Displaying items by tag: Alternative Fuels

UK: Saxlund International has collaborated with Hope Construction Materials to install and commission a new waste-derived fuel solution for Hope Construction Materials' cement plant in Derbyshire, UK. The solution has been designed to provide storage, transportation, weighing and injection of solid waste fuel (SWF) to the two kilns. The goal is to increase the rate at which Hope can replace fossil fuels with waste-derived alternatives to more than 50%, a key part of its long-term sustainability targets.

The project incorporates a fuel reception and push-floor storage solution, reclaim conveyors, process tower with drum magnet and star screen, together with a weighing and pneumatic injection system to the main burners. The system facilitates stable and reliable process conditions to help minimise build-up in the pre-heater tower. It also offers a 'future-proof' solution with the flexibility to handle changing fuel characteristics and different types of waste-derived fuels, should suppliers change in the future.

"This is a flagship project for us. Once fully operational, the new solid waste fuel (SWF) system will run on a 24/7 basis delivering fuel at a rate of up to 5t/hr to each kiln," said Matt Drew, managing director Saxlund International. "It means that Hope Works will soon be operating with a significantly larger proportion of waste-derived fuels, in the process diverting up to 80,000t/yr of bulk solid waste from landfill and representing significant carbon savings to the business."

Germany/Netherlands: HeidelbergCement has signed a six-year contract extension with waste management company Shanks Group for the supply of its ICOPOWER^® energy pellets.

Under the contract, Icopower, part of Shanks' Solid Waste Division, will supply HeidelbergCement with an increased volume of 54,000t/yr of the pellets, which are derived from commercial waste.

Shanks' production process includes a combination of sorting, drying and pelletising technology. In a statement Shanks said, "Unlike solid recovered fuel (SRF) or refuse derived fuel (RDF), ICOPOWER^® energy pellets are not classified as a waste product in the Netherlands."

India: The Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) plans to set up small-scale waste-to-energy plant to generate electricity. A Bangalore-based private company, which has been appointed for the project management, will submit a project report in four months. The JMC plans to generate nearly 6MW/day from 650t of waste.

"At present, JMC generates close to 1250t/day of waste," said deputy mayor Manoj Bhardawaj, "Of this 1250t, 350t is used to produce refuse-derived fuel that is sold to cement plants and 250t is used to produce compost manure. We are planning to generate electricity from the remaining 650t."

Egypt: Tourah Cement plans to invest US$39.4m to convert its plant to alternative fuels to recover production ability and profitability. Tourah did not make a profit in 2014.

Austria: UNTHA Shredding Technology is currently working on proposals for more than 250 global prospects, eager to reap the benefits of its innovative new XR-C waste shredder. European orders in the last six months stand at Euro5m, with Holcim and SITA the most recent clients to invest in the machine.

The robust XR Cutter is able to produce high-quality solid recovered fuel (SRF) in a single pass, with double the output per tonnage of competing machines. Input material can include bulky untreated waste. When comparing like-for-like tonnages, the XR uses 50% less power consumption than traditional static electro-hydraulic shredders.

The power savings are due to UNTHA's new high-torque, slow-speed 'Eco Drive' concept. Modern water-cooled synchronous motors work continuously without overheating, ensuring minimal disruption and downtime. This also keeps running and maintenance charges minimal, with typical wear costs significantly less than Euro1/t.

"The beauty of the XR machine is its flexibility," said Peter Streinik, UNTHA's head of shredding solutions for waste. "The cutting concept is completely configurable, enabling alternative fuel producers to manufacture SRF with a homogenous pre-determined particle size of 100 - 400mm, or a precise SRF with a 30mm fraction or less. Load-dependent speed controls also enable the XR's RPM and torque to be adjusted and optimised, in order to achieve throughputs of up to 70t/hr."

Egypt: Lafarge Egypt and Egyptian holding company Orascom Telecom Media (OTMT) and Technology Holding SAE have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop a waste management framework of municipal and agricultural waste.

The memorandum, signed by Lafarge Egypt CEO Hussein Mansi and OTMT deputy CEO and COO Tamer el Mahdy, was created in an effort to process large volumes of municipal and agricultural waste into alternative fuels to be used in the Lafarge plant in Egypt and other companies.

The MOU represents a step towards sustainable development in the country and will begin the creation of a circular economy through the reduction of waste burning and dumping. The agreement will also create new employment opportunities and reduce the dependency on fossil fuels in the country.

Lafarge Cement Egypt has been providing thermal treatment solutions in Egypt for around three years in collaboration with its subsidiary Ecocem Industrial Ecology Egypt, which develops, sources and pre-treats solutions to facilitate the recovery of wastes into alternative fuels. Lafarge Egypt and Ecocem aim to achieve an average fuel substitution rate of 25% by the end of 2015.

Egypt: Arabian Cement plans to use alternative energy to increase its capacity to 100%, according to company CEO Jose Maria Magrina. The company is currently running at approximately 80% of its installed production capacity, with around 70% of the energy it uses being coal. In the meantime, 10% of its energy is reliant on alternative energy such as waste and biomass.

