Displaying items by tag: Refuse Derived Fuel

This week we covered Capitol Aggregates’ order of an alternative fuels (AF) system from ATS Walter USA. The story is notable because it is an AF project for a cement plant in the US. Thermal substitution rates (TSR) of AF in the US have typically been lower than in the European Union (EU), but this could be changing.

The order was confirmed publicly at the end of September 2025. The subsidiary of ATS Group will supply a solid AF metering and conveying system to the integrated plant in San Antonio, Texas. The system will include a moving floor receiving station, chain belt conveyors, a screen and a separator, dosing equipment, an air-supported belt conveyor and an injection system. ATS Walter says that, by the end of 2026, it will have supplied four AF projects in North America. As an aside, Capitol Aggregates also mentioned in the press release that it “...views sustainability as essential to long-term success.” This sentiment is backed up by the fact that the plant built an early commercial carbon capture unit in the 2010s!

Data from the American Cement Association (ACA) revealed that the AF TSR in the US reached 16% in 2023 from 14.6% in 2022. This compares to a 58% rate in the EU in 2022. It is also worth noting that, in the US the share of gas in the cement industry energy mix rose from 25% to 31%. The ACA attributed this change to a falling price of gas. It added that the coal and petroleum share of the fuel mix fell to its lowest level since 1974. The point here is that the energy mix used by cement plants changes over time regardless of sustainability trends.

Research by LEK Consulting estimated that 60 of the 87 cement plants in the US had a TSR of below 20% in 2023. 39 of these were believed to have a TSR of under 5%. It summarised that hazardous waste and tyre-derived fuels have tended to predominate in the US compared to refuse-derived fuel (RDF) in the EU and elsewhere. LEK went on to say that its research suggested that a quarter of cement plants in the US were likely to install an AF feeding system in 2024 or 2025. This is likely to be the highest rate of AF uptake in the US cement sector to date.

The ACA reckons in its sustainability roadmap that with the right policies and regulations the country’s AF TSR could reach as high as 50%. Its policy suggestions include: reduce permitting barriers to use of so-called non-hazardous secondary materials (NHSM) fuels in industrial manufacturing; treating waste-to-industrial energy as valid recycling use; building robust recycling infrastructure and markets that incentivise the use of non-recycled material streams as industrial AF; community education and support for use of low carbon AF; and increasing the use of NHSMs to divert these materials from landfills. This can be mostly summarised as supporting the uptake of RDF through better permitting and building up the infrastructure and markets for it. LEK also identified the same issue. It called for the adoption of landfill reduction targets or zero-landfill policies by commercial and industrial waste generators. However, LEK believes that, even if this were done, current sources of high-quality RDF in the US would not be able to increase the TSR to even 20%.

News from Capitol Aggregates and others about AF projects in the US are encouraging. If LEK’s research is indicative then a step change in the TSR in the country’s cement sector is already underway. The beauty of AF usage is that it can both potentially cut fuel costs and reduce CO₂ emissions. It won’t be easy as new supply chains for refuse byproducts are built and utilised. Yet, as the ACA is advocating, it is possible and worthwhile.

The 1st CemFuels Asia Conference will take place in Bangkok in February 2026 and the 19th Global CemFuels Conference will take place in September 2026 in Geneva

India: Recycling equipment manufacturer Fornnax Technology has launched the R-MAX3300, its largest secondary shredder, at IFAT India 2025 in Mumbai on 14 October 2025. The machine is designed to process low-density waste streams such as municipal solid waste, commercial and industrial waste, bulky waste, legacy waste, wood waste and construction and demolition waste. The R-MAX3300 produces refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and solid recovered fuel (SRF) with particle sizes between 30 and 50mm.

Director and CEO of Fornnax Technology Jignesh Kundaria said “With the rising challenges of waste management in India and globally, this machine is not just a product; it’s a powerful tool for change. We engineered it to handle the most difficult waste streams with unparalleled efficiency, turning what was once considered unusable waste into a valuable resource. It directly addresses the urgent demand for effective, large-scale shredding technology that can support cement kilns and waste-to-energy facilities in achieving the desired output.”

According to the company, India currently generates over 160,000t/day of municipal solid waste. Simultaneously, the global industrial shredder market is expected to grow at a 5-6% CAGR, driven by stricter recycling regulations and increasing waste generation.

