Displaying items by tag: Emissions

Germany: A Zollernalb, Baden-Württemberg resident who mounted legal action against Tübingen Council in June 2019 over LafargeHolcim subsidiary Holcim Süddeutschland’s use of waste glass in cement production at its 1.1Mt/yr integrated Dotternhausen plant has submitted ‘extensive reasoning’ for the challenge. The Schwarzwälder Bote has reported that Holcim Süddeutschland allegedly did not complete the proper tests before introducing glass to cement production at Dotternhausen in late 2017. The claimant ‘noticed a rise in heavy metal levels.’

At a subsequent council meeting, a Holcim Süddeutschland employee bore witness to the presence of a defective bag filter. By receiving glass ground to grains of a certain fineness, the claimant alleges that Holcim Süddeutschland was able to bypass federal waste regulations necessitating contaminant checks. They said the company was ‘taking citizens for idiots.’

Belgium: Cembureau, the European Cement Association, says it will undertake a review of the targets set out in its 2050 Low Carbon Roadmap (2013/2018) in order to align the industry’s efforts with the carbon neutrality objectives contained in the European Green Deal published in December 2019. Following this reassessment, the association says it publish a revised low-carbon roadmap setting out the key role of cement and concrete in the circular economy and a path to achieving carbon neutrality along its value chain in Europe by 2050. Cembureau expects the revised roadmap to be published in early spring 2020.

“As an industry we are determined to ensure that we play our part in helping Europe to meet its emissions reduction targets. With concrete, our industry has a sustainable building material that is uniquely positioned as an essential enabler of the transition to a carbon neutral society,” said Cembureau’s president Raoul de Parisot.

Belgium: Cembureau, the European Cement Association, has called on the European Union’s (EU) Green Deal to incentivise investment in low-carbon technologies, provide long-term legal certainty and foster the industry’s global competitiveness. It said that the new proposal to tackle climate change showed ‘great promise’ and ‘ambitious vision’ but that this needed to be converted into action to support a successful industrial transformation.

The association is concerned about a new carbon border adjustment mechanism. In its view, “the replacement of the existing carbon leakage measures by an untested mechanism would create considerable uncertainty and risks.” Instead it called on the EU to look at a design that complements the existing carbon leakage measures and is fair for third country importers and EU producers.

Aspects of the European Green Deal that the association praised included the recognition that the cement industry is ‘indispensible’ to the European economy. It also liked the European Commission’s (EC) emphasis on the circular economy that fits with work the sector is doing already from alternative fuels usage to recycling concrete.

"The European Green Deal is our new growth strategy – for a growth that gives back more than it takes away. It shows how to transform our way of living and working, of producing and consuming so that we live healthier and make our businesses innovative. We can all be involved in the transition and we can all benefit from the opportunities,” said EC president Ursula von der Leyen in relation to the new policy proposal.

The EC published its recommendations on how to help energy-intensive industries meet the EU’s 2050 climate target in late November 2019. Its key suggestions were to create markets for climate-neutral and circular products, develop large-scale pilot projects on clean technologies and switch to alternative climate-neutral energy and feedstock sources. It added that the pilot projects should be supported by EU funds and given easier access to private financing. These recommendations will be presented to the EU member states, the EU Competitiveness Council and the European Parliament in early 2020.

Germany: HeidelbergCement’s specific CO₂ net emissions per tonne of cementitious material fell by 1.4% year-on-year to 599kg CO2/t in 2018 from 608kg CO₂/t in 2017. Despite this its absolute gross CO₂ emissions increased by 3% to 76.7Mt from 74.2Mt as clinker, cement, aggregate and concrete sales volumes all grew in 2018. The group has published the data in its Sustainability Report for the 2018 financial year.

“Cutting our CO₂ emissions and handling natural resources considerately are priorities for all our business lines,” says Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement. "We focus primarily on the development of sustainable products and the implementation of concrete measures at plant level in order to achieve our sustainability goals.” The company has set itself the target of a 30% reduction in its specific net CO₂ emissions per tonne of cement by 2030, compared with 1990. HeidelbergCement says it intends to realise its vision of CO₂-neutral concrete by 2050 at the latest.

Other figures of note in the report include an alternative fuels substitution rate of 21.7% in 2018 compared in 20.8% in 2017. NO_x, SO_x and particulate matter emissions all fell. However, total water withdrawal rose by 8% to 65.4Mm³ from 60.4Mm³ although water consumption fell.

India: Zuari Cement’s integrated cement plant at Sitapuram, Telangana has been issued a show cause notice by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for exceeding particulate matter emissions. During an inspection it has found to be emitting 40.6mg/Nm³ from the kiln and 78mg/Nm³ from the cement mill, according to the Times of India newspaper. The limit is 30mg/Nm³. CPCB officials also found other violations including an alleged deliberate attempt show reduced levels of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. The plant has been asked to calibrate its dust monitors properly and submit a compliance report by late July 2019.

India: Chettinad Cement’s Karikkali plant in Tamil Nadu has been issued a show cause notice by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for exceeding particulate matter emissions by more than three times the limit. An inspection following Online Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) data found emissions of 91.2mg/Nm³, according to the New Indian Express. The limit is 30mg/Nm³. The CPCB also found discrepancies with the OCEMS data due to poor instrument calibration.

Ireland: Local environmental activists have accused the Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of ignoring European Union (EU) NO_x emission limits by granting an exemption to Irish Cement’s Limerick integrated plant. Limerick Against Pollution group alleges that the plant has been allowed a limit of 800mg/m3 despite a EU directive reducing the limit to 500mg/m³, according to the Limerick Post newspaper.

Austria: Data from the Austrian Cement Industry Association (VÖZ) shows that cement production rose by 7.4% year-on-year to 5.2Mt in 2018. The increase has been attributed to a construction boom. Sales of cement grew by 4.7% to Euro432m. Sales continue to increase at a similar rate in the first quarter of 2019 but this has slowed down in the second quarter.

The association has said that environmental investment more than doubled in 2018 to Euro45m. The local industry’s alternative fuels substitution rate was 82% and CO₂ emissions fell by 0.8% to 521kg/t of cement.

South Africa: PPC says it plans to shut the kiln at its Port Elizabeth cement plant ahead of stricter requirements to the country’s emission standards. It is shutting down the kiln to meet new standards for NO₂ and dust emissions on 1 April 2020, according to Reuters. Around 30 jobs are expected to be affected by the shutdown.

The cement producer’s revenue rose slightly year-on-year to US$736m in its financial year to 31 March 2019. Its profit nearly quadrupled to US$10.2m. Its cement sales volumes also rose slightly to 5.9Mt. Sales and earnings fell in South Africa due to a poor market but they grew elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, notably in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Japan: Taiheiyo Cement has set an 80% CO₂ reduction target from cement production by 2050. It also plans to reduce its emissions from cement products by 20%. It aims to do this via a variety of means including energy-saving measures, promoting co-processing, lowering the clinker factor of its cement and CO₂ capture technology. The cement producer started a pilot of a chemical absorption method on kiln exhaust gases at its Fujiwara plant in early 2019.