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Harris Vallianatos
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Features include: energy from scrap tyres, biomass fuel, recycling of pulverised fuel ash. Acid rain gases have been reduced by 75% and 18,000 new trees and shrubs have been planted.
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Castle Cement is the UK cement arm of HeidelbergCement Group and meets about a quarter of the demand for cement in Great Britain, selling more than three million tonnes of the product.
Castle has substantially reduced its use of virgin raw materials and fossil fuels over recent years. In the years 2003/4, Castle used over 195,000 tonnes of alternative fuels to replace approximately 160,000 tonnes of coal in its kilns.
Energy has been recovered from scrap tyres, Cemfuel (processed from the residues of recycled waste solvents) and Profuel (paper and plastic wastes not viably recycled in other ways). Now uniquely in the UK, Castle has introduced a biomass fuel, Agricultural Waste Derived Fuel (AWDF), which is meat and bone meal, produced by sterilising and grinding abattoir waste. The company has permission to trial at its Ribblesdale site and received permission to do so at Ketton.
Markets in north Wales and north west of England are principally supplied from Castle’s Padeswood works. Projects have included the Conwy and Mersey tunnels and the Deeside Crossing.
Castle continues to use alternative raw materials prolonging the life of the company’s quarries. Pulverised fuel ash has been widely used, while other recycled materials include waste plaster moulds from the ceramics industry.
Not only will Castle increase production at the works from 500,000 to over 800,000 tonnes of cement per year, but the kiln will operate to the very highest levels of environmental control and performance.
Central to the greatly improved performance is the use of alternative fuels, in which Castle has been a pioneer. Alternative fuels to be used at Padeswood include Cemfuel, which is processed from the residue of recycled waste solvents and Profuel, which comprises paper and plastic wastes. In the future, vehicle tyres will also be used as an alternative fuel.
The new kiln also ensures an increased supply in the marketplace of particularly light-coloured cement. The light colour is especially attractive to precast concrete manufacturers as it can allow a brighter finished product and when used, less pigment may be necessary to arrive at a specified shade.
The opening of the new kiln has resulted in the closure of three existing kilns at Padeswood and two wet kilns at the company’s Ribblesdale works in Lancashire. This will reduce the company’s carbon dioxide emissions by 17.5 per cent per tonne of cement produced against 2004 performance. Acid rain gases at Padeswood will be reduced by a staggering 75 per cent. Peter Weller, managing director of Castle Cement said: "Kiln 4 will lead to major improvements in the local environment. It will also help reduce Wales’ dependence on landfill sites while using waste both for cleaner production and lower energy consumption."
Castle Cement’s Kiln 4 maintains the company’s position as a world class cement producer and places Wales at the forefront in the drive for sustainable development.
Key figures
• 2,650 tonnes per day capacity
• 900,000 man hours worked
Key facts
• Kiln 4 total cost £63 million
• Kiln is 65 metres long
• 95 metre preheater tower will feed in raw materials
• Acid rain gases will be reduced by more than 75 per cent
• 18,000 new trees and shrubs have been planted as landscaping measures
energy
materials
waste initiatives
Completion Date: 01/07/2005
Project Team:
Cost: £63 million
Local Authority:
Client: Castle Cement
Castle Cement Homepage
Business Council for Sustainable Development UK
