Byszheng
Updated 2015-12-25
More cement manufacturers in the State are beginning to use hazardous and non-hazardous waste (sludge) generated by textile and automobile industries and plastic waste from local bodies. Sources in the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board said that trial was on at plants belonging to Chettinad Cements and India Cements. “We have been encouraging more cement manufacturers to take up co-processing as it is advantageous for both the sides. We will soon certify these two plants for trial production,” explained a source in the TNPCB.
The sludge has high calorific value and when incinerated at 1800 degree centigrade nothing of the hazardous solvents remains. “The companies and the Board constantly monitor the stacks based on the standards prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board for Nox, SO2 and particulate matter,” explained the source.
The UltraTech Cement Works at Reddipalayam, one of the pioneers of co-processing of hazardous wastes, which began with 22,272 tonnes in 2012-13, has this year till November processed 43,718 tonnes of waste.
“Company sources explained that the processing of hazardous waste involves stringent process controls, elaborate feed preparation, pre-processing and blending facilities and mechanised handling feeding systems. Over the years we have invested in developing and maintaining infrastructure for receipt, storage, handling, testing and co-processing of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes,” explained a source.
ACC Madukkarai Cement Works in Coimbatore has been using sludge from textile processing units in its kilns from March this year, after getting approval from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. ACC’s plant director Sai Ramesh told The Hindu that ACC had entered into agreements with two more CETPs in Tirupur. They would start sending the sludge after getting approval from the TNPCB. The units transported the sludge to the cement plant here and it was burnt in the kilns, he said.
The company already had signed an agreement with the Veerapandi Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) in Tirupur for using the sludge. The ACC had used 3,500 tonnes of sludge from the CETP. It had agreements with three individual effluent treatment plants (textiles) too and used the sludge from these plants. So far, it had used 4,254 tonnes of sludge.