Displaying items by tag: Geocycle

Philippines: Holcim Philippines plans to invest US$2.5m on increasing its alternative fuels use until 2022. The subsidiary of Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim says it will spend the money on installing new equipment and improving storage and feeding facilities at its Bulacan cement plant in Barangay, Norzagaray. It also plans to support its Geocycle subsidiary in supplying higher amounts of post-consumer and municipal solid wastes.

“This investment ensures we can continue being a reliable partner in the country’s sustainable development, while also meeting our objectives of making our operations more efficient and respectful of nature,” said Holcim Philippines president and chief executive officer (CEO) John Stull. In 2020 the company co-processed close to 130,000t of qualified wastes from local governments, industry partners and agricultural processors in its plants in Luzon and Mindanao led by its Geocycle unit.

Argentina: LafargeHolcim waste management subsidiary Geocycle has begun shredding waste at its Córdoba co-processing plant using a new Untha XR3000C one-step shredder supplied by Austria-based Untha. The shredder will produce refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for use at LafargeHolcim’s Córdoba cement plant. It is the 10th Untha shredder Geocycle has commissioned.

Director Mariano Bollo said, “Geocycle Argentina is no stranger to waste shredding for alternative fuel (AF) production. We previously used a dual-shaft machine manufactured by a competitor of Untha’s, but the capacity and reliability of our machine continued to cause us problems. Untha’s low speed, high torque drive means this is a powerful machine with impressive uptime, ease of maintenance and proven capabilities. This – combined with the shredder’s versatility – meant the business case to switch to an XR was strong. While we think carefully about every decision we make, to ensure each shredder we invest in has absolutely the right configuration for every single plant, we now run a number of Untha machines across our global group,” continued Mariano. “The whole life operating costs of this shredder are extremely low, which means we can consistently produce a profitable, environmentally-sound fuel. It therefore comes as little surprise that we’re looking to standardise the technology we use across our business. This has benefits when it comes to procuring and sharing spare and wear parts too. Working in collaboration with Untha’s local engineering specialists, Geocycle is now optimising the design and layout of the waste processing line to double throughputs in early 2021. This XR investment aligns with our global AF production strategy, which doesn’t just improve our cement manufacturing footprint worldwide – it transforms the environmental status of our local communities too.”

US: Geocycle has planted its first crop of perennial native grasses at its Dorchester, South Carolina site. The supplier says that it is trialling the crop as an alternative fuel and future biofuel for the US Southeast region. It sowed giant reed, miscane, miscanthus and switchgrass, which it praised for their ‘low establishment and upkeep costs’ and demonstrated yields of between 12t/acre and 20t/acre.

The company said, “The team is committed to actively participating in the communities’ and state’s bioenergy projects, which aim at developing the circular economy and help achieve net zero future.”

India: Geocycle India has launched a “transparent and auditable waste management service” in the form of plastic waste collection with support of Cleanhub. Following a successful pilot in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, Geocycle will now collect used plastic packaging from its customers. The company said that the material will be co-processed by Ambuja Cement at its integrated Bhatapara plant in Chhattisgarh. Between 1 April 2019 and 30 March 2020 Geocycle supplied 21,700t of plastic for use as fuel to cement producers. The company said, “This has created a co-dependent business model which is a win-win for all the stakeholders.”

Argentina: Geocycle Argentina has appointed Mariano Bollo as its national manager. He is a chemical engineer and holds an MBA from the Catholic University of Salta, according to the El Diario de Carlos Paz newspaper. He began his career at Holcim Argentina in 2006, holding roles at its plants in Jujuy, Mendoza, Córdoba and Buenos Aires.

US: Geocycle North America has received a new Untha XR mobil-e waste shredder at its plant in Dorchester, South Carolina. The mobile unit with 2 x 177hp motors, will process non-hazardous post-industrial waste to produce refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for LafargeHolcim’s Holly Hill cement plant. The shredder is currently configured to manufacture 10t/hr of RDF and the plant aims to generate 35,000 – 40,000t/yr of the fuel. Untha says that the new product replaces a previous shredder from another manufacturer.

Argentina: LafargeHoclim’s Malagueño plant has started processing municipal waste from Villa Carlos Paz since mid-June 2019. An agreement between the city government and the company was signed following the endorsement of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change of the Province, according to the La Voz newspaper. Non-recyclable dry solid urban waste is delivered from the city to a Geocycle Argentina unit before being used as an alternative fuel at the integrated cement plant.

Philippines: Holcim Philippines has conducted media tours of its Lugait cement plant in Misamis Oriental to raise awareness of its import of processed engineered fuels (PEF) from Australia. In May 2019 containers from Australia arrived at the Mindanao International Container Terminal in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, but were reported as misdeclared by the Bureau of Customs, according to the Sun Star newspaper. However, Frederic Vallat, Holcim Philippines' vice-president for Alternative Fuels and Alternative raw material and head of Geocycle, said that the Tariff Commission had classified the shipment as PEF in early June 2019. The Environmental Management Bureau also notified the Bureau of Customs that it had no objection to imports of PEF.

The PEF shipment was described as, "a plastic based fluffy fuel with high calorific value consisting by weight, 75 – 85% flexible plastics, paper and natural and hydrocarbon based fibre, 7 – 15% hard plastics, 1 – 5% wood and < 1 – 5% non-combustible inert material in the form of solid flakes (range of particle sizes less than 50 mm), mixed colours with natural odour." It added that the PEF has a gross calorific value of 5700 - 7200kcal/kg, 15% ash content, 20% moisture, 1.5% sulphur and 1% chlorine. It is sourced from municipal wastes such as plastics, rubber, wood, paper, textiles, glass, metals, food materials, broken furniture, and other damaged or discarded articles.

Vallat said that at present, Holcim Philippines has stopped the import of PEF from Australia. They are now in dialogue with the Bureau of Customs over the issue. The company would like to import PEF locally but it was only able to source 7000t in 2018 and its plant needs up to 60,000t/yr.

El Salvador: Geocycle, the waste management subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, plans to invest US$1m in new equipment. It will be used to process solid waste before co-processing at a cement plant, according to La Prensa Gráfica newspaper. LafargeHolcim operates two integrated cement plants in the country.

Mexico: Geocycle Mexico processed 0.41Mt of industrial and municipal waste in 2018. The subsidiary of LafargeHolcim estimates that it will process around 0.46Mt in 2019. It supports the handling, treatment and co-processing of waste at LafargeHolcim’s cement plants.