Concrete & minerals industry stakeholders attend ash beneficiation demonstration

Nigel Cooke from the UK Quality Association summed up the current position:

“The great news for the construction sector is that the UK Government has recognised the strategic importance of Coal Derived Fly Ash (CDFA) and the role it can play in a low carbon economy. The latest edition of the National Planning Policy Framework refers to the need to safeguard these stockpiles like the one at Gale Common which has around 25 million tonnes of reserves.

This event was the first time that the STET triboelectrostatic carbon separation equipment was shipped from the USA to sit alongside the Atritor drying and deagglomeration solution, the Dryer Pulveriser, at their Pilot Plant in Coventry, UK.

The two companies hosted the event to show movers and shakers in the market how the two technologies work perfectly together. CDFA from stockpiles in the UK was dried, milled, deagglomerated, and carbon separated using STET’s combustion-free process to produce CDFA to global standards, like EN450, that can be used in cement and concrete, as an alternative to fresh fly ash that is increasingly scarce.

The closure and winding down of coal-fired power stations to achieve renewable goals around the world has led to a scarcity of fresh fly ash and many players in the concrete market are forced to import supplies from overseas. In the UK alone there are 100 million tonnes of CDFA in stockpiles and lagoons which can be processed to provide a valuable asset to the construction industry.

The event also provided a platform for the industry to discuss practical opportunities to implement the solution.”

Tom Cerullo, President of STET added:

“Over the past three decades, STET has installed commercially successful fly ash beneficiation plants in North America, Europe, and Asia with a total installed capacity of four million tons per year. Our electrostatic separators were vital to utilities turning freshly generated fly ash into value streams and with over 25 million tons of ProAsh® and EcoTherm™ recycled into beneficial use our track record speaks for itself. The reclamation of fly ash from ponds and landfills represents the future of our industry, and I am extremely pleased with the collaboration with Atritor. It is clear that our technologies together create a robust solution for customers seeking to convert their previously disposed fly ash into valuable streams of construction material and alternative fuel.”

The live event delivered outstanding results even with variable feed materials from across the UK.

John Wilkinson Managing Director at Atritor, reflected on the event:

“Atritor has invested heavily in research, and development with all the key players in the cement industry, and now we offer a viable process for harvested CDFA. In the UK that will unlock the potential revenue and profit from 100 million tonnes of CDFA, creating value from what is, a readily available local product.

I’m pleased to see key players in the market have come to process their fly ash at this event, as that demonstrates to me that there is a huge commitment to becoming self-sufficient for fly ash and to reducing the carbon related to cement production.

Atritor and STET have compiled a film of the event so that everyone associated with the market can witness this live solution for themselves.”

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Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/18072023/concrete-minerals-industry-stakeholders-attend-ash-beneficiation-demonstration/