Aditya Birla Group is driving the transition to a extra sustainable future by pushing the boundaries of modern recycling practices throughout its companies, from cement manufacturing to textile manufacturing
Because the world continues to grapple with the challenges posed by local weather change, sustainability has turn out to be an important focus space for companies throughout the globe. Aditya Birla Group is proud to be on the forefront of this motion. World Recycling Day (18 March) is an opportune second to spotlight among the important recycling initiatives undertaken by Aditya Birla Group companies. These initiatives purpose to scale back waste, preserve pure sources, and promote circularity.
Mettle to recycle
Hindalco, the metals flagship of the Group, and its subsidiary Novelis, collectively cleared the path in aluminium and copper recycling. Aluminium may be infinitely recycled with none loss in high quality, and Hindalco’s downstream items in India and Novelis’ items overseas have devoted aluminium recycling and remelting amenities.
The Birla Copper facility at Dahej additionally undertakes recycling of copper scrap and restoration of copper from the slag generated from its manufacturing operations. Hindalco can be working in the direction of rising the share enter of recycled materials in its manufacturing through reverse provide contracts with choose clients who ship again their aluminium scrap for recycling.
Novelis at present leads the world in aluminium recycling with 57% of its manufacturing coming from recycled aluminium. Over the previous decade, it has invested roughly $2 billion to develop its whole recycling capability to 2.5 MT.
Turning waste into worth
Bauxite residue, also referred to as pink mud, is a by-product generated from the alumina refining course of. To make pink mud usable within the development sector, filtration expertise is employed to scale back its moisture content material. Hindalco has partnered with a number of cement corporations, together with the Group’s subsidiary UltraTech Cement, for using its pink mud of their cement manufacturing processes. Consequently, in FY 2021-22, Hindalco was in a position to utilise 62% of its pink mud.
UltraTech additionally utilises different industrial and municipal wastes as Various Gas and Uncooked materials (AFR). It has changed naturally occurring limestone with waste supplies like fly ash, conditioned moist ash, slag and gypsum.
Moreover, the waste supplies that may have in any other case gone to landfills are getting used as thermal substitution in kilns, which is the most energy-consuming stage of cement manufacturing. 3.74 lakh MT of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes from different industries and 74,187 MT of Municipal Strong Waste (MSW) have been utilised in kilns in FY21, thereby lowering using fossil fuels. UltraTech additionally co-processes its plastic waste in kilns, making the corporate 2.2 occasions extra plastic optimistic.
Bringing round economic system to vogue
Birla Cellulose, part of the Group’s flagship subsidiary Grasim, has made important strides in sustainability via Liva Reviva, a product that’s licensed by the Recycle Declare Normal. Liva Reviva comprises 5% of post-consumer waste and 15% of pre-consumer waste. Birla Cellulose achieved a breakthrough within the manufacturing of Liva Reviva through the use of cotton cloth waste and following the rules of circularity. Via in-house trials with textile waste at its R&D centre, the corporate found blends of textile waste and wooden pulp, leading to recycled fibre that comprises 20% textile waste — which might have in any other case gone into landfills.
Answer to the worldwide thermoset waste downside
In supplies science, a thermosetting polymer, or a thermoset, is a polymer that’s obtained by irreversibly hardening a mushy strong or viscous liquid prepolymer (resin) via a curing course of. Merely mentioned, it’s a polymer that irreversibly turns into inflexible when heated. Thermoset waste, not like thermoplastics, shouldn’t be recyclable.
Globally, 5 million tonnes of thermoset waste are generated yearly, which both find yourself in landfills or are processed by energy-intensive strategies that add to the air pollution. Recyclamine® is an modern expertise developed by Aditya Birla Chemical substances (Superior Supplies) to deal with this problem. Recyclamine® is a novel amine-based curing agent that comprises particularly engineered cleavage factors at cross-linking websites, which converts thermosetting epoxies into thermoplastics below particular situations, thus serving to obtain recyclability of thermosetting composites. Useful elements in a thermoset composite corresponding to carbon fibre, glass fibre, and plastic materials may be recovered and reused. This not solely diverts them from landfills or incineration, but in addition contributes in the direction of a round economic system.
Aditya Birla Group takes nice delight in main the best way in modern, cutting-edge recycling initiatives. The round economic system practices adopted by all its corporations are a testomony to the Group’s unwavering dedication to sustainability and accountable enterprise practices.
*All information and information talked about are from public disclosures recorded in Aditya Birla Group ESG efficiency report 2021
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