Displaying items by tag: Tyres

US: The legislative body of Albany County, New York, has enacted a law ending the establishment of new waste burning facilities. The Times Union newspaper has named LafargeHolcim subsidiary Lafarge North America’s 2.0Mt/yr Ravena cement plant amongst facilities affected. The legislature came to its decision following public outcry after Lafarge North America announced its plans to renew its licence to burn up to 4.8Mt/yr of tyres in January 2019.

Legislator William Reinhardt said, “While most of the attention had been focused on the potential impacts of the law on facilities like Norlite and LaFarge, the real intended point of the legislation is longer term. We want clean air not only today but for the foreseeable future.”

Ireland: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has postponed a four-day hearing over Irish Cement’s alternative fuel (AF) licence application, scheduled for May 2020, to an as yet unspecified date due to the coronavirus. Under the terms of the proposed licence, Irish Cement will be able co-process a maximum of 90,000t/yr of refuse-derived fuel (RDF), including tyres, in the single dry line of its 1.0Mt/yr Mungret plant in County Limerick. The EPA said that emissions from operations under the terms of the licence ‘will meet all required environmental protection standards.’

Irish Cement received its preliminary licence to burn refuse-derived fuel (RDF) in September 2019. The move attracted local resistance, with 4500 people participating in a protest on 5 October 2019.

The EPA has said that it will give all relevant parties notice ‘well in advance’ of the date of the rescheduled hearing, which will take place after the government lifts the country’s coronavirus lockdown. On 14 April 2020 County Limerick had 234 coronavirus cases out of an Irish total of 10,647.

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.’

US: The debate over proposed clean air regulations which may restrict or halt LafargeHolcim’s tyre-burning plans at its 2.0Mt/yr Ravena plant will take place on 23 December 2019. The Times Union newspaper has reported that councillors will debate whether to lower the maximum permitted pollutant emissions from incineration facilities to a level below that entailed by LafargeHolcim’s alternative fuel (AF) plans.

In mid-2018, LafargeHolcim’s licence from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for the combustion of 4.8M tyres per year expired. It announced ‘preliminary discussions’ with tyre suppliers in January 2019.

Kenya: 58% LafargeHolcim subsidiary Bamburi Cement has set out an ambitious alternative fuel plan. In a statement, it said that it would aim to use 30% biomass-derived fuel in cement kilns at its 1.1Mt/yr integrated Mombasa plant. The figure currently stands at 12%. Municipal waste and tyres were among other fuel sources targeted for substitution. In a first step towards achieving this, Bamburi Cement has signed a supply agreement with the Port of Mombasa for confiscated cargoes.

Since 26 September 2019, Bamburi has received waste fuel oil from Shell petrol stations across Kenya via its subsidiary Geocycle at a rate of 240t/yr. In co-processing the oil, Bamburi is helping dispose of some of the 60,000t of waste petroleum produced in Kenya annually. Afrik21 has reported that, with an expenditure of US$5.8m in 2018, alternative fuel substitution is an attempt by the company to reduce untenable operating costs, notably including electricity costs of US$87/MWh. “Bamburi is looking at more partnerships for the disposal of various types of waste as we work to contribute to environmental conservation as part of our sustainability ambitions,” said Bamburi Cement managing director Seddiq Hassani.

Canada: Reports from Lafarge Canada’s Brookfield cement plant in Nova Scotia have indicated the effectiveness of burning tyres as fuel there. CBC has reported that, as part of a 12-month investigation, scrap tyres were burned ‘off and on’ for a month at the 0.6Mt/yr integrated cement plant. Following further staff training, tyres will replace coal in the kilns on a full-time basis. Environment and Public Affairs Director Robert Cummings has said that there has been no notable change in emissions. Lafarge Canada will release the results of an emissions check including testing for low-concentration materials not covered by emissions monitoring in early January 2020.

Jamaica: Caribbean Cement plans to invest in co-processing tyres as part of a US$9m spend on capital projects in 2019. More details on the project will be disclosed later in July 2019 when a memorandum of understanding is signed with the government, according to the Gleaner newspaper. The subsidiary of Mexico’s Cemex has already spent US$0.5m on handling tyres.

Mexico: Residents from El Refugio, Atotonilco de Tula have complained about the unauthorised burning of yires at Cementos Fortaleza’s El Palmar plant. The Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources stopped tires being burned at the plant in February 2019 due to a lack of an impact study and an environmental licence, according to the El Universal newspaper. Residents allege that the plant has been burning tyres at night since the ban. They are concerned about health issues resulting from burning tyres.

Colombia: Cementos Argos co-processed more than 75,000t of solid waste in 2018. It burns alternative fuels at its Rioclara and Cartagena cement plants. Its plants also co-process up to 65,000t/yr of tyres.

Argentina: Geocycle has signed a three-year deal with the Province of Mendoza to use tyres at LafargeHolcim’s Capdeville cement plant. Geocycle has spent Euro1.15m on preparing a unit to process the tyres, according to the Los Andes newspaper. The waste management subsidiary of LafargeHolcim has also worked with the local government on setting up collection points for residents to leave old tyres. Geocycle conducted a similar project in Jujuy province in 2018 and it plans to run a similar one in Cordoba province.