Odd-Even Road Rationing: Phase Two in New Delhi

New Delhi-

The first phase of New Delhi’s odd-even road-rationing scheme was completed in January of this year, the second phase of which will be initiated in mid April. The project aims to properly measure the amount of pollution caused by traffic on any given day. Weather plays a crucial part in measuring carbon emissions with certain times of year being more problematic than others. Winter weather poses issues with irregularity in weather conditions. In cold weather, the polluting particles remain close to the surface of the road and contribute to smog. In the hotter months, unstable hydrocarbons and other compounds create a photochemical reaction with NOx emissions and create ozone. Officials are hoping that the second phase will give more accurate readings and help to support local taxation for polluting automobiles and restructuring of public transportation to include 1000 more busses on the road. The safety limit for emissions of this nature is 100 micrograms per cubic meter. Last year from the middle to the end of April saw ranges from 120-250 micrograms per cubic meter.  

Restricting vehicles on the road is one component in the cavalcade of changes and reforms being encouraged by industry specialists. A further step in reducing automobile pollution would be to impose discouraging taxation on private vehicles and encourage use of public transport. Fining visibly polluting vehicles and implementing parking curbs have also been tabled at recent government meetings

The Central Pollution Control Board’s focuses their monitoring on roadside emissions when calculating annual pedestrian pollution. Anumita Roy Chowdhury, head of the clean air program at the Centre for Science and Environment says that the odd-even approach of having half of private vehicles off the roads at any given time can be assessed effectively through the CPCB model. She went on to emphasize the importance of a newly defined pedestrian and cycle based infrastructure and taxation that discourages vehicles and drives pollution out of key areas like Okhla industrial area in East Delhi.

IIT Kanpur releases an annual report on national air quality relied on by the government to assess practices regarding pollution control. Private vehicles make up the majority of emissions in populated areas. However, the report also identified other components that make up for 40% of the matter that pollutes in hot weather. These particles are made up of road dust and soil as well as airborne fly ash. The report addresses the issue of poor maintenance when concerned with proper storage and transport of fly ash. Whether in use or not, the summer months dries the fly ash, making it more likely to become airborne.

Brief Analysis: Coal in China and the Current Economic State

The year 2015, China saw a significant drop in the use of coal.  The same drops appeared in other energy sectors including oil and gas. A contributing factor to this decline is of course the current indolent economy China is experiencing due to overproduction and reduced demand for construction. Additionally, a shift in the central government has current administrators setting their sights on cleaner energy sources like wind, hydro, solar, and nuclear. As set forth in the Paris Agreement of 2015, President Xi Jinping promised seemingly remarkable reforms regarding China air pollution, guaranteeing a greener economy, and to hit peak CO2 emissions before 2030.

On the industrial side, demand exists for the construction of 210 new coal plants to be built across the country; the demand coming from provinces that have been hit hardest during this most recent economic decline.  There is large resistance within the government to these new plants, as these plants will make it more difficult to reach Xi Jinping ‘s 2030 objective. A fundamental shift in industrial infrastructure however, comes at a cost. Consideration must be made towards the millions of people who work and live in communities where existing coal plants and coal fired power plants operate, as these local economies are driven by the coal industry. There is a difficult balance between sustaining jobs in the energy sector while attempting to shift to newer cost and environmentally efficient forms of energy.


Due to this and other factors, it is safe to say that coal will not be replaced easily. Although current stats show that coal use has hit a peak (Figure 1), China is still the world’s largest consumer of coal.

The economy grew rapidly in China from 2002 – 2012. This was due to an exploding steel, cement and aluminium market. By the end of that decade, China was burning almost as much coal as the rest of the world combined. Half of this fuel was used in generating electricity, while the other half was used directly by the aforementioned industries. 2013/14 saw a leveling off of these numbers and by 2015, the coal consumption began its decline. The industrial sector ceased production rates it had enjoyed in previous years, and now faces the even larger threat of overcapacity. 2016 is projected to see a continuation of slowing growth, as the smoke stack industries and cement markets correct themselves. The move toward cleaner energy is inevitable, as construction of nuclear power plants, wind farms, solar panels and hydro-electric dams continue.

