Use of more waste-derived fuels at Rugby cement plant shows further environmental gains, say Cemex

Cemex UK have published a draft report for public consultation, which shows that more than doubling the levels of Climafuel (from 30% up to 65%) at their Rugby cement plant, in Warwickshire, has environmental benefits.

Climafuel is an alternative fuel derived from residual household and commercial waste, which is used in the heating of the cement kiln at the plant.

The report provides an evaluation of using two increased levels of Climafuel: first, at up to 65% replacement in combination with coal at 35%; and secondly, at up to 53% in conjunction with chipped tyres at 12% and coal again at 35%.

It also sets out how, in Cemex’sview, the evaluation has met and exceeded the stringent ‘critical success factor’ criteria developed by the cement industry regulator, the Environment Agency (EA), in advance of the trials.

Following a two-month public consultation, Cemex hope to secure permanent permission for the use of Climafuel at the maximum rate (up to 65%), as demonstrated in the trials, up from the plant’s previous permit of 30%.

According to the company, the draft report demonstrates that the increased use of Climafuel has produced positive results. It shows that during the evaluation there were no breaches of existing emission limit values, and that the overall environmental impact is reduced when Climafuel is used to replace traditional fossil fuels, such as coal.

In the past 12 months, Cemex UK have used more than 130,000t of Climafuel at the Rugby plant. Based on the biomass content of the fuel, the use of Climafuel has saved over 155,000t of CO2 in that time – an amount equivalent to the CO2 emissions generated by around 62,000 cars in a year.