Steel Slag Road technology

Steel Slag Road technology

News: Recently, The Union Minister of Science & Technology announced that India has developed the world’s latest Steel Slag Road technology.

What is Steel Slag?
• Steel slag is a by-product of steel making, which is produced during the separation of the molten steel from impurities in steel-making furnaces. It is a complex solution of silicates and oxides that solidifies upon cooling.
• It has been successfully used in road construction. For example, in 2022, Surat in Gujarat became the first city in the country to get a processed steel slag (industrial waste) road.
• The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has also used steel slag to construct a long-lasting heavy-duty road at Arunachal Pradesh along the India-China border area.

What are advantages of Steel slag in road construction?
• It reduces the environmental impact of quarrying and prevents deforestation by using waste material from steel industries instead of natural aggregates.
• It improves road safety by providing improved skid resistance when used in the asphalt layer.
• It reduces the construction cost and thickness of roads by having better material properties than natural aggregates.
• It can be used as a soil neutralizer for severely acidic soils and as a fertilizer for crops.
• It helps to tackle the problem of storage and accumulation of high volumes of slag by providing a viable option for its reuse.
• It is more durable and resistant to weather uncertainties.