Japan: Austria-based UNTHA shredding technology has appointed Sun Earth as its official partner for regional sales, system design and service of its industrial shredders in Japan. The agreement expands UNTHA’s global presence to around 40 countries. The partnership responds to rising demand for environmental technologies in Japan, particularly for waste-to-energy and recycling applications. UNTHA’s XR, ZR and RS shredder models will support the production of refuse-derived fuels and the recycling of valuable materials.

Indonesia: Indocement, through its subsidiary PT Semen Bosowa Maros, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the city of Makassar’s government to collaborate on the use of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) generated from the city’s waste management system.

The agreement was signed by Syamsul Rijal, Director of PT Semen Bosowa Maros, and Munafri Arifuddin, Mayor of Makassar, in the presence of company representatives.

Belarus: The country’s cement sector is intensifying efforts to use refuse-derived fuel (RDF) in cement production, according to the state information agency Belarus Telegraph Agency.

Belarusian Cement Company introduced an RDF processing line in 2021 at OAO Krasnoselskstroymaterialy in Grodno Oblast, enabling full incineration of RDF supplied by local waste-processing plants. Contracts are reportedly already in place with RDF suppliers for 25,000t of the fuel to be delivered by the end of 2025.

In September 2025, industrial trials of RDF made by Minsk-based Ekores will begin. If successful, shipments from the company could double from 15,000t to 30,000t, raising total RDF use to 40,000t in the final quarter of 2025.

Plans are also underway to expand RDF infrastructure in 2026, with a regional municipal waste management and RDF production complex under construction near Volkovysk.

India: Tiruchi Corporation has intensified efforts to manage non-recyclable plastics by diverting them to cement plants for use as alternative fuel. The city generates 400 - 450t/day of waste, of which about 75% is segregated at source. Non-recyclable plastics are collected through door-to-door systems and sent to Dalmia Cements’ and UltraTech Cement’s plants, where they are used as refuse-derived fuel (RDF) in the kilns. Since July 2024, 2384t of plastics have been diverted to cement plants.

An upcoming automated material recovery facility at Ariyamangalam, with a capacity of 250t/day, is expected to further improve segregation, ensuring recyclable, non-recyclable, inert and RDF streams are directed to cement plants for reuse.

Pakistan: Cherat Cement has submitted a proposal to Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP) to use municipal solid waste from the city as refuse derived fuel (RDF) under a public-private partnership. The company said that approximately 500t/day of waste is collected from Peshawar and currently dumped at a 1.6Mt capacity landfill. The initiative would replace coal in cement production and generate revenue for WSSP while tackling the issue of solid waste management.

India: Swachha Andhra Co. chair K Pattabhiram and Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board chair P Krishnaiah said cement manufacturers must use refuse-derived fuel (RDF) in kilns as per the Solid Waste Management rules issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in 2018. The regulation requires a minimum RDF usage of 15% to reduce coal consumption in cement production.

Pattabhiram said 7000t of waste is generated daily from 123 urban local bodies, and stressed the need for daily processing to eliminate dumping yards. He urged cement plants within 400km of municipalities to comply. Krishnaiah added that a joint technical committee would be formed to assist cement producers in implementing the rule.

Vietnam: Xuan Son Group held the launch ceremony for Xuan Son Cement at the Xuan Son cement plant in Hoa Binh province on 21 February 2025. The plant spans 40 hectares, with a US$196m investment and a production capacity of 3.5Mt/yr. The plant integrates Polysius grinding technology, Flender transmission systems, Haver & Boecker automated packaging technology and electrical equipment and motors from Pfeiffer, Vacuum and ABB. Heat consumption is below 680kCal/kg of clinker, and electricity consumption is under 71kW/t of cement, according to the company. The plant uses refuse-derived fuel in the kiln, as well as waste heat recovery to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. It aims for zero NO_x and CO₂ emissions.

Slovakia: Slovak cement plants recovered 374,000t of alternative fuels made from waste in 2024, replacing 75% of heat from fossil fuels, according to the Cement Manufacturers Association (ZVC) of the Slovak Republic. This has reportedly saved almost 230,000t of coal and reduced the cement plants’ carbon footprint.

Director of ZVC Rudolf Mackovic said “Instead of waste, such as non-recyclable plastics, being deposited in landfills without being used, it is processed into fuel in processing plants. Such an alternative fuel meets strict quality and ecological parameters.”