Çimsa's Afyon cement plant opens WDF facility

Çimsa's new investment 'Opium Waste Derived Fuel Feeding Facility' has commenced operations at the company's Afyon factory. The facility was established to reduce the use of fossil fuels in cement production and a make the production process more sustainable production by using alternative fuels. It is expected to apply circular economy principles by using wastes from different sectors.

Thanks to the facility, which was completed in nine months with an investment of TRY52m (US$3.65m), the fossil fuels used in Çimsa's Afyon plant will decrease by 35 per cent in the first phase. Thus, wastes will be converted into heat energy and their environmental impact will be minimised through energy recovery.

The investment aims to prevent the release of 46,200tpa of CO₂ into the air. This amount is equivalent to the annual carbon capture capacity of 23,000ha of forest area.

Sabancı Holding Construction Materials Group President, Burak Orhun, said the following about the facility: “Our aim is to reach the 'Net Zero' level in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. In addition, we continue to work with the goal of 'Zero Waste' and increase our circular business model practices. As Çimsa, we are working on alternative fuels that replace fossil fuels for a sustainable life, as well as technological changes that support new and low carbon emissions. In this context, we have taken another very important step in our sustainability agenda with our Çimsa Opium Waste-Derived Fuel Feeding Facility, which we opened.”