Displaying items by tag: Alternative raw materials

Canada: A British Colombia programme that recycles Keurig coffee K-Cups into cement has been so successful that it may expand into Alberta. The Lafarge cement plant in Kamloops, British Colombia, Canada used about 1.4m K-Cups as ash in its cement in 2014 after teaming up with Van Houtte Coffee Services, which collects the used pods for recycling.

"I think we've been fairly successful here," said Eric Isenor, the Lafarge Kamlooops plant manager. "Van Houtte is happy with the programme so far and is looking to expand." He added that the company might start collecting the used pods in Alberta, Canada for recycling in British Colombia.

The single-serving coffee pods are not recyclable because they are a mixture of materials coffee grounds, a paper filter, plastic cup and foil top that cannot be efficiently separated. After collecting the used coffee pods, Van Houtte, a coffee service that delivers supplies to offices and retailers around Kamloops, brings them in large bins to the Lafarge cement plant for processing. The pods are dried out, shredded and heated to 2000°C to form ash, which is then used for cement production.

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.'

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos said that the proportion of alternative raw materials used in Brazilian cement is one of the best in the world, according to data from the Brazilian construction industry association SNIC. In 2013, 91% of all the cement commercialised in Brazil had some additive in addition to the clinker derived from limestone used in cement production.

"Brazil has one of the highest clinker substitution rates in the world. This is due to industry research and the development of technologies to incorporate natural substitutes and even steel industry rejects into cement manufacture", said Edvaldo Rabelo, executive director of energy, sustainability and safety for Votorantim Cimentos. "The addition of alternative raw materials ensures a product as strong and durable as cement made with pure clinker and generates gains such as reductions in gas emissions, water consumption and the burning of fossil fuels in the production process."

Votorantim Cimentos Research and Development manager, Silvia Vieira, said that the company plant in Porto Velho, Rondônia is considered a model in climate change initiatives. In operation since 2009, the plant saw alternative raw materials as a means of reducing operational costs. Located in the north of Brazil, there is a lack of limestone for clinker production and the high cost of transporting it from other mines is prohibitive. "This led us to think about producing calcined clay pozzolan at the plant and increasing the proportion of substitutes. After research, the involvement of scientists to establish technical specifications and diverse tests, we developed our own furnace for producing the material," said Silvia.