Research Projects

The rapid growth of cement manufacturing in India has significantly increased the demand for clinker and limestone, which is the primary ingredient of cement. The current practice of limestone consumption in clinker manufacturing is expected to exhaust the natural reserves of limestone in India within the next 30-35 years. A recent limestone shortage in Udhampur has halted the operation of the existing clinker manufacturing plant due to a lack of suitable substitutes. The effect of limestone shortage suggests that the existing clinker and cement manufacturing industries will come to a standstill unless a sustainable alternative to natural limestone is identified. Other research in India focuses on reducing the proportion of limestone or using lower-grade limestone for clinker manufacturing. However, this approach fails to address the problem of declining limestone reserves and the lack of alternatives to natural limestone in clinker manufacturing. The proposed project explores this new frontier of research by upcycling Ca-rich bio ash as a substitute for natural limestone in clinker manufacturing. Three unique clinker manufacturing strategies will be explored: direct substitution by bio ash (potentially maximum economic returns), limestone substitution by Ca recovered from bio ash (potentially optimum technical performance), and hybrid substitution (potentially minimum environmental impact). Characterization studies will be carried out on different bio ashes to identify a suitable bio-ash with the potential for limestone substitution.