Displaying items by tag: Alternative Fuels

UK: Saxlund International has collaborated with Hope Construction Materials to install and commission a new waste-derived fuel solution for Hope Construction Materials' cement plant in Derbyshire, UK. The solution has been designed to provide storage, transportation, weighing and injection of solid waste fuel (SWF) to the two kilns. The goal is to increase the rate at which Hope can replace fossil fuels with waste-derived alternatives to more than 50%, a key part of its long-term sustainability targets.

The project incorporates a fuel reception and push-floor storage solution, reclaim conveyors, process tower with drum magnet and star screen, together with a weighing and pneumatic injection system to the main burners. The system facilitates stable and reliable process conditions to help minimise build-up in the pre-heater tower. It also offers a 'future-proof' solution with the flexibility to handle changing fuel characteristics and different types of waste-derived fuels, should suppliers change in the future.

"This is a flagship project for us. Once fully operational, the new solid waste fuel (SWF) system will run on a 24/7 basis delivering fuel at a rate of up to 5t/hr to each kiln," said Matt Drew, managing director Saxlund International. "It means that Hope Works will soon be operating with a significantly larger proportion of waste-derived fuels, in the process diverting up to 80,000t/yr of bulk solid waste from landfill and representing significant carbon savings to the business."

At the 24th AFCM Technical Symposium in April 2015, Nguyen Quoc Thang, plant manager at Vicem's Binh Phuoc cement plant, delivered an outstanding presentation. He explained the sourcing and processing methods for using cashew nut shells as an alternative fuel to replace coal at the plant.

Around 300,000t/yr of cashews are grown and harvested in the south-east of Vietnam, the equivalent of about 130,000t/yr of cashew nut shell, 85% of which remains after processing. According to Nguyen Quoc Thang, the plant uses cashew nut shells to replace 35% of its fuel and has significantly reduced its CO2 emissions and fuel costs by doing so.

Cashew nuts are grown in large quantities in Brazil, India, Nigeria, Vietnam, the Ivory Coast, Pakistan and Indonesia, among others. In 2012, some 4.15Mt of cashew nuts were grown. Cashew nut demand has risen greatly in both the long-term and the more recent past. New (and delicious) products are being designed to meet the demands of health-conscious people and vegans, including cashew nut butters, cashew milks, cashew cream, cashew ice cream, cashew cheese and cashew cooking sauces. All at premium prices, of course, and all driving cashew nut demand ever-higher.

Cashew nuts are always sold pre-shelled, as the shell is toxic if consumed. Their growing production volumes and the necessity that they always be pre-shelled for sale or further processing makes cashew nuts an ideal alternative fuel for cement production, with reliable supplies guaranteed for the foreseeable future, subject to good crop yields. Moreover, cashew nuts are mainly grown in regions that currently have low cement plant alternative fuel substitution rates, providing an instant solution to some of the cement industry's environmental challenges.

Cement producers in cashew nut-growing (and other types of nut) countries would do well to note the example that Vicem's Binh Phuoc cement plant has presented. In addition to saving costs and tackling environmental restrictions, the highly-profitable nut industries could provide extra economic value to their home countries through partnership with local cement plants.

Egypt: Tourah Cement plans to invest US$39.4m to convert its plant to alternative fuels to recover production ability and profitability. Tourah did not make a profit in 2014.

Egypt: Lafarge Egypt and Egyptian holding company Orascom Telecom Media (OTMT) and Technology Holding SAE have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop a waste management framework of municipal and agricultural waste.

The memorandum, signed by Lafarge Egypt CEO Hussein Mansi and OTMT deputy CEO and COO Tamer el Mahdy, was created in an effort to process large volumes of municipal and agricultural waste into alternative fuels to be used in the Lafarge plant in Egypt and other companies.

The MOU represents a step towards sustainable development in the country and will begin the creation of a circular economy through the reduction of waste burning and dumping. The agreement will also create new employment opportunities and reduce the dependency on fossil fuels in the country.

Lafarge Cement Egypt has been providing thermal treatment solutions in Egypt for around three years in collaboration with its subsidiary Ecocem Industrial Ecology Egypt, which develops, sources and pre-treats solutions to facilitate the recovery of wastes into alternative fuels. Lafarge Egypt and Ecocem aim to achieve an average fuel substitution rate of 25% by the end of 2015.

UK: Environment minister Mark H Durkan and Devendra Mody, industrial director at Lafarge Tarmac, have signed an agreement allowing the use of waste-derived fuels (WDF) at Lafarge Tarmac's cement plant in Cookstown, Northern Ireland. The plant, which employs 86 people, currently uses coal for approximately 95% of its fuel. The agreement will see Lafarge Tarmac substitute up to 35% of its coal with WDF.

