Displaying items by tag: Alternative Fuels
Spain: The Cemex plant in Alcanar has been granted €3m from the PERTE project for industrial decarbonisation, facilitated by the Ministry of Industry. This subsidy is part of a broader initiative involving 19 projects with a total aid of €96m under Line 1 of the programme. Cemex aims to contribute to decarbonisation of the clinker production process at its Alcanar facility by centralising compressed air production to enhance energy efficiency, replacing 14 old compressors with two more powerful and efficient units. The plant also plans to increase the use of alternative fuels in clinker production by integrating waste-derived and biomass fuels.
Spain: The Cemex plant in Morata de Jalón, Zaragoza, has won €2.8m in aid from the Spanish Ministry of Industry's first Perte resolution for industrial decarbonisation. This funding, part of a larger €96m aid package, will support the plant's clinker production process and its transition to using sustainable fuels.
The aid will increase the use of alternative fuels in clinker production by incorporating waste-derived and biomass fuels.
Azerbaijan: Norm Sement Company will utilise sludge from drilling wells for powering its cement plant, following an agreement with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), according to Trend. The plant has a capacity exceeding 2.1Mt/yr of cement and 5300t/day of clinker.
A source said "In collaboration with SOCAR, we tried sludge to power Norm Sement last year. Negotiations on a long-term deal are underway. Cooperation to use industrial waste supports the country's green economy strategy.”
Cemex to operate Regenera facility in Egypt
24 May 2024Egypt: Cemex has entered an agreement with the authorities in Egypt's Gharbia province to operate the first facility of its circularity solutions business, Regenera. The company will treat over 800t/day of municipal solid waste at the facility to produce alternative fuels and compost, aiming for minimal residual waste to landfill.
"Through Regenera, Cemex seeks to conserve natural resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and benefit communities by promoting sustainable development and reducing the environmental impact of industrial activities," the company said.
Australia: Veolia ANZ and ResourceCo have secured a contract to supply over 1Mt of refuse derived fuel (RDF) from their Adelaide facility to Adbri Cement's Birkenhead plant, aiming to replace natural gas and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. According to Veolia, around 1.5Mt of waste will be diverted from landfill during the course of the contract.
Brett Brown, chief operating officer at Adbri, said "Adbri has pioneered the use of RDF in Australia. Cement manufacturing is energy intensive, and the use of alternative fuels is one of the levers we are using to reduce our emissions as part of our goal of net zero by 2050."
RDF plant construction begins in Jakarta
22 May 2024Indonesia: The Jakarta administration has commenced the construction of the Rorotan refuse derived fuel (RDF) plant on a 7.8-hectare site in North Jakarta, aiming to process 2,500t/day of waste. The US$75m project is funded from the 2024 regional budget and is expected to be completed by December 2024 and start operations in early 2025. The city of Jakarta produces nearly 8,000t/day of waste, the majority of which goes to the Bantar Gebang landfill in West Java. The facility will convert 35-40% of the waste processed into about 875t/day of alternative fuels.
The Rorotan facility is the second RDF plant initiated by the Jakarta administration, following the Bantar Gebang facility, which began operations in 2023. This new facility marks a shift from the planned waste-to-energy incinerator in Sunter, which was cancelled due to high costs and bureaucratic delays.
Acting Jakarta governor Heru Budi Hartono said "This technology is still a very small part of our larger efforts to address the city's waste problem."
Head of the Jakarta Environment Agency Asep Kuswanto said "The RDF can become another source of revenue for the city, as we can sell the alternative fuel from the facility to industry."
US: Eagle Materials will modernise and expand its Laramie, Wyoming cement plant, increasing its capacity by 50% to approximately 1.2Mt/yr. The expansion includes a new cement distribution facility in northern Colorado. This project aims to cut manufacturing costs by about 25%, generated by the replacement of traditional fuels with lower cost alternative fuels and natural gas, as well as improved operating efficiency. This upgrade will also reduce CO₂ intensity by nearly 20%, according to the company. The US$430m investment also includes upgrading the existing plant, which became operational in 1927 and currently has a capacity of 800,000t/yr. Construction is set to begin immediately, with completion expected in the second half of 2026.
US: Holcim’s Hagerstown plant in Maryland has increased its alternative fuels substitution rate to 45%, equivalent to 58,000t/yr of engineered fuel. This US$11m initiative utilises end-of-life materials like non-recyclable paper, plastics and fibres, sourced from commercial and industrial materials like packaging. Geocycle, a subsidiary of Holcim US, will process these materials at its new Cumberland facility, which has a capacity of up to 75,000t/yr.
Senior vice president of Manufacturing North for Holcim US, Michael Nixon, said "Expanding our alternative thermal energy use to 45% provides multiple environmental and economic benefits, from lowering the net carbon intensity of our cement to reducing our consumption of traditional fuels. Importantly, it enables us to play a role in the circular economy, offering a highly safe and ecological solution for unused materials."
Canada: Lafarge Canada and Geocycle Canada have successfully completed a pilot at the Lafarge Brookfield cement plant in Nova Scotia to produce clinker using recycled minerals from discarded material. This pilot can potentially cut CO₂ emissions by 60% of clinker. The new clinker product will be used to produce recycled cement in 2024.
CEO of Lafarge Canada David Redfern said "Our teams have been tirelessly working towards finding solutions to decarbonise our business in Canada. This new recycled-minerals clinker combines operational excellence with circular construction, building new and green from what is considered old and waste. This is a great example of how far we can go - the local team at Brookfield is certainly setting the tone for the industry in Canada."
Since May 2023, Lafarge Canada, Geocycle Canada and the Holcim Group Innovation Centre have been collaborating on a 100% circular production of clinker at the Brookfield plant. The new production method involves substitution of raw materials with lower carbon options from discarded materials, as well as alternative fuels produced from these materials. The trial was performed in February 2024 and cement from this clinker will be produced in 2024 for further testing and development of the technology.
Jamaica: Caribbean Cement is allocating US$8m, 20% of its planned US$40m investment in 2024, to increase sustainability efforts at its Rockfort plant. The company is aiming to become net-zero by increasing its use of alternative fuels and repurposing materials like tyres, which will also help to save on operational expenses and fuel costs, according to the company.
The repurposing of tyres, which commenced following a Government of Jamaica partnership, will remove a ‘significant’ portion of the estimated 1.5m tyres at the country’s Riverton dump, along with other materials such as pallets, which Caribbean Cement now uses as alternative fuel sources in the cement manufacturing process. With the help of its XRC3000c shredder obtained from Austria-based company UNTHA, Caribbean Cement said it has shredded more than 9000 tyres to date.
Managing director Jorge Martínez said “At the moment our first goal for the end of 2024 is to at least reach 10% alternative fuels. We will remove some of those fuels that are not renewable, substituting it with ones that are. This is part of our future in action programme. Some of these actions are also related to the reuse of some materials in the plant as we take waste materials from other industries and beach clean-ups for repurposing. We try to reuse them in any way we can.”