OPINION: SUSTAINABILITY
A Sustainable Technology Whose
Time has Come
Manoj Kumar, MD
Hess Concrete Machinery
India Pvt Ltd
T
he rising emphasis on sustainable
construction strategies has seen
the entry of several new innovative
technologies and solutions in recent times.
In fact the Green Building movement has
meant that today there is a multibillion dol-
lar market exclusively for green products.
With the construction industry booming
over the last three decades in India and
growing at a phenomenal rate, it is no sur-
prising to find India now becoming a key
global market for the latest sustainable
construction technologies, solutions and
products. Perhaps the most prominent
technology that has gained enormous
popularity in recent times is Autoclaved
Aerated Concrete (AAC). The advent of
AAC blocks with their unbeatable combi-
nation of superior thermal insulation prop-
erties, light weight, and importantly cost
effectiveness has meant today they are
offering stiff competition to red clay bricks.
Contrary to popular perception AAC is
not a recent phenomenon. In fact the
material was developed way back in 1924
in Sweden. It has now become one of the
most used building materials in Europe
and is rapidly growing in many other coun-
The Masterbuilder | March 2015 | www.masterbuilder.co.in
tries globally. AAC offers incredible
opportunities to increase building quality
and at the same time reduces costs at the
construction site. AAC is produced out of a
mix of quartz sand or pulverized fly ash,
lime, cement, gypsum, water and alu-
minium and is hardened by steam cured
in autoclaves. AAC contains 60%-80% air
by volume. The silicium dioxide is
obtained from silica sand, fly ash or
crushed quartzite. It is possible to obtain
silicium dioxide as a byproduct from other
processes. The calcium oxide is obtained
from quick lime, hydrated lime and
cement. Gypsum is added in small quan-
104
tities as a catalyst and for optimizing the
properties of AAC. Aluminium pow-
der/paste is used as an expanding agent.
In India with rising awareness levels
about the numerous benefits offered by
AAC blocks now the technology is gradu-
ally finding an increasing number of tak-
ers in the real estate sector, as well as in
infrastructure development projects.
Here I would like mention one point very
clearly that AAC and CLC (Cellular Light-
weight Concrete) are totally different. Lot
of people are confused on this topic, with
some sales persons knowingly or
unknowingly spreading such wrong
information. The quest for a greener and
sustainable society with environment-
friendly construction is the necessity of
the future. Use of right products which
supports the green initiatives offering ther-
mal insulation , sound insulation, high
dimensional accuracy, fire & termite
resistance are few of the properties that
we are looking at.
Apart from the above the main advan-
tage for a country like India is in the form of
disposing ash and optimum utilization of
industrial by-products. Instead of dump-
ing the ash for land filling or to ponds, the
same could be used for the production of
construction materials, in this case AAC
blocks. Construction is the back bone of
any economy, whether it is industrial,
infrastructural, residential or commer-
cial. At the same time pollution has
become a major concern globally. Lead-
ing organizations like the UN, IMF and all
the member countries have started the ini-
tiative long back to control pollution for a
better future. We have recently seen how
the pollution situation has got worse in cit-
ies like Shanghai and Delhi with foreign
governments even instructing their mis-
sions to take preventive safety measures.
Most of the leading countries are taking
serious efforts on the issue and it is time
that a country like India, which is now one
of the most prominent emerging econo-
mies, should also be taking a leading posi-
tion in such initiatives.
For a vast country like India mainly
depending n coal based thermal power
plants for electricity, the majority of coal is
imported. Eastern and Central India is a
rich source of natural resources like coal
and we still import partially from Austra-
lia or Indonesia. After generating power
the coal is converted into ash, which then
becomes a major factor for air as well as
water pollution. A part of the top ash is con-
sumed by cement and ready mix indus-
tries and the majority bottom pond ash is
used for land filling. This ash pollutes the
air and the land filling, apart from con-
taminating the water bodies. The next gen-
eration will suffer due to our negligence, if
proper steps are not taken to deal with the
situation. There are several options avail-
able for the disposal of ash as motioned
above, but still the major chunk of the ash
is available. Hess Group, which is part of
Top Werk, a globally renowned technol-
ogy solution provider, offers the best solu-
tion for the proper disposal of total ash.
Hess is a German company with 65
years of rich experience in construction
and related machines able to offer a com-
pletely automated and proven technol-
ogy, which requires no manual interfer-
ence or transportation. Hess systems are
already playing a key role with major play-
ers like Jindal, KJS Ahluwalia, Ultratech,
UAL and JK Lakshmi Cements. Depend-
ing on several factors Hess could advise
the right solutions to suit each customer
and implement the same within the stipu-
lated time schedule. This could be for the
production of AAC blocks or panels as
well as fly ash bricks and concrete prod-
ucts. While we are particularly talking
about AAC blocks in this feature, let me
explain how the Hess AAC system differs
from others in the market and the advan-
tage of this proven technology.
Raw material preparation and mixing
The fly ash or grinded pond ash or sil-
ica sand is mixed with water to form a

slurry which in stored in a tank. The mix is
then pumped into weighing hopper in the
mixer tower. The binders are stored in
silos mixing them with aluminium to
make the proper mix.
Casting, rising/pre-curing and mould cir-
culation
The mould consists of four fixed sides
and one detachable platform. The inner
mould surfaces are covered with
demoulding release oil before casting.
