Ghana: The Accra Compost and Recycling Plant (ACARP) is due to begin commercial production of refuse-derived fuel (RDF), a form of fuel obtained from recycled waste that can be used by the cement industry. The venture, according to ACARP, will considerably augment the coal needs of local cement producers when commercialised, at a much lower price than coal. The RDF will comprise a combination of highly-combustible waste and textile waste, with this type of waste constituting about 30% of the material handled by ACARP.

Michael Padi Tuwor, ACARP’s General Manager, said that the recycling plant currently handles 600t/day of waste, recycling around 80% of it. He said that RDF would represent a major new opportunity for ACARP, but was unable to put a figure on exactly how much would be produced going forward.

UK: Alternative fuels producer Andusia has said that the coronavirus has yet to impact upon the trade of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) in and out of Europe. It says it is monitoring the situation and will keep customers updated. “No change to service is anticipated,” said Andusia. “There are no border restrictions to trade and it is business as usual.”

US: Italy-based Buzzi-Unicem subsidiary Alamo Cement Company has signed a contract with Italy-based renewable power supply expert Renergetica for the construction of a solar power plant at its 1.1Mt/yr integrated Plant 1604 cement plant in San Antonio, Texas. Renewables Now News has reported that the plant will have a capacity of 10MW.

US: FCT combustion has announced that it has won an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Titan Cement for the upgrade of its 5000t/d kiln line to 100% natural gas firing. The upgrade consists of the installation of two new burners: a dual-fuel capability Gyro-Therm Mk3 and a back-up natural gas-firing Gyro-Therm Mk3. The company has said that it will also supply accessories, field instruments, burner management system (BMS) and valve train.