2nd Global Fuels Conference 2008
4-5 February, London, UK
Reviewed by Dr Nino Mancino and Joe Kellam, Global Fuels Magazine
The 2nd Global Fuels Conference successfully took place in the historic city of London on 4-5 February 2008. Over 100 delegates from 27 countries attended the two-day event at the Marriott Grosvenor Square. The conference featured 24 world-class papers covering the field of alternative fuels for the cement and lime industries, as well as a high-quality exhibition area that attracted considerable interest.
Day One
Session 1: Fuel issues for the cement and lime industries
After a pleasant cocktail reception held on the evening on Sunday 3 February, the first official day of the conference began at 9am sharp on the morning on Monday 4 February. Dr Robert McCaffrey, conference co-convenor and chairman, welcomed a packed auditorium before introducing the first speaker, Luiz Carlos de Sousa of Holcim. Mr de Sousa proceeded to discuss the co-processing of waste in cement kilns, focusing on case studies from developing countries. This co-processing strategy forms a core part of Holcim’s approach to sustainable cement production and good citizenship. After a wide-ranging talk, Mr de Sousa ended by saying that Holcim anticipates a six-fold potential increase in co-processing in developing countries compared to more mature markets, a move that will lead to considerable costs savings and an improved environmental footprint.
Hot on the heels of this impressive opening talk, Mark Mutter of Cement Performance International followed up with an equally interesting paper entitled ‘Practical aspects of alternative fuels usage.’ As the title suggests, Mr Mutter stressed the fact that the ‘human’ element of moving to waste-derived fuels (e.g. cement plants gaining local community support and establishing good relationships with regulatory agencies) is just as important as the technical aspects of alternative fuels. This point often gets overlooked, and Mr Mutter’s paper should act as a timely reminder.
Our third speaker came all the way from Bahrain, in the form of Alexander Koshi of Arabian Gulf Cement Co. Mr Koshi spoke about the way in which his company has used waste oil left over from the Second World War as a fuel in cement manufacture. The project involved considerable technical difficulty in turning a dirty, low-grade oil into a useable fuel. However, Mr Koshi and his like-minded colleagues demonstrated admirable tenacity in turning the project into a success.
After the first of three ‘meet the delegates’ sessions, the next speaker was the highly-experience Tom Lowes, formerly of Holcim and Lafarge, but now a consultant for Cinar Ltd. Cinar specialises in computational fluid dynamics for modelling combustion in cement calciners and kilns. Mr Lowes made the salient point that while combustion optimisation requires one to think ‘outside the box’, the corollary is that one has to know firstly what goes on ‘inside the box.’ In this respect Cinar leads the field, and has already served to improve the calcination and sintering performance for a host of industrial plants.
The presentation prior to lunch was delivered by Ted Reese of Cadence Environmental Energy Inc on the subject of Cadence’s staged combustion solutions. Cadence’s proprietary technology allows for mid-kiln injection of fuel and high-velocity air. This technique minimises stratification within the kiln, providing for better combustion properties, lower energy costs and a significant reduction in NOx emissions, typically 30%.
Session 2: Alternative fuels: Handling and conveying options
After a tasty buffet lunch, the next speaker to the podium was Hubert Konrad of Pfister GmbH. Mr Konrad spoke about Pfister’s rotor weigh feeder that allows for consistently high-quality dosing of alternative fuels for cement and lime kilns. Currently more than 1700 systems are in operation worldwide, a testament to Pfister’s considerable know-how in this field.
The seventh paper in a packed programme saw Luc Rieffel and Hervé Heller from ATS/Walter Materials Handling showcase the company’s range of bulk materials storage, dosing and extraction equipment. These technologies are ideally suited to alternative fuels handling, as demonstrated by the array of companies that have decided to draw on ATS’s expertise, including Holcim, Heidelbergcement, Cemex and Lafarge, among others!
Paper number eight was delivered by Vincent Grosskopf (representing Thorwesten Vent GmbH) on the subject of explosion and fire hazards caused by inadequate handling and storage of bulk materials. This is a risk that is especially acute for waste-derived fuels that are inherently heterogeneous in nature. Thorwesten Vent has designed a range of solutions to this problem, including silos that have specially mounted venting systems.
