Displaying items by tag: Canada

Canada: Lafarge Canada has commissioned a new lower carbon fuel (LCF) system at its Richmond cement plant in British Colombia. The fuel handling and delivery system is expected to replace up to 50% of the plant’s fossil fuel use with lower carbon fuels. The project cost US$20m. Lafarge received US$10m in funding support from the British Columbia Ministry of Environment. LCF used by the plant is comprised of primarily non-recyclable waste by-products.

“Lafarge is aligned with Metro Vancouver’s sustainability goals for recovering energy from landfill-bound solid waste, a classic example of the Circular Economy in action. This new system allows us to more easily reach our target of substituting 50% of our fossil fuel use with lower carbon options. Data from our pilot suggests we can go higher—even up to 70% is realistic,” said Pascal Bouchard, the plant manager at Richmond.

The Richmond cement plant is Lafarge’s first Canadian unit that has been permitted to use lower carbon fuels for 10 years. Previous upgrades allowed the plant to achieve 25% substitution rate.

Canada: The Alberta Climate Leadership Plan has allocated US$7.5m for the Lower Carbon Fuels Project at Lafarge Canada’s Exshaw cement plant. The funding is part of a total of over US$50m that will be distributed to 11 projects in the Province. Projects were selected and funded through Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA), an organisation that accelerates the development and demonstration of emissions-reducing technologies.

“This multi-partner, multi-site research project will help Lafarge Canada better understand the environmental benefits of introducing lower-carbon fuels at the Exshaw Cement Plant. The Exshaw low-carbon fuels project will go a long way in helping us reach our ambitious corporate goal to produce 40% less net CO₂/t of cement by 2030. This support from ERA helps us move this project forward. We hope that any positive results or lessons learned will encourage others in our industry to do the same, giving this investment a greater, far-reaching impact,” said Kate Strachan, plant manager at the Lafarge Exshaw Cement Plant.

The project at Exshaw involves studying the use co-processing alternative fuels to replace the use of natural gas. Technologies for fuel handling, processing, and injection will be installed at the site to replace 50% of its natural gas use. The implementation at Exshaw will be supported by development of a waste and fuel processing facility in Calgary. Eight fuel types will be examined including construction renovation and demolition waste, non-recyclable plastic, carpet and textiles, shingles, treated wood products, wood products, rubber and tire fluff.

Canada: The Environment Department has approved plans by the Lafarge Brookfield cement plant to burn tyres in a kiln in a one-year pilot project. The company will be obliged to conduct monitor air quality, groundwater and surface water in the area during the trial, according to the Canadian Press newspaper. Industrial approvals are normally issued for 10 years but the shorter period will allow the authorities to scrutinise the situation more closely. Lafarge Canada plans to burn up to 5200t/yr in the pilot.

The decision to allow the pilot to go ahead follows local criticism of the project. A previous attempt by the cement producer to co-process tyres at the plant was blocked in 2007. The provincial Supreme Court dismissed a residents' group's bid for a judicial review of the pilot in March 2018.

Canada: A Nova Scotia judge has dismissed a residents' group's bid for a judicial review of the province's decision to allow the Lafarge Brookfield cement plant to burn tyres as fuel in its kiln. Justice James Chipman of the provincial Supreme Court said the environment minister's approval of a project at the plant was reasonable, according to the Canadian Press newspaper.

Lafarge plans to burn up to 5200t/yr of tyres. Once the cement producer has obtained an industrial approval for the one-year pilot project to co-process tyres the province’s waste diversion agency is expected to supply it with around 280,000t/yr of tyres. The scheme has received criticism locally because Nova Scotia residents pay an environmental handling fee when they buy new tyres, promoting commentators to suggest that this revenue would be subsidising a large company.

Canada: Lafarge Canada, University of Calgary, Queen’s University, and Pembina Institute have started a study on the environmental benefits of introducing lower carbon fuels at the Exshaw Cement Plant in Alberta. Eight lower carbon fuels will be researched, including construction renovation and demolition waste, non-recyclable plastic, carpets and textiles, shingles, treated wood products, wood products, rubber and tyre-derived fuels. These sources of fuel have been successfully used at other LafargeHolcim cement plants in Canada.

“Lab simulations, environmental studies, economics and logistics reviews are already underway. All research will be finalised by December 2019 with regular updates provided to the neighbouring communities via a Public Advisory Committee,” said Jim Bachmann, the plant manager of Exshaw .

Additional research by the partners will measure the environmental components associated with the sourcing, processing and full-scale commercial operation of each lower carbon fuel compared to fossil fuels. The project will also measure the benefits of diverting materials from landfills and determine optimal points in the cement manufacturing process to inject each fuel.

