Use of more waste derived fuels at CEMEX’s Rugby cement plant shows further environmental gains
Building materials company, CEMEX UK, has published a draft report for public consultation, which shows that more than doubling the levels of Climafuel (from 30% up to 65%) at its Rugby plant in Warwickshire has environmental benefits. Climafuel is an alternative fuel derived from residual household and commercial waste, which is used to heat the cement kiln in Rugby.
The report provides an evaluation of using two increased levels of Climafuel – firstly at up to 65% replacement in combination with coal at 35%, and secondly at up to 53% in conjunction with chipped tyres at 12% and coal again at 35% . It also sets out how, in CEMEX’s view, the evaluation has met and exceeded the stringent ‘critical success factor’ criteria developed by the cement industry regulator, the Environment Agency (EA), in advance of the trials.
Following a two month public consultation, CEMEX hopes to secure the permanent permission for the use of Climafuel at the maximum rate (up to 65%) as demonstrated in the trials, up from 30% from the plant’s previous permit.
The draft report demonstrates that the increased use of Climafuel has produced positive results. It shows that during the evaluation there were no breaches of existing emission limit values, and that the overall environmental impact is reduced when Climafuel is used to replace traditional fossil fuels such as coal.
The increased use of Climafuel is also significantly helping to reduce the amount of waste material that would otherwise go to landfill. In the past 12 months, CEMEX UK has used more than 130,000 tonnes of Climafuel at Rugby plant. Based on the biomass content of the fuel, the use of Climafuel has also saved over 155,000 tonnes of CO2 in that time. This is the equivalent to saving the CO2 emissions generated by around 62,000 cars in a year.
The report is available on the company’s website - www.cemex.co.uk - at Rugby Borough Council and Rugby Library. Comments should be sent in writing, in the first instance, to Ian Southcott, CEMEX House, Rugby CV21 2DT or by email to ian.southcott@cemex.com. The closing date for comments is 31 January 2011.
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Notes to Editors:
CEMEX UK
CEMEX is a global building solutions company and leading supplier of cement, ready-mixed concrete and aggregates. In the UK, CEMEX also produces asphalt, and has a significant share of the roof tile, concrete-block paving, and concrete block sectors. Additionally, the company is the leading supplier of concrete sleepers to the rail industry and a supplier of PFA cement additives. CEMEX has a national supply network in the UK with over 450 locations, to ensure that quality building materials are available to customers locally. For more information, see www.CEMEX.co.uk, www.CEMEX.com
Rugby Works
CEMEX’s Rugby Works is one of the most modern cement plants in the world and represents a total investment of £200 million. It has the largest kiln in the UK and has a production capacity of 1.8 million tonnes of cement per annum. CEMEX supports 730 local jobs in Rugby (159 at the works), contributes £25.5 million per annum to the local economy and provides a product that is essential locally and nationally, for housing, hospitals, schools and roads. Every year Rugby produces enough cement for the construction of more than 72,000 houses (assuming that an average house contains approximately 18 tonnes of cement). For more information, please see www.CEMEX.co.uk/communities
Climafuel
Climafuel is an alternative fuel which is derived from household and commercial waste and could, therefore, substantially reduce what currently has to be sent to landfill. It looks like shredded paper and consists of paper, cardboard, wood, carpet, textiles and plastics that have been through a treatment process. It is a solid, non-hazardous fuel from which recoverable materials have been removed for recycling.