Displaying items by tag: RDF

UK: Waste processing specialist Re-Gen Waste has invested Euro5.78m in expanding its 80,000t/yr capacity refuse-derived fuel (RDF) processing plant on the Carnbane industrial estate in County Down. Irish News has reported that the expansion will create 30 new positions when the facility, which processes municipal solid and unrecyclable household waste into substitute fuel for cement kilns, becomes fully functional in November 2019. Managing director Joseph Doherty emphasised the importance of the project in bringing the UK closer to the responsible treatment of its 27Mt/yr mixed domestic refuse output “as a resource with a home in our economy.”

UAE: Emirates RDF, a joint venture of Besix, TG Eco Holding and Finland-based Griffin Refineries, has started construction of a US$36m waste-to-fuel processing facility near Umm Al Quwain. The plant will process municipal solid waste into 0.3Mt/yr of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for use by cement plants in the Umm Al Quwain emirate.

Italy: Federbeton, the Italian cement and concrete producers’ association, has complained of ‘bureaucratic and regulatory’ obstacles causing Italy to lag behind other European countries in its use of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) in cement production. Statistics from the Italian Technical and Economic Cement Association (AITEC) show a net AFD substitution of 0.39Mt in 2018, corresponding to 20% of cement fuels burned in Italy. This represents a year-on-year increase of 2.4% from 0.38Mt (17%) in 2017, but lags behind the European annual average of 46%. Peak substitution was in neighbouring Austria, where 79% of cement fuel was refuse-derived. “Our investments in environmental technologies are bearing fruit,” said Antonio Buzzi, coordinator of Federbeton’s Environment and Circular Economy Committee. “We are ready to use larger quantities of alternative raw materials, but continue to pay for these obstacles.”

ANSA has reported that in 2018, Italian cement producers achieved a year-on-year decrease in net CO₂ emissions of 8.9%. Dust levels also decreased by 15.4% compared to 2017.

India: Dalmia Cement and Topcem have signed a deal with the state government of Meghalaya to buy plastic litter from clean-up operations at a cost of US$422/t. The companies, whose combined integrated cement capacity in the state is 2.5Mt/yr, will burn the refuse-derived fuel (RDF) as a partial substitute for coal at three plants. News18 has reported that the deal is part of a concerted campaign by government, NGOs and the general population to bring about a cleaner and plastic-free Meghalaya in time for the National Games, which the state will host in 2022.

Spain: Members of the Andalusian Cement Producers’ Association (AFCA) have renewed their commitment to sustainable development with the signing of the VI Agreement for Energy Recovery. All six cement producers, including LafargeHolcim, HeidelbergCement and Cemex, which operate in Andalusia submitted to the agreement, which entails a commitment to using refuse-derived fuels (RDF) at a higher rate than the minimum established by Spanish law.

India: Dalmia Cement has revealed its commitment to the adoption of bamboo matter and refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for 100% of its fuel needs by 2030 as part of its new ‘Future Today’ branding. The company’s plan also consists of a transition to renewable power by 2040 and a 0.5Mt/yr carbon capture and storage facility at its 4.0Mt/yr integrated Ariyalur cement plant in Tamil Nadu in 2022 at the latest. Mahendra Singh, managing director and CEO of Dalmia Cement, has expressed the hope that its product should become ‘the World’s greenest cement.’

Ireland: The Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has granted a licence to CRH subsidiary Irish Cement for the incineration of refuse-derived fuel (RDF), including tyres, plastics and animal tissues at its 1.0Mt/yr integrated cement plant in Mungret, County Limerick. The Limerick Leader has reported that it will be the second of Irish Cement’s two plants to transition from fossil fuels, after its Platin plant in Meath. The company has said that the intended upgrade is vital to the plant’s future and will create security for its 80 employees, in addition to generating 60 jobs throughout the course of its installation. 4500 people supported Limerick Against Pollution (LAP) in lobbying the EPA against granting its permission following the decision of the Irish planning appeals board An Bord Pleanála in favour of the installation. LAP has 28 days in which to appeal the EPA’s ruling. A protest march will take place in the city of Limerick in October 2019.

The company’s 2009 incineration licence for its Limerick plant expired due to inactivity. It announced its renewed intention for RDF usage at the plant in December 2015.

Egypt: The New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) of the Egyptian Ministry of Housing (MoH) has engaged BESIX and Oracom Construction for the establishment of a refuse-derived fuel (RDF) processing plant in Cairo. Mubasher has reported that Minister of Housing Assem El-Gazzar has stated that when operational the facility will provide 0.7Mt/yr fuel for cement plants.

Thailand: Siam Cement has engaged the US-based Dow to conduct a study of types of waste plastic suitable for sorting. Dow’s chief executive officer (CEO) Jim Fitterling has estimated that locally sourced pre-used plastics can supply a commercial renewable feedstock operation at a rate of 0.2 – 0.3Mt/yr. The Bangkok Post has reported that the scale on which the two companies would seek to expand any operations depend on volumes of available waste. Nikkei has reported that Thailand generates 1.03Mt/yr of plastic, over 3% of which passes into the World’s oceans.

Netherlands/UK: N+P Recycling says that it views a Chinese import ban on plastics as an opportunity for its business. As the Dutch company offers a variety of waste derived fuels for various applications it is encouraging companies to split both fractions to get the optimal waste solutions for each individual quality. Lower calorific value (CV) products are better suited to waste incineration plants whilst higher CV products are typically used by cement, lime, steel and power plants.

Lower grade materials, typically within an 8 - 12GJ/t range, are supplied within many of N+P’s long-term supply contracts, to users within the UK and within Europe. There are also a number of possibilities for materials that are in-between the standard refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and solid-recovered fuel (SRF) qualities, or mid-CV range (12 - 16 GJ/t). For higher quality materials, N+P has a number of solutions all focused on the replacement of primary fossil fuels such as coal.

N+P Recycling produces a higher CV waste fuel product called Subcoal. It is currently building a Subcoal plant at Teesside in the UK with a production capacity of up to 0.22Mt/yr. It has started to source and contract non-recyclable waste streams such as materials recovery rejects, industrial residues and plastic residues for unit. It is expected to open in the third quarter of 2018.