AM/NS India introduces the ‘Aakar’ steel slag brand in Sthapatya

Hazira/Surat (Gujarat) : ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India), a joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel, two of the world’s leading steelmakers, introduced its steel slag brand Aakar at the Sthapatya exhibition in Surat.

The event was attended by leading civil engineers, industry representatives, and government officials, as well as Union Minister of State for Railways and Textiles Darshana Jardosh, Surat Mayor Hemali Boghawala, SMC Standing Committee Chairman Paresh Patel.

AM/NS India pioneered the technology for reusing steel slag, a byproduct of the primary steel manufacturing process, in road and national highway construction. AM/NS India has also demonstrated the use of steel slag in road construction and currently supplies it for national highways and other road projects.

“Steel slag is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to natural aggregate in road and building construction. “The goal of launching our steel slag brand Aakar is to organise the steel slag market and raise awareness about its various benefits,” said Aruni Mishra, Head Capex Procurement & Secondary Sales of AM/NS India.

Due to its shape, high abrasion resistance, and excellent skid resistance, steel slag is an ideal aggregate material. It is also more load-bearing than natural aggregates.

The use of steel slag aggregates in place of natural aggregates in the construction of roads and highways has the potential to revolutionise the road construction industry. It not only reduces carbon footprints and waste disposal issues, but it can also be used as a natural aggregate substitute. Extensive research is being conducted in this field, and the results are encouraging. “Roads constructed with steel slag will meet our NH specifications, and we are looking at ways to increase the use of steel slag in highway construction,” said Tushar Vyas, Project Director at the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Steel slag has applications other than road construction, such as precast, paver blocks, brick making, ready mix concrete, tetrapod, landfilling, and land reclamation. Furthermore, slag is easily accessible in large quantities.

AM/NS The integrated steel plant in Hazira, India, alone produces approximately 5.5 lakh tonnes of processed steel slag per year. Steel slag ranges in size from 0.5 mm to 250 mm.

AM/NS In May 2021, India will construct the country’s first road made of steel slag in Hazira, near its steel plant. The 1.2 km all-steel slag road was built with one lakh tonnes of 100% processed steel slag aggregates from the company. In addition to various state highways and roads in Surat, the company is supplying steel slag for the construction of a nearly 37 km stretch of the Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway.

AM/NS Steel slag from India is being used to build the Surat airport and the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor (bullet train). Steel slag aggregates were also used to build four 1 km patches from the highway to the upcoming Diamond Bourse in Surat.