Sticking with the theme of silo design, Rizwan Chaudhry of Portasilo Ltd then took to the podium to tell the audience about Portasilo’s range of storage options for waste-derived fuels, notably animal and bone meal. These materials are notoriously difficult to handle owing to their fat content, which in the summer months poses a tricky problem.
Matthew Jones then spoke in detail about B&W Mechanical Handling (a subsidiary of the Aumund Group) and in particular, the Samson Surface Feeder. Among a multitude of applications, the Samson is ideally suited to feeding in waste-derived alternative fuels ready for firing in a kiln. The design of the Samson prevents the liberation of dust during the dropping of such fuels, a feature that offers an obvious environmental benefit.
Rahim Vaseghi of the Islamic Azad University of Iran then gave a brutally honest paper on the state of the Iranian energy industry. Iran is the world’s second largest producer of crude oil. Moreover, the large subsidies offered by the Iranian government mean that the price of oil in Iran is very low indeed. This offers no incentive for Iranian cement producers to adopt environmentally more benign alternative fuels. This situation is, in the opinion of Mr Vaseghi, unsustainable and will change in the next few months, providing a huge opportunity for the international alternative fuels industry.
Gala Dinner
The gala dinner took place in the grand surroundings of the Institute of Directors at 116 Pall Mall. The delegates were treated to a pre-dinner champagne reception, followed by a delicious meal surrounded by large portraits of notable historical characters from England’s rich past. Entertainment was provided by an accomplished swing band, which played a variety of classic numbers.
After dinner the Global Fuels Awards 2008 were presented in the following four categories: Outstanding alternative fuel project; Most innovative technology for alternative fuel use; Most innovative electrical energy efficiency project and Global Fuels Personality of the year.
The announcements were awaited with baited breath, complete with drum roll from the aforementioned band! In a manner that would not have looked out of place at an Oscars award ceremony, the name of each winner was drawn out of a silver envelope and announced by conference organiser Saija Nakari. The winner for ‘Outstanding alternative fuels project’ was Cemex Deutschland, for its pioneering Rüdersdorf cement plant. This plant uses a fluidised bed combustor prior to its cement kiln, and this venture has demonstrated consistent success and fuel savings over many years. Neville Roberts of Cemex received the award for the company.
The winner (of ‘Most innovative technology’ – the decision proved to be extremely hard for the judges to decide upon – eventually went to FLSmidth for its Hotdisc technology. The award was picked up by Morton Khynau Hansen. The Hotdisc is a major innovation that allows bulky solid alternative fuels to be burnt efficiently. The Hotdisc can also be retrofitted into existing plants, making it a truly elegant engineering solution.
The award for ‘Most innovative electrical energy efficiency project’ went to ABB for its Expert Optimiser software, as well as its other software programmes and variable speed drive solutions that allow cement plant managers to manage their energy usage in much more effective way. The award was received by Dr Eduardo Gallestey of ABB.
And last but not least, the proud, but clearly surprised winner of the ‘Global Fuels Personality of the Year’ went to Prof. Fred Lockwood. Prof. Lockwood has had a long involvement in combustion and is known worldwide as a very influential academic, crucially through his role over the years as a mentor and supervisor to his many students. Prof. Lockwood has also founded a company (Cinar) that has long promoted increased energy efficiency and alternative fuel use.
Day Two
Day two of the conference began with Session 3: ‘Waste-derived fuels and biomass in the cement and lime industries,’ chaired by Cinar’s Tom Lowes. Nerry Nedder of Goodwill Consulting presented the first paper on this theme, entitled ‘Contribution to sustainable development: Saving fossil fuels by firing RDF in the calciner of a cement kiln and grinding finish cement using a vertical roller mill – two case studies.’ The speaker first detailed an attempt to replace at least 25% of the fuel of a 100%-petcoke, 6000t/day, separate line calciner with RDF, without loss of production capacity, increased environmental impact or deterioration of clinker quality. If successful, 40,000t/year of RDF will be fired, saving around 25,000t/year of petcoke. Results are due in the very near future. “The project started two months ago, so it’s very fresh,” he explained.
The second case study he presented was the replacement of a two-chamber ball mill with a vertical roller mill, resulting in a 30% reduction in power consumption. Two-day strength dropped 5-10% due to the sharper particle size distribution, but 28-day strength was not affected.
