Displaying items by tag: Tyres

Canada: The New Democratic Party has called for a ban of burning tyres in Nova Scotia. The opposition political party held a news conference with opponents of the government's decision in July 2017 to approve a one-year pilot project allowing Lafarge Canada to burn tyres for energy at the company's Brookfield cement plant, according to the Canadian Press newspaper. No tyres have been burned at the plant so far as the cement producer waits for industrial approval of the project from the provincial government.

Mark Butler of the Ecology Action Centre said the government’s decision was based on a Dalhousie University engineering study that was too narrow in its focus and wasn't peer reviewed. However the government has said that it used several technical studies to inform its decision. A group of local residents also started legal action in August 2017 on the grounds that the project violated the province's Environment Act.

Canada: Lafarge Canada has started a partnership with Dalhousie University researcher Mark Gibson to test tyre-derived fuel on an industrial scale at the Brookfield cement plant in Nova Scotia. Working under a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant, this initiative will research the adoption of low carbon fuels in the cement industry. The research will continue the partnership between Lafarge Canada and Dalhousie's Faculty of Engineering.

"My students and I are very pleased to see this work enter the real world. Based on our research, we expect to see significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from the Brookfield cement plant and thereby help Nova Scotia move one step closer to a low carbon economy," said Gibson. He added that the use of tires will also reduce NOx emissions. In 2015, Gibson and his team published a report entitled ‘Use of scrap tyres as an alternative fuel source at the Lafarge cement kiln, Brookfield, Nova Scotia.’

Due to different initiatives including previous work with Dalhousie's Faculty of Engineering, the Brookfield plant has substituted alternative fuels for conventional ones by using front-end burner injection in its kiln. The plant is expected to reach a substitution rate of up to 30% by the end of 2016. Following the test using tyres the cement producer expects to use 15% of its fuel requirements from 450,000 tyres per year, or just under half the amount of tyres generated in Nova Scotia. The project proposal will be explained in further detail at a Public Meeting planned for 20 October 2016 in Brookfield.

Ireland: Irish Cement is planning to cut the amount alternative fuels it intends to co-process at its Limerick cement plant to 90,000t/yr. The cement producer withdrew its initial planning application in March 2016 but has resubmitted a new application with a lower amount of alternative fuels, according to the Limerick Leader newspaper. It now aims to burn half of the original amount that was originally requested.

It originally announced its Euro10m plan to co-process alternative fuels including tyres at the plant in December 2015. The investment is intended to create 40 jobs. However, local citizens have opposed the plans with over 450 people signing a petition against the development.

Ireland: Irish Cement has deferred its plan to co-process tyres at its Limerick cement plant. Planning was lodged in late February 2016, according to the Irish Examiner. However a spokesman for Irish Cement said that the company had noted a few days previously that the planning application had not been made available for public inspection, due to a ‘procedural’ matter. They added that the company was working with the Limerick City and Country Council to resolve the issue.

Local Green Party candidate James Gaffney raised concerns about the plant upgrade in local press in mid-March 2016. He alleged that no public consultation was being carried out on the plant’s plans and that the application was being fast-tracked. Irish Cement denied these claims.

Irish Cement announced its plan to burn alternative fuels at its Limerick plant in December 2015.

Pakistan: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has deferred the approval for setting up a tyre-derived fuel (TDF) plant at the Bestway Cement plant in Farooqia. The decision has been left by the EPA to consent from the local community, according to local press.

EPA Director General Dr Bashir Khan said at a public meeting that unless local residents were satisfied, Bestway Cement would not be issued a no-objection certificate. Residents have cited dust, smoke, noise and water pollution as reasons to object against the proposed plant. Qamar Hayat, a local activist, said that locals would allow the EPA to approve the TDF plant when they were guaranteed pollution would be monitored and that health hazards and property losses would be checked.

Ireland: Irish Cement will burn used tyres in a bid to cut costs and secure jobs at its Limerick plant. The company plans to switch to dry waste material such as rubber from used tyres and plastic to heat the kiln at the plant. The switch will cut costs, make the plant cleaner and more competitive, according to the company.

A spokesman for Irish Cement said that the company would shortly be lodging a planning application with Limerick City and County Council for the replacement of fossil fuels with alternative fuels and raw materials to improve the sustainability of their operations. The company will also be seeking a revision of its licence from the Environmental Protection Agency.

"Limerick is Ireland's oldest cement plant, having commenced operations 77 years ago. Its continuous operation has been sustained by continuous investment in new technologies and processes. After the recent period of reduced demand, production is once again on the increase at home and abroad for cement. This fuel replacement programme will be key to sustaining this growth," said Plant Manager Pat Robinson. "Based on experience in other cement plants in Ireland and throughout Europe, the opportunity to reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels will prove critical to our ability to operate competitively and sustain jobs at Irish Cement Limerick into the future."

Belarus: Belarusian manufacturers are expected to export 1.8Mt of cement in 2015, including 1.3Mt to be supplied to Russia's Eurocement, according to Construction minister Anatol Chorny. Belarus sold 980,000t of cement to Eurocement in 2014. Belarus' cement output is expected to total 6.1Mt in 2015, up from 5.8Mt in 2014.

"This year we have signed an exclusive contract for the supply of 1.3Mt," said Chorny. "The contract is advantageous to Belarus because 50% of the total amount shall be paid in advance and the rest shall be paid within 10 days of the delivery date. If the price of cement in the Russian market is lower than in Belarus, the Russian company will cover the losses. If the price will be higher, the difference will be equally divided." Belarus will also export cement to Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, Poland and Lithuania in 2015.

Belarus' AAT Krychawtsementnashyfer in Krychaw, Mahilyow, operated at a loss in 2013. This was caused by its old production plant, which still uses natural gas to manufacture cement. In contrast, the company's new production facility generated a profit of about Euro676,000 in 2014. To reduce the cost of cement production, Krychawtsementnashyfer installed a cement kiln fuelled by waste tyres in 2014 and plans to start using coal dust as a fuel in 2015, according to Chorny.

Colombia: Cementos Argos innovation vice-president Camilo Restrepo has persisted with a project to use waste tyres as an alternative fuel in Colombia. Some 120,000 - 130,000/yr tyres are wasted in Colombia.

Cementos Argos is already using waste tyres as fuel in the US and Honduras and says that the same will be done in Colombia. It put forward its plans to local associations and has been discussing these for five years. Cementos Argos could use 60,000 - 70,000t/yr. Its kilns will have to be adapted at cost of US$5 – 20m each. It will start with its unit in Rioclaro, where tests are underway already. The plant can use 15,000 - 20,000t/yr of waste tyres.

Colombia: Cementos Argos plans to use more than 26,000t/yr of used tyres generated in the Valle de Aburra region as fuel for its cement plant. Tyres could be incorporated in Cementos Argos processes by the end of 2014 or the beginning of 2015. Executives have commented that one of the main obstacles is the collection of used tyres.