Brazil: Votorantim improves co-processing rates

Votorantim Cimentos’ has invested BRL12m (US$3.14m) in a co-processing project for its Cuiabá cement plant, Mato Grosso. The facility is now able to process waste materials such as old tyres, rice straw, industrial waste and sawdust, which has enabled a 65 per cent replacement of fossil fuels during manufacturing.

The Brazilian cement giant has also been improving its environmental performance at the Nobres cement plant (Mato Grosso), which now uses biomass to replace 50 per cent of fossil fuels, reaching up to 65 per cent on occasional spikes. This reduces GHG emissions by more than 253,000t as well as lowering the amount of waste material being sent to landfill.

According to  Edson Rodriguez, Votorantim Cimentos’ co-processing consultant, up until September 2015 the company used 240,000 tyres during processing in Mato Grosso. "The Cuiabá and Nobres factories are flexible. We can use various fuels to turn into energy. Our next step is to improve the management and disposal of other waste, as is the case of urban waste," he said.