14th Global CemFuels Conference 2020
19 - 20 February 2020
See the Global CemFuels Conference 2020 video
See the Global CemFuels Conference 2020 photo-gallery
The 14th Global CemFuels Conference and Exhibition has successfully taken place in Paphos, Cyprus, with 130 attendees, 21 exhibitors, 17 presentations, the Global CemFuels Awards and a visit to Vassiliko Cement. The 15th Global CemFuels Conference will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, in February 2021.
The 14th Global CemFuels Conference took place in the pleasant surroundings of the Aphrodite Hills Resort, near Paphos, Cyprus, and attracted attendees from 25 countries around the world.
Mr Costas Hadjipanayiotou, director of the Department of Environment in Cyprus, started the conference by welcoming delegates to Cyprus and outlining the status of the circular economy in Cyprus.
Theodoulos Mesimeris, senior environment officer and head of the climate action and energy unit at the Department of Environment in Cyprus gave details of Europe’s new Green Deal, which will include a comprehensive plan to decrease the region’s carbon emissions. A new ‘carbon border adjustment mechanism’ (carbon border tax) is envisaged under the plan, ensuring that importers are in effect subject to the costs of the EU ETS.
Sussan Pasuki of HeidelbergCement (HC) next gave an outlook on alternative fuels (AF) for the next decade and beyond. HC’s target for specific net emissions per tonne of cementitious material is a reduction of 30% to below 530kg/t by 2030, with an AF thermal substitution rate (TSR) of beyond 30% on average by 2030. Clinker substitution, concrete optimisation and the reduction of the amount of concrete used in buildings will all drive down total emissions, alongside reuse and recycling of concrete, alternative binders and also carbon capture and storage/utilisation (CCS/U). The vision is of carbon neutral concrete by 2050, although Sussan suggested that it will come sooner than that. Sussan forecast that by 2050, fossil fuels will no longer be used in the cement industry, instead the use of biomass-based alternative fuels will be ubiquitous. She suggested that waste imports and exports will dwindle and stop. Alternative raw materials may also come to the fore.
Andy Hill, speaking on behalf of N+P, gave an overview of European and world alternative fuel markets and trends. Borders are being closed to alternative fuels and materials are being increasingly ‘repatriated,’ obliging countries to process ‘at home.’ More plants are tending to go into the energy from waste (EfW) sector, while at the same time there is more pressure to recycle or to avoid landfill. Landfill costs are increasing, which is increasingly driving recycling rates in Europe. Countries without formalised waste management systems generally have the poorest record on recycling or alternative fuel use, but Andy Hill suggested that these countries, including China, India and Nigeria, have the most potential for increased AF use. Andy mentioned a trial of N+P’s SubCoal pellets in Saudi Arabia, as well as a number of other trials in the Middle East and around the world. He concluded that alternative fuels are likely to become a more localised solution to local problems, and he hoped that alternative fuels would eventually achieve ‘product status.’
Olivier Thomas, CEO of Suez Trading Europe, firstly introduced his company, which produced 1.4Mt of alternative fuels in 2019. He suggested that there is an ongoing trend towards the use of AF in the east of Europe, which is progressively moving further south. The disruption to supply chains, with the ongoing remaking of AF fuel flows, means increased volatility of AF prices. Olivier suggested that increasingly stringent regulations on the spreading of sludge on agricultural land could lead to greater tonnage becoming available for the cement industry, at beneficial rates. Fuels now tend to be priced in energy content. The UK is still a major source for alternative fuels in Europe, primarily to Germany, the Low Countries and to Scandinavia. He confidently forecast an EU ETS permit cost of Euro50/t in the next few years.
Mark Terrell of waste aggregator Andusia Holdings spoke about the practicalities of exporting AF to new markets. He mentioned that the calorific value (CV) of alternative fuels is tending to increase, due to an increased plastic content and lower moisture content.
Michalis Akritopoulos of Cinar and co-authors from Vassiliko Cement spoke on the optimisation of a calciner for the reduction of NOx and increase of TSR at the plant. Three additional injection locations were added at the riser duct, leading to a system of four burners for maximum fuel spread. Tertiary air was modified to direct it higher and to increase the fuel-rich region. By the elimination of the upper burners, a 40% decrease in NOx has been achieved. AF use has also increased, reaching a 90 - 95% rate in the calciner.