In addition to Lafarge’s support, research funding is being provided by Alberta Innovates, Ontario Centres of Excellence, Emissions Reduction Alberta and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. It includes research by Millennium EMS Solutions Ltd., Geocycle, and WSP Global Inc.

As part of its 2030 Sustainability Plan, LafargeHolcim aims to replace 30 - 50% of fossil fuel use at its Canadian cement plants with lower carbon fuels by 2020.

Canada: The Environment Department is reviewing an application from Lafarge Canada to burn tyres at its Brookfield cement plant in Nova Scotia. The government department has 60 days to approve or deny the application for a one-year pilot project, according to the Canadian Press news agency. However, the pilot project has faced opposition from local residents, environmental groups and the Province’s New Democratic Party.

Canada: The New Democratic Party has called for a ban of burning tyres in Nova Scotia. The opposition political party held a news conference with opponents of the government's decision in July 2017 to approve a one-year pilot project allowing Lafarge Canada to burn tyres for energy at the company's Brookfield cement plant, according to the Canadian Press newspaper. No tyres have been burned at the plant so far as the cement producer waits for industrial approval of the project from the provincial government.

Mark Butler of the Ecology Action Centre said the government’s decision was based on a Dalhousie University engineering study that was too narrow in its focus and wasn't peer reviewed. However the government has said that it used several technical studies to inform its decision. A group of local residents also started legal action in August 2017 on the grounds that the project violated the province's Environment Act.

Canada: The Nova Scotia provincial government has given permission for Lafarge Canada’s Brookfield plant to burn tyres for one year. Environment Minister Iain Rankin said that the results would be examined at the end of the pilot period.

“My decision is based on the science and evidence associated with this application as well as the public feedback received which helped to shape conditions of the approval,” said Rankin. “This pilot will confirm if the company can reduce current carbon emission levels at its Brookfield plant as the information provided in the application indicates.”

Terms of the pilot project include limiting tyre-derived fuel to 15% of total daily input and no more than 20t/day, forming a community liaison committee to keep residents informed of the project’s status and address their questions and to develop a complaints resolution plan.

Lafarge Canada will also be required to submit plans for related activities and apply for a temporary industrial approval to operate the pilot project. The required plans include: tyre storage and waste management; air dispersion modelling; continuous monitoring of emissions; stack testing before and after the pilot begins; and an emergency response if there is a malfunction of the kiln. The results of the pilot will be made public through a community liaison committee.

However, the plan has received criticism from the local community on environmental grounds. The local press has also questioned whether the provincial government is subsidising Lafarge Canada’s fuel costs as the region charges consumers recycling tariffs on goods such as tyres. A previous plan by the cement producer to burn tyres in the region in 2007 was blocked by the local government.

Canada: A scheme to use coffee packs at Lafarge Canada’s Kamloops cement plant has ended following the mothballing of the site. Lafarge Canada and Van Houtte Coffee Services had an arrangement to use leftover Keurig coffee packs collected in the Kamloops area as an alternative fuel for the plant, according to the Province newspaper. However, Lafarge Canada announced that it was mothballing the plant in October 2016 due to poor market conditions. Up to 26 workers may lose their jobs. Van Houtte is looking for a new site to place the programme.

Canada: McInnis Cement and the St Elzear Forestry Cooperative Association (ACF) have signed a cooperative agreement to study the feasibility of using forest biomass as an auxiliary fuel for the cement plant under construction in Port-Daniel-Gascons.

The utilisation of forest biomass as an alternative fuel would enable the McInnis cement plant to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). McInnis Cement has provided the equipment necessary for the use of alternative fuels at its new cement plant.

"We are pleased to establish this collaboration with the region's forest industry in line with our GHG reduction plan," said Christian Gagnon, president and CEO of McInnis Cement. "Any operations that result from this agreement will be reviewed by the Environmental Committee, whose work began in April 2015," he added.

Forest biomass is a fuel source in abundant supply in Gaspé. McInnis Cement requires a local long-term quality source of supply at competitive costs. The St Elzear ACF is able to supply forest residues, wood chips, sawdust, shavings and bark.

"By studying the possibilities together, including from the outset the client's needs and the capabilities of potential suppliers, we are putting all the pieces in place to make this project a reality," said Sebastien Roy, executive director of the St Alzear ACF. "The success of a fruitful partnership between McInnis and our organisation would be a big boost to our industry. The situation is complex since, beyond availability, supply sources need to be guaranteed over the long-term and quality and prices must remain competitive, including product transportation and processing costs."