To enable Conch Tongling Cement to burn a higher rate of alternative fuels, an integrated gasification system was installed and duly tested. The system converts organic or fossil fuel-derived carbonaceous materials into CO, H and CO2 and without combustion, produces a fuel that can be used in cement production. By Yan Da-Hai, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, China, Kåre Helge Karstensen and Christian J Engelsen, Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research (SINTEF), Norway and Zheng Peng, Foreign Economic Cooperation Office, Ministry of Environmental Protection, China.
One of the key issues China faces today is the daily management of large volume wastes, ie sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants, municipal solid wastes (MSW) and fly ash from MSW incineration. Although MSW is landfilled as well as incinerated, these sites quickly reach capacity in large cities in China.1 New landfill space is increasingly difficult to find, particularly when taking into account the need to locate such facilities close to the city to reduce transport costs. In addition, both landfilling and incineration of MSW are controversial and local opposition is part of today’s China.
