Displaying items by tag: Refuse Derived Fuel

Spain: Cemex España plans to install a new tertiary mill in its Alicante cement plant’s refuse-derived fuel (RDF) line. The project, called Molentis, is scheduled for completion in early 2025 and will cost €6m. The Molentis upgrade will help the Alicante cement plant to raise its RDF substitution rate by 8%, according to the producer. This in turn will reduce its CO₂ emissions by 6700t/yr. The Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism granted €4.4m toward the project to Cemex España under its Innovation and Sustainability Plan.

Cemex España director of operations Benjamín Cabrera said "Molentis will enable us to advance towards climate neutrality and position the Alicante factory at the forefront of new technologies in the decarbonised industry."

UK: WKE has despatched its first shipment of WKE fuel pellets to an overseas customer. The shipment consisted of 7000t of fuel pellets, and embarked from the Port of Middlesborough in North Yorkshire earlier in December 2023. The shipment is a first trial, with a view to potentially increasing exports to 50,000t/yr.

CEO Ian Jones said “This is a huge milestone for us as it represents the completion of commissioning, from the waste arriving at our plant to the product being shipped out. We’re ideally located for bulk shipments and we can do anything from 3000t to 10,000t in a single shipment. It’s an exciting time for WKE, as we have multiple trans-frontier shipments being put in place for new customer trials across a range of industries in 2024, including cement plants in the UK, Europe and further afield.” He added “Countries who are currently not allowed to take waste from the UK are also actively seeking approval from their own governments to import our product.”

Finland: Norway-based Geminor inaugurated a new 150,000t/yr refuse-derived fuel (RDF) import facility at the Kilke Material Recycling Centre near Helsinki on 30 November 2023. The site is Geminor’s third such facility in Finland.

Country Manager Ismo Hiltunen said “Due to, among other things, lower activity in the construction industry, RDF fractions have become a scarce commodity in Finland.” He continued “After Finland became an import market for secondary fuels, the market has struggled to find processing sites for imported waste in Finland, a challenge this facility will now help to solve. The capacity of 150,000t/yr means that we could import up to 80% of Finland's current total RDF imports via this hub alone.”

Philippines: Republic Cement has signed a deal with ACS Manufacturing to receive sorted plastic waste. Republic Cement’s waste management subsidiary Ecoloop will shred the waste to produce alternative fuel (AF) for use in the company’s cement production.

The Manila Bulletin newspaper has reported that Ecoloop managing director Angela Edralin-Valencia said “Republic Cement remains committed to addressing the pervasive plastic pollution problem in the country by collaborating with various organisations and local government units for proper waste disposal.”

Mexico: Geocycle Mexico aims to process 1Mt of industrial and urban waste into alternative fuel (AF) for use in Holcim Mexico's cement plants in 2023. The El Economista newspaper has reported that the company processed 600,000t-worth of waste in 2022. Geocycle Mexico says that it has helped to raise Holcim Mexico's AF substitution rate to 25%.

The supplier said "Latin America is the region that recycles the least in the world. According to the World Bank, less than 5% of the real capacity we have is recovered. That is why, for 30 years, we have sought to solve this problem by integrating waste into Holcim's production process."

US: Holcim US has inaugurated a waste tyre processing plant at its Alpena cement plant in Michigan. The facility will process 22,000t/yr of tyres into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for use at the cement plant. Holcim US partner Geocycle will collect, pre-process and deliver the tyres to the new facility.

Holcim US’ North regional senior vice president of manufacturing Michael Nixon said "Holcim has invested more than US$100m in eco-friendly technologies at the Alpena plant in the past 15 years. The tyre-derived fuel facility is another strong demonstration of our commitment to reducing emissions."

Argentina: Geocycle has commissioned the new Line 2 of its Piedra Blanca waste management plant, Norte En Linea News has reported. The facility will now process 100,000t/yr of waste. Geocycle will supply the remaining 45% fraction of unsorted waste after processing to Holcim Argentina's Malagueño cement plant for use as refuse-derived fuel (RDF). By diverting non-recyclable waste from incineration, Geocycle says that the new line will eliminate 25,000t/yr of CO₂ emissions.

Argentina: Geocycle is working to double the municipal solid waste (MSW) processing capacity of its facility in Yocsina, close to Córdoba, from 50,000t/yr to 100,000t/yr. The subsidiary of Holcim receives waste from surrounding settlements like Piedra Blanca and Villa Carlos Paz. So far in 2023, Holcim Argentina's cement plant kilns are using an average of 13% refuse-derived fuel (RDF), almost twice as much as in 2022.. The company is committed to raising the percentage to 46% by 2026.

"With this station, we are moving forward with more solutions to accompany our clients and strategic partners in meeting their sustainability and circular economy objectives, innovating in the integrated management of waste, recovering it and reinserting it into a new industry that, through our processes, will become part of a new product," commented Christian Dedeu, chief executive officer of Holcim in Argentina.

UK: Geminor opened a new waste processing facility in Hull on 25 April 2023 in the presence of close to 100 guests. Kalvin Neal, the Deputy Lord Mayor of Kingston upon Hull, and Geminor chief executive officer Kjetil Vikingstad jointly cut the ribbon at the new HUB site, which can produce 150,000t/yr of refuse-derived fuel (RDF). Following the ceremony, guests were taken on a tour of the 11,000m² that was built by engineering company Keltbray. The unit in East Yorkshire had an investment of Euro11.3m. Most of the HUB facility will be used to service Geminor’s existing 68,000t/yr waste processing contract with Hull City Council, which currently runs to 2030.

The HUB site is equipped with the latest industry requirements and technology, such as an Exeons Odour Abatement system and a Helios Fire Suppression system, alongside plant vs people proximity sensors to ensure safety.

David Singh, the project manager for the Hull processing facility at Geminor UK, said "The journey has been incredible, from the point of sourcing land back in 2018 and all the way up to the opening ceremony. Brexit, Covid-19, and the somewhat significant weather conditions sometimes caused challenges, but not more than we could handle. We are well underway in commissioning the facility and look forward to operating in May 2023.”

Chile: Cbb Cementos and Ambipar Environment have announced an upgrade to the Curicó plant that will allow it to process refuse-derived fuel (RDF). The US$5m investment will allow the unit to process around 36,000t/yr of RDF. The work will include building a reception hopper, a screening system, a belt feed belt to the calciner and a dosing system. Three warehouses will also be constructed. The alternative fuels upgrade is expected to start operation in early 2024.