India’s cement manufacturers turn to alternative fuels

India’s cement manufacturers are turning to waste materials like rice husks, hazelnut shells, paper sludge and cow dung as alternative fuels in their kilns, to both save money and carbon emissions.  Madras Cement Ltd. is saving Rs 8 crore (US$1.792 million) annually by using such waste materials.  Other examples include UltraTech Gujarat Cement Works, which uses tire chips, rubber dust, etc. and saves 30,000 tons of carbon emissions per year, or LaFarge’s Arasmeta plant, which uses rice husk with coal to reduce carbon emissions.  In Japan, the cement industry uses more than 450 kg of waste per ton of cement manufactured. In Europe, there is a thermal substitution rate of 40%. G. Jayaraman, executive president of Birla Corp. says, “If the Indian cement industry can increase thermal substitution to just 5%, GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions could be reduced by over 17 lakh tons of carbon annually.” (May 7, 2011)