"The agreement will turn environment issues from barriers to business into economic growth opportunities. The deal is that the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) firmly regulates and reduces red tape. In turn, partner companies invest heavily in the environment," said Durkan. "Lafarge Tarmac is committing significant investment in the environment. In addition to many environmental benefits, it will reduce its carbon emissions from production by a minimum of 10%, equivalent to taking 6500 cars off the road. It will look at ways to reduce emissions from its transportation chain and has also committed to improving public access to rare geological features found in the Ballysudden Area of Sepcial Scientific Interest (ASSI), located in its Cookstown quarry and to work with key stakeholders to develop a renewable energy strategy and examine options for reducing packaging."

Greece: Titan Group has reported a return to profit in 2014 after two loss-making years. The Greece-based cement producer has reported a profit before tax of Euro46.8m up from a loss of Euor9.4 in 2013. Turnover rose by 2.7% to Euro1.16bn from Euro1.13bn. However, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 2.6% to Euro182m from Euro168m. Titan attributed the turnaround to continuing recovery in the US, improvement in the Greek market and better performance in Turkey and Southeastern Europe. Despite this, gas shortages in Egypt hit results negatively.

By region, Titan Group saw demand for building materials in Greece grow in 2014 due to low levels in 2013 and the re-launch of a road building campaign. The company reported that utilisation rates at its cement plants in Greece depend on exports to countries with low energy costs and no constraints on carbon dioxide emissions. Total turnover for the Group's Greece and Western Europe region in 2014 increased by 14% to Euro285m. In Southeastern Europe construction activity remained subdued. Turnover fell by 3.5% to Euro208m in 2014.

The US led turnover, supplying over one-third of the Group's total turnover. Sales were led by high growth rates in Florida. Turnover rose by 14% to Euro469m in 2014. In Egypt cement demand grew by 2.4% in 2014 but gas shortages and permit application delays for alternative fuels reduced production and shrunk plant utilisation rates below 50%. Turnover fell by 22% to Euro197m although imports helped cushion profit margins.

Development activities in 2014 saw an investment in solid and alternative fuels particularly in Egypt. The first solid fuels grinding mill was brought on stream at the Beni Suef cement plant at the end of 2014.

Egypt: For the fourth quarter of 2014, Suez Cement reported a 2.5% year-on-year increase in revenues and 11.5% year-on-year growth in earnings before interest, tax and depreciation (EBITDA). Its net profit after non-controlling interests increased by 15.2% during the quarter.

For the entirety of 2014, Suez Cement's sales increased by 22%, while recurring EBITDA improved by 8.8% compared to 2013. However, higher corporate income taxes coupled with an absence of foreign exchange gains were responsible for an 8.4% drop in net profit after non-controlling interests. EBITDA gains were also driven by Suez Cement's downstream activities in transportation and ready-mix cements, as well as its paper bags subsidiary, which saw an EBITA increase of 26.5%. Cement activities accounted for a gain of 6.3%.

The strong revenue performance was largely due to cement price increases due to an unprecedented surge in production costs and product shortages. Overall, clinker production decreased as a result of severe energy supply issues that impacted each of Suez Cement's plants and subsidiaries differently. The Tourah plant felt the greatest pressure from expensive clinker imports that were necessary to satisfy Egypt's growing demand.

Suez Cement was also negatively affected by energy costs (gas, mazut and electricity) that rose by 25 - 35% in 2014. It did not let the economic pressures, including a 40% drop in industrial production capacity, impact its employment rates or benefits packages. This was partially due to Suez Cement's commitment to the implementation of energy-efficient processes throughout the five plants, as well as further emphasis and utilisation of alternative fuels, which helped mitigate the drop in production as well as limit the impact from growing clinker imports. Suez Cement will go ahead with the deployment of coal power at all five plants over the next two years, a factor that is also expected to put a stop to some importing activities.

Suez Cement believes that the construction industry's recovery will continue to attract new investment. This is in addition to positive economic growth thanks to Egypt's new-found government stability and the future implementation of several large national projects. However, power cuts and fuel shortages are likely to remain major issues for cement producers. Fuel and energy shortages will also prolong challenges to meeting cement production targets.

The recent closure of the Tourah I plant is one example of Suez Cement's continued commitment to reducing its environmental impact. The company remains focused on investing in energy-efficient initiatives and environmentally-sound programs. This includes developing alternative fuel strategies that incorporate waste-derived fuels and coal, which will shift the company's energy mix and improve its production capabilities by reducing dependence on natural gas and mazut.

Australia: Adelaide Brighton boss Martin Brydon said that he would pursue funding from the Abbott Government's US$2.55bn Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) as Adelaide Brighton accelerates its alternative fuel use to head off its rising gas bill. The ERF is the centre-piece of the government's direct action climate policy and the first auction for funding starts on 15 April 2015.

Adelaide Brighton has a total energy bill of around US$130m/yr. Brydon said that the group will save US$6m/yr from the repeal of the carbon tax. "We are energy-intensive and capital-intensive. Anything that happens that can reduce the cost of energy is critical," said Brydon.

