Displaying items by tag: Refuse Derived Fuel

Ireland: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has scheduled a four-day oral hearing in which it will review Irish Cement’s application for a permanent licence to co-process a maximum of 90,000t/yr of tyres and other waste materials as fuel in the single dry kiln of its 1.0Mt/yr Limerick plant in County Limerick. Irish Cement received its preliminary licence to burn refuse-derived fuel (RDF) in September 2019. The Irish Times newspaper has reported that 5000 local residents have since petitioned the EPA against permitting the practice, including ex-Irish rugby international Paul O’Connell and a former Love Island contestant.

The EPA said that emissions from operations conducted in accordance with the proposed licence ‘will meet all required environmental protection standards.’

El Salvador: Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim subsidiary Holcim El Salvador has announced that it substituted 26,000t of refuse-derived fuel at its 1.7Mt/yr integrated El Ronco cement plant in Metapán, Santa Ana department, in 2019, up by 30% year-on-year from 20,000t in 2018.

In 2019 Holcim El Salvador produced 1.2Mt of cement. The company is currently investigating the possibility of installing a US$5m solar power plant at the El Ronco cement plant. It has signalled an intention ‘in the long term’ to resume operations at its 1.6Mt/yr Maya cement plant, mothballed in 2008, at an estimated cost of US$20m.

China: Huaxin Cement says that it has disposed of 55t of medical waste from coronavirus-infected hospitals in Wuhan province at its 3.4Mt/yr Yangxin cement plant in Hubei province. Xinhuanet News has reported that the plant’s precalciner and rotary kiln have safely processed the batch, from its delivery in sealed trucks, through the combustion of the waste and its packaging, into cement.

Spain: Holcim España has reported that it has achieved a 10,000t reduction in CO₂ emissions at its 1.5Mt/yr integrated Carboneras plant in Almeria in 2019 by the 30% (60,000t) substitution of alternative fuels for coal throughout the year. Agencia Efa newspaper has reported that the switch was the result of a Euro0.88m upgrade to the kiln line as a part of LafargeHolcim’s Euro20m investment in measures to reduce its Spanish carbon footprint by 90,000t/yr. This also includes the introduction of plant-derived biomass to the Carboneras line by the end of 2020, at an estimated cost of Euro3.1m.

UK: Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) exports from England to decline by 13% to Europe fell by 13.4% year-on-year to 2.71Mt in 2019 from 3.09Mt in 2018. Waste recovery company Germinor reported the results of the survey from Footprint Services, which uses UK Environment Agency data. However, the report also said that exports of solid-recovered fuel (SRF) grew by 4%.

According to the Environment Agency data, the Netherlands remains the biggest importer of English waste-derived fuels (RDF and SRF), with 1.16Mt and 43% of the market in 2019. Sweden is the second biggest offtaker nation with 0.6Mt, followed by Germany at 0.4Mt and Denmark at 0.14Mt and Norway at 0.14Mt.

Geminor said that it led the list of waste-derived fuels exporters in 2019 with 0.31Mt in 2019. Biffa Waste Services was the second biggest exporter, followed by SUEZ UK and N&P Alternative Fuels.

Its UK country manager James Maiden said that 2019 was a challenging market for UK export, mostly due to issues surrounding Brexit, the Dutch temporary import restrictions and an increase in UK domestic capacity and facilities. He expected these conditions to continue into 2020, where the Dutch and Swedish tax announcements will impact on UK flows. Maiden said that the English export market is decreasing but that Geminor was balanced this with additional export volumes transported from Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland and internal UK flows.

Vietnam: The Vietnam National Cement Corporation (Vicem) and Denmark-based supplier FLSmidth have announced a cooperation agreement with the aim of radically reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from cement production and improving air quality. The cooperation will consist of Vicem implementing solutions pioneered by FLSmidth. FLSmidth said that a key focus of the cooperation will be Vicat’s use of ‘municipal and other waste streams as alternative fuel sources,’ with the aim of achieving 100% substitution using FLSmidth solutions, in accordance with FLSmidth’s ambition ‘to enable cement companies to operate with zero emissions by 2030.’

India: The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) in Andhra Pradesh has started transporting refuse-derived fuel (RDF) from its recycling unit at Ajit Singh Nagar to UltraTech’s Balaji cement plant. Under the agreement between the city and the cement producer the plant takes 50t/day of RDF according to the New Indian Express newspaper. The city authorities sort dry waste into RDF and the cement company handles the transportation.

Namibia: Ohorongo Cement has supported Carbo Namibia, one of its charcoal suppliers, in buying a new 80m3 side tipper truck worth around US$47,000. The move is intended to increase the volumes of charcoal fines the supplier can deliver. The cement producer uses charcoal fines as an alternative fuel at its plant.

It started procuring charcoal fines from Carbo Namibia in 2016 through the Ohorongo Energy for Future (EFF) project. It started with an initial supply of 786t/yr and has since grown to 5000t/yr in 2018, with a total of 11,000t to date. Its overall alternative fuels substitution rate is 42.7% and it has a target of 56% by 2020 and a long-term goal of reaching 80%. At present Ohorongo Cement says that its substitution rate breaks down into 58% woodchips, 28% refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and 14% charcoal.

UK: CWM Environmental has awarded a five-year contract to Geminor to distribute refuse-derived fuel (RDF) sourced from CWM’s Nantycaws material recycling facility in Wales to its European export market. The agreement, which followed a competitive tender process, has the option for extension of up to five years, in one-year increments. No value for the deal has been disclosed.

“Carmarthenshire’s waste will become a highly beneficial source of green energy,” said James Maiden, UK Country Manager at Geminor. “What’s more, through the use of empty load logistics, the entire project will result in minimal CO₂ emissions – a highly sustainable and economical solution.”

Denmark: Norway’s Geminor has signed a deal with Danish energy producer AffaldPlus to deliver 150,000t of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for three years from January 2020. Geminor will deliver 50,000t/yr of RDF sourced from countries such as the UK, Italy and Germany. The logistics will mainly consist of bulk shipments but also train and road transport. No value for the order has been disclosed.

AffaldPlus is owned by six municipalities on the island of Sjælland. In addition to receiving and handling waste from the municipalities, AffaldPlus produces electricity and district heating at its plant in Næstved. Geminor will deliver about a third of the total annual secondary fuels burned in the incinerator at AffaldPlus.