Cement Energy Environment

61 Summary Introduction MINIMIZE REFRACTORY CHALLENGES IN SUSTAINABLE WAY WHEN USING ALTERNATIVE FUELS IN CEMENT PRODUCTION PROCESS Due to scarcity of fossil fuels worldwide and to cut down the fuel cost, most of the high temperature processing industries are switching to alternative fuels like pet coke, waste from agriculture, households, pharmaceutical etc. These economical substitutes of fossils fuels emit less CO 2 when burnt, but have a higher percentage of volatile matter, especially alkalis, sulfur, chlorides, and ash forming matter which leads to increased coating formation, corrosion, and erosion of refractory in most Cement manufacturing is a high energy intensive process and fuel consumed accounts for almost 30-40% cost of production of cement. To meet this energy requirement, the industry has mostly depended on fossil fuels like coal, petroleum, and natural gases since the beginning of cement production. But due to scarcity of these natural resources and high emission of CO 2 when burning fossil fuels (approximate 5% of global CO 2 -emission comes from the cement industry), the industry has in the last 2-3 decades started using different alternative fuels (AF) like pet coke, agriculture waste, municipal solid waste, pharmaceutical waste, rejected tyres etc. (Picture 1). Many of these alternative fuels have a higher calorific value (Table 1) compared to fossil fuel which make it economical to use and, at the same time, when burnt, many alternative fuels produce less CO 2 and green house gases. of the cement plants. Tests with ash/slag from waste and biomass incineration and post-mortem analyses on refractory castables help to understand the corrosion mechanism and to choose the right refractory material. At many cement plants worldwide, a Precast Refractory Solution by HASLE Refractories A/S has proven to enhance the lifetime of the refractory lining for the critical areas of the cement plant in a more sustainable way. By Pankaj Gupta, Torben Jensen and Dorthe Lind Thornton HASLE Refractories A/S Denmark