Mitsubishi Cement in Lucerne Valley, California, has acquired a Rawlings Manufacturing Wood Hog, enabling it to use both coal and biomass in its cement kilns, reports Biomass Magazine.

The wood waste recovery system will use construction waste, according to Judi Tyacke, Rawlings Manufacturing, as Mitsubishi’s location makes other feedstocks difficult to procure.

“They’re in the middle of the desert,” she said. “There isn’t a lot of slush, so they’re using construction wood waste.”

Rawlings has been making and selling the wood hog design for 30 years, according to Tyacke. It can reduce various types and sizes of wood waste to biomass fuel six inches or less in size, she said. Once the wood has been processed through the hog, the metal is removed by an overhead self-cleaning magnet and conveyed to a walking floor stoker storage system, according to Rawlings. To ensure optimal size, the wood is then processed over two vibrating finger screens and transferred to the kilns by a blower system.