OREANDA-NEWS. Tata Power, India's largest integrated power utility, has organised various initiatives and conducted various educational workshops on the utilisation of fly ash from thermal coal based plants for construction. In a recent development, Tata Power's Jojobera team has installed an automatic ash bagging machine at its Jojobera power plant.

The newly installed machine will enable efficient management of fly ash around the plant. Not only would the installation of this plant minimise dust emission during bagging, but will also keep a control on the quantity and quality of the bagging process, thus ensuring enhancement of ash to the cement industry. The total installation cost has been approximately Rs50 lakh and the machine currently ensures cost optimisation for bagging and safety of operation due to the compact nature of the system. It saves on time and provides for automatic loading on to trucks/dumpers.

“Safety of our employees and our environment has always been top priority for Tata Power and we had been looking for sustainable and safe solution for fly ash, which is a challenge for thermal power plants. The automated ash bagging machine will improve safety for people and the environment and in addition enhance quality, cost and cycle time of bagging to help our business proposition,” stated DS Kudalkar, head, Jojobera station, post the installation of the machine.

Earlier, water was being utilised to suppress the floating fly ash particles around the silo, and the machine was installed in order to resolve this issue. Tata Power has also set up a special fly ash brick manufacturing plant at Jojobera in 2011.