The plant, which will use fly ash to produce high grade cement is the second cement grinding unit to be set up by the Rs 1100-crore company in Punjab. The first unit is at Ropar, and produces over 1 million tonnes oc cement per annum using fly ash from the Guru Teg Bahadur Thermal power plant.

Gujarat Ambuja Cements, the only manufacturer of cement in Punjab has developed a special manufacturing technique which uses fly ash released from the state's thermal power plants to produce high quality superior grade cement. Thisa has been branded as Ambuja silicate. The eco-friendly technology also helps retain the fertility of the soil adding strength both to industry and agriculture.

Fly ash is a by-product of thermal power plants and is considered to be damaging to the ecology of the surrounding areas. Air polluted with fly ashposes serious health hazards, lung diseases in particular, to the people living around the thermal power plant. The fly ash released from the chimney of the thermal power plant settles on the crops and soil adversely affecting the fertility and growth of agriculture.

The presence of carbon, barium and other elements in fly ash further reduces the fertility of the surrounding land. Apart from silting of river basins of the nearby areas, it also renders the water acidic. Additional, it also requires a huge space for dumping. At present 28,000 hectares of agricultural land is being used for dumping approximately 45 million tonnes of fly ash in the country. The company's Ropar unit consumes about 2,00,000 tonnes of fly ash per annum.

In ordinary cement, the chlorides and sulphates of the atmosphere react with liberated lime to corrode the concrete mixture over a period time. The special property of Ambuja Silicate converts liberated lime into silicate gel and keeps sealing the minute pores, thus reducing thepermeability of concrete to a large extent and adding more strength to the cement. Ambuja Silicate is also 20 per cent finer than ordinary cement leading to a superior and impermeable surface finish, company sources said.

Company general manager (technical services) in Punjab VK Pandya says, "In every way Ambuja Silicate is new generation cement, perfect for structures from simple houses to multi-storeyed buildings."