Displaying items by tag: LafargeHolcim

Costa Rica: Geocycle Costa Rica has commissioned a XR3000C type shredder supplied by Austria-based Untha. The unit will be used to process locally sorted municipal solid waste (MSW) and hazardous and non-hazardous Industrial Solid Waste (ISW) into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for use at Holcim Costa Rica’s integrated cement plant.

“Having worked with Untha in other countries, the XR3000C was chosen for its flexibility, high-capacity and single step alternative fuel capabilities. We also knew it would be supported by a world-class engineering team,” said Geocycle’s general manager Wilkie Mora Bolanos.

Geocycle is the waste processing subsidiary of Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim. There are currently over 20 Untha shredders in operation in Geocycle facilities worldwide.

Russia: LafargeHolcim Russia and the Ministry of Construction Industry, Housing and Utilities of the Moscow Region have signed an agreement to work together on a waste disposal programme. The document was signed by Anton Velikhovsky, the Minister of Housing and Communal Services of the Moscow Region, and Maxim Goncharov, the chief executive officer of LafargeHolcim in Russia. The project will use the cement producer’s plants, including the integrated Schurovsky plant, to process waste products.

Canada: Holcim subsidiaries Geocycle Canada and Lafarge Canada have signed a long-term partnership agreement with British Columbia’s Capital Regional District. Under the agreement, the district administration will supply Geocycle Canada with biosolids from treated wastewater. The waste management company will then process the waste into cement fuel at Lafarge Canada’s integrated cement plant at Richmond in British Columbia. The plant will process 6000t/yr of biosolids.

India: Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim’s waste management subsidiary Geocycle has delivered a consignment of 10t of plastic waste from the River Jojari in Rajasthan to its processing plants at local cement plants run by ACC and Ambuja Cement. Geocycle has partnered with Rekart Innovations with the aim of clearing 150t of plastic waste from the river. The partnership will also undertake restoration of riverine habitats.

LafargeHolcim India chief executive officer Neeraj Akhoury said, "We are committed to building a sustainable future by adopting clean and green technologies. Geocycle India has been part of many initiatives and has helped both Ambuja and ACC cement to make use of waste from the different industrial sectors by getting closer to achieve the Net Zero Waste goal. Geocycle's vast co-processing infrastructure guarantees safe and environmentally friendly final treatment of the collected waste."

UK: Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim subsidiary Aggregate Industries has launched a Euro15.1m project to increase its use of alternative fuels at its Cauldon cement plant in Staffordshire. The company plans to install a 100,000t/yr pre-processing unit and a new chlorine bypass at the site. The new pre-processing unit, including a haulage and feeding platform, will be built across the road from the main plant and connected via an enclosed conveyor. The company intends to complete the work in early 2022. It says that it will result in a 30,000t/yr CO₂ emission reduction.

Chief executive officer Dragan Maksimovic said, “It is great to see us continuing to recognise the importance of sustainability and investing in Cauldon cement plant to ensure that we further reduce carbon emissions and remain sustainable for the long term, both as a local employer and contributor to the local economy, as well as a UK-wide supplier of high quality products and services.”

US: The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) of New York state has turned down Lafarge Cement’s application for a licence to burn tyres as an alternative fuel (AF) at its Ravena cement plant. The Times Union newspaper has reported the DEC found that the plant in Albany county was inadequately equipped to burn tyres under the permit for which the company had applied.

Spokesperson Jocelyn Gerst said “We received the DEC’s correspondence and are reviewing it. We will be weighing all available options.”

Philippines: Holcim Philippines, part of Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim, substituted 100,000t of refuse-derived fuel in its cement plants’ fuel mix in 2020. The Business World newspaper has reported that the figure represents a 41% year-on-year decrease from 170,000t in 2019. That year, the producer recorded 38 days of zero coal use. The company said that the reason for the decline was supply chain disruptions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Hungary: Lafarge Hungary, part of LafargeHolcim, has awarded a contract to Germany-based Loesche subsidiary A TEC for the supply of an alternative fuel (AF) flash dryer for the 1.0Mt/yr kiln line at its Királyegyháza cement plant in Baranya county. The supplier says that the dryer will use residual hot gas from the chlorine bypass system in conjunction with a satellite burner for firing the material in the kiln. The project also includes the installation of a new AF receiving, handling, and dosing system for a second AF flow firing directly into the kiln burner. A TEC says that it will commission the project in the second quarter of 2021 after the end of the plant’s 2020/2021 winter shutdown.

France: LafargeHolcim subsidiary Lafarge France has completed a Euro6m modernisation of the two waste processing lines at its Port-La-Nouvelle cement plant. The final phase of modernisation aimed at increasing dosing and injection capacities, optimising unloading, replacing fire detection and protection systems and expanding the control laboratory. The company said that the modernisation will enable it to use 80,000t/yr of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) in cement production at the plant. It says that this will reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions by 30,000t/yr. As a result, the plant’s fossil fuel consumption will decline by 75% in 2021 and by 90% in 2022 compared to 2020 levels. Its long-term aim is to become Europe’s first fossil fuel-free cement plant.

Philippines: Holcim Philippines plans to invest US$2.5m on increasing its alternative fuels use until 2022. The subsidiary of Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim says it will spend the money on installing new equipment and improving storage and feeding facilities at its Bulacan cement plant in Barangay, Norzagaray. It also plans to support its Geocycle subsidiary in supplying higher amounts of post-consumer and municipal solid wastes.

“This investment ensures we can continue being a reliable partner in the country’s sustainable development, while also meeting our objectives of making our operations more efficient and respectful of nature,” said Holcim Philippines president and chief executive officer (CEO) John Stull. In 2020 the company co-processed close to 130,000t of qualified wastes from local governments, industry partners and agricultural processors in its plants in Luzon and Mindanao led by its Geocycle unit.