Displaying items by tag: Alternative Fuels

Spain: Cemex España has secured Euro4.4m in EU funding for an upgrade to its Alicante cement plant in Valencia. The project will launch the use of Clyngas synthetic gas as alternative fuel (AF) at the plant. Thermochemical conversion specialist WtEnergy, a subsidiary of Cemex Ventures, will supply the syngas. The partners say that this upgrade will reduce CO₂ emissions by 400,000t per decade.

Parent company Cemex said "This project is part of Cemex’s Future in Action programme, which seeks to achieve sustainable excellence through climate action, circularity and natural resource management, with the primary objective of becoming a net-zero CO₂ company."

India: Nuvoco Vistas has commissioned feeding systems for alternative fuel (AF) in the pyro-process sections of its Nimbol and Risda cement plants. The systems will handle municipal solid waste, including unrecyclable plastic.

Managing director Jayakumar Krishnaswamy said "As part of our Protect Our Planet agenda, we view the AF projects as an important step towards fulfilling our commitment to sustainable cement manufacturing and reducing the environmental impacts. The successful completion of this project demonstrates our commitment to reducing carbon emissions, maximising waste consumption and demonstrating responsible resource management practices.” He added "This along with, other themes under Protect Our Planet agenda, is enabling Nuvoco to build robust partnerships with several stakeholders, and contribute to society at large.”

UK: Mineral Products Association Lime (MPA Lime), the body representing the UK lime sector, has launched the Net Negative 2040 Roadmap. The association said that the roadmap sets out the strategy for its to 'go beyond net zero' by 2040. The industry will rely on the deployment of fuel switching, carbon capture, renewable energy sources and green transport technologies, among other approaches. It called on the government to support its aims through the implementation of carbon accounting, subsidisation of renewables and decarbonisation technologies, the development of green hydrogen infrastructure, ensuring that UK lime can remain competitive in the UK and overseas markets.

MPA Lime director Mike Haynes said “Each lever will contribute to decarbonisation – many initiatives are happening already or will come on stream this decade." He added "The combination of using biomass fuels with carbon capture and lime product carbonation will result in removal of 250,000t/yr of atmospheric CO₂, making the sector net negative overall. Other levers, especially indirect emissions and transportation, require broader collaboration and enabling action by government and other industries.”

Through their actions to date, MPA Lime members reduced their absolute CO₂ emissions by 25% between 2005 and 2022.

Indonesia: Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa has engaged Japan-based environmental consultancy Amita Holdings to support a two-year feasibility study to investigate ways to make its cement production carbon neutral. The study will commence with trials of industrial wastes as alternative raw materials and municipal solid waste as refuse-derived fuel. Amita Holdings says that it is in the process of building a recycling-based society in Indonesia, in partnership with Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa.

Amita Holdings supported the establishment of the community-led Meguru waste sorting facility in Central Java. Two of Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa’s cement plants – the 18Mt/yr Citeureup cement plant and 4.1Mt/yr Paliman cement plant – are situated in neighbouring West Java.

US: Holcim US has announced plans for a 25MW solar power plant to serve 75% of the electricity needs of its Alpena cement plant in Michigan. The company says that the installation at the Alpena plant will be the largest in the US Midwest Region. Holcim US chose NorthStar Clean Energy to build the array, which it says will eliminate 25,000t/yr of CO₂ emissions.

Other planned projects at the Alpena cement plant include an upgrade to the plant's dock in order to accommodate larger vessels and reduce the number of trips in its Great Lakes transport operations.

Holcim US' senior vice president, manufacturing, Michael Nixon said “As Holcim is showing in Alpena, the path to net-zero carbon emissions requires a blend of proactive solutions. Whether it’s using alternative fuels or implementing renewable energy from solar power, we are committed to reducing our reliance on fossil fuels — a goal that will benefit the environment as a whole and the Alpena community we have called home for more than 115 years.”

Nigeria: BUA Cement plans to use loans worth US$500m towards the construction of two new 3Mt/yr cement plants in Sokoto State. When operational, the new plants will increase the producer's installed capacity by 55% to 17Mt/yr. Local press has reported that BUA Cement plans to run both cement plants using solar power, and to produce cement using alternative fuel (AF). Additionally, the producer will use a portion of the funding to replace part of its diesel-fuelled cement truck fleet with new natural gas-fuelled models.

Of a total US$500m in financing secured by BUA Cement on 5 June 2023, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) lent US$161m (32%) and African Development Bank, Africa Finance Corporation and the German Investment Corporation jointly lent US$245m (49%), with the remainder advanced by institutional investors.

Sweden: Nordkalk has produced lime at its Koping lime plant using 30% biofuel as alternative fuel (AF). The producer now aims to increase the substitution rate to 50%. Nordkalk subsidiary Kalkproduktion Storugns recently began trialling 100% liquid biofuel substitution in continuous operations at its Larbro lime plant. ENP Newswire has reported that both projects are part of a CO₂ emissions reduction initiative in partnership with the Swedish Energy Agency and Umea University.

Egypt: Heidelberg Materials subsidiary Suez Cement has invested US$16m in upgrading its operations towards increased alternative fuel (AF) use since 2010. The producer uses AF in the burners and kilns of all three of its cement plants, at Helwan, Kattameya and Suez. Meanwhile, Suez Cement has invested US$60m in dust control measures over the same period. Other on-going investments include US$25m in the construction of a waste heat recovery (WHR) plant at the Helwan cement plant. The company is committed to reaching a 24% reduction in its CO₂ emissions between 2019 and 2030.

Technical director Omar Khorshid said “We are committed to pursue initiatives to broaden our range of innovative and eco-friendly building solutions, advance operational efficiency through digitalisation and strengthen customer engagement for better business results and more positive impact."

Canada: The district council of Capital Regional District (CRD) says that it expects to resume sending biosolids to Lafarge Canada's Richmond cement plant in early June 2023. This follows a reported reduction in production at the unit in 2023 and 2022, according to the Times Colonist newspaper. The 1.1Mt/yr cement plant previously used biosolids supplied by the CRD as an alternative fuel in its cement production. However, during the current hiatus the biosolids have been sent to landfill instead.

The Richmond cement plant is the site of the CO₂MENT carbon capture and utilisation project. The project proceeded to its third phase, which consists of a capture capacity expansion and the installation of a liquefaction plant, in May 2023.

Finland: Finnsementti is carrying out upgrades to its two integrated cement plants as part of its sustainability targets to 2030. The subsidiary of Ireland-based CRH is installing new main burner equipment at its Lappeenranta plant with completion scheduled for mid-2023. The project is intended to allow the plant to increase its use of alternative fuels. The company’s Parainen plant is replacing its satellite coolers with a grate cooler with completion scheduled for the spring of 2024. This work is expected to decrease the plant’s emissions by 10%. Overall the group is preparing to decrease its CO₂ emissions by 30% by 2030 compared to 2021 levels.