Matthias Schumacher of aixergeee Process Optimisation next spoke about the ‘Retention Time Myth.’ Users are often told that if they can extend the residence time in their calciner to 7-8 seconds, then they will be able to use practically any alternative fuel. Matthias contradicted this view. First he pointed out that AF should be examined to determine the terminal velocity of the individual fractions, which will determine the gas velocities required for suspension of the fuel, as well as examining the burn-out behaviour of the fractions. Matthias suggested that most particles will stay in the calciner for longer than the gas retention time, allowing the particles time to burn out completely. Segregation of particles is inevitable, but this can be turned to the advantage of the cement producer.
Mads Nielsen of FLSmidth next spoke on low- to medium-velocity calciners. He suggested that these calciners are the first and easiest choice of AF combustion, being well-suited for a high percentage of waste fuel. The low velocity gives the particles time for drying, ignition and full combustion, with particle residence times of 20-25 seconds. Mads went on to mention a new low-NOx ILC calciner, which features a lower reduced-diameter larger reduction zone, and more burner points, leading to better burnout behaviour and low NOx levels, without SNCR.
The final presentation on the first day of the conference was given by Stephane Poellaer of Alterline, who spoke on the financial aspects of using different types of AF. When co-processing AF, a cement plant will have an increased heat consumption, due to the moisture and ash content of the fuels, along with a higher gas volume, usually a higher input of chlorine and often an increase in kiln variability. AF benefits include the gate fee (minus any preparation costs) plus the substitution benefits (compared to traditional fuels) plus the avoided CO2 fossil fuel costs, plus the incalculable benefits to corporate social responsibility and reputation. Negative impacts, which cost to mitigate, include the increased specific heat consumption, often a decreased production capacity and a decrease in flame temperature. Often there is an incalculable cost for a reduced kiln availability, higher operating costs and higher maintenance costs. There may also be an impact on clinker and cement quality, and the possibility of an impact on emissions (although possibly for the better). Stephane gave a detailed analysis of the economic impacts of a variety of alternative fuels, which clearly indicated that all alternative fuels are not made equal.
Global CemFuels Awards Dinner
At the end of the first day of the conference, delegates enjoyed a ‘Cypriot Night’ dinner, at which the Global CemFuels Awards were presented. Outstanding alternative fuel project of the year was Vassiliko Cement, while HeidelbergCement was awarded AF-using company of the year. Geocycle was awarded the AF-supplying company of the year and Lindner won the award for most innovative technology for AF-use, for its DEX drive. George Americanos of Enerco Energy Recovery Ltd won the CemFuels ‘project manager of the year’ award (for the second time) and the VDZ GmbH won in the category of ‘outstanding contribution to the promotion of the use of alternative fuels.’ Majed Alosailan of City Cement Company, Saudi Arabia, was awarded the Global CemFuels ‘personality of the year.’
Conference second day
On the second day of the conference, Luc Rieffel of ATS Group spoke about case studies in reception, storage, handling and dosing of alternative fuels at projects in Turkey, Mexico and the UAE. Luc mentioned a full AF system that was installed at HeidelbergCement’s Burglengenfeld plant, which will be visited by delegates at Global Cement’s CemProcess conference in May 2020.
Josef Imp of Tana Oy of Finland next spoke about his company’s mobile shredders. The shredders can be relocated within and across facilities, eliminating the need to move waste around and also allowing fast access to new markets. The shredders, primarily used for tyres and even for coarser waste like telegraph poles, are available in diesel and electric versions.
Majed Alosailan of City Cement next gave an overview of the Saudi Arabian cement sector and of alternative fuel use. There are more than 70 kilns in Saudi Arabia, with a production capacity of 75Mt. City Cement has two dry lines, as well as a Waste Heat Recovery (WHR) unit. The total value of announced government construction projects across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) for the next 10 years is US$1.2trn. The country experienced a dip in economic activity starting in 2015, but growth is expected to commence in 2020, with growth rates of around 5-6%. Municipal solid waste (MSW) generation is in the order of 16Mt per year and it is estimated that there are 13Mt of tyres in the country’s landfills. Government fuel subsidies will be fully removed by 2023 and landfilling will become more expensive and may be outlawed. City Cement is pushing hard to increase its TSR of AF, not only to reduce its fuel cost, but also to diversify as a waste processor and environmental services provider. The company has a TSR of 22% in 2020, but is aiming for at least 26% in the short term.
