Lowering emissions with waste-derived fuels
As a world leader in waste solutions, Holcim invests globally in accelerating the use of waste-derived fuels in its plants. Through ‘co-processing’, we recycle minerals and recover energy from waste during the manufacturing of cement. Heating our kilns with this pretreated waste is key to achieving our net zero ambitions.
Running a kiln with 100 fossil fuel replacement? It's possible!
Our Cizkovice plant in the Czech Republic is a prime example that running a kiln with 100 fossil fuel replacement is possible! This year an average 92 of the plant's thermal energy has come from the recovery of waste. In other words, only 8 of traditional fossil fuels are used for heating the kiln. The kiln frequently runs at an hourly rate of close to 98 substitution - the maximum allowed by local law. Significant investments are being made to transform the plant and enable it to close the remaining gap.
Efficient waste management with alternative fuels
The plant is mainly using Solid Recovered Fuels, produced by sorting and shredding solid waste, typically consisting of the combustible non-recyclable components of industrial (over 30 automotive) and municipal waste. This not only provides an effective societal solution for waste recycling and recovery, but also a high-yield source of energy for producing heat. Thanks to the co-processing of waste, our Cizkovice plant is able to avoid more than 200’000 tons of net CO2 emissions per year. This has enabled the plant to produce cement with a CO2 intensity per ton of cementitious material that is already lower than the Groups 2030 target of 475 kg CO2 per ton.
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