Sustainable Products

Recron^® 3S - New generation synthetic fibre for asbestos replacement

Reliance Industries Ltd. has always encouraged the use of environment-friendly products. Continuing with such endeavours, it has engineered a new generation synthetic fibre for asbestos replacement. This fibre substitutes asbestos used in the construction industry, mainly in roofing sheets and in other construction related applications.

Value Proposition

Asbestos is carcinogenic in nature and so is the reinforcement agent used in asbestos sheets - Chrysotile type of asbestos fibre, (composed mainly of magnesium and silica). Mining of asbestos is banned in India but its usage is not. Hence the industry depends on 100 per cent imports. However, with most shipping lines not accepting asbestos importing firms have to maintain around four months' inventory of asbestos to maintain production.

The new engineered fibre has been launched with the vision of making the world asbestos-free

The fibre is doubly advantageous, as it is both cost-effective and environment-friendly. While asbestos needs to be milled before use, the new-generation fibre has been customised for asbestos sheets manufacturers and hence can be straight away added in the mix tank. The fibre has excellent dispersion and affinity with cement - like materials. These properties result in an increase in flexural strength and durability of the end product.

Such an effective value proposition facilitates a hugely beneficial mutual relationship between RIL and asbestos users and sheet manufacturers in both domestic and world markets.

There is a dedicated team for this venture and efforts are on-going with leading asbestos cement sheet manufacturing companies to achieve 100 per cent replacement of asbestos across the world.