Next up was Luigi Di Matteo of the Di Matteo Group, who spoke on his company’s wide-ranging capabilities to help cement producers to use more AF. Dr Di Matteo made the important point that before use, the chemical, physical, thermal and safety properties of the fuel must be fully characterised. He further pointed out that there is an important step that occurs before the reception of AF at the cement plant, involving the collection of the basic components of the future fuel (for example MSW or industrial wastes), separation and preparation - a step that may be carried out by an external company, but which has also been brought ‘in-house’ by some cement companies. Luigi suggested that his company ‘has a machine’ for every stage of alternative fuel preparation and use - although he said that he would leave the design and manufacture of burners to other companies.
A joint presentation by Taís Mazza Joudeh, presented by Michael Suppaner of A TEC, was next, looking at maximising thermal substitution of fossil fuels. The Austrian market, home to A TEC and recipient of its most intense consulting advice, is not sold out, so that the reduction of costs is of paramount importance. Michael pointed out that Austrian cement plants all run at more than 70% TSR, with some managing 100% (including by using liquid fuels). All use 100% AF in the calciner, with the others using 70 - 75% AF TSR in the kiln burner. He reminded delegates that the calciner is not so ‘fussy,’ but that the burner typically requires higher quality fuels, with constant and high heating value. Finer shredding of AF can improve the burning characteristics of the fuels, and Michael suggested that the A TEC ‘Rocket Mill’ (a chain hammer mill with high-speed rotating chains) can efficiently mill fuels. Although the mill has a relatively high specific power consumption, this is compensated by low maintenance cost and high resultant fuel quality.
Pietro Paolo Cella of Entsorga Italia then gave delegates details of the first year of operation of a mechanical-biological treatment (MBT) facility at Martinsburg, West Virginia. The plant takes in untreated municipal solid waste at a rate of 80,000t/yr, producing 55,000t/yr of SRF. A Falcon near-infrared system is used to segregate PVC from the waste stream, which reduces the chlorine content of the final product (called ‘Prometheus’ SRF) towards the target of less than 0.3% content by weight of chlorine, and average 20MJ/kg calorific value. The plant enjoys a demand for its product higher than its production capacity. Another five plants are being built on the US east coast, one with a capacity of 350,000t/yr of SRF, and the Martinsburg plant has been visited by more than 300 delegations in the seven months since July 2019.
Wolfgang Zschiesche of Vecoplan next spoke about ‘best practice’ for RDF preparation and handling. Vecoplan has a ‘Major Concept’ or blueprint for successful AF reception, storage, post-processing, conveying and for dosing into the calciner and main burner.
Berthold Bussieweke of Thorwesten, Achim Rott of Yara and Robert Becker of robecco next gave a joint presentation on planning, monitoring and mitigation of fire and explosion risks when using alternative (and traditional) fuels. Typically, dust concentrations cannot be controlled, only the oxygen concentration, but for an explosion to occur, above and beyond a fire, then you must also have the presence of a dust cloud and confinement. Maintaining an inert atmosphere is crucial, but this cannot be done without monitoring. Explosive gases such as CO and CH4 must be monitored, as well as O2 concentration, while inerting gases such as CO2 or N2 may be used for inertinisation. Around 400 dust explosions and smouldering fires occur in Germany each year: Achim asked “how many in your country?”
Michal Hrala of Beumer Maschinenfabrik gave the final presentation at the conference, speaking on new trends in alternative fuels handling. Michal mentioned the U-shaped conveyor, which incorporates all the advantages of pipe conveyors, such as a nearly-closed form, vertical and horizontal curves and a light and compact structure, while at the same time allowing the conveying of very coarse and irregular alternative fuel particles.
Prizes and farewells
At the end of the conference a number of prizes were awarded. Sussan Pasuki of HeidelbergCement won third place in the best presentation awards, with Majed Alosailan of City Cement in second place. Stephane Poellaer of Alterline won the award for best presentation. Nathan Hughes of Knight Energy Services won a prize for being most active on the CemFuels cyber-community, while Spyris Demertzis of Titan Cement Company was most active on the Slido question portal. Best exhibition stand was awarded to the joint stand of Loesche/A TEC. On the conference questionnaire, the event was highly rated by attendees. All agreed to meet at the next Global CemFuels Conference, in Lisbon in February 2021.
Delegate comments
- Superb
- My first time at the conference and I found it very interesting
- Well done! Thanks to all the team
- Well organised conference, as usual by Pro Global Media
- Very well organised
- Overall a well-run and enjoyable conference
- Very interesting and informative
- Speed-dating worked well
- Great organisation
- [My favourite thing was] Having the opportunity to exchange experiences and ideas with skilled professionals in the AF field
- A well organised conference
- Good time-keeping
- There was enough time to visit the exhibition
- Congratulations with the interesting conference!
