UltraTech Cement's Reddipalayam plant in Ariyalur district, Tamil Nadu, has been selected as the site for one of five locations in India to host a pioneering carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) testbed, according to The New Indian Express.
The testbed will trial an oxygen-enriched combustion-based kiln system. The captured CO2 at Reddipalayam will be mineralised using concrete blocks, waste concrete fines and concrete plant sludge.
The project will be established with technical support from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (II T-M) and the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, Goa campus.
The initiative is part of a national programme spearheaded by the Department of Science and Technology to validate and demonstrate CCU technologies. The captured CO2 will be converted into value-added products such as synthetic fuels, urea, soda ash, concrete aggregates, and food-grade CO2. CCU testbeds are also being set up in Chittorgarh (Rajasthan), Sundergarh and Rajgangpur (Odisha), and Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh), each testing different technological solutions. Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Jitendra Singh, said the DST is currently processing financial sanctions for the projects.
