A Techno-Economic Analysis of Alternative Fuels in Cement Industry in Pakistan

Abstract

— Alternative fuel use in cement industry has seen a rise in the recent years in lieu of the growing concerns about the growing share of the industry in global green house emissions which stand at 8% of overall carbon dioxide emissions worldwide. Prominent amongst the reasons for this high emission is the use of conventional coal in providing heat requisite for processing in the cement industry. The use of alternative fuel, however, has started a positive downward trend in the emissions of the industry. The use of alternative fuel, most prevalent among which is Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), has a twofold advantage: economic fuel for cement production, and a venue for disposing off the solid waste in the landfills around big cities. This experiment of alternative fuels use in cement industry is largely without any impact assessment on the economy and ecology of the cement manufacturing. Obviously the technical assessment has been performed by the industries themselves in terms of energy contents, the larger impact of these fuels on economy and environment is still unknown or not published. This research undertook the technical analysis of these alternative fuels used in three cement industries in Pakistan comprised of characteristics like calorific value, Sulphur and chlorine contents, carbon emissions accruing from the use of the these fuels. In addition the economics associated with the use of these fuels were also investigated through comparison with economy of the conventional fuels.