Craig Ibbetson of Regen Fuels was next up, with his paper ‘Sourcing waste-derived fuels for the cement and lime industries.’ Mr Ibbetson summarised waste industry drivers, the waste collection process and waste plant cash flows, in an attempt to familiarise delegates with the waste sector.
“Users will switch when – and if – they can be sure of price, supply and quality,” he noted. Competing waste fuel consumers (the paper, chemicals, oil and metals industries) are not as particular about the fuel content as cement producers. Companies seeking to secure a reliable supply of waste fuels should therefore “create incentives to supply: long term relationships with suppliers will create value.”
The next presentation, ‘Waste – a growing resource: options for processing and using municipal solid waste and other selected wastes to produce a biomass-based primary or secondary fuel for use in industry,’ was delivered by Richard Woosnam of Orchid Environmental. Mr Woosnam presented various statistics related to municipal solid waste (MSW) and went on to introduce Orchid’s patented method of biomass fuel production from MSW (with a calorific value of 12-15MJ/kg (3500kCal/kg)). Each Ø3.6x18m processor line produces 6-7t/hour, and is “coming to an industrial estate near you soon.”
The third and final ‘Meet the delegates’ session then took place, followed by a break for coffee and networking in the exhibition area.
After the break, Liam Oldershaw of Systems4Recycling took to the podium, beginning with a brief history of the company. Mr Oldershaw mentioned S4R’s projects at Fibre Fuel in Slough, Castle Cement’s Ketton works, NPT Recycling and Mid UK Recycling, along with details of the problems encountered and overcome in each case (such as moisture content, metals/tramp materials, inerts, chlorine content and varying calorific values). It was concluded that the “potential RDF fuel availability within the UK is massive,” and that the market for it is rapidly developing, with growing demand from the cement and gasification industries.
Dirk Lechtenberg, director of Lechtenberg & Partner, Germany, stepped off the plane from Pakistan to give what must have been the most up-to-date presentation of the conference: ‘Use of RDF at cement plants in developing countries – projects in North Africa and Asia.’ The paper focused on the use of refuse-derived fuels (from MSW, industrial and agricultural waste) in cement plants. Mr Lechtenberg showed off an impressive list of clients, gave details of the fuel substitution rate in Germany, and spoke about the economic benefits of alternative fuels and their effect on clinker and emissions. He also presented details of his projects in Rajasthan, India; and Pakistan, where MVW Lechtenberg has realised a project in which household waste from Rawalpindi is processed and used as a secondary fuel in cement manufacture. Mr Lechtenberg plans to present a series of articles in Global Fuels Magazine over the coming months, discussing case studies and legal and economic frameworks for alternative fuel use in the cement industry.
Cimprogetti’s Vincenzo Ferri followed with ‘Renewable fuels (sawdust) for lime production,’ describing the principles of the company’s Twin-D lime kiln, fired with a variety of fuels (gas, liquid or solid). Its ‘Big Pocket’ burning lances were also introduced. The characteristics of coal, petcoke and sawdust were compared, with sawdust reportedly offering 3.5MJ/kg (843kCal/kg) CaO (and effectively zero CO2 emissions, on account of the carbon it absorbs during its lifetime). Operating cost reductions due to fuel savings and EU ETS credits were calculated as Euro764,000/year for petcoke and Euro1.2m/year for coal.
After lunch, chairman Tom Lowes was succeeded by Global Fuels Magazine’s own Dr Nino Mancino, for the fourth session: ‘Whole-system solutions for alternative fuels.’ The first paper in this category was ‘Developing an organisation focused on alternative fuels,’ presented by Rob Davies of Geocycle. This paper began by introducing Holcim and the locations of its 35 global AFR (alternative fuels and raw materials) business units. “Our goal is to deliver an engineered fuel to the cement kiln,” allowing better fuel continuity and higher substitution rates, Mr Davies explained. Stability in the supply chain is key, as is a good knowledge of co-processing equipment.
Morten Hansen of FLSmidth Alternative Fuels was next to present. His paper, ‘FLSmidth solutions and examples for alternative fuels in cement production,’ gave an overview of alternative fuel use in the cement industry, emphasising that alternative fuels are often sourced locally, bringing extra benefits to the community.
Mr Hansen explained the technical challenges introduced by alternative fuel use, and described FLSmidth’s technology, services and complete solutions, including the Duoflex burner, Hotdisc, multiple fuel controller and emissions monitoring systems, Pfister feeders and Koch conveyors. Case studies of a retrofit 100% alternative fuel substitution project – with results due in June 2008 – and staged fuel substitution (fluff and paper sludge) were presented.
The fifth and final session, ‘Fuel efficiency and combustion design,’ then began with the paper ‘Enhanced combustion of alternative fuels,’ presented by Frank Romano of Air Products. The use of oxygen to improve the combustion of alternative fuels has been shown to increase flame temperature and improve overall combustion stability. “The key,” Mr Romano explained, “is putting oxygen where it’s really needed the most.” The result is the ability to use a greater quantity of a wider variety of fuels, while maintaining or increasing clinker production. With a minimal capital cost to implement, the economics depend on oxygen cost, fuel cost differential (primary versus alternative), clinker value, technology used and the experience of the supplier.
Greco Enfil’s Marcio Staschower followed with his presentation on ‘The evolution and current status of the rotary kiln burner, especially in terms of NOx and alternative fuels firing.’ Mr Staschower’s paper looked at the combustion of liquid wastes (nebulisation aided by mechanical pressure or auxiliary fluid were compared) and the combustion of solid wastes (particularly pneumatic conveying and combustion issues). Greco’s main and precalciner burners were introduced, before the speaker tackled the control of thermal NOx formation and Greco’s low-NOx burners.
The next paper came from Eduardo Gallestey of ABB Switzerland. Entitled ‘From plant information management systems to process economic optimisation: Real time cement kiln fuel mix optimisation,’ it focused on ABB’s Expert Optmizer and Model Predictive Control (MPC) process control systems, particularly kiln fuel mix optimisation. The system forecasts changes and handles disturbances. “MPC is like chess – it predicts the next several moves of its opponent at each step of the optimisation,” Mr Gallestey explained. Direct end-user benefits were said to include savings of 1-5% on thermal energy bills, more stable operation, consistent clinker quality, strict emissions control, and lower maintenance costs.
Sanjiv Dhanjal of FCT then presented a paper entitled ‘Energy savings in the cement process: An integrated approach.’ Delegates were shown simulations of various problems, taken from examples within the cement industry, followed by simulations after the implementation of the solutions subsequently provided by FCT. Mr Dhanjal explained the company’s working procedure: “after modelling a problem, we take that information and design a burner.”
ABB’s Eduardo Gallestey returned to the stage for the final paper of the conference. ‘Energy optimisation in cement manufacturing’ looked at solutions and tools to reduce the electrical and thermal energy demands and their costs. Cooling accounts for approximately 10% of the electrical energy required to produce a ton of clinker. Hence the Multidrive system – using energy-saving motor-to-motor braking and cost-effective reduction of harmonics, with less cabling and no LV-distribution required. Mr Gallestey noted: “These things have been around three, four, five years – a very well tested solution.” Thermal energy savings in the kiln (of 3-7%) using Expert Optimizer were also discussed, as were fuel mix optimisation, grinding plant scheduling and Knowledge Manager energy- and production-monitoring solutions.
The event was rounded off with the ‘Best Presentation Awards,’ voted for by delegates and accompanied by drinks in the exhibition area. Third place was awarded to Richard Woosnam of Orchid, for his paper ‘Waste – a growing resource: options for processing and using municipal solid waste and other selected wastes to produce a biomass-based primary or secondary fuel for use in industry.’ Second place went to FCT’s Sanjiv Dhanjal, for his simulation-crammed presentation ‘Energy savings in the cement process: An integrated approach.’ First prize, as voted for by conference participants, was awarded to Dirk Lechtenberg of Lechtenberg & Partner. His paper, ‘Use of RDF at cement plants in developing countries – projects in North Africa and Asia,’ provided an excellent insight into the similarities and differences between alternative fuel use in developed and developing countries, illustrated with photos taken just days before at an MVW Lechtenberg project in Pakistan.
Participants were also balloted to decide the location of the 3rd Global Fuels Conference and Exhibition. Delegates voted for the event to take place in Toronto. But don’t worry – it is now scheduled a little later in the year – 8-9 June 2009 – to avoid the icy Canadian winter.