Adelaide Brighton's Birkenhead cement plant in south Australia, which recently expanded its cement production capacity to 750,000t/yr, generates 15% of its energy from waste wood used in construction. Brydon said that he plans to take that number to 30% and that he 'will certainly' be bidding for grants from the ERF. "The cost of that waste wood energy is significantly below the cost of natural gas," said Brydon.

In 2014, Adelaide Brighton reported a 14.3% rise in net profit to US$136m and a 9% rise in revenue to US$1.06bn. The profit and revenue numbers were both records for the company, although after stripping out one-off items the underlying profit was US$132m. Strong residential housing activity in NSW and Queensland, work on the Pacific Highway upgrade and ongoing demand from resource projects in western Australia and the northern regions buoyed sales. Adelaide Brighton said that it expects price increases in 2015 across all of its products.

In August 2014 the company acquired two concrete businesses and a quarry. Brydon said that he is looking for other businesses to buy, but opportunities for quality long-term assets were 'few and far between.'

One of the compelling issues to emerge from the Global CemFuels conference last week in Dubai was how alternative fuel (AF) use by cement producers might change while oil prices are low. Dirk Lechtenberg, of MVW Lechtenberg hinged his overview talk on both low energy prices and the on-going Lafarge-Holcim merger. The unspoken implication was that Holcim and Lafarge are offloading cement plants that use increasingly unprofitable AF. Cement plants are increasingly being out-bid for AF by energy-from-waste plants and 'gate fees' are dwindling accordingly.

Here's how it works. CRH is buying nine plants from Lafarge and Holcim in western Europe and five in eastern Europe. These are plants with high AF substitution rates. For example, Holcim's plants in France and Belgium have a substitution rate of 50% using around 250,000t/yr of waste fuels. Similarly, the Lafarge Zement Wössingen cement plant has permits for a 60% AF rate.

Globally, Lafarge and Holcim had substitution rates of 17.2% and 12.8% in 2013. CRH had a substitution rate of 21.2% in the same year. Post merger LafargeHolcim is estimated to have a substitution rate of below 10% in 2015. Meanwhile CRH is estimated to have a rate over 30%. After establishing this, Lechtenberg demonstrated how a thermal substitution model might be affected by fluctuating coal prices whilst using a refuse-derived fuels (RDF) rate of 35%. Put the price of coal below US$55/t and the savings of using RDF vanish.

Other delegates at the conference pointed out various limitations in Lechtenberg's methodology and figures. External legislation such as a carbon tax can disrupt this model for example. However, once coal becomes cheap and abundant enough it will displace most AF on economic grounds due to its high calorific value. Very few waste fuels can beat it.

At the time of writing the Brent crude oil price is just below US$60/barrel following a steep decline since mid-2014. The Australian coal price, the world's biggest export hub, has seen a steady fall since 2011 hitting just over US$60/t in January 2015. However, how interconnected are the oil and coal price?

This is difficult to link because bulk energy consumers switch supply according to price and other variables such as which fuels they can actually use. That last point is important in this discussion because preparing a cement plant to use AF requires an investment cost. Meanwhile, energy producers vary production depending on how much profit they want to make. Throw in new energy sources such as waste fuels and fracking and the overall picture becomes messy as all of these factors and others (OPEC policy, legislation etc) interact. Low oil prices do not necessarily mean low coal prices. For example, one analyst looking at BP's Statistical Review of World Energy in 2014 concluded that oil and coal consumption hold an inverse relationship to each other. When the proportion used of one rises, the proportion used of the other falls, and vice versa.

With all of this in mind there is ambiguity over whether CRH has been handed a time bomb in terms of its new cement plants' energy policies. Given that widely assumed production costs for the major oil producing nations are mostly above the current cost of crude oil, if the producers are controlling the price, then it seems likely that the price can't stay this low on a sustained basis. However, the cost of coal is on a five year low also. Is this the new normal or a market blip?

Cement plants using AF have a capital expenditure cushion against changing their fuels mix in the short to medium term but it can only last so long. The longer fossil fuel energy prices remain low the longer CRH will make less money from the fuel strategy it will inherit at its new plants.

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Read the review of the 9th Global CemFuels Conference 2015

US: The 57th IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Industry Technical Conference will take place at the Sheraton Centre Hotel in Toronto, Canada from 26 – 30 April 2015.

This year's conference theme is 'BIG.' The participants will visit the biggest cement plant in Canada, the St. Marys Bowmanville facility. According to the organisers, every major cement producer will be represented. 11 new professional training sessions will be offered in 2015, each one twice. There will also be tutorial sessions including Mines Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) recertification as well and a general practices tutorial entitled 'Alternative fuels and raw materials (AFR) thermal substitution and its impact on process and emissions.'