Lithuania: The Lithuanian Parliament Committee on Environment Protection is evaluating alternative fuels options at the Akmenes Cementas plant including refuse-derived fuel (RDF), industrial waste and sewage sludge. The cement producer has presented a Euro7m plan to install new equipment to allow it to use up to 150,000t/yr of waste fuels, according to the Lithuanian News Agency. It has also asked the government to ensure that its can use waste produced in Lithuania to cut its costs and complete internationally.
Geocycle increases waste processing at Albox plant in Spain
Spain: Geocycle has increased the amount of waste it processes at its Albox plant in Almeria by 35% year-on-year to 40,150t in 2016. Solid and liquid waste is processed at the plant for subsequent use at cement plants operated by LafargeHolcim. The plant employs 35 workers directly and supports about 100 indirect jobs locally. Geocycle plans to invest around Euro250,000 in 2017 on safety and environmental systems and on its laboratory.
Univar companies convert nearly 0.5Mt of chemical waste into alternative fuels
US: Univar, a global chemical distributor, has reached a milestone in its sustainability efforts, by shipping 0.45Mt of alternative fuels from its waste chemical business, ChemCare, to Systech Environmental Corporation, a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, for use at cement plants since 1989.
"Systech has been reusing industrial waste as fuel and raw material in the cement industry for almost 40 years. Our partnership with Univar and ChemCare is the epitome of matching company assets and expertise with a mutual interest in sustainability to achieve this incredible milestone," said Shawn McMullen, chief operating officer, Systech.
ChemCare provides a waste management service that collects both hazardous and non-hazardous waste products at customer locations in the US and Canada, and then works with partners in the waste disposal business to safely transport these materials to licensed third-party treatment, storage and disposal facilities.
Vive Textile Recycling to supply more alternative fuels to Grupa Ożarów
Poland: Vive Textile Recycling will be able to supply more alternative fuels from textiles to Cementownia Ożarów following an expansion of its production line. The company signed a three-year contract in December 2015 to supply fuel to the subsidiary of CRH, according to the Nowy Przemysl newspaper. Vive Textile Recycling, the only Polish producer of alternative fuel from textiles, is now able to produce 16,000 - 18,000t/yr of fuel.