FLSmdith has won an order from Fletcher Building to install a HOTDISC® combustion device at its Golden Bay cement plant in New Zealand.
Local media reported that substituting rubber biofuels for coal will reduce CO2 emissions by 13,000 tonnes per year, or the equivalent of emissions from 6000 cars. Once the FLSmidth HOTDISC is fully operational, the kiln will consume up to 3.1m shredded tyres a year, replacing the need for over 15,000t of coal.
New Zealand’s Associate Minister for the Environment, Eugenie Sage, recently signalled that the government’s priority work programme for waste will include a greater focus on product stewardship for end-of-life vehicle tyres, with New Zealanders throwing away more than 5m tyres every year.
This follows earlier efforts by the government to tackle the issue of tyres, with private companies invited in 2015 to put forward applications to the Waste Minimisation Fund for environmentally sustainable solutions for end-of-life tyres.
Carsten Damslund Jensen, Global Product Line Manager at FLSmidth, noted that the FLSmidth HOTDISC is experiencing a boom in many parts of the world, especially in China.
"Whereas we previously experienced a market demand of one or two units a year, we are now projecting the sale of 10 units in 2019," he says, adding, "It's not only a good business case for cement producers and other energy-hungry industries, but also good news for the environment."
