OREANDA-NEWS. June 13, 2012. Tata Power, India’s largest integrated power company, installed and commissioned a bottom ash brick-making pilot plant. Apart from this, a waste management initiative and several other environmental initiatives were also undertaken during the World Environment Week.

Bottom ash content generated from its units 5 and 8 are coal-based and have been used for making bricks in the Trombay plant. The plant is equipped to manufacture a maximum of 250 bricks and can consume 400kg of bottom ash and 500kg of fly ash per day. The bricks are being manufactured in an eco-friendly manner and are being utilised for making walkways, road pavings and walls internally.

Speaking on the initiative, Pradeep Manjrekar, head, Trombay power plant, Tata Power, said, “At Tata Power, our commitment to sustainability is paramount and this step of utilisation of ash is testimony to the same. Currently in India, maximum power generation is coal-based and utilisation of bottom ash is a challenge. Hence, bottom ash management is imperative. We are glad that we are utilising the waste generated for our own use in an environment-friendly manner and are also sensitising people on optimum utilisation of waste material.”

As an extension to the initiative, bottom ash was utilised for landscaping areas within the premises. Around 135mt of bottom ash was used to develop 240 square metre landscaped lawns. A special team from Tata Power worked on making this eco-friendly initiative a success.