Displaying items by tag: Votorantim

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has secured a US$150m loan from the International Finance Corporation for an upgrade to its Salto de Pirapora cement plant in São Paulo. The producer aims to increase the alternative fuel (AF) substitution rate at the 4.8Mt/yr plant, and reduce its CO₂ emissions. It says that the loan is tied to sustainability performance indicators (SPIs), based on the reduction in the plant’s Scope 1 CO₂ emissions.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has installed a chlorine bypass at its integrated Vidal Ramos plant in Santa Catarina. The US$10m upgrade is intended to allow the unit to process more alternative fuels such as plastics, fabrics and personal protective equipment. The company says it is the first such installation in the country. It will allow the plant to increase its co-processing volumes by 62% to 73,000t/yr from 45,000t/yr. In 2021 the plant used 65,000t of petcoke. This is expected to fall to 53,000t/yr with the addition of the chlorine bypass, reducing CO₂ emissions by 5% or 12,200t.

Canada: St Mary’s Cement plans to apply for a licence to substitute alternative fuel (AF) for a part of its coal, gas and petcoke fuel mix. The plant previously held a two-week AF substitution trial in May 2011. CBC News has reported that the subsidiary of Votorantim Cimentos will present its plan at an evening meeting for the general public on 18 November 2021. The company says that it plans to implement similar AF arrangements to those at its Bowmanville plant, where it uses 90,000t/yr of biomass, wood from construction and demolition and non-recyclable paper and plastics.

Environmental manager Ruben Plaza said "Lower CO₂ emissions is the first consideration and, equally as important, the material has to be approved and available in sufficient quantities with a reliable and sustainable long-term supply."

Canada: St Mary’s Cement plans to increase its use of alternative fuels to 400t/day from 96t/day at its Bowmanville plant. The Toronto Star newspaper has reported that the plans will entail a 90,000t/yr reduction in the plant’s coal and petcoke consumption.

Spain: The Municipal Planning Department of Córdoba (GMU) has repealed Cementos Cosmos’ licence to burn alternative fuels in the cement kiln of its integrated Córdoba plant because it “goes against the provisions of the current General Urban Development Plan”, according to Europa Press. The decision marks a victory for local campaign group Córdoba Aire Limpio, which has been campaigning to stop waste being burned at the cement plant since a previous authorisation was issued in 2007.

Spain: Brazilian-based Votorantim Cimentos’ subsidiary Cemento Cosmos has received authorisation for the combustion of tyres to fuel the kilns at its 1.6Mt/yr Toral de los Vados plant in León. Diario del León has reported that the government of Castile and León will complete bureaucratic procedures finalising the permit before 25 December 2019.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos’ Salto de Pirapora integrated plant in São Paulo has recevied environmental clearance to burn municipal waste. The plant processed 17,900t of waste in 2018 during a testing phase. It has the capacity to process up to 65,000t/yr. From 2016 to 2019 it invested US$12m on upgrading the unit to accept alternative fuels. It now plans to spend US$43.5 over the next four years.

The cement producer is also running trial co-processing projects at its plants at Rio Branco do Sul in Paraná, Cuiabá in Mato Grosso, Sobral in Ceará and Brasíliain in the Distrito Federal. The company had a thermal substitution rate of around 30% in 2018 and it processed 0.85Mt of biomass, tyres and municipal waste.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos is ready to start co-processing 400t/month of solid waste at its Rio Branco do Sul plant in Parana. The project has been approved by IAP, the state environmental institute, and is being run in conjunction with the local authorities, according to the Parana Portal. The initiative was started August 2018 with agreement between Votorantim Cimentos, Itambe and Supremo.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has won an award for its açaí stone co-processing project at its Primavera plant in Pará state. It won the atmosphere emissions category at the 14th Brazilian Environmental Awards organised by the American Chamber of Commerce for Brazil. The plant processes 6500t/month of açaí berry stones and it plans to target 10,000t/month. The state of Pará produces around 0.5Mt/yr of açaí stone.

Spain: Local environment authorities have approved Cementos Cosmos to increases its alternative fuels substitution rate to up to 45% from its current limit of 30%. The plant has been supplementing its petcoke use with refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and biomass, according to the Córdoba newspaper. The plant, and its owners Brazil’s Votorantim Cement, have faced local opposition to changing its fuels mix.