building a better future - Cemex

ALTERNATIVE FUEL SUBSTITUTION RATE
percentage
0.8
5.1
16.4
20.3
90 05 09 10 11
Alternative fuel substitution rates for cement
operations - CEMEX has significantly increased
its usage of alternative fuels as a percentage
of total fuel usage, companywide by investing
more than US$ 175 million since 2005.
Chelm Cement Plant in Poland.
76% of the energy required comes
from alternative fuels
24.7
leading our industry in the use of alternative fuels
In an effort to reduce GHG emissions and improve our fuel
and energy security, we have explored a wide variety of coal
and fossil-fuel alternatives to power our cement operations.
Alternative fuels are predominantly residues or byproducts
from industrial, domestic, agricultural, and forestry processes—
including used tires; spent solvents and waste oils; processed
municipal solid waste; and biomass such as rice and coffee
husks, animal meal, and sewage sludge—all of which contain
recoverable energy.
CEMEX is one of the leading users of alternative fuels in
the cement industry. CEMEX is pursuing a goal to reach an
alternative fuel substitution rate of 35 percent by 2015—the
most ambitious rate among its global competitors. Exemplifying
current trends, we scaled up the use of alternative fuels at
our Brocēni plant in Latvia from 32.1 percent in 2010 to 58.2
percent in 2011 during the plant’s first year of full-scale production.
Building upon technologies and operational expertise
from other CEMEX plants—particularly those in Germany—the
Brocēni plant utilizes an advanced kiln design that reduces energy
consumption by 50 percent compared with its traditional
counterparts and allows for broader fuel compatibility.
CEMEX’s longstanding commitment to fossil-fuel reduction is
evident throughout our worldwide operations. In 2011, nine
cement plants surpassed a 50 percent alternative fuel rate,
with three of them reaching a rate above 75 percent.
90%
of our cement plants
burned alternative fuels
during 2011, thus avoiding
the use of around 2 million
tons of coal
CEMEX in the Philippines is
partnering with two environmental
groups to implement a USD10
million, alternative-fuels project at
its Solid Cement plant near Manila.
The joint project will convert
biodegradable, non-recyclable
waste into alternative fuels
clinker reduction
In 2011, our overall clinker factor (the ratio of clinker content
to total cement production) was 75.1 percent—down from 84.3
percent in 1990. We have achieved this overall reduction by increasing
the use of alternative cementitious materials, many of
which are derived from the waste streams of other industries.
These materials include, among others:
• Fly ash – a combustion residue from coal-fired power plants
• Blast furnace slag – a by-product of pig iron production
• Pozzolan – a fine, sandy volcanic ash
Though we strive to maximize our usage of alternative raw
materials, the reduction of our clinker factor depends largely
on market demand for our products—some of which require
higher clinker content than others. Additionally, the availability
of high-quality clinker alternatives poses a significant
bottleneck to our rate of substitution. Nonetheless, we are
committed to finding new ways of sourcing and using clinker
alternatives without compromising the performance of our
building materials.
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