Displaying items by tag: Tyres

Colombia: Cementos Argos says that it processed 20,000t of waste into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) in 2021. The RDF replaced some of the fossil fuels in its cement plants’ fuel mixes. During the year, the company also increased its total volume of tyres used as fuel by 48%.

Honduras: Cementos Argos is investing US$23m on various projects including increasing its alternative fuels substitution rate. The cement producer is targeting a 12% refuse-derived fuel (RDF) substitution rate by 2030, the equivalent of 5500t/yr. If reached, this will reduce the company’s carbon footprint in the country by 14%. The company says it has also co-processed 1.5m waste tyres in Honduras. It has now signed a partnership agreement with Fundesur and Fundación Herco for the collection and delivery of 5,000 tires/month in Choluteca for co-processing.

Other projects Cementos Argos is working on include increasing the production capacity of its Piedras Azules cement plant and increasing the plant’s use of solar energy.

Jamaica: The government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Caribbean Cement for the use of tyres as an alternative fuel in cement production. The country is estimated to generate around two million used tyres annually, according to the Caribbean Media Corporation.

Germany: Märker Zement has ordered a single-source alternative fuels (AF) storage and conveying system for its Harburg, Bavaria cement plant from Germany-based Beumer. The supplier says that the line will consist of a 700m pipe conveyor, silos, distribution equipment and a screen. It will be equipped with a BG OptiFeed screw weigh feeder. It will connect the preheater both to an existing warehouse and a new one at the site. The line will handle two different qualities of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and shredded tyres. It will be operated at a maximum capacity of 40t/hr. Commissioning is scheduled for 2022.

US: The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) of New York state has turned down Lafarge Cement’s application for a licence to burn tyres as an alternative fuel (AF) at its Ravena cement plant. The Times Union newspaper has reported the DEC found that the plant in Albany county was inadequately equipped to burn tyres under the permit for which the company had applied.

Spokesperson Jocelyn Gerst said “We received the DEC’s correspondence and are reviewing it. We will be weighing all available options.”

New Zealand: Golden Bay Cement has commissioned a waste tyre feeding line at its Golden Bay integrated cement plant in Northland. The producer will cut CO₂ emissions by 13,000t/yr by substituting tyres for coal. It will eliminate the 5000t/yr of iron sands used in production and reduce coal use by 15%. The New Zealand government’s Waste Minimisation Fund supplied US$11.2m towards the US$17.5m project.

Government environment minister David Parker told Live News, "This innovative project is a win-win-win for the environment. It reduces a significant waste problem, reuses a valuable resource, and reduces carbon emissions by about 13,000t/yr.” He added that the line, "will divert from landfill or stockpiles about 42% of the estimated 3m waste tyres in Auckland each year. New Zealand needs to address its longstanding problem with waste so we can become the low-waste, low-emissions economy we need to be. "

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.

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.’