Displaying items by tag: Alternative Fuels

Philippines: Cemex Philippines processed 700,000t of waste into alternative fuel (AF) for its Apo and Solid cement plants in 2023. Malaya Business Insight News has reported that the volume equates to three months’ waste generation for the entire city of Manila. Cemex Philippines recorded an AF substitution rate of 30% for the year.

President and CEO Luis Franco said “Cemex Philippines is proud to be a leader in circular economy. We believe that in transforming waste into value, we can create a positive impact on the environment, the society, and the economy. We are committed to continue innovating and collaborating with our stakeholders to address the country’s waste problems.”

Brazil: Secil subsidiary Supremo Secil Cimentos will invest US$20.3m in an upcoming expansion of its Adrianópolis cement plant. Commencing in July 2024, the expansion will raise the plant’s clinker capacity by 10% and enable it to increase its alternative fuel (AF) substitution rate from 25 – 30% to 40%, and eventually to 50% by 2030. To date, AF use at the plant has reduced its cumulative consumption of petcoke by 100,000t.

CEO Paulo Nascentes highlighted the transformative impact of the Adrianópolis plant on its host community, with its initial investment of US$176m and a subsequent US$41.7m in previous upgrades to date. "One of the reasons why the Paraná government allowed the plant was because Adrianópolis was very neglected. The arrival of Supremo transformed the city," he said.

Philippines: Holcim Philippines used 1Mt of alternative fuel (AF) in its cement production in 2023. This represents a 9% year-on-year rise from 2022 levels. Throughout the year, Holcim’s waste management subsidiary Geocycle raised its total number of local partners by 43%, to 50 city and municipal governments.

Holcim Philippines president and CEO Horia Adrian said "Our sustained effort to drive circularity in cement manufacturing is enabling us to more positively contribute to the country's progress." He added "Through our co-processing operations, we are significantly reducing our environmental footprint in producing important building materials for development structures while helping the country in managing wastes."

Spain: Cementos Portland Valderrivas' Alcalá de Guadaíra plant has secured environmental clearance to use more alternative raw materials and alternative fuels (AF) in its cement production.

The company said "This achievement is a further boost to our sustainable work practices, respecting the environment and contributing to combatting climate change."

Peru: Grupo Gloria subsidiary Cemento Yura plans to transition its Yura cement plant from using coal to alternative fuels (AF) in its cement production. Additionally, the producer will build a 30MW solar power plant at the site. The Gestión newspaper has reported the total value of the upgrades as US$50m. Both projects are scheduled for commissioning in mid-2025.

In the 2023 financial year, which ended on 30 June 2023, Peruvian cement despatches fell by 8% to 12.6Mt.

Mexico: Cemex's waste management subsidiary Regenera has signed a deal with the municipal council of Huajuapan de León to receive the latter's sorted non-recyclable municipal solid waste (MSW). Under the deal, Regenera will receive up to 6000t/yr of MSW, which it will supply to Cemex's Tepeaca cement plant in Puebla.

Austria: Alpacem Gruppe subsidiary w&p Zement plans to eradicate 20,000t/yr of CO₂ emissions by substituting 100% alternative fuel (AF) in its regular operations, up from 80%. The producer will co-process 122,000t/yr of AF, up by 26% from 97,400t/yr at present.

Technical director Florian Salzer said “A key factor in achieving climate neutral cement production is reducing the use of fossil fuels. We are already using AF instead of coal. As a result, substances that cannot be used for any other purpose, such as material recycling, are converted into energy."

US: Heidelberg Materials subsidiary Mason City Cement plans to invest US$4 - 5m in upgrades to its kiln line by 2026. Upon completion, the work will enable the plant to achieve an alternative fuel (AF) substitution rate of 50%.

Heidelberg Materials' North America regional vice president of government affairs and communications David Perkins said "We want to be proactive as a company and really try to lower our carbon footprint and energy intensity, while recognising we have to be competitive." He added "We're a long-term industry on the cement side because of the investment that's required to produce it."

Nigeria: Dangote Cement plans to upgrade its Ibese cement plant in order to use biofuels in its cement production. The Nigerian Guardian newspaper has reported that the plant will receive a pneumatic feeding system for the kiln of its Line 2. Dangote Cement plans to use palm kernel shells, rice husks, coconut shells and sugarcane bagasse, along with sawdust. The producer says that this will reduce its CO₂ emissions by 5.2% and help to divert local agricultural waste from incineration.

Project head Sumaila Muhammed said “We carried out alternative fuel resource mapping within our host communities. We decided to collect these wastes and convert them into valuable energy resources as smokeless, renewable biofuel."

Philippines: CRH subsidiary Republic Cement and its waste management subsidiary Ecoloop are seeking to establish partnerships with 'sustainability-minded' organisations. BusinessWorld News has reported that Republic Cement and Ecoloop process waste for 12 private companies and 30 local government units. Philippines law will require that large organisations recover 80% of their plastic packaging waste by 2030. For 2023, the minimum is 20%.

Ecoloop managing director Angela Edralin-Valencia said “Our goal is to make our cement a greener and more environmentally friendly product. Our ambition is to replace 50% of our fuel consumption with alternative fuel." She added "A lot of investments have to be put in place from our end to get to that number, but we are still reviewing our options.”