Displaying items by tag: Alternative Fuels
Used tyres to reduce costs at Irish Cement 's Limerick plant
04 December 2015Ireland: Irish Cement will burn used tyres in a bid to cut costs and secure jobs at its Limerick plant. The company plans to switch to dry waste material such as rubber from used tyres and plastic to heat the kiln at the plant. The switch will cut costs, make the plant cleaner and more competitive, according to the company.
A spokesman for Irish Cement said that the company would shortly be lodging a planning application with Limerick City and County Council for the replacement of fossil fuels with alternative fuels and raw materials to improve the sustainability of their operations. The company will also be seeking a revision of its licence from the Environmental Protection Agency.
"Limerick is Ireland's oldest cement plant, having commenced operations 77 years ago. Its continuous operation has been sustained by continuous investment in new technologies and processes. After the recent period of reduced demand, production is once again on the increase at home and abroad for cement. This fuel replacement programme will be key to sustaining this growth," said Plant Manager Pat Robinson. "Based on experience in other cement plants in Ireland and throughout Europe, the opportunity to reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels will prove critical to our ability to operate competitively and sustain jobs at Irish Cement Limerick into the future."
UK: Axion Polymers has invested significantly in new laboratory and testing facilities to ensure consistent quality of its solid recovered fuel (SRF) products and to satisfy the stringent standards of its technical end markets.
It has installed a laboratory-scale furnace at its large-scale processing facility, Shredder Waste Advanced Processing Plant (SWAPP), in Trafford Park, Manchester to enhance accurate measurement and testing of the physical and thermal properties of its Axfuel® SRF 30, an alternative fuel used by the cement industry, among others.
Axion has also recruited a quality control team working within ISO 9001 operating procedures to conduct in-house product testing, including analysis on critical aspects such as SRF calorific value and chemical composition. Samples are sent on a weekly basis to external laboratories for further testing and verification.
Derived from automotive shredder residue, Axfuel SRF 30 is a sub 30mm-sized mixture of textiles, fibre-fluff, plastic, foam and rubber, with a gross calorific value of 18 - 22MJ/Kg and available in large tonnages.
"We have made this important investment because alternative fuels from waste need to be treated as a product, not as a waste. If SRF is to deliver the fuel benefit and meet the technically-demanding specifications of our end markets, it has to be of consistently high quality so customers can buy with confidence," said Axion director Roger Morton. "By operating within strict quality controls, we can ensure our reliable supply of SRF is produced to exceptionally high standards. As this fuel is sourced from end-of-life vehicles, giving it a second life as an alternative high-energy feed is going to be an attractive option for companies who want to demonstrate their environmental credentials."
New 40MW waste-to-energy project planned for Punjab
10 August 2015India: The Punjab government has approved a 40MW generation project using solid waste as fuel. The project will be set up by Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) and US-based Eco Air will prepare a feasibility study and provide technical assistance, according to Pakistan Engineering Review.
LWMC manager LWMC Wasif Azhar said that the project would help Lahore to dispose of solid waste in a useful way and provide cheap electricity. He hoped that the initiative would attract more investments. The project contract will be awarded on a build, operate and transfer basis.
The project will be set up at a landfill site near Lakho Der, along the River Ravi, to be provided to the investor free of cost. LWMC has signed agreements with DG Khan Cement and Lahore Compost to supply 1000t/day of solid waste for recycling. The companies will segregate the waste into two major components: Burnable and organic. The burnable component will be used as fuel in industrial units, while the organic material will be separated for bio-fertilisers to reduce the use of chemical fertilisers.
Thailand: Executives from 50 administrative bodies in Nakhon Ratchasima Province have discussed how to dispose of 638,060t of accumulated garbage. A report on 'proper and practical methods' for disposal of the rubbish must be sent to the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning by 30 July 2015.
The Comptroller-General's department has calculated that Nakhon Ratchasima will need US$6.19m in the 2016 fiscal year to dispose of the accumulated trash. Ranongrak Suwanchawee, president of the Nakhon Ratchasima Provincial Administrative Organisation, said that officials had agreed to transport and dispose of the garbage at a TPI Polene cement plant in Saraburi Province. This meant 29,000 trips to carry the trash in trucks plus the digging and levelling of a tip. The organisation has estimated that Nakhon Ratchasima would need a budget of about US$7.33m, slightly more than the department calculated.
Canada: McInnis Cement and the St Elzear Forestry Cooperative Association (ACF) have signed a cooperative agreement to study the feasibility of using forest biomass as an auxiliary fuel for the cement plant under construction in Port-Daniel-Gascons.
The utilisation of forest biomass as an alternative fuel would enable the McInnis cement plant to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). McInnis Cement has provided the equipment necessary for the use of alternative fuels at its new cement plant.
"We are pleased to establish this collaboration with the region's forest industry in line with our GHG reduction plan," said Christian Gagnon, president and CEO of McInnis Cement. "Any operations that result from this agreement will be reviewed by the Environmental Committee, whose work began in April 2015," he added.
Forest biomass is a fuel source in abundant supply in Gaspé. McInnis Cement requires a local long-term quality source of supply at competitive costs. The St Elzear ACF is able to supply forest residues, wood chips, sawdust, shavings and bark.
"By studying the possibilities together, including from the outset the client's needs and the capabilities of potential suppliers, we are putting all the pieces in place to make this project a reality," said Sebastien Roy, executive director of the St Alzear ACF. "The success of a fruitful partnership between McInnis and our organisation would be a big boost to our industry. The situation is complex since, beyond availability, supply sources need to be guaranteed over the long-term and quality and prices must remain competitive, including product transportation and processing costs."
