Environmental Impacts Evaluations of Different Alternative Fuel Substitution Rate Scenarios in Clinker Production

Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Diponegoro, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: alialmaktari@students.undip.ac.id

Abstract

Cement production is an energy-intensive industry that primarily relies on fossil fuels like coal and natural gas to meet energy needs. Extreme usage of fossil fuels leads to depletion of their source and higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions such as NOx, SOx, and CO2. Clinker, as the primary material for cement, is a product of the clinkerization process in the kiln system, where the utilization of fossil fuel happens massively. Pre-calciner, as a part of the kiln system, combusts around 60% of the fuel requirement in the kiln system. The calcination reaction occurs within the pre-calciner at 700 - 900 ˚C and produces over 50% of the emissions. Alternative fuels proved the capability to meet the energy demand and mitigate GHG emissions. Previous studies show Aspen Plus is one of the powerful software, able to simulate the calcination and combustion process realistically. The process model in this study uses data from one of the leading cement plants in Yemen. The main aim of this study is to evaluate the environmental impacts of alternative solid fuel mixture (Tires-derived "TDF" and Plastic waste "PW") and coal with various scenarios of substitution rate. It mainly concentrates on the environment, quality, and energy outputs. Based on the simulation results of the investigated model, in the implementation of 100% alternative fuels mixture scenarios, PW increased the moisture percentage, affecting the outlet temperature, While TDF has higher emissions than PW. Likewise, the 50% alternative fuels mixture with various substitution rates of coal has shown satisfactory results with a low amount of coal regarding the emissions percentages.