer due to the utilization of steel slag.

• This project falls under the initiative of the Waste to Wealth and Clean India Campaign.
• As steel slag in road construction ensures sustainable use of waste by reducing the reliance on perishable natural aggregates, it is a boon to India’s commitment to the UNSDG Goal- 9 for building resilient infrastructure.
• Steel slag is a by-product of steel making, produced during the separation of the molten steel from impurities in steel-making furnaces.
• Steel slags find application in the agricultural sector due to its ability to correct soil acidity.
• It contains nutrients for the plants and as silicate fertilizer, it is capable of providing silicon to the plants.
• As its use has lower carbon footprint, it finds major application in transportation industry, construction, cement production, wastewater and water treatment etc.

Source:

• Surat gets India’s first steel slag road: What is it, how is it different from regular ones? | CSIR - Central Road Research Institute (crridom.gov.in)
• Steel Slag - Material Description - User Guidelines for Waste and Byproduct Materials in Pavement Construction - FHWA-RD-97-148 (dot.gov)
• steel slag: India's first road constructed from steel slag inaugurated in Surat - The Economic Times (indiatimes.com)
• The Road to Sustainability: Using Steel Slag for Asphalt Roads – Official POSCO Newsroom

Image Source:

• https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Process-of-slag-Generation-epagov-During-the-process-of-reducing-iron-ore-through_fig1_308280541