en.Wedoany.com Reported - Cement Australia is upgrading its cement kiln in Railton, Tasmania, to co-process wood-based fuel (WBF) and tire-derived fuel (TDF) in the facility's existing kilns, aiming to reduce coal usage by 35%.
The Railton kiln upgrade project has a total investment of A$106 million, including A$52.9 million in funding from the Australian federal government. Upon completion, the project will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 107,000 tons annually. According to Cement Australia, over 110,000 tons of coal will be replaced by alternative fuels, primarily sourced from sustainable wood waste and shredded end-of-life vehicle tires.
As a Bronze Member of The Concrete Institute, Cement Australia already uses alternative fuels at its northern Tasmania plant and its Gladstone plant in Queensland, where rotary kiln temperatures exceed 1,200 degrees Celsius during production. The company states that when alternative fuels and waste materials enter the kiln, the waste is destroyed, and the neutralized ash is co-processed into cement.
Tasmania generates approximately 4,000 to 5,000 tons of end-of-life tires annually from cars and light trucks. Some tires are shredded and exported for further processing, but a significant amount of tire-derived fuel remains in storage. Cement Australia plans to shred these tires into 50-millimeter fragments for use as alternative fuel in the Railton kiln, without generating additional emissions, thereby providing a responsible solution to the environmental, health, and nuisance issues associated with long-term tire storage.
75% of Tasmania's sustainable forestry comes from plantations, generating approximately 1 to 2 million tons of harvesting residues (waste) annually. By co-processing a portion of these residues, the Railton facility can reduce carbon dioxide emissions while achieving sustainable use of natural resources without increasing harvesting activities.
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