Global CemFuels News

UK/Ireland: Geminor says it has been engaged in a partnership with MSC transporting refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and solid-recovered fuel (SRF) from the UK and Ireland since February 2019. The first shipments were transported from Barking and Nottingham, UK to Aalborg, Denmark. This will be followed up by container shipments from Birmingham, UK to Habberstad, Sweden and Dublin, Ireland to Greece. The shipments are based on so-called ‘backload,’ where empty containers are used to reduce the price.

“Moving waste from the UK to Scandinavia can also be completed with trailers, but we will continue to use containers where this is the best option. Currently we are moving containers with RDF and SRF from Dublin to Greece and Spain, where container shipment is a more efficient way of transport,” said Oliver Caunce, Senior Account Manager at Geminor UK.

Finland: Metso has launched two new pre-shredders in its K-series. The new products are intended for sites with production requirements between 5 – 45t/hr. They are intended for market development in Asia. Particular features of the K-series include: both a synchronous and asynchronous shredding system with two shafts; a knife geometry that the company says reduces the risk of wrapping on the shafts; a modular system; and a build that allows easy access for maintenance.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos’ Salto de Pirapora integrated plant in São Paulo has recevied environmental clearance to burn municipal waste. The plant processed 17,900t of waste in 2018 during a testing phase. It has the capacity to process up to 65,000t/yr. From 2016 to 2019 it invested US$12m on upgrading the unit to accept alternative fuels. It now plans to spend US$43.5 over the next four years.

The cement producer is also running trial co-processing projects at its plants at Rio Branco do Sul in Paraná, Cuiabá in Mato Grosso, Sobral in Ceará and Brasíliain in the Distrito Federal. The company had a thermal substitution rate of around 30% in 2018 and it processed 0.85Mt of biomass, tyres and municipal waste.

India: Dhandapani Cements has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tiruchi City Corporation in Tamil Nadu to process inert waste. The cement producer had agreed to collect 1000t/yr of inert waste including plastic waste, cloth, tyres and other materials, according to the Hindu newspaper. The deal will last for five years.

Philippines: Holcim Philippines has conducted media tours of its Lugait cement plant in Misamis Oriental to raise awareness of its import of processed engineered fuels (PEF) from Australia. In May 2019 containers from Australia arrived at the Mindanao International Container Terminal in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, but were reported as misdeclared by the Bureau of Customs, according to the Sun Star newspaper. However, Frederic Vallat, Holcim Philippines' vice-president for Alternative Fuels and Alternative raw material and head of Geocycle, said that the Tariff Commission had classified the shipment as PEF in early June 2019. The Environmental Management Bureau also notified the Bureau of Customs that it had no objection to imports of PEF.

The PEF shipment was described as, "a plastic based fluffy fuel with high calorific value consisting by weight, 75 – 85% flexible plastics, paper and natural and hydrocarbon based fibre, 7 – 15% hard plastics, 1 – 5% wood and < 1 – 5% non-combustible inert material in the form of solid flakes (range of particle sizes less than 50 mm), mixed colours with natural odour." It added that the PEF has a gross calorific value of 5700 - 7200kcal/kg, 15% ash content, 20% moisture, 1.5% sulphur and 1% chlorine. It is sourced from municipal wastes such as plastics, rubber, wood, paper, textiles, glass, metals, food materials, broken furniture, and other damaged or discarded articles.

Vallat said that at present, Holcim Philippines has stopped the import of PEF from Australia. They are now in dialogue with the Bureau of Customs over the issue. The company would like to import PEF locally but it was only able to source 7000t in 2018 and its plant needs up to 60,000t/yr.