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.”

South Korea: Finland-based BMH Technology has secured a contract to supply three waste shredding lines at Ssangyong C&E’s integrated cement plants at Donghae and Yeongwol. The lines will supply solid recovered fuel (SRF) for the units. Each line will include a Tyrannosaurus type FineScreen and Air Classifier for separating impurities. The full delivery will contain five Tyrannosaurus type FineShredders. The lines will be commissioned in the autumn of 2021.

Donghae plant will become one of the world’s largest SRF shredding plants producing alternative fuels for the cement industry once the order is complete. The unit will produce 80t/hr of SRF with a particle size under 25mm using two lines and four shredders. The cement plant is the world’s largest with a production capacity of 11.5Mt/yr.

Philippines: Holcim Philippines, part of Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim, substituted 100,000t of refuse-derived fuel in its cement plants’ fuel mix in 2020. The Business World newspaper has reported that the figure represents a 41% year-on-year decrease from 170,000t in 2019. That year, the producer recorded 38 days of zero coal use. The company said that the reason for the decline was supply chain disruptions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Iraq: Germany-based Eggersmann Group has commissioned a 1040t/day refuse-derived fuel (RDF) plant in Sulaymaniyah municipality. The unit uses the company’s biological drying process to increase the yield of RDF from the municipal solid waste (MSW) it receives. Waste & Recycling Middle East and Africa previously reported that the plant can achieve a landfill diversion rate of 80%. A local cement producer will operate the facility and receive MSW from the region for a fee.