As china moves away from being reliant on heavy industry and into services, becoming more developed, electrical demands of future years could very well be met by hydro, nuclear, solar or wind energy sources. For now, stabilizing the marketplace and making the transition away from being a population heavily dependent on the coal infrastructure left over from the 2002-2012 boom seems to be the consensus.

Global Gypsum Market to Grow 10% in the Next Decade

Resource: The Future of Gypsum: Market Forecasts to 2016, Smithers Apex

Currently, the global gypsum market is valued at approximately $1.5 billion USD. 60% of this contributed to by the cement industry, while 33% is taken up by plasterboarding. Gypsum’s primary uses are in the settling of retarders (cement), building construction and for conditioning soil and fertilizer in agricultural applications. The 252 million ton per year industry is expecting to grow another $1 billion USD in the next two years and another 1.5billion in the 8 years following, as expressed by Ken Soezen, author of this report.

The pattern of consumption fluctuates geographically. The western world, including the US and large parts of Western Europe, use the product for wallboarding. This is not true for the rest of the world and especially in developing countries such as India and China where drier applications in instruction are not the industry standard yet.

Population growth particularly contributes to the need for gypsum in developing worlds, as the market fluctuates between the need for housing, and therefore cement becomes in higher demand. China and India, where construction and infrastructure work has exploded in recent years, became catalysts for growth in cement production in Asia. In 2012, China alone accounted for 58% of worldwide cement production, with India also making the top of the list at 10%, behind the USA.

The construction industry tends to be very cost conscious as seen in recent shifts towards eco-friendly and cost effective utilization of waste bi-products in the building materials sector.  Gypsum has become an industry favorite due to its recyclability and durability during repeated applications. Gypsum is one of the cheapest alternatives to widely used portland and sand based aggregate cements that have been the industry norm. 

Fly Ash and Affordable Housing in India's Newest 'Smart CIty'

New Delhi-

With only 1% of the population being able to afford housing at Rs 10 lakh (approx. $22,000 USD) or more, the government aims to provide affordable housing to the public for an estimated Rs 5 lakh.

To make housing more affordable for New Delhians, The Modi government has begun using waste materials in construction as well as furnishing for recent housing projects. With the object of creating ‘smart cities’, reliant on being environmentally and cost efficient, the government is experimenting with steel structures that will use 70% fly ash. These 450 sq foot houses rely on solar powered energy and consist of furniture made of fly ash.

Mr. Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport Highways and Shipping Minister asserts that providing housing at this price will allow for a third of the population to afford housing. This is a big step towards financial independence for the poor. The housing will be provided with a subsidy that will also help with affordability.

Due to utilization and shipping logistics concerned with fly ash, the major port cities will be the target of these new ‘smart’ buildings. Gadkari went on to encourage investors to engage in public private partnerships (PPPs) in the twelve major India ports, as governments become increasingly keen on providing land in these areas for eco-friendly construction. Handling approximately 61% of India’s total cargo traffic are it’s twevle major ports - Kandla, Mumbai, JNPT, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Ennore, V O Chidambaranar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia). 

Gold Coal and Abandon Mines: New Ash Utilization Methods in Most Polluted Cities in the World

India- Delhi tops the list as one of the most polluted cities in the world. India, in fact, is home to thirteen out of twenty most polluted cities (World Health Organisation). Pollution here is caused by inefficiencies in the industrial sector (dust and carbon emissions), and the transportation/automobile population in India’s densely populated cities. 

