Cement Energy and Environment

INNOVATIVE FUEL HELPS REVIVE BARBADOS CEMENT PLANT 'Orimulsion', a cheaper, new, alternative fuel , specially formulated using Orinaco bitumen and water, has allowed the Arawak cement plant, Barbados,to reopen its kiln and resume successful cement production 7 years after it was forced to close down in 1991 owing to the spiralli ng fuel oil costs. Orimulsion is the trade name given to the speciall y formulated emulsion of Orinoco bitumen, a natural hydrocarbon produced from the Ori noco Belt in Venezuela, and water. The emulsion is made by dispersing the bitumen in a continuous phase of water, in the ratio of approximately 30 per cent water and 70 per cent bitumen . Courtesy: International Cement Rev.iew, Jan. 1999 A ccording to sources close to the Taiheiyo Cement Company and Mitsui & Co., Japan, the two companies are to set up a joint venture to produce cement from waste ash and sewage sludge. The venture, to be based in Ichihara, Chi ba Prefecture, is to build its ti rst plant at a cost of ¥ 10 billion (US$ 89m) as early as fisca l 2000 AD. The plant will produce Courtesy : International Cement Review, March 1999 Use of Orimulsion is claimed to achieve abou t 23 per cent cost reducti on over No. 6 fuel oil when taking into account fuel prices, net heating values and specific heal consumption. Th is is a significant cost reduction and far outweights any operational challenges experienced by Orimulsion. Meanwhile, a study conducted at the Institute for Energy Research in Houstan, USA, has rated Orimulsion as the most promising unconventional fossil fuel today. The study points out that it can be burnt to make electricity or refined into petroleum. (The Observer, 17 May 1999). 110,000 t of cement a year, using 90,000 t of waste sludge. Taiheiyo Cement will hold a majority stake in the venture, which is to be set up followi ng receipt of the Chiba prefectural governmen t go-ahead. Using the Chiba Prefecture venture as a springboard, Taiheiyo is planning simi lar plan ts in other prefectures. 13