InterCement uses 232 thousand tons of alternative fuel in cement production per year
In 2018, the company reduced its CO2 emissions by 250 thousand tons; factories with the highest rate of alternative fuel usage are Ijaci (Minas Gerais) at 30% and Candiota at 45%
Concerned with sustainability in its activities and industry, InterCement, a Brazilian company with a worldwide presence, has been investing on alternatives to replace fossil fuels — such as coke and mineral coal — in the generation of thermal energy in cement manufacture, known as co-processing. This process takes advantage of different kinds of residue, such as those from agricultural, industrial and urban activities, replacing non-renewable raw materials to generate energy in the ten company-owned factories’ kilns, found all around the country.
In 2018 alone, InterCement already reached 232 thousand tons of alternative fuels used. To get to these results, the company invested about R$ 24.4 million from 2014 to 2018, resulting in a reduction of 250 thousand in CO2 emission in the environment.
One of the main alternative sources for this replacement are tires, urban and industrial residue, known as CDRUS, which benefit different sectors of our society, considering that the company removes residue from the environment that would otherwise be sent to landfills and other inadequate places that could impact the environment and public health. InterCement uses over 165 thousand tons of tire and industrial residue in this type of process in Brazil.
“The use of urban and industrial residue is still in its early stages, since UN report starts that about 80 thousand tons of solid urban residue are discarded incorrectly, and that represents about 40% of the collective volume. A part of this could have been sent to the cement kilns. This movement is also aligned with the Brazilian Policy of Solid Residue, which sets goals to correctly discard residue, allowing better access to them,” stated Ricardo Barbosa, CEO of InterCement Brazil.
For instance, InterCement already shows high rates of biomass use in thermal generation, with agricultural residue such as rice peels, licuri palm, babassu and baru tree peelings, as well as coal mill scraps, saw dust, wood chips-among others that would otherwise be disposed off improperly in the environment. In factories such as in Ijaci (Minas Gerais) and Candiota (Rio Grande do Sul), this residue can represent 30 to 45% of all material used to generate thermal energy.
Globally, InterCement shows a 17% co-processing rate, above the world reference indexes that fluctuate at about 10%. Barbosa further clarifies that “InterCement invests in innovation to promote competitive gains, with new products, services, technologies and processes. But our long-term vision goes beyond operational and market challenges. It also includes economic, social and environmental development of where we are present”.
Social Biomass
In order to help economically and socially develop the regions of Goiás and Bahia, InterCement’s R&D sector studied the calorific value of baru, babassu and licuri tree peels, which are discarded in the production families’ extractive activities in communities. The sector discovered that this residue has proper calorific value to feed the cement kilns in this region. With this, InterCement Institute improved the cooperatives’ activities so that it would be possible to collect these materials, investing in equipment, professional training, management, the development of products and the purchase of these peels.
The procedure increase the families’ revenue and the supply capacity of the residue in terms of volume and quantity.
InterCement intends to reach the goal of 14 thousand yearly tons of tree peels in the production of cement in the cities of Cezarina (Goiás) and Campo Formoso (Bahia).
The CEO adds that “this biomass has adequate calorific value and can be used a source of thermal energy replacing part of our main fuel. Not only does this contribute towards environmental preservation by reducing CO2 emissions, this initiative promotes social improvements for local communities where InterCement Brazil owns factories, generating a chain of economical, social and environmental development”.
Investing in the future
InterCement’s goal for 2019 is to reach a rate of 23% of co-processing in the Brazilian market. The company also has more ambitious goals, intending to reach 40% usage of alternative fuels, such as industrial, urban and biomass residue by 2027.
Flavio Aidar, CEO of InterCement, adds that “all over the world, InterCement continuously searches for less pollutant alternative fuels that generate the necessary thermal energy for our kilns, as well as helping to develop local communities. With this, summing all factories, InterCement stopped emitting 436 tons of CO2 in 2018”.
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