A main contributing factor to industrial emissions depends on the quality of fuel being burned. Choosing competent technology and efficient coal is critical in curbing emissions. The top 13 cities, and surrounding regions are under great pressure to adapt said measures. Reutilization and sustainability has been the goal of power stations and regulators for approximately the past two decade. Current strategies for coal ash reutilization include substituting more expensive ingredients in building materials such as concrete/cement, porcelain, bricks/blocks, and adhesives.

The majority of these cities operate their stations using domestic coal, which is burned unprocessed. This coal has an ash content of 38-45%, which is a directly linked to the environmental issues of: industrial dust and land consumption for the dumping of coal ash. 

The city of Mumbai uses cleaner coal by washing it before entering boilers (gold coal), reducing ash output to 3% in some stations. Mumbai has also implemented upgraded electrostatic precipitators and FGD units, unseen in any of the 13 cities on the list. The city has positioned itself at the head of the cleaner coal energy movement. The calorific value (Kcal) of the coal being burned in Mumbai is also significantly higher and possesses a much lower sulphur dioxide content. This brings down the quantity of coal being used for every unit of power generated.

Recent studies explore the possibility of using fly ash waste as a means to fill up abandon mines. This method is being approached by many coal-fired power plants including NTPC Korba Station, located in Chhattisgarh, who began exploring this option for its ash this past December.  The company will conduct the study on 4 abandon mines in Banki fields just outside the city, planning to publish results by the end of 2016. 

NTPC power has had a division of the company dedicated to ash reutilization since 1991. NTPC stations overall have switched to higher grade coal since then to combat the amount of ash burned in their stations, and also the quantity of coal burned. Success in this new study could lead to NTPC meeting the countries 100% utilization initiative. 
NTPC appears to be at a higher level of efficiency when compared to their competitors, as they make up for 16 percent of India’s total installed capacity, yet contribute a quarter of the total electricity generated in the country.  

A current memorandum of understanding between NTPC and Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand governments vow to improve the transportation and utilization of coal. 

Center for Applied Energy Research: Lower Carbon Footprint with Coal Ash By-Product

The University of Kentucky’s Center for Applied Energy Research, in collaboration with the College of Material Science and Engineering in Nanjing and the Asian Coal Ash Association, have published a paper in response to a collection of twenty coal ash samples from Shanxi Province, China.

The chemistry of this ash showed that the ingredients showed high amounts of sulfate and alumina. This specific concentration of material is optimal for highly durable cement aggregates. The ash was collected from the Shentou Power plant in Shouzhou city, Shanxi Province China, where the Asian Coal Ash Association hosts its annual Coal Ash Asia conference.

The presence of these materials not only allows for stronger cement than regular Portland, but for a lower carbon footprint during production and application. Please feel free to download " Coal Ash By-Product from Shanxi Province, China, for the production of Portland-Calcium Sulfoaluminate" learn more about this research.



Cenosphere Production to Increase Significantly by 2020


"Cenospheres Market - Global Trends & Forecasts to 2020”, a new report available at www.researchandmarkets.com since January 2016 delivers an inclusive analysis regarding global cenosphere trends.

Between 2015 and 2020, researchers expect the compound annual growth rate of cenospheres to grow by over 12% per year. At the end of this five year term, the market for cenospheres is said to be worth $572 million, globally. The demand for cenospheres in places like the U.S, and China are said to be the cause of this projection. Other countries whose demand for the product increases everyday are France, Germany, Japan and India. North America is the largest consumer of cenosheres, followed closely by Europe.

Cenopsheres are predominantly used by the oil and gas industries. Following this lead is the refractory industry, which is experiencing a heightened demand for furnace and construction applications. 

Expansion and the acquiring of resources appear to be the conclusion of the presented materials. China and India have developed within the market and have created high expectations within the Asian market as a whole. The Asia-Pacific region appears to be the most strategic as this region has undertaken a variety of initiatives. The increase in domestic participants and steady growth in local manufacturing are just a couple factors contributing to the expanding global cenosphere market.

You can find the report here:
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/qwsczp/cenospheres

Coal Ash Waste Increases in Viet Nam

HA NOI (Viet Nam) - Evidence shows that although coal waste from thermal power plants in Viet Nam has increased, the country still hasn’t made any meaningful movement towards utilization or industry reform. With density of 45 tonnes per square kilometer of cinder and coal ash, Viet Nam ranks at the top of the list in landfilling of coal ash, just below China. 

Further studies show that Viet Nam currently has approximately twenty coal fired power plants who contribute to the current fifteen million tonnes of ash that is being discharged annually. This number is expected to double in less than ten years. 

Recent measures to address this matter include a formal request from the Prime Minister to implement coal and ash treatment equipment in all plants, and to bring into operation by 2020. The follow up to this request was to be an undertaking by the Ministry of Construction, to work with industry organizations to create standards and regulations for this transition. Neither standards for managing this change nor incentivization for companies switching to green waste management practices has been issued. 

Among the many disappointed with current practices for fly and coal ash management is current deputy head at Binh Thuan Province’s Department of Science Technology, Nguyen Van Nhon. Mr. Van Nhon condemns the current method of burying the waste of thermal power plants, as it not only negatively affect’s the land and water quality, but is considerably wasteful considering the demand for these ashes in parts of the world not too far from Viet Nam’s borders. 

Winh Tan 2 plant in Binh Thuan is notably under scrutiny for its practices this year, taking no efforts to change their practices even after large groups protesting their plants and a formal charge of 66,000 USD from the government. 

Industry and academic leaders are calling for immediate action regarding the lack of change in coal-fired power plants’ waste management. Industry changes require cooperation from all sides in order to be effective, as witnessed in the smokestack industries of China, India and the USA. The first step is to create preferential policies for waste treatment measures adopted by power plants. Secondly, the government needs to strengthen inspection protocols and reprimand companies that violate the Prime Minister’s new waste management reform. These steps will hopefully encourage the functioning power plants to find interested buyers of fly ash and reduce the exploitation of Viet Nam’s natural resources.

Smokestack Industries in China Face Serious Problems

Gansu, Northern China

Due to overcapacity and slowing demand throughout China’s core building materials industries, regulators have been under pressure to cut power prices. Bloomberg News reports that in some regions, the rates were expected to decrease by 0.03 yuan per kilowatt-hour. This small reduction represents significant savings to aluminum, cement and steel-manufacturing companies, whose power usage represents over 40% of production costs.

Regulators assert this reduction comes at a justifiable time, since coal prices have also decreased significantly over the past year. This reform could potentially help relieve stress from some crucial industries and keep some doors from closing. The move has already been made in Gansu province, whose state-owned Liancheng smelter is currently receiving decreased power prices. 

What appears to be a welcomed relief to smokestack industries may also have dire repercussions. Due to overcapacity, companies are attempting to pass their savings on to the buyers by lowering aluminum prices. The reduction will bring down aluminum prices to a six-year low at just under 8,900 yuan per ton. The fear now is that this new policy will undermine current energy/environmental policies that encourage energy conservation. 

Aluminum, steel and cement are the most power hungry industries in China and therefore are the main users of high polluting coal; the cause of the country’s CO2 emissions and air/water pollution. China has been discouraging the expansion of these industries as far back as 2004 with power pricing differentiation. These did little to dissuade investment from these industries. Since the four trillion yuan stimulus program of 2009, China’s smelters are operating at a loss. Ninety percent of aluminum smelters have excess inventory and are unable to support their current capacity. Cement and steel industries are at similar annual losses; production for cement dropped 4.6% while crude steel dropped 2.2% (The National Bureau of Statistics). 

A combination of regulatory, market and environmental policy reformation is necessary to address this issue. Even with a lack of carbon tax, a surplus of coal and industrial overcapacity, the power price cuts seem likely to continue.