Solid Recovered Fuel, putting cement production waste to good use
Decarbonising the work at our cement factories is a daily challenge for the Vicat Group.
Conscious of the impact of our CO2 emissions and determined to reduce them, one of our major ambitions is to end the use of fossil fuels. To replace them, we are using, among others, Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF). It is one of the levers in reducing the carbon footprint of our business.
What is Solid Recovered Fuel? How is it used in the cement industry?
Solid Recovered Fuel is material produced from non-hazardous residual waste that cannot be recycled. Manufacturing SRF offers an alternative solution to landfill. It is put to good use; prepared and used as fuel, to maintain flame temperature in the cement kiln and contribute to making clinker. As a reminder, clinker is a mixture of limestone, clay and sand, also known as “flour”, that is cooked in a rotary kiln at 1450°C. The high temperature cooking transforms this flour into clinker, the main constituent of cement.
Before it comes to our cement factories, non-recyclable waste such as bulky recycling centre waste and local industrial waste are turned into energy resources. Here is the process:
- Collection of dry, non-hazardous waste
- Inspection of the waste received
- Pre-crushing of raw waste
- Magnetic, optical and aeraulic sorting to remove undesirable elements.
- Finer, size-controlled grinding of the sorted waste.
- Packaging of the material in bulk or balls
Twofold use of SRF in cement production
During cement production, we consume energy-rich waste to replace fossil fuels (such as coal or petroleum coke), which are imported. This step is called “energy recovery”.
We also say material recovery. The residual ash from energy-rich waste is combined chemically with the clinker matrix.
Processing waste during cement production does not generate ash or slag. Everything is put to good use, ensuring total recovery of the waste, both energy-rich and material.
The Vicat strategy to secure the provision of energy-rich waste
To optimise waste management, we have created joint ventures, subsidiaries of the Vicat Group, with specialised companies that select the waste that can be used to manufacture quality SRF. As an example, but not exclusively, they ensure that the calorific value of SFR complies with the technical specification.
CIRCULère, a subsidiary of the VICAT Group, is dedicated to the circular economy. Its role in France is to ensure the conformity of provisions and secure the provision of SRF to cement plants while offering concrete solutions to companies nationwide on how to put their waste to good use.
SRF is at the heart of the circular economy.
Vicat is committed locally, wherever the company is established. The group is fully involved in the circular economy. The cement plants operate by using local industrial waste. It is used as raw material or fuel to produce the cement.
To make this possible, it was necessary to build the required infrastructure and tools to collect, transport, store, prepare and recover these materials. In this way, the Group demonstrates its clear determination to transform waste into useful resources.
The rule of thumb is to promote reuse, repair and renovation of materials instead of their elimination. To date, eight subsidiaries are working every day to achieve this ambition.
Two Vicat sites in Europe - Xeuilley in France and Reuchenette in Switzerland - have already reached 100% substitution of fossil fuels.
Our ambition serves the environmental and energy transition
Energy sovereignty and sobriety are major environmental challenges. Faced with this priority issue, Vicat is aiming for net zero across its entire value chain by 2050, deploying a carbon reduction strategy for its products, services and industrial processes, notably by approaching 100% substitution of fossil fuels in Europe.
