Applied Energy 74 (2003) 95–100

www.elsevier.com/locate/apenergy

Alternative fuels for the cement industry

Eugeniusz Mokrzycki*, Alicja Uliasz- Bocheńczyk
Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences,
Wybickiego 7 Str, 30-950 Krakow 65, PO Box 49, Poland

Abstract
One of the main methods for utilising waste is its use as an energy source. Waste is only
suitable for use as a fuel if it has a chemical energy content. This energy content depends most
of all on the size of the (organic) combustible fraction and on the moisture content. To better
employ the chemical energy contained in wastes, alternative fuels have been developed which
are mixtures of different wastes. Some of these alternative fuels are: RDF, BRAM, SIBRCOM,
INBRE, PAKOM, etc. Research carried out for a number of years in cement plants all over
the world has clearly shown the advantages of waste utilisation in clinkering processes and
cement production. The decisive factors promoting the use of cement kilns for the utilisation
of wastes are: the high incineration temperature, the large area of the furnace, the significant
length of the kiln and the alkaline environment inside the kiln.
# 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Alternative fuels; Municipal and industrial waste; Cement plants

1. Introduction

Highly-developed countries use low-waste or waste-free technologies as well as

keep searching for waste treatment methods that would be (i) friendly to the envir-
onment and (ii) helpful in recovering energy from waste. The cement industry also
participates in the efforts to find a solution to the problem of waste management.
The energy-intensiveness of cement production processes and increasing fuel prices,
combined with fuel deficit, force the cement industry to search for technologies
based on waste-derived and alternative fuels.
Depending on local conditions, such as incineration technology, access to waste
and economic calculation, cement plants use various types of alternative fuels.

* Corresponding author. Fax: +48-12-632-35-24.

E-mail address: mokrzy@min-pan.krakow.pl (E. Mokrzycki).

0306-2619/02/$ - see front matter # 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0306-2619(02)00135-6
96 E. Mokrzycki, A. Uliasz- Bocheńczyk / Applied Energy 74 (2003) 95–100

2. Use of alternative fuels in rotary cement kilns

The process of clinker burning in a rotary kiln creates favorable conditions for the
use of alternative fuels. These include [1]: high temperature, alkaline environment,
oxidizing atmosphere, the lack of incineration wastes as all metallic and non-metal-
lic incineration products undergo a complete absorption, large heat-exchange sur-
face, good mixture of gases and products, and sufficient time (over 2 s) for the
disposal of hazardous wastes.
Other advantages of a cement kiln are the following:

 waste treatment does not require any additional source of heat (as in the case
of a traditional incineration plant),
 there is no increase in discharges to the atmosphere,
 it is much cheaper to adapt a cement kiln to waste incineration than build a
new incineration plant, and
 clinker burning process complies with all requirements of the EU Directive
92/C130/01 concerning hazardous waste incineration.

A diagram of temperatures of gases and materials (Fig. 1) shows the required time
for waste disposal (over 2 s).
The use of waste-derived fuel in the process of clinker production also has certain
limitations, such as [2]:

 technological limitations related to the volume of waste-derived fuel, which

may be at one time fed to the kiln. The waste volume depends on the effective
incineration surface, i.e. the kiln’s length and capacity The use of waste-derived
fuel must not have a negative impact on the kiln running or clinker quality [3];
 limitations related to environmental safety. Waste-derived fuels should be used in
accordance with strictly defined rules so as to ensure that incineration products
do not have an adverse impact on the process of clinker production, that is do not
affect cement quality or cause pollution of gases discharged to the atmosphere.

3. Alternative fuels used in the cement industry

Alternative fuels are the solid, liquid, municipal or industrial wastes used in
industrial and power plants as a substitute for conventional fuels. Alternative fuels
have been in use for more than 10 years now and are gaining an increasing share in
the global energy market [3].
Alternative fuels used in the cement industry are usually classified according to the
concentration criterion into [4,5]:

 gaseous (examples: landfill gas, pyrolysis gas),

 liquid (examples: pasty wastes, solvents, waste oils, greases),
 solid (examples: animal powder, bark, paper, tyres, ruber wastes, plastics, fluff).
 E. Mokrzycki, A. Uliasz- Bocheńczyk / Applied Energy 74 (2003) 95–100 97

Fig. 1. A diagram of the temperatures of gases and materials in a cement kiln [1,12,18].

According to the classification by Cembureau, alternative fuels are divided into

the following five classes [6]:

 class 1: gaseous alternative fuels (examples: refinery waste gas, landfill gas),
 class 2: liquid alternative fuels (examples: low chlorine spent solvents,
hydraulic oils),
98 E. Mokrzycki, A. Uliasz- Bocheńczyk / Applied Energy 74 (2003) 95–100

 class 3: pulverized, granulated or finely-crushed solid alternative fuels (exam-

ples: sawdust, dried sewage sludge, granulated plastic, animal flours, fine
crushed tyres),
 class 4: coarse-crushed solid alternative fuels (examples: crushed tyres, rubber/
plastic waste, wood waste, reagglomerated organic matter),
 class 5: lump alternative fuels (examples: whole tyres, plastic bales).

