Displaying items by tag: Alternative Fuels

Belarus: Belarusian manufacturers are expected to export 1.8Mt of cement in 2015, including 1.3Mt to be supplied to Russia's Eurocement, according to Construction minister Anatol Chorny. Belarus sold 980,000t of cement to Eurocement in 2014. Belarus' cement output is expected to total 6.1Mt in 2015, up from 5.8Mt in 2014.

"This year we have signed an exclusive contract for the supply of 1.3Mt," said Chorny. "The contract is advantageous to Belarus because 50% of the total amount shall be paid in advance and the rest shall be paid within 10 days of the delivery date. If the price of cement in the Russian market is lower than in Belarus, the Russian company will cover the losses. If the price will be higher, the difference will be equally divided." Belarus will also export cement to Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, Poland and Lithuania in 2015.

Belarus' AAT Krychawtsementnashyfer in Krychaw, Mahilyow, operated at a loss in 2013. This was caused by its old production plant, which still uses natural gas to manufacture cement. In contrast, the company's new production facility generated a profit of about Euro676,000 in 2014. To reduce the cost of cement production, Krychawtsementnashyfer installed a cement kiln fuelled by waste tyres in 2014 and plans to start using coal dust as a fuel in 2015, according to Chorny.

Lithuania: Finnish-owned Lithuanian recycling services company Kuusakoski saw its revenues grow by 21% year-on-year to Euro32.5m in 2014. Its annual profit doubled to approximately Euro0.29m.

The company's performance has improved amid changes in the scrap metal purchase market, in particular the bankruptcy of Liepajas Metalurgs in 2013 and the exit of one more company from the Lithuanian market in 2014, Paulius Juska, according to Kuusakoski CEO Verslo Zinios. In 2015, Kuusakoski expects the waste tyre collection business to fuel its growth.

"We hope that Akmenes Cementas will resume burning waste tyres at its cement plant this year. If that is the case, we could supply tyres to the facility. It would enable us to increase the quantities of tyres that we collect and to generate more revenues from car service centres for the collection of old tyres and their supply to the disposal facility," said Juska.

Colombia: Cementos Argos innovation vice-president Camilo Restrepo has persisted with a project to use waste tyres as an alternative fuel in Colombia. Some 120,000 - 130,000/yr tyres are wasted in Colombia.

Cementos Argos is already using waste tyres as fuel in the US and Honduras and says that the same will be done in Colombia. It put forward its plans to local associations and has been discussing these for five years. Cementos Argos could use 60,000 - 70,000t/yr. Its kilns will have to be adapted at cost of US$5 – 20m each. It will start with its unit in Rioclaro, where tests are underway already. The plant can use 15,000 - 20,000t/yr of waste tyres.

US: The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has granted approval for Lafarge North America to use scrap plastic and asphalt shingles at its cement kilns in Alpena, Michigan State.

Lafarge had requested to be allowed to burn additional fuels in the five cement kilns at its cement plant. Prior to receiving approval to use plastics and shingles as a fuel, the company had used coal, petroleum coke, clean wood and non-halogenated polyethylene and polypropylene as fuel. In its application, Lafarge said that it could use nearly 140,000t/yr of plastics, more than 82,000t/yr of wood and 54,673t/yr of shingles as a replacement fuel for the coal and coke.

Lafarge was issued a permit in 2012 to install technology to allow for a trial burn of shingles in the kilns. The permit required Lafarge to conduct stack testing for emissions of concern from the combustion of shingles. The emissions testing demonstrated that the emissions were less than what Lafarge had originally estimated, according to the DEQ.

Following analyses conducted by the DEQ, staff concluded that the proposed project would comply with all applicable federal air quality requirements and with all of the Michigan DEQ Air Quality Division regulations. The staff concluded that the project, as proposed, would not violate the federal policies.

Germany: N+P has announced that it will expand its cooperation for the delivery of high quality Subcoal^® pellets with Dyckerhoff in Germany.

Subcoal is produced at the Qlyte plant in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. The Qlyte facility produces about 65,000t/yr of Subcoal pellets, consuming around 100,000t/yr of non-recyclable paper-plastic waste fractions that otherwise would have ended in landfill or waste incineration. The Subcoal is used to replace lignite dust or bituminous coal at cement kilns, power stations and lime kilns.

Dyckerhoff started to use Subcoal in 2013. N+P and Dyckerhoff have since worked together to improve the alternative fuel for optimal use in its kilns. The cooperation has led to a new Subcoal fuel that is used at the Dyckerhoff kiln in Lengerich. The kiln in Geseke will continue to use the standard Subcoal quality.

US: Regulators have scheduled a public hearing about Holcim's request to change the way it burns liquid wastes for fuel at its Holly Hill plant in South Carolina.

"We currently burn fuel in one place in the kiln and this permit will allow us to burn it further along in the process," said Holcim spokeswoman Robin DeCarlo. "It does not change the limits, but allows us more flexibility." Holcim burns a variety of hazardous materials as fuel in the place of fossil fuels. That includes waste solvents, oils, out-of-specification intermediates and products from various industries such as the paint, plastics and petroleum industries.

The public hearing is scheduled for 27 January 2015. The notice was released by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. The plant is currently allowed to burn waste-derived fuel in its cement kiln. The permit will allow the plant to also treat and burn the fuel in the precalciner.

Holcim is also seeking a permit to construct a new stream channel designed to protect the plant from potential flooding. The project is awaiting approval by the US Army Corps of Engineers. DeCarlo said that the company expects to receive approval to proceed though is not certain when it will occur.