Displaying items by tag: Plant

Russia: Eurocement and the Toshka Centre group of companies have signed an agreement on cooperation in the use of alternative fuels (AF) at Eurocement’s cement plants. The partners signed the agreement within the framework of the Russian Environmental Operator’s nationwide Ecology project. The main area of cooperation between the parties will be the implementation of AF substitution at the cement producer’s gas-burning kiln lines. The Toshka Centre will create an AF production network to supply the producer’s operations.

Innovation and technical development vice president Sergey Demakov said, “The use of AF will allow Eurocement group to reduce natural gas consumption and show savings in fuel purchase costs at the initial stage of the project alone by 10%.”

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.

Spain: The regional government of Extremadura has granted a licence to Cementos Balboa for the use olive pumice and tyres as alternative fuels (AF) at its Alconera cement plant. Agencia EFE has reported that the company has begun work on modifications to the plant’s kiln line in order to enable it to reach a thermal substitution rate of 70%. The project includes building reception, storage, dosage and injection units for the fuels. Once complete the plant aims to process 130,000t/yr of olive pomace, 121,000t/yr of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and 69,000t/yr of tyres. The plant currently uses petcoke.

India: The Indian Army has commissioned a 5t/day waste-to-fuel processing plant in Ambala Cantonment, Haryana. The Times of India newspaper has reported that the plant will produce refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for cement plants from various waste fractions. The total investment cost of the facility was around US$100,00.

UK: CRH subsidiary Tarmac has awarded a contract for the supply of solid recovered fuel (SRF) pellets for its Tunstead cement plant to Eco-Power Environmental. The supplier says that the fuel will come from its 125,000t/yr Humberside SRF pellet plant in Melton, East Riding of Yorkshire. It has spent Euro17m in recent upgrades to the plant. Its pellets offer up to 50% biomass content, calorific value in excess of 20MJ/kg, less than 0.5% chlorine, low ash content and the ability to be co-dosed with fossil fuels using existing equipment.

Tarmac Tunstead plant manager Chris Bradbury said “Reducing CO₂ at Tunstead is one of the team's top priorities and working closely with our colleagues in Sapphire we have made good progress with sustainable waste-derived fuels throughout 2020 and hope to go further in 2021.” He continued, “We got the opportunity of trialling the SRF pellets early in the year as a replacement for woodchips. The trial went well with only a few modifications required for the inside of the storage silo and feed out system. Once the moderations were completed, we extended the trial, which had great results. In June 2020 we then went on to continuous usage and from the start the pellets have proved to be a very stable fuel. These have been one of the main contributors to the continuous high waste-derived fuel substitution rate for fossil fuels from June to the end of the year.”

France: Vicat started using a CO₂ntainer system supplied by UK-based Carbon8 Systems at its Montalieu-Vercieu cement plant in November 2020. It uses captured CO₂ from the unit’s flue gas emissions to carbonate cement-plant dust and produce aggregate, which can then be used to make products such as concrete. The system has particular relevance for a plant burning alternative fuels due to the additional chlorinated dust created compared to the use of conventional fossil fuels. The company says it is the first European cement producer to use the process at an industrial scale. Previously, Carbon8 Systems said that its CO₂ntainer would process and convert up to 12,000t of cement bypass dust in its first phase of operation.

Vicat Group scientific director Laury Barnes-Davin said, “We were drawn to Carbon8 Systems’ two-part technology: capturing the CO₂ that Montalieu emits, and using it to produce an aggregate that can be marketed in the construction industry. It opens up great potential for our operations not just in France but also in all the countries where we work across the globe.” The group hopes to reach a 100% alternative fuel substitution rate in France by 2024.

Argentina: LafargeHolcim waste management subsidiary Geocycle has begun shredding waste at its Córdoba co-processing plant using a new Untha XR3000C one-step shredder supplied by Austria-based Untha. The shredder will produce refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for use at LafargeHolcim’s Córdoba cement plant. It is the 10th Untha shredder Geocycle has commissioned.

Director Mariano Bollo said, “Geocycle Argentina is no stranger to waste shredding for alternative fuel (AF) production. We previously used a dual-shaft machine manufactured by a competitor of Untha’s, but the capacity and reliability of our machine continued to cause us problems. Untha’s low speed, high torque drive means this is a powerful machine with impressive uptime, ease of maintenance and proven capabilities. This – combined with the shredder’s versatility – meant the business case to switch to an XR was strong. While we think carefully about every decision we make, to ensure each shredder we invest in has absolutely the right configuration for every single plant, we now run a number of Untha machines across our global group,” continued Mariano. “The whole life operating costs of this shredder are extremely low, which means we can consistently produce a profitable, environmentally-sound fuel. It therefore comes as little surprise that we’re looking to standardise the technology we use across our business. This has benefits when it comes to procuring and sharing spare and wear parts too. Working in collaboration with Untha’s local engineering specialists, Geocycle is now optimising the design and layout of the waste processing line to double throughputs in early 2021. This XR investment aligns with our global AF production strategy, which doesn’t just improve our cement manufacturing footprint worldwide – it transforms the environmental status of our local communities too.”

Turkey: Denmark-based FLSmidth has released details about a new clinker production line it is currently supplying to Bursa Çimento. Work at the site is underway at present covering the line from crushing to clinker cooling. The new line is scheduled to start at the end of 2022. FLSmidth says the equipment it is supplying includes a Hotdisc Combustion Device, which will help increase the substitution rate to 86%, the highest in Turkey. The order also includes an OK Raw Mill, a Rotax-2 kiln, Pfister feeders and new air pollution process filters.

"The modernisation of our Bursa site is a strategic investment, providing us with a more competitive cost base,” said Osman Nemli, General Manager at Bursa Çimento. “But just as important is the entire upgrade which focuses on reducing emissions and power consumption. In this way, we are proactively mitigating future possible environmental regulation."

Bulgaria: HeidelbergCement subsidiary Devnya Cement is planning to invest Euro5m in two upgrades to achieve 100% alternative fuel (AF) substitution in the kiln line of its Varna cement plant. SeeNews has reported that the line, established in 2015, currently uses 60% AF.

General manager Silvio Thiede said, “We have the ambitious goal to reduce our net carbon dioxide emissions to zero by 2050, at all of our plants."

Spain: The Municipal Planning Department of Córdoba (GMU) has repealed Cementos Cosmos’ licence to burn alternative fuels in the cement kiln of its integrated Córdoba plant because it “goes against the provisions of the current General Urban Development Plan”, according to Europa Press. The decision marks a victory for local campaign group Córdoba Aire Limpio, which has been campaigning to stop waste being burned at the cement plant since a previous authorisation was issued in 2007.