Residents close to Adbri’s Birkenhead cement plant near Adelaide, South Australia, have expressed concern about a potential increase in the amount of plastic being burned as an alternative fuel (AF) at the plant. City of Port Adelaide Enfield Councillor Peter McGregor has also announced his opposition.

"Adbri has used refuse-derived fuel (RDF) in the past. It currently contains 20% plastic. What they're proposing now is to use more RDF and increase the plastic in a separate part of their plant," said McGregor, who claimed that a new permit would allow the plant to use up to 50% plastic in its RDF. This has not been confirmed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In a statement, Adbri said the company has hosted information sessions and has encouraged the local community ‘to provide feedback on proposed trials to further reduce fossil fuel usage’ at its Birkenhead facility. Adbri said that the RDF it uses is made from construction and demolition waste that would otherwise be sent to landfill and that the trial would take place in full compliance with EPA regulations.

China: KHD Humboldt Wedag has commissioned a Pyrorotor alternative fuels (AF) system on a 5000t/day production line at Conch Group’s Baoshan cement plant in Yunnan Province, the second deployment of the system in China. During commissioning, the Pyrorotor system processed high-moisture biomass and a mix of municipal solid waste, achieving a feed rate of 18t/hr while maintaining kiln stability. The kiln operated at higher rotational speeds to adapt to challenging fuel conditions, with no material build-up recorded at the inlet.

KHD Humboldt Wedag’s commissioning supervisor Timuçin Tuzcuoğlu said “The Pyrorotor unit handled the adverse fuel conditions without a problem,” adding that further improvements could be achieved with 'higher-quality fuels.'

Following commissioning, the Baoshan plant team plans to test additional biomass feedstocks, expand fuels preparation capacity and explore the use of externally-sourced AF. The plant will also showcase the installation to representatives of other plants within Conch Group.

Oman: Oman Cement has launched a project at its Misfah plant in Muscat Governorate that uses industrial waste as fuel to reduce reliance on natural gas. The company installed a shredding machine to prepare industrial waste as fuel and awarded a contract to supply and install a system to feed the material into Kiln 1. The project reportedly forms part of the producer’s strategy to increase efficiency, increase capacity and reduce fossil fuel use and aligns with Oman Vision 2040 and the company’s decarbonisation targets. In 2024, Oman Cement said it was investing in a waste-to-energy designed to utilise refuse derived as an alternative energy source.

Egypt: Al-Mal Titan Egypt Cement aims to reach production of 0.4Mt/yr of alternative fuel by the end of 2027, backed by €7-8m in investment financed by its global parent company.

Essam Abdelnabi, managing director of Titan Egypt subsidiary Gaia Alternative Energy, said alternative fuels currently account for about 40% of total energy demand. He added that the company’s Beni Suef plant signed an agreement to generate 10,000MW of solar powered electricity, covering around 13% of its energy needs.

Abdelnabi said that Titan plans to supply alternative fuels to third parties in the future and is participating in a presidential initiative to recycle construction waste in cooperation with Beni Suef University. He added that the company has made ‘significant’ progress in reducing its CO₂ emissions through improved energy efficiency and increasing reliance on alternative fuels. Amr Reda, CEO of Titan Egypt, said that the company plans to invest US$64m by the end of 2029 through a mix of internal and bank financing.