downtoearth-subscribe

Taking off on flyash

Taking off on flyash Worried by rising flyash production in power plant- expected to touch 100 million tonnes today - the department of science and technology(DST) has initiated a project to dispose and utilise flyash. To be implemented by DST's Technology and Information Forecasting and Assessment Council, the exercise will involve the power industry, including the National Thermal Power Corp from the public sector and the Ahmadabad Electricity Crop from the private sector.

Says Vimal Kumar, principal scientific officer at the DST who is in charge of the project, "We hope to increase the utilisation of flyash from under 5 per cent today to at least 30 per cent by turn of the century ." According to Kumar, "The objective is to build up confidence in the technologies that have been tested by various organisations and give a boost to those that are under development.

The plan proposes to use flyash in buildings and roads, extract alumina and other metals from it and manage and reclaim ash ponds. Nine task forces, to be headed by D V Singh, director of the Central in Delhi, Road Research Institute have been constituted to implement the project. A task force has also been proposed for exploring flyash use in agriculture.

Related Content