UAE: The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) and Emirates RDF have signed four memoranda of understanding (MOU) with Fujairah Cement Industries, JSW Cement, Lafarge Emirates and Star Cement to use alternative fuels produced by the Emirates RDF in the Umm Al Quwain Emirate in their manufacturing operations.

Emirates RDF’s plant treats and transforms municipal solid waste (MSW) from Umm Al Quwain and the emirate of Ajman into refuse derived fuel (RDF). The ministry said in a statement that MOUs are part of its support for integrated waste management projects that treat waste and transform it into economic resources in line with the Ministerial Decree No. 98 of 2019 on using RDF in cement factories. Cement plants in the UAE will be encouraged to meet 10% percent of their total thermal energy needs using RDF.

Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said, “The participation of the private sector is a main pillar of the UAE’s green economy transition and the adoption of circular economy methods, the foremost of which is integrated waste management. The signing of the agreements with a group of leading cement factories in the country to partially use alternative fuel in their operations is a high-impact step within our efforts to implement integrated waste management and reduce harmful emissions.”

South Korea: SK Ecoplant is at the centre of an initiative in partnership with the city administration of Seoul to co-process 110,000t/yr of sewage sludge from the city as alternative fuel (AF) for cement production. AJU News has reported that the waste management company expects the sludge to fuel 150,000t/yr of local cement production under the initiative.

Seoul generates 200,000t/yr of sewage sludge.

Spain: Cementos Portland Valderrivas has partnered with the University of Seville to build a non-hazardous waste processing plant to produce refuse-derived fuel (RDF) at its Alcalá de Guadaira cement plant in Seville. The producer hopes that, when commissioned, the installation will help to 'significantly' reduce the plant's energy costs and CO2 emissions by substituting its RDF for petcoke in cement production.

Along with a renewal to the Alcalá de Guadaira plant's mining lease, the total cost of the project is Euro6m.

New Zealand: Fletcher Building subsidiary Golden Bay Cement has co-processed 80,000t of waste in production of its EcoSure reduced-CO2 general-purpose cement at its Golden Bay, Whangarei, cement plant. The plant has achieved a coal substitution rate of 50%. It has processed various waste streams, including 3 million used tyres. EcoSure cement generates CO2 emissions of 699kg/t of product, 20% less than its imported alternatives, according to Golden Bay Cement. Fletcher building CEO Nick Traber said that this figure is 'simply our starting point.' The company's next target is to achieve a 30% CO2 reduction by 2030.

Traber said "We needed to think outside the box, or rather the cement bag, to be more precise. The challenge was around what enhancements we could make to our manufacturing processes at our Golden Bay cement works in to improve the plant's sustainability. We quickly realised that consuming used tyres and wood waste as alternative fuels was a win-win. When we started with the idea in 2015, we were aiming to replace 15% of coal with end-of-life tyres. Fast forward to 2022, and our rate of coal substitution is now at 50%, which has obviously delivered further reductions in carbon emissions, as well as helping to offset increased coal costs."

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