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Aberthaw Works submits alternative fuels proposal 11 August 2011
UK: Plans to burn used tyres and plastics for energy at Lafarge's Aberthaw works in South Wales have been submitted to the Environment Agency for approval. Lafarge's comes after it sent out 5000 letters to residents explaining the latest proposals and held two public consultations. The proposal has previously sparked concerns among some residents and environmentalists.
The plant's management team says that the move would cut costs and reduce coal burning and CO2 emissions. The proposal comes six years after the Lafarge meat and bone meal (MBM) from cows and sheep as a sustainable waste-derived fuel at the plant. If the move is approved by the Environment Agency, the used Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF), including papers and plastics, and end-of-life car and van tyres, could save up to 15,500t/yr of coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 20,000t/yr.
James Kirkpatrick, manager at the Aberthaw works, which has an integrated capacity of 0.55Mt/yr, said the plan had been prompted by increased competition in the cement market and a serious downturn in demand for construction products. "Since it was introduced in 2005, we have used 50,000t of MBM which has significantly reduced our consumption of fossil fuels," he said. "Extending the range of sustainable waste-derived fuels we can use offers us a good way to keep a check on our costs which have been escalating."
Keith Stockdale, secretary of Barry and Vale Friends of the Earth, said, "The Environment Agency will have to impose strict conditions on the burning of this potentially hazardous waste."
Investor battles to revive Rift Valley project 10 August 2011
Kenya: Investors behind the US$148m plant in the Pokot region of Kenya have pledged to go ahead with construction, which has failed to take off 14 months after the ground-breaking ceremony. Directors have blamed the delay on various studies required before the investment.
“The Chinese contractors will be on the site soon,” said project director Rajeshkumar Rawal. “A general manager is already on the ground.” He rebuked industry talk that Indian plant builders Sanghi Cement had approached a local cement industry player insisting that local investors still held 26% of the stake with the Indian group taking the balance. Mr Rawal, a shareholder in the project, was in the thick of the battle to secure rights and licences for the project but he could not give a specific time frame promising more details in late August 2011 when Sanghi chiefs visit Kenya.
Some industry players have doubted the viability of setting up a factory in the remote area with poor infrastructure despite its proximity to the South Sudan which has strong potential for cement consumption.
Fauji Cement powers Pakistan plant with refuse 09 August 2011
Pakistan: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) for Islamabad has made temporary arrangement with Fauji Cement for the disposal of garbage from Sector I-14 of the city to cut pollution. Disposal of garbage has become a major issue for the city and the agreement was carried out in the interests of citizens a CDA official announced.
Fauji Cement has installed a waste processing plant at its site in the Tehsil Fateh Jang region of the Attock District. Here solid waste is processed for the generation of fuel to run the plant using Refuse Derived Fuel technology. As per the agreement, the CDA transports garbage to a nearby green belt whereupon Fauji Cement takes responsibility for segregating the material, taking it to the plant and covering the remaining material with mud.
The CDA official stated that previously the garbage was being disposed of in deep ditches covered with soil but it was an unhygienic and undesirable practice. However, as the Fauji Cement covers the garbage (remains) with mud, there is hardly any adverse impact on the environment. Currently a study is being conducted to gauge the impact of disposal of garbage on the environment in Islamabad.
Iran's output increases 19% 08 August 2011
Iran: Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) has announced that Iran produced 23.41Mt of cement in the first four months of the current Iranian year (21 March 2011 to 22 July 2011) showing a 19% rise compared with the same period in 2010.
The report added that Iranian companies produced 6.37Mt in Tir (4th month in the solar calendar, 22 June 2011 – 22 July 2011). Mohammad Hassan Pourkhalil, the secretary of the Cement Industry Contractors Union, stated that Iran exported 0.94Mt of cement in this month. Pourkhalil added that Iran's exports of cement and clinker surpassed 3.40Mt from 21 March to 22 July, showing a 14% growth compared with the same period in 2010.
In June 2011 Iran launched two new cement factories in the provinces of West Azerbaijan and Golestan. Khoy cement factory, which cost USD140m, has the capacity to produce more than 1Mt/yr. Galikesh cement factory, which employs some 210 workers and cost about USD165m, has the capacity to produce more than 3,400t/day.
Loma Negra to invest in Argentina 08 August 2011
Argentina: Cement maker Loma Negra, controlled by Brazil's Grupo Camargo Correa, will invest USD404m in Argentina between 2012 and 2014, President Cristina Fernandez has announced.
Camargo Correa officials met with the Argentine president Fernandez and presented an investment plan that includes a new cement plant. "They told me about investments... for USD404m with a cement plant that will allow them to produce 900,000t more," Fernandez, who is seeking re-election in October 2011, said in a speech.
The investments, aimed at increasing output, also include a coal stockpile yard, said Ricardo Lima, vice president of operations at Camargo Correa. Loma Negra has nine cement plants and six concrete plants.