TRL, the global centre for innovation in transport and mobility, in collaboration with the Qatar Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME), Ashghal and Qatar Steel, have actually launched a new research specificing making use of recycled steel slag and how it can help in reducing the nation's total ecological effect and enhance lasting development. The brand-new study was recently announced during a particularly held Forum on the 'Optimization of Steel Slag in Construction today' at the Marriott Hotel in Doha.

During the Forum, TRL revealed the project outcomes of the research study, which stands for the reliable teamwork made in between government and industry - marking a forward step in Qatar's proceeding efforts to accomplishing sustainable advancement and making ideal use of locally offered products to maintain and protect atmosphere.

The study, which was performed over the last 30 months, was focused on producing and developing innovative and extremely valuable applications of steel slag in asphalt, concrete and unbound construction applications. TRL delivered the project in cooperation with the specifier (MME), the customer (Ashghal), slag manufacturer (Qatar Steel), slag vendor (EBM), and contractor (Boom Construction). The Forum featured speakers from the working collaborating entities.

Over the last couple of months, TRL led the campaign to transform steel slag from being a waste product to a high-value product suitable for usage in the construction industry. Dr Khaled Hassan, Nation Director - Qatar and Head of Middle East Infrastructure, TRL, spoke about the applications of steel slag accumulated construction and the advantages and benefits to be obtained from its usage.

" We are very pleased and satisfied with the outcomes of the research, which strengthens our decision in choosing TRL," claimed Mr Ali Al-Muraikhi, Managing Director & General Manager of Qatar Steel. "Our collaboration with TRL and the Qatari government demonstrates our solid commitment to play a key duty in the transfer to attain lasting growth and the protection of the environment. Today's forum served as a critical platform in boosting awareness on making use of steel slag accumulations and its potential use for the construction segment.

Dr Moahmmed Bin Saif Al-Kuwari, Head of Environmental and Municipal Studies Institute at MME stated "The favorable end results obtained from the scientific research study led by TRL is proof for the wonderful support supplied by the Ministry of Municipal and Environment and Ashghal in operating in partnership with industry to support technical research studies and brand-new technologies that serve the nation's vision and tactical plan". Dr Al-Kuwari urged much more clinical research and cooperation with all government institutions and industrial firms to carry out comparable technique to address environmental issues and offer sensible solutions.

Qatar Steel has accumulated large quantities of steel slag from its factory in Mesaieed, located south of Doha - going beyond to over 350 thousand tonnes yearly with accumulations of products totaling up to over 1.6 million tonnes. To stay clear of land disturbance and waste accumulation, Qatar Steel assigned TRL to determine a potential market for the use of steel slag in construction. The activities of the research consisted of an evaluation of local and international info on the use of slag products in construction, development of asphalt and concrete products made with steel slag. It additionally covered the potential use of fine slag accumulation to replace dune sand in boosting the properties of unbound subbase materials for road construction. Complete scale roadway trials were constructed on Qatar Steel site to demonstrate the effective use of steel slag in the various road layers of asphalt base and unbound subbase. The road was created in 2016 with superb performance of the slag road sections as compared to the traditional road section. Furthermore, pre-cast concrete aspects of crash obstacles, soakaways, manholes, kerbstone and strong blocks were generated to demonstrate high-value applications in the concrete industry.

Dr Hassan mentioned, "We are proud to have actually dealt with the Qatari federal government industry in the growth of this research, which shows our commitment in order to help our customers in industry and the public industry in their efforts to produce a lasting future by addressing the challenges of ecological development and environment change. This project efficiently shows that steel slag is an useful local item for usage as accumulation in construction and uses economic and ecological advantages as compared to imported accumulations."

Qatar is generally relying on imported aggregates for construction activities preceeding the nation's holding of World Cup 2022. Establishing high value accumulations from the steel slag has significant ecological, economic and social advantages, consisting of minimized dependancy on imported accumulation, boosted use local products, reduced carbon discharge associated with imported products, and cost financial savings. TRL has advised the following step of carrying out the research-based evidence established in the project is through:

Dissemination of information;
Quality production of slag aggregate, as controlled by Qatar Steel and EBM;
Certification of slag products by the authorities including MME and Ashghal;
Development of case studies; and
Inclusion in the next update to the Qatar Construction Specification.

The above implementation plan will certainly offer even more self-confidence in making use of slag in real jobs and boost its reliable uptake by the construction industry, to sustain the government effort of sustainable advancement and green construction.

"TRL continues to be steadfast in its efforts to establish and provide innovative and useful remedies that could motivate behavioral modification while also safeguarding our natural deposits. We have the extensive experience and real life proof base to sustain plan growth and application of lasting treatments that are safe and financial. Our team is highly competent and seasoned in translating federal government goals and messages right into meaningful and achievable remedies for the real life," concluded Dr. Hassan.