US: Essroc Cement’s appeal against the Clark County planning commission decision to stop it burning alternative fuels at its Speed Cement plant in Indian has been blocked. The Clark County Circuit Court ruled the plant did not follow the proper administrative procedures before filing its lawsuit seeking to overturn a local zoning decision, according to the Courier Journal newspaper. Burning waste fuels at the site has been in dispute since the company first proposed the action in 2014.
Untha reports growth in Italy following deal with Ecotec Solution
Italy: Shredder manufacturer Untha says that it has overseen ‘significant’ growth following its collaboration with waste processing company Ecotec Solution. Since mid-2016 Ecotec Solution has secured six large projects for its Austrian partner.
These include three XR mobil-e sales for waste to energy facilities: one based in Trieste handling bulky input wastes for cement fuel preparation and two tackling pre-treated municipal solid waste (MSW) to create varied products including an infeed material for heat treatment. Other sales include a static XR3000C shredder for high performance <50mm solid recovered fuel (SRF) manufacturing, an XR2000R shredder for the <350mm processing of MSW and a TR2500 post shredder to produce a refined <30mm cement fuel from pre-treated light fraction.
“Landfill sites are closing and, due to a lack of more traditional waste disposal options, companies are looking for new channels for their residual materials,” said Ecotec Solution’s managing director Martin Mairhofer. “High value prices for SRF make this non-traditional treatment method an attractive alternative, but a significant degree of investment is required to design and build commercially robust plants.”
Telangana state governments orders cement plants to use refuse derived fuel where available
India: The Telangana state government has issued a government order (GO) requesting cement and power plants to buy and use refuse-derived fuel (RDF) when RDF is within 100km of a plant. Local government and RDF plants have been made responsible to pay for the transport costs to transport RDF to plants outside of the 100km zone. The GO has also prohibited the open burning of waste materials on open land and at landfill sites. The government said that the legislation follows a National Green Tribunal order issued in December 2016
Salonit Anhovo presented with sustainability award by European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Slovenia: Salonit Anhovo has won a bronze European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Sustainable Energy Award for progress in the use of non-hazardous solid recovered waste in its energy mix. The cement producer is increasing its alternative fuels substitution rate to over 75% from 60%. This will allow its plant to achieve a carbon emission intensity factor of 0.737kg CO2/kg clinker, which is below the relevant European Union (EU) benchmark.
The EBRB also said that Salonit Anhovo presently operates at levels expected for the industry for 2025 in terms of specific heat consumption and for 2030 in terms of clinker ratio in cement and specific CO2 emissions. The bank supported the company with a Euro15m loan in December 2016.
“We are very pleased to recognise Salonit Anhovo’s foray into alternative fuels with this award. This is an excellent example of how an innovative, tailor-made solution can benefit both finances and the environment. This investment will bring significant cost savings, contribute to the operational restructuring and support the resource efficiency of Salonit Anhovo by increasing the use of alternative fuel in the energy mix,” said EBRD director Dariusz Prasek.