Alternative fuels

the history & the future

PRESENTATION AGENDA

A review of the early history and the mistakes that were made.

Discussion of the lessons learnt and how the main drivers were put in place.

Some future developments for alternative fuels.

Proposed fundamental laws and mythology review.

HISTORY SHOWS THAT EARLY USE OF ALTERNATIVE FUEL WAS NOT ALWAYS A SUCCESS

The initial fuel used was of poor quality which limited success.

The handling of the public was poor.

The resulting relations with politicians and the authorities was therefore also poor.

Relationships with the waste management industry were hostile.

There was little political co-ordination in the cement industry.

Environmental NGO’s did not like cement makers getting involved as they considered the concept as a reduction in the pressures being brought to bear to reduce waste.

Coal and petcoke was relatively cheap so this slowed down development.

“THE INDUSTRY DID NOT COVER ITSELF IN GLORY”

A VARIETY OF FUELS WERE INITIALLY USED Each alternative fuel had it’s own set of problem and government approach was disjointed.

Spent solvents

RDF/SRF

Waste tyres

Sewage sludge

SUDDENLY VALUE STARTED TO COME INTO THE PRICE OF SOLID WASTE

The first driver of value was the EU Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC coming into force in 1999.

Many countries followed the directive to greater or lesser degrees. Those that followed the legislation were the winners.

Then the Waste Incineration Directive 2000/76/EC came into force in 2000.

Initially cement makers were concerned.

STILL BARRIERS EXISTED BETWEEN THE CEMENT AND WASTE INDUSTRIES BUT NOT FOR LONG

Waste guys wanted payment, low CV, high H2O, high Cl and delivery inconsistent. The cement guys wanted the opposite but now they work together.

PROBLEM STILL PERSISTED WITH LACK OF MIDDLE MANAGEMENT SUPPORT

When the concept of AF was first proposed the cartoon was typical of the reaction on most plants.

But the cement world has moved on in terms of the attitude of senior and middle management , with the concept now being received with greater trust.

However, the “old” reaction can still be seen.

When this occurred the next problem was to convince the operators to trust and embrace the concept.

In their minds “waste in must equal waste out” and “we didn’t do this in the old days”. The attitude was “any problem with the process is due to the AF”

SO WHAT WAS PUT IN PLACE TO ENSURE MAXIMUM SUBSTITUTION?

Clear highest level management support.

Strong middle management delivery.

Cement process stability.

Good public relations.

Clear communication with the authorities.

Use of high quality alternative fuel.

Strong partnership with a reputable fuel preparation company.

Where possible become a part of the solution to local waste management problems.

Make it the heart of your business.

THE FUTURE FOR ALTERNATIVE FUELS Improved security of the supply chain

Growth of the pellet market

Free movement of SRF derived alternative fuels

Power generators will see that this is a perfect solution for them

Carbon capture and storage with alternative fuel firing and reuse of spent calcium oxide

CEMENT COMPANIES LINKING WITH WASTE MANAGEMENT COMPANIES

Long term relationships are now beginning to appear between cement companies and fuel preparation companies that have more know-how than waste collection.

N+P have long term agreements with CEMEX and others.

SUEZ ENVIRONMENT are also forming links with the Malpass fuel preparation plant at CEMEX UK being a great example.

Heidelberg have a long term link with Shanks also.

This approach is becoming more commonplace with companies taking a longer term view and determined to lock in on good value.

A key to this approach is that the waste management partner has to be able to make high quality fuel consistently and the cement company has the know-how to burn at high levels consistently.

HIGH GRADE PELLETS HAVE NOW APPEARED ON THE MARKET AND THE USE OF SUCH PELLETS WILL GROW

When developing the use of alternative fuels it is often the case that large investments are needed even to undertake a trial. This often prevents the development of such an option.

The new pellets now being produced are made from the pelletising of high grade SRF. The pellets can be mixed with coal and milled on conventional ball and vertical mills.

Advantages of the fuel are:

Co-milling means no investment

Financial de-risking of trials

High CV content, so easy to burn

Potential to reach very high substitution

Can easily displace tyre burning

Low transport cost

FREE EXPORT OF ALTERNATIVE FUEL WITHIN BASEL CONVENTION COUNTRIES WILL APPEAR

Currently AF (RDF &SRF) can be shipped between EU countries. With some exceptions.

Authorities are becoming more comfortable with the concept of SRF.

The free export of SRF amongst Basle convention signatory countries will be accepted.

This will turn the SRF market into a mature business and pull in other industries to the concept.

COAL FIRED POWER STATIONS WILL INCREASE THE USE OF SRF SIGNIFICANTLY

Coal fired power stations are already burning SRF and SRF pellets. Some generators have burnt up to 30% substitution without any issues. Emissions of N0x reduce when burning AF. Emissions of dioxin remain unchanged. Increased boiler corrosion is manageable. Because of all the above factors the authorities are taking a more positive position with regards the concept. This will dramatically increase the demand for AF.

CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE (CCS) SYSTEM

DEVELOPING CCS FOR THE CEMENT INDUSTRY

Incorporate the CCS plant into the process.

Use the spent calcium oxide as a feedstock for the cement process thus avoiding landfill.

Take the waste heat from the process to generate power for on-site consumption.

Use alternative fuels instead of coal to fire the system. Thus reducing cost significantly and further enhancing the carbon footprint of the process.

FUNDAMENTAL LAWS OF PHYSICS

Laws of motion Laws of thermodynamics

FUNDAMENTAL LAWS OF USING ALTERNATIVE FUELS

The greater the integration of alternative fuels into the process the greater the potential to burn alternative fuels(AF).

Alternative fuels will exploit any process bottlenecks or weaknesses and so reduce the potential to burn AF.

The greater the gegree of management and employee ’buy-in’ and professionalism, the greater the potential for burning AF.

The use of AF will reveal any development “Luddites”.

The better the quality of AF the greater the potential for burning AF.

Any poor communication both within the company or with the outside world will always come back to bite you.

MYTHS SURROUNDING THE BURNING OF ALTERNATIVE FUELS ON CEMENT PLANTS

“You can’t burn AF on an old plant not designed to do so”

“When burning AF clinker production will reduce”

“Elevated levels of chlorine cannot be tolerated in AF”

“SRF with heat content above 18MJ/kg cannot be found”

“The public will always be opposed to such projects”

“The current low price of oil makes AF projects unattractive”

“Coal will always be the main fuel in the cement industry”

CONCLUSIONS

We learnt our lessons.

The correct drivers were put in place.

The authorities became very supportive and the public became trusting.

It is clear that there is a big future for alternative fuels and some new developments are already on the horizon.

Be aware of the fundamental laws and beware of mythology

Finally other industries will increase their position in this sector when energy gets more expensive and carbon gets more constrained. The future for alternative fuels is getting even brighter.

“THANKS FOR LISTENING”

FROM THE N+P GROUP “CONGRATULATIONS & GOOD LUCK TO

INTERCEM FOR THE NEXT 30 YEARS”

ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE?