A consortium of U.S. and Indian firms, including ReUse Technology of Kennesaw, will begin next month an in-depth analysis of four regions of India to determine the possibilities for coal ash utilization within the country.
According to company officials, the group plans to build and operate four ash utilization plants in India within the next five years in an effort to address a major environmental and land use problem there.
“India produces nearly 50 million metric tons of ash and by the year 2000, will produce enough ash to cover the state of Rhode Island,” said Carl Bell, managing director of IndiaAsh Products, a consortium member based in suburban Washington D.C. that is a Joint venture of Indian and U.S. investors. Other members include ReUse, an independent affiliate of Cogentrix Energy and Birla Technical Services, a subsidiary of Calcutta-based Birla Group.
Mr. Bell said the feasibility studies will identify the specific products that can be produced and utilized in each region. Various agricultural, aggregate fill and ash-based construction products can be produced from coal ash.
ReUse Technology, with a capacity to process 500,000 tons of product a year, markets the products under the trademarks of Buckshot Agricultural Products, Ez Fill, Flowable Fill and Ash Roc Synthetic Aggregates, among others.
In addition to working in India, the group is advising other coal users on ash utilization. “We’ve received a lot of inquiries and are providing ash management services to a number of ash producers,” said Mr. Bell.
For more information, Mr. Bell may be reached at (703) 836-9685, or Howard Fitzgerald at ReUse Technology, (404) 425-7676.