This oil is applied either manually or auto-
matically. The mix is then poured into the
moulds. A mould circulation system con-
veys the moulds into the rising area,
where the cake pre-cures for 2-3 hours
after which it is ready for cutting. Depend-
ing on the plant design the moulds are
handled by a mould traverse or by a tilting
manipulator. All the components are
accurately weighed and are released into
the mixer in a predefined order. The Hess
recipe and temperature control system
constantly monitors this process.
Reinforcement preparation
Hess systems are also ideal for the
production of large format reinforcement
panels. Depending on the required
capacity the reinforcement cages are
outsourced or welded on site. The cages
are then assembled as per mould and
hung into holding frames with cross bars
and needles. A corrosion protection coat-
ing is then applied. Immediate after the
mix has been poured into the mould, the
waiting reinforcement frame assembly is
inserted. Before cutting of the cake, the
holding frames with needles are lifted,
leaving the reinforcement in the cake.
Tilting
The tilting manipulator tilts the mould
by 90 degree. The manipulator unlocks
the mould and removes the mould body,
so that the cake remains on one mould
side/platform for cutting. This tilting sys-
OPINION: SUSTAINABILITY
tem has proven to be the safest method
for tilting the cake into the vertical cutting
position, as the cake remains on the plat-
form/mould side for the cutting process.
ers, which is a typical disadvantages with
traditional tilt-cake systems.
No process related waste
One of the key Hess innovations is the
'green separator'. Here the horizontal
cuts are carefully separated before
autoclaving leaving a small gap between
the layers. This innovation eliminates any
Cutting
sticking which is typical for other tilt-cake
The cake is cut by high precision, cut- systems. Further this green separation
ting machines with pneumatically substantially improves the autoclaving
tensioned cutting wires. The pre-cutter process as steam can penetrate into the
and vertical cutter cut the block length cake more effectively.
and panel width. In this station the profil-
ing can be cut into the cake with profiling
knives. The horizontal cutter cuts the
block and panel thickness. The cross cut-
ter cuts the block height and the panel
length. Optionally hand grips can be
milled in the blocks in the green stage.
Frame and bogey circulation
The green cakes on the cooking frame
are stacked high into the autoclaving cars,
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Back-tilting and bed removal
Hess plants have combined the
advantages of the tilt-cake and flat-cake
system. After the cutting is completed, the
cake is tilted back by 90 degrees into a
cooking frame. In the Hess system no part
of the mould or platform used for cutting
goes into the autoclaves. After the cake
has been titled back into the horizontal ori-
entation, the bottom /bed waste will be
removed before autoclaving. The process
of autoclaving the cake horizontally on the
cooking frames allows efficient
autoclaved loading and most importantly
105
will prevent most of the sticking of the lay-
 OPINION: SUSTAINABILITY
referred to as 'bogeys'. Autoclave buffer
tracks in front of the autoclaves ensure
that the cutting and packaging processes
are less dependent on one another. An
autoclave traverser is used for loading
and unloading the autoclaves ensuring
that this process is performed in the
shortest possible time in order to opti-
mize autoclaving capacity.
Autoclaving
In the autoclaves the cakes are cured
for 10-12 hours at a temperature of 190
degrees with saturated steam at a pres-
sure of 12 bar. The fully automatic auto-
clave control system ensures a safe and
optimal autoclaving process also allow-
ing for steam transfer and energy reuse in
combination with the condensate system.
China kick-starts $80 bn Silk
Road infrastructure project
The Masterbuilder | March 2015 | www.masterbuilder.co.in
106
on wooden pallets strapped and trans-
ported.
Process control and plant automation
The entire production process is con-
trolled by modern automation systems
designed by Hess on the basis of Siemens
S7 control system using standard com-
ponents that are available globally. User-
friendly, multilingual operator interfaces
Unloading and packing
After the autoclaving is completed the
cakes are destacked and unloaded from
the cooking frames. Hess offers a large
variety of packaging solutions ensuring
that the finished products are packed
according to local market requirements.
Usually blocks will be delivered as packs
with touch screen monitors allow easy and
understandable operation. Hess remote
diagnostic system allows for the possibil-
ity of online support.w
For further details:
Hess Concrete Machinery India Pvt Ltd
54 Bommasandra Jigani Link Road,
Bommasandra Industrial Estate - Phase IV,
Bangalore - 560 105
Tel: +91-80-49050600,
Email: info@hessindia.com,
Web: www.hessindia.com
The Chinese government has kick-started a massive infrastructure project worth
500 billion yuan (approx 80 billion) in its northwest province of Gansu, which
will be part of its ambitious Silk Road development to facilitate trade and people
exchanges between China and the countries of Central Asia.
According to the Chinese run news agency, the project will involve construction
of over 60,000 km of road, including 4,070 km of expressways, to improve the
connectivity of existing transportation network. The infrastructure development
in the Gansu province will also include construction of 12 additional civilian
airports in the next six years, which will provide air service to about 82 per cent of
the province's population.
The Chinese government has approved a series of infrastructure projects since
the third quarter to improve regional connectivity as the country's economy is
facing a downward pressure. It also launched a $40-billion fund backed by the
country's foreign reserves to support infrastructure building in countries along
the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The
ambitious Silk Road project is expected to connect regions of Asia with Europe
and Africa reviving the ancient trade routes through land and sea.
China has invited India to take part in the Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar
(BCIM) and the Maritime Silk Road (MSR). Although India is taking part in
BCIM meetings, it is yet to give its response on MSR.