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Fuels Of The Future

Published by , Editorial Assistant
World Cement,


Over the past decade, Lafarge Canada’s Exshaw cement plant has accelerated its decarbonisation journey by working closely with government agencies, academic researchers, and industry partnerships to integrate low-carbon fuels into cement production responsibly. This transformation reflects the broader industry’s shift toward sustainability and positions Exshaw as a leading example in the Canadian cement landscape.

Fuels Of The Future

The Exshaw cement plant, operational since 1906 and now the largest Lafarge facility in Canada, was initially owned by Western Canada Cement and Coal Company Ltd, which was acquired by Canada Cement Company Ltd in 1909. Canada Cement Company Ltd changed its name to become Canada Cement Lafarge Ltd in 1970 and changed its name again in 1988 to become Lafarge Canada Inc.

Transition to sustainable practices

In 2013, the plant began constructing a new preheater precalciner kiln, kiln 6, which was completed in 2016. During this period, kiln 4, a long dry kiln, was mothballed, leaving only kiln 5, a preheater kiln, to operate alongside kiln 6.

In cement manufacturing, combustion emissions account for approximately 30% of the total CO2 emissions from the kiln, while the remaining 70% comes from calcining, or the liberation of CO2 from limestone when heated in the kiln. For many years, coal and petroleum coke were the primary fuels used to heat the kilns at Exshaw. Recognising the need for change, Exshaw began transitioning from coal to natural gas in 2012, marking the first year that natural gas became the primary fuel used to heat the kiln. By 2017, this transition was complete, with natural gas making up 100% of the fuel used for combustion. Additionally, in early 2018, Exshaw introduced the production and sale of Portland Limestone Cement (PLC) on-site, increasing the limestone content in cement from 5% to 12% and reducing its carbon intensity per t of cement.

The permitting process for the plant’s low-carbon fuel (LCF) facility began in the early 2010s with Alberta Environment. During this time, Pembina and the University of Calgary conducted studies to assess the impacts of using alternative fuels (AF) in cement manufacturing, focusing specifically on blended fuel composed of construction demolition waste, wood, shingles, rubber, and natural textiles. In parallel, Tetra Tech Canada conducted a logistical study reviewing the composition of fuels, sourcing and location, predicting the growth and decline of each AF. A detailed human health risk assessment (HHRA) was also conducted, concluding that no health risks were associated with the use of AFs in this project.

In Lafarge Canada, a kiln similar to Exshaw’s kiln 6 operates in Richmond, British Columbia. This kiln is a 5-stage preheater precalciner permitted under Metro Vancouver's jurisdiction in the Vancouver area. The Richmond plant began co-processing AFs in the early 2000s through a trial AF system that conveyed fuels from walking floor trailers to a screw conveyor to a pneumatic system that blew the fuels into the calciners in the preheater tower. That pilot system soon became permanent, and the plant was able to modify the system to achieve a maximum of 28% substitution of AFs. With funding assistance from the Government of British Columbia, a new storage building, conveyance, and injection system was installed in 2018 to increase the site substitution rate to the target of 50%.

The system that was installed at Richmond consisted of a large storage building that required the use of mobile equipment to move fuels from the storage bay to the fuel hoppers to feed two calciners and the kiln burner. In 2023, after five years of operation with this new system, Richmond achieved a 50% AF substitution rate. Richmond’s fuel composition is similar to Exshaw’s, composed primarily of construction demolition waste (90% – 95% biomass), non-recyclable fuels, nylon fibre from tyre recycling, waste wood, and dried sewage sludge.

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Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/special-reports/27122024/fuels-of-the-future/

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