Cement, Energy & Environment Jan-Mar 2002

• housekeeping, product modification, internal recycling of waste products and changing attitudes at all levels from shop floor to the top management. In becoming sustainable, the economic, social and environmental dimensions were closely inter-related for which a balanced approach would be essential. Use of industrial wastes and byproducts for making blended cements, it was underlined, would not only provide value addition but also reduce emission friendly character, better aesthetics, best drainage control, toleration of extreme weather conditions and better visibility at night. Adoption of mechanized concrete paving technology and use of ready mixed concrete was advocated, for they helped in the faster implementation of road projec~s avoiding cost overruns. In view of their overriding merits, it was high time to adopt cement concrete roads for long lasting, sustainable and reliable road network. of green house gases . Also they • The use of a new soil-hardening agent, Fujibeton, for construction of road bed and sub-bases in rural areas needed to be considered. This method of soil hardening was preferable fro.m the environmental viewpoint also since locany available materials could be used 'as they were' without extraction of aggregates and replacement of soil. • • contributed to the durability of concrete. The discussions took note of the possibility of blending cementitious materials at construction sites or in ready-mixed concrete plants. The extended discussion on concrete roads centered round their unique advantages like a more environment PET COKE USE IN INDIA.N CEMENT INDUSTRY~ · Workshop Outlines Measures to Overcome Bottlenecks TheWorkshop on Pet Coke, held in NewDelhi on 29th January 2002 as an adjunct to the International Exhibition and Seminar on . Energy and Environment in Cement Production and Sustainable Construction, took stock of the current state of utilization of this waste derived fuel which is fast emerging as a cost effective alternative in Indian cement industry. The Workshop examined in particular the major bottlenecks, such as fuel preparation, feed mechanism, modification in system design, etc, in the use of pet coke. A total of 11 papers describing the experience of domestic and overseas cement plants were 8 presented in theWorkshop on various aspects of pet coke utilization, such as grinding and combustion characteristics, effect on kiln operation and product quality, as well as modifications required in the burner, calciner, dust collectors, handling and preparation system, etc. Important among the observations to emerge from the different presentations are as follows : • Pet coke requires fine grinding for kiln firing and even finer grinding for calciner firing. It is to be ground to a residue of 4.5 per cent on 90 microns for