Displaying items by tag: market

Finland: Norway-based Geminor inaugurated a new 150,000t/yr refuse-derived fuel (RDF) import facility at the Kilke Material Recycling Centre near Helsinki on 30 November 2023. The site is Geminor’s third such facility in Finland.

Country Manager Ismo Hiltunen said “Due to, among other things, lower activity in the construction industry, RDF fractions have become a scarce commodity in Finland.” He continued “After Finland became an import market for secondary fuels, the market has struggled to find processing sites for imported waste in Finland, a challenge this facility will now help to solve. The capacity of 150,000t/yr means that we could import up to 80% of Finland's current total RDF imports via this hub alone.”

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.

South Korea: ThyssenKrupp Polysius’ Asia Pacific division has won an order to supply a Prepol SC type step combustion chamber for an unnamed cement plant in South Korea. The scope of the contract includes engineering, mechanical equipment and some modifications to the preheater tower. The commissioning of the system is planned for the end of 2023.

Regional chief executive officer Lukas Schoeneck said “The current turbulence on the coal market create a lot of pressure in cement plants to significantly increase the efforts on alternative fuels. Especially when talking high thermal substitution rates and lower quality alternative fuels, combustion chamber technologies connected to the calciner – like the Prepol SC - are the most suitable solution in the cement industry. Congratulations to the colleagues in Germany and in Asia working on this project.”

Norway: Geminor processed 67% of waste that it handled in 2021 into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and solid recovered fuel (SRF). The company said that the figure represents a 3% decline from 2020 levels. It handled a total of 1.73Mt of waste in nine European countries in 2021.

CEO Kjetil Vikingstad said “The Covid year 2021 has been another challenging year for the European waste industry in terms of volumes, logistics, transport and varying market mechanisms. The RDF market, in particular, has differed with lower volumes in circulation due to reduced exports from countries such as the UK and Finland. At the same time, other countries - such as Poland, Denmark, and Italy - have experienced growth, which has helped obtain a balance in the market.”

Japan: Austria-based Untha has awarded an exclusive distribution agreement in Japan to Axia. The distributor has taken delivery of a mobile Untha XR shredder for use as a demonstration unit at its customer sites and ordered six more models.

Axia CEO Kazunori Kawata said “China’s ban on waste plastic imports means Japan has sharpened up on its domestic recycling capabilities. The introduction of Untha’s engineering experience will really disrupt the market. Operators are starting to think differently about machine reliability, throughputs and lifecycle costs. As a nation, we must increase our productivity and capacity, and we need a different class of machine to be able to do this – one that is highly configurable, versatile and built to last. Output precision is also crucial.” He added “If Japan is to enhance its commitment to the environment, it is important that we seek to use energy efficient technologies within our waste and recycling facilities. Renowned globally for using 75% less energy than competitors’ diesel-hydraulic machines, the Untha XR shredder doesn’t just improve the net carbon impact of the process – it keeps fuel costs low, too. Some customers have been known to save US$135,000/yr in fuel costs alone.”

UK: Andusia says that a Covid-19 decline in waste produced by the UK is at an end, and has predicted the start of growth in the near term future. The waste management company said that major factors for growth will be the continuation of office work, the end of hospitality restrictions and the recovery of public confidence in consumption.

In 2020, commercial and industrial waste generation fell by 50% year-on-year, while municipal waste rose by 20%. Exports of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) fell by 37% during the year.