Arabian Cement is currently working on the completion of another installation that would enable the use of waste as alternative fuel, thus allowing its production capacity to reach 100%. The conversion will be completed within four weeks. "We can increase production the moment we finish our complete conversion to alternative fuels," said Magrina.

UK: Environment minister Mark H Durkan and Devendra Mody, industrial director at Lafarge Tarmac, have signed an agreement allowing the use of waste-derived fuels (WDF) at Lafarge Tarmac's cement plant in Cookstown, Northern Ireland. The plant, which employs 86 people, currently uses coal for approximately 95% of its fuel. The agreement will see Lafarge Tarmac substitute up to 35% of its coal with WDF.

"The agreement will turn environment issues from barriers to business into economic growth opportunities. The deal is that the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) firmly regulates and reduces red tape. In turn, partner companies invest heavily in the environment," said Durkan. "Lafarge Tarmac is committing significant investment in the environment. In addition to many environmental benefits, it will reduce its carbon emissions from production by a minimum of 10%, equivalent to taking 6500 cars off the road. It will look at ways to reduce emissions from its transportation chain and has also committed to improving public access to rare geological features found in the Ballysudden Area of Sepcial Scientific Interest (ASSI), located in its Cookstown quarry and to work with key stakeholders to develop a renewable energy strategy and examine options for reducing packaging."

Egypt: For the fourth quarter of 2014, Suez Cement reported a 2.5% year-on-year increase in revenues and 11.5% year-on-year growth in earnings before interest, tax and depreciation (EBITDA). Its net profit after non-controlling interests increased by 15.2% during the quarter.

For the entirety of 2014, Suez Cement's sales increased by 22%, while recurring EBITDA improved by 8.8% compared to 2013. However, higher corporate income taxes coupled with an absence of foreign exchange gains were responsible for an 8.4% drop in net profit after non-controlling interests. EBITDA gains were also driven by Suez Cement's downstream activities in transportation and ready-mix cements, as well as its paper bags subsidiary, which saw an EBITA increase of 26.5%. Cement activities accounted for a gain of 6.3%.

The strong revenue performance was largely due to cement price increases due to an unprecedented surge in production costs and product shortages. Overall, clinker production decreased as a result of severe energy supply issues that impacted each of Suez Cement's plants and subsidiaries differently. The Tourah plant felt the greatest pressure from expensive clinker imports that were necessary to satisfy Egypt's growing demand.

Suez Cement was also negatively affected by energy costs (gas, mazut and electricity) that rose by 25 - 35% in 2014. It did not let the economic pressures, including a 40% drop in industrial production capacity, impact its employment rates or benefits packages. This was partially due to Suez Cement's commitment to the implementation of energy-efficient processes throughout the five plants, as well as further emphasis and utilisation of alternative fuels, which helped mitigate the drop in production as well as limit the impact from growing clinker imports. Suez Cement will go ahead with the deployment of coal power at all five plants over the next two years, a factor that is also expected to put a stop to some importing activities.

Suez Cement believes that the construction industry's recovery will continue to attract new investment. This is in addition to positive economic growth thanks to Egypt's new-found government stability and the future implementation of several large national projects. However, power cuts and fuel shortages are likely to remain major issues for cement producers. Fuel and energy shortages will also prolong challenges to meeting cement production targets.

The recent closure of the Tourah I plant is one example of Suez Cement's continued commitment to reducing its environmental impact. The company remains focused on investing in energy-efficient initiatives and environmentally-sound programs. This includes developing alternative fuel strategies that incorporate waste-derived fuels and coal, which will shift the company's energy mix and improve its production capabilities by reducing dependence on natural gas and mazut.

Australia: Adelaide Brighton boss Martin Brydon said that he would pursue funding from the Abbott Government's US$2.55bn Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) as Adelaide Brighton accelerates its alternative fuel use to head off its rising gas bill. The ERF is the centre-piece of the government's direct action climate policy and the first auction for funding starts on 15 April 2015.

Adelaide Brighton has a total energy bill of around US$130m/yr. Brydon said that the group will save US$6m/yr from the repeal of the carbon tax. "We are energy-intensive and capital-intensive. Anything that happens that can reduce the cost of energy is critical," said Brydon.

Adelaide Brighton's Birkenhead cement plant in south Australia, which recently expanded its cement production capacity to 750,000t/yr, generates 15% of its energy from waste wood used in construction. Brydon said that he plans to take that number to 30% and that he 'will certainly' be bidding for grants from the ERF. "The cost of that waste wood energy is significantly below the cost of natural gas," said Brydon.

In 2014, Adelaide Brighton reported a 14.3% rise in net profit to US$136m and a 9% rise in revenue to US$1.06bn. The profit and revenue numbers were both records for the company, although after stripping out one-off items the underlying profit was US$132m. Strong residential housing activity in NSW and Queensland, work on the Pacific Highway upgrade and ongoing demand from resource projects in western Australia and the northern regions buoyed sales. Adelaide Brighton said that it expects price increases in 2015 across all of its products.

In August 2014 the company acquired two concrete businesses and a quarry. Brydon said that he is looking for other businesses to buy, but opportunities for quality long-term assets were 'few and far between.'