Displaying items by tag: Emissions Reduction Alberta

Canada: Lafarge Canada, a subsidiary of Holcim, has inaugurated a new low-carbon fuel facility at its Exshaw cement plant, in a joint effort with Geocycle Canada. The US$28m facility is supported by a US$7.4m contribution from Emissions Reduction Alberta through the government’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction fund. It will reduce natural gas consumption by up to 50% for one of the plant’s kilns by substituting it with alternative fuels (AF) sourced from construction and demolition materials, primarily wood. Geocycle will process the materials into AF. This initiative is expected to divert up to 120,000t/yr of discarded materials from landfill, reducing CO₂ emissions by approximately 30,000t/yr.

President and CEO of Lafarge Canada (West), Brad Kohl, said "Our commitment to building a sustainable future is at the core of everything we do. The low-carbon fuel project is a prime example of how innovation and collaboration can drive positive change, lowering our environmental footprint through the use of discarded biomass materials while closing the material loop to conserve natural resources.”

Canada: The Alberta Climate Leadership Plan has allocated US$7.5m for the Lower Carbon Fuels Project at Lafarge Canada’s Exshaw cement plant. The funding is part of a total of over US$50m that will be distributed to 11 projects in the Province. Projects were selected and funded through Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA), an organisation that accelerates the development and demonstration of emissions-reducing technologies.

“This multi-partner, multi-site research project will help Lafarge Canada better understand the environmental benefits of introducing lower-carbon fuels at the Exshaw Cement Plant. The Exshaw low-carbon fuels project will go a long way in helping us reach our ambitious corporate goal to produce 40% less net CO₂/t of cement by 2030. This support from ERA helps us move this project forward. We hope that any positive results or lessons learned will encourage others in our industry to do the same, giving this investment a greater, far-reaching impact,” said Kate Strachan, plant manager at the Lafarge Exshaw Cement Plant.

The project at Exshaw involves studying the use co-processing alternative fuels to replace the use of natural gas. Technologies for fuel handling, processing, and injection will be installed at the site to replace 50% of its natural gas use. The implementation at Exshaw will be supported by development of a waste and fuel processing facility in Calgary. Eight fuel types will be examined including construction renovation and demolition waste, non-recyclable plastic, carpet and textiles, shingles, treated wood products, wood products, rubber and tire fluff.

Canada: Lafarge Canada, University of Calgary, Queen’s University, and Pembina Institute have started a study on the environmental benefits of introducing lower carbon fuels at the Exshaw Cement Plant in Alberta. Eight lower carbon fuels will be researched, including construction renovation and demolition waste, non-recyclable plastic, carpets and textiles, shingles, treated wood products, wood products, rubber and tyre-derived fuels. These sources of fuel have been successfully used at other LafargeHolcim cement plants in Canada.

“Lab simulations, environmental studies, economics and logistics reviews are already underway. All research will be finalised by December 2019 with regular updates provided to the neighbouring communities via a Public Advisory Committee,” said Jim Bachmann, the plant manager of Exshaw .

Additional research by the partners will measure the environmental components associated with the sourcing, processing and full-scale commercial operation of each lower carbon fuel compared to fossil fuels. The project will also measure the benefits of diverting materials from landfills and determine optimal points in the cement manufacturing process to inject each fuel.

In addition to Lafarge’s support, research funding is being provided by Alberta Innovates, Ontario Centres of Excellence, Emissions Reduction Alberta and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. It includes research by Millennium EMS Solutions Ltd., Geocycle, and WSP Global Inc.

As part of its 2030 Sustainability Plan, LafargeHolcim aims to replace 30 - 50% of fossil fuel use at its Canadian cement plants with lower carbon fuels by 2020.