A large cement producer is upgrading its Tasmania facility so it can co-process wood waste based fuel (WBF) and tyre derived fuel (TDF) in its existing kiln to reduce the use of coal by 35%.
Cement Australia’s Railton Kiln Upgrade received $52.9 million in funding from the federal government as support for a $106 million investment to reduce Co₂ emissions by 107,000 tonnes per year.
More than 110,000 tonnes of coal will be replaced with alternative fuels, according to Cement Australia, primarily sustainable wood waste, and shredded end-of-life car tyres.
The Concrete Institute Bronze member uses alternative fuels in its northern Tasmania and Queensland (Gladstone) plants where the manufacturing process goes through rotary kilns at temperatures in excess of 1200 degrees. The alternative fuels and wastes enter the kiln, the waste is destroyed, and the neutralised ash is co-processed into cement, Cement Australia stated.
Tasmania generates around 4000-5000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres from cars and small trucks each year. Some are shredded and exported for further processing, however, each year a significant number of TDF are stockpiled.
“Cement Australia will co-process these tyres. They will be shredded into 50mm pieces and be used as an alternate fuel in the Railton kiln, without generating additional emissions- providing a responsible solution to environmental, health and nuisance issues associated with long term storage,” the company said.
Seventy-five percent of Tasmania’s sustainable forestry industry is sourced from plantation forests and this generates about 1-2 million tonnes of harvesting residue (waste) annually. By co-processing a proportion of this residue, Cement Australia’s facility at Railton will be able to reduce its CO₂ emissions and provide a sustainable use of natural resources without increasing harvesting activity.
Image: The Railton facility. Source: Cement Australia
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Desi Corbett
Desi is the Editor of Concrete in Australia, at the helm since December 2013, and our weekly news writer since 2016. Her expertise in this field forms part of a journalism career spanning three decades. To get in touch please email desi@corbettcomms.com