Egypt: According to Reuters, Arabian Cement Company has commissioned new alternative fuel processing machinery at its plant in Suez.
The state-of-the-art FLSmidth HOTDISCTM allows Arabian Cement's plant to rely completely on coal and alternative fuels to run its operations. Moreover, it enables the plant to operate its kilns using alternative fuel materials directly, without the need to pre-treat them. Arabian Cement now has a designed fuel mix of 70% coal and 30% alternative fuels. The alternative fuel that will be used will be a mixture of agricultural wastes, municipal sludge and refuse-derived fuels (RDF). Alternative fuel use is expected to result in around 60,000t/yr of reduced CO2 emissions.
New RDF plant comes online in Pasig, Manilla
25 June 2015Philippines: According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, on 24 June 2015 the Pasig City government brought online what it described as, 'The country's largest facility for turning rubbish into fuel, capable of processing 600t/day of trash.'
The plant, which is Pasig City's joint project with the IPM Construction & Development Corp (IPM) and the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), can process almost all of the city's daily waste production into refuse-derived fuel (RDF). Pasig City mayor Maribel Eusebio said that the plant would produce fuel pellets from the waste, which would then be supplied as an alternative fuel to cement plants. The RDF is majority-owned by Basic Environmental Systems & Technologies (BEST), a subsidiary of publicly-listed Minerales Industrias Corp, as well as France-based Lafarge Industrial Ecology International.
The plant mechanically segregates waste, selecting garbage with high thermal value that will be shredded, made into pellets and wrapped into bales. The plant is expected to convert 25 – 35% of the processed waste into alternative fuel for cement kilns. "The plant addresses serious concerns on increasing municipal solid waste and disposal," said Eusebio. "The RDF plant also complies with the waste diversion requirement of Republic Act No 9003 or Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. It also addresses climate change issues associated with how municipal wastes are managed."
The use of RDF in lieu of coal addresses the twin issues of solid waste management and climate change. "This is the largest RDF plant in the Philippines to date," said Isabelita P Mercado, president of IPM, which operates and manages the plant. "This is also a pioneering endeavour to save the environment by reducing our dependence on fossil fuel."
India: According to the Economic Times, the waste from city kitchens will soon be recycled into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) at waste processing plants in Kalaburagi City, Karnataka. The RDF from the 10 upcoming waste processing plants in Kalaburagi will be given to cement companies for use as fuel and the biodegradable waste will be used as manure by farmers.
The joint initiative taken up by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development & Finance Corporation (KUIDFC) has had agreements with cement manufacturers such as ACC, Vicat Sagar and UltraTech in Kalaburagi.
"Plastic-like material is a good alternative for fossil fuel as it can replace up to 20% of fossil fuel in terms of energy," said KSPCB chairman Vaman Acharya. The pact is yet to be signed and talks between the stakeholders is in the final stages. Transport costs for the RDF are estimated to be less than US$0.016/kg.
The idea to use RDF instead of fossil fuel in Kalaburagi cement plants was first conceived by Hasiru Dala, a Bengaluru-based non profit organisation working on waste management. It has provided 100t of combustible waste to Zuari Cements' plant in Andhra Pradesh in the past two months. Nalini Shekar, founder of Hasiru Dala, said that the material was not sold to the cement plant for a price, but Zuari paid for packaging and transportation. Households have been asked to segregate waste and hand it to BBMP garbage collectors to make the process easier.
INC looks to expand fuels mixture
03 June 2015Paraguay: Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC) is looking to diversify its fuels mixture to include other types of oils and possibly biofuels. The company has signed an agreement with the engineering faculty at Asuncion National University (FIUNA) to certify the use of biofuels. INC's president Jorge Mendez believes that, from 2016, INC may start using a variety of fuels, following a US$50m investment in its furnace. This could save US$22m/yr, but it will not necessarily mean that biofuel will be used.
Egypt: Lafarge Industrial Ecology (Ecocem) has signed two major contracts to manage and operate existing refuse-derived fuel (RDF) platforms in Suez and Qalyubeya in Egypt.
In an effort to continue its efficient waste management processes, the company has signed a year agreement to renovate and upgrade the platforms in Suez and another separate 10-year agreement to manage and operate the existing platforms in Qalyubeya. Lafarge Ecocem has already added a new production line to the Suez platform and plans an additional line within one year of signing its contract with the governorate. The plant will produce 42,000t/yr of RDF and the investment will total US$1.66m.
Ecocem has also already added an extra line to the Qalyubea plant, in addition to renovating one production line. The company's future investments in the governorate will increase the RDF production capacity by 32,000t/yr to 280,000t/yr. Both investments at the Qalyubeya plant were funded by GIZ and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with a total Investment of US$1m.
"In line with our 'Building Egypt 2030' campaign, Lafarge is committed to help solve the issue of waste in Egypt and to continue taking the necessary steps towards sustainable development," said Hussein Mansi, CEO of Lafarge Egypt. "At Lafarge Egypt, we feel it is our responsibility as a leader in building solutions to be the major proponents in waste management and plan to continue finding many opportunities to make a difference."
Building on its waste management strategy, Lafarge Ecocem is committing to several additional long-term contracts with different governorates to help convert municipal solid wastes to alternative fuels. In addition, in March 2015, Lafarge Egypt and Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding S A E signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a waste management framework of municipal and agricultural waste.
Lafarge Egypt and Ecocem have implemented many projects over the past three years in order to increase the use of alternative fuels and aim to achieve an average fuel substitution rate of 25% by the end of 2015. More than 260,000t of waste have been processed and fired in Lafarge's Sokhna plant since 2013, an equivalent of 100,000t of fossil fuels.