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India’s Cement Makers Could Replace More Coal With Waste Fuel
India’s cement industry could raise its use of waste-derived fuel, but poor processing capacity, plant-level reluctance and unclear pricing have kept thermal substitution below 5%, Livemint reports. Fahim Sopariwala of Green Gene…
The Story in Brief
India’s cement industry could raise its use of waste-derived fuel, but poor processing capacity, plant-level reluctance and unclear pricing have kept thermal substitution below 5%, Livemint reports. Fahim Sopariwala of Green Gene Enviro Protection and Infrastructure said some Indian plants have reached about 40%, against global benchmarks of up to 90%. India generates about 70 million tonnes of municipal solid waste and 18.5 million tonnes of industrial hazardous waste each year. Waste must be sorted, dried and blended before use. Alternative fuel produces 3,000-4,000 kilocalories, compared with roughly 8,000 from coal or petcoke, so plants need larger volumes. Livemint reports the company supplies about 1,000 tonnes daily to cement plants.
The Indian Opinion
Claims that waste fuel can quickly replace coal overlook the engineering and supply work involved. The opposite claim, that it cannot compete on cost, is also too sweeping. A cheaper tonne means little if its heat value is much lower, and inconsistent waste can disrupt a kiln. The practical test is whether more plants can sustain high substitution without safety or output problems. The industry’s below-5% average will show whether adoption is truly scaling.
Source: livemint.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
