India: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has decided to form a multi-disciplinary committee to examine the possibility of building cement plants near to power plants to use fly ash. The decision was taken at the ministry's Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for thermal power projects in mid-February 2017 following a directive by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in January 2017, according to the Mint newspaper.
"Only 20 - 30% of fly ash is being currently used in making Pozzolana Portland Cement (PPC). Though there are technologies available worldwide for using 80% of fly ash in cement manufacturing, it is not practised in India for various reasons," said an expert committee convened by the ministry.
A sub-committee may be formed with the representative Ministry of Mines, Ministry of Power, CEA (Central Electricity Authority), Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and Ministry of Coal to examine the issue. In 2015, about 180Mt of fly ash was produced across India and by 2025 it is estimated to reach 300Mt/yr. Unused fly ash is typically dumped into ash ponds.
