Co-combustion of RDF and biomass mixture with bituminous coal: a case study of clinker production plant in Egypt

摘要

Abstract Cement clinker production in Egypt till 2013 relied mainly on fossil fuel as a primary energy source. However, with multiple fossil fuel shortages, the utilization of biomass wastes was initiated by multiple cement producers. In the current work, and to present an industrial-scale biomass and coal co-combustion study, the utilization of multiple biomass fuels to substitute a portion of bituminous coal was studied in an Egyptian clinker production plant. Mixtures of biomass fuels were used to reduce the consumption of bituminous coal and to investigate the diminishing of the environmental impact of the clinker production process. The current study was conducted during 8?days of the stable clinker production process by replacing 14% of bituminous coal with biomass mixtures while monitoring the major process control parameters and resulting emissions. Emission results were compared to the nation’s regulations. A conclusion can be made that using biomass mixtures as alternative fuels minimized the dependency on coal as the main fuel and reduced the CO2 burden of the cement production process. In addition, NOx and SO2 emissions were declined while CO emissions were increased by utilizing biomass mixtures as alternative fuels; all emissions, however, were below the allowable limits stated by the Egyptian environmental authority. Noticeably, the heavy elements, dioxins, and furans were not changed significantly compared to those produced using coal only.Graphic abstract