Innovative & eco-friendly building material using Australian technologies

Building materials constitute a major component of infrastructure, building and housing industries. Of the building materials, steel, cement, burnt clay bricks, concrete blocks and river sand etc constitute the key items. Country is producing 100 million tons of cement (Rs 30,000 crores), 35 million tons of steel (Rs 70,000 crores) and 140 billion bricks (Rs 31,500 crores) and 115 million cu.m sand (Rs 6,000 crores). This four basic building materials alone is Rs 1,37,500 crores market. Economic upswing of the country is channeling huge investment in infrastructure projects, building and housing industries. This boom in construction industry demand for huge increase in these building materials. But there is constraints to increase the production of bricks and river sand. Production of brick using clay / soil deplete fertile agricultural land. There is demand for more food grain production to feed the ever-growing population of the country. So further depletion of agricultural land will affect agricultural productivity. Therefore increasing production of bricks is also constraint. Similarly the river sand has already become scarce and there is no way to increase the supply of river sand to meet ever growing demand. So under supply and scarcity of these materials increase cost of these materials will shoot up cost of construction. There is need for an alternative eco-friendly building material to save bricks and river sand. Gypcrete, also called Rapidwall building material is a load bearing wall panel. Light weight product is reinforced by micrstrand glass rovings. It is an eco-friendly building material that can replace bricks and concrete blocks for load bearing wall. It can also be used for roofing. It saves river sand, water, cement and steel. The houses and buildings made of the material will be resistant to earthquake, cyclone, fire, and water. It is free from corrosion rot and termite. This hi-tech, cleaner green product is a proven technology in Australia since 1990. Using the state-of-the-art manufacturing process using recycled industrial waste, by one plant can produce 0.7 million sq.m panel per year. About 17 million tons of gypsum waste industrial by-product waste from fertilizer companies using phosphoric acid by 13 fertilizer companies in the coastal belt from Kolkatta, Orissa, Visag, Chennai, Tuticorin, Cochin, Mumbai, Baroda, Kandla in Gujarath is stock piled. Every year it also adds up 2 million tons of gypsum waste, as industrial byproduct waste. 1/2

While converting the waste into value added building material, the fertilizer factories can get rid of stock piled waste and earn income also. This will help to retrieve precious land used for stock piling of waste. This land can be utilized for other utilities by the fertilizer companies. One of the great advantage of this advanced Australian calciner technology is that it is low energy based and cost is most affordable to developing economies like India. Comparing cost with German technology it is only about 1/4th cost. So the end product will also be affordable to housing and building industry of the country. Saved cement and steel can be utilized for the rapid development of much needed infrastructure like roads, bridges, dams, irrigation system, airport, seaport etc. One calciner plant (10 ton per hour capacity) and one manufacturing Plant including factory building and other ancillary infrastructure may cost Rs 25 crore. Whereas one Calciner Plant plus 3 manufacturing plant will cost about Rs 48 crores. Cost of product at Rs 400 / sq.m will bring a renveue of Rs 28 crore per year. Thus by 3 manufacturing plants Rs 84 crore per year. IRR will be 25 30%. One plant will consume about 26,000 tons of gypsum waste which can replace 77 million bricks. Main raw material (96.5%) is recycled / calcinated gypsum waste. So putting up about 100 manufacturing plants and its ancillary calciner plants, produce 70 million sq.m panel and will help to save / replace 7.7 billion bricks per annum. This will save huge volume of river sand and cement and steel. By establishing network of 100 plants, turn over per year will be Rs 28,000 crore or 280 billion business. In due course plant can also be started manufacturing in India.

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