Solid alternative fuels may be divided into four groups [7]:

 group 1: solid, dry fuels of relative fine size, which do not adhere (dimensions:
< 2 mm, humidity: < 10–15%); for example: wood dust, bark powder, rice
husk,
 group 2: solid, dry fuels of coarse size, which do not adhere (dimensions: < 20
mm, humidity: < 10–15%); for example: plastic waste, wood chips, waste
wood,
 group 3: solid, dry fuels which tend to stick (dimensions: < 20 mm, humidity:
< 10–15%); for example: animal powder, impregnated wood dust,
 group 4:mixtures of different lumpy fuels (dimensions: < 200 mm, humidity:
< 20%); for example: fluff, paper, cardboard.

There is also another classification of solid and liquid fuels used in the cement
industry. Solid fuels are divided into three categories [8]:

 vegetable compounds or natural products (oil shale, peat, barks, sawdust, etc.),
 synthetic products (used tyres, rubber waste, waste plastics, etc.),
 others (parts of shredded cars, fuels derived from rejects, household garbage,
etc.).

Liquid fuels are divided into:

 liquid substitute fuels—easily decomposed, slightly toxic (acid tar, oil resi-
dues, etc.),
 liquid substitute fuels, stable toxic (polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), poli-
chlorinated biphenyl (PCB), etc.).

The burning of various types of wastes requires the detailed control and adapta-
tion of technological processes to each type of waste. For this reason, alternative
fuels are derived from wastes having similar composition and properties.
The following properties should be examined before the burning of alternative
fuels is undertaken [6,9]:

 physical state of the fuel (solid, liquid, gaseous),

 content of circulating elements (Na, K, Cl, S),
 toxicity (organic compounds, heavy metals),
 composition and content of ash,
 E. Mokrzycki, A. Uliasz- Bocheńczyk / Applied Energy 74 (2003) 95–100 99

 content volatiles,
 calorific value,
 physical properties (scrap size, density, homogeneity),
 grinding properties,
 humidity content,
 proportioning technology.

As a mixture of various wastes, alternative fuels must be produced in conformity

with certain rules [10]:

 the chemical quality of the fuel must meet regulatory standards assuring
environmental protection,
 the calorific value must be stable enough to allow the control of the energy
supply to the kiln; the objective being to arrive at a fairly homogeneous
composition, and
 the physical form must allow easy handling of the material for transporation
and a stable, adjustable flow of material in the cement plant.

In Western Europe and in Poland, special types of alternative fuels derived from a
mixture of wastes have been developed. These include [11–15]:

 RDF fuel (Refuse Derived Fuel),

 BRAM fuel (Brennsteff aus Müll),
 INBRE fuel (Industrial Brennsteff),
 PAKOM fuel,
 other fuels: oil-derived, alternative, hybrid, etc.

4. Conclusions

While cement plants do not themselves produce wastes, they use wastes from
other branches of industry as additives or alternative fuels. This is possible owing to
the technological conditions in rotary kilns.
Many years of experience have shown that the use of wastes as alternative fuels by
cement plants is both ecologically and economically justified. The use of alternative
fuels will help reduce the costs of cement production. The average energy demand
for the production of 1 ton of cement is about 3.3. GJ, which corresponds to 120 kg
of coal with a calorific value of 27.5 MJ per kg [16]. Energy costs account for
30–40% of the total costs of cement production. The substitution of alternative fuels
for fossil fuels will help reduce energy costs, providing a competitive edge for a
cement plant using this source of energy. Furthermore, thanks to waste manage-
ment, less waste will have to be dumped or burnt, which will mean less dumping
sites. Therefore, the use of waste-derived alternative fuels by cement plants will be
also beneficial to the environment. The conditions in rotary kilns, such as high
100 E. Mokrzycki, A. Uliasz- Bocheńczyk / Applied Energy 74 (2003) 95–100

temperature, the high speed of the gas stream and the long particle-storage period,
guarantee that the use of alternative fuels is ecologically safe.
According to the European Cement Association, CEMBUREAU [17], the figures
for the proportion of alternative fuels used in clinker kilns between 1990 and 1998 in
particular countries were as follows: Belgium—18%; France—52.4%; Italy—4.1%;
Portugal—1.3%; Spain—1%; Sweden—2%; Switzerland—25%; Czech Republic—
9.7%; Great Britain—20%; Germany—15%; Poland—1.4%.

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