The Sant Vicenç dels Horts factory sets a new record in the use of alternative fuels

The Sant Vicenç dels Horts factory reaches a new record in the use of alternative fuels.

Almost exactly a decade after the start of energy recovery at Cementos Molins Industrial, the Sant Vicenç dels Horts factory has reached a historic milestone in the use of waste as a source of energy. In June 2021, 57% of the heat consumed in kiln 6 was provided by alternative fuels. This figure, indicative of the company’s good environmental conduct, has helped to reach a historic milestone: during the first half of the year, more than half of the fuel consumed by the kiln came from alternative sources to traditional fossil fuels.

It should be remembered that energy recovery is considered by the European Union to be one of the best available techniques (BAT) for cement kilns, and its practice is strongly recommended. In fact, in the leading countries in terms of environmental protection, the substitution of fossil fuels reaches levels of around 80% (Austria) and over 70% (Germany) of the total thermal energy consumed.

The energy recovery of products that can no longer be reused or recycled is also one of the surest ways to meet the decarbonisation targets that the cement industry, and with it CMI, has set for 2050. Harnessing the calorific potential of waste such as wood, end-of-life tyres or sewage sludge generates, among other things, three main environmental benefits: it saves the consumption of fossil fuels, avoids landfill and the resulting problems of soil, water and air pollution from these products, and reduces emissions of carbon dioxide, the gas that causes global warming.

In this line of environmental protection, CMI plans to introduce changes in management and new investments in the factory to take another step forward and approach the levels of the best factories in Europe. For the time being, it is already one of the leading companies in energy recovery in Spain.