Cement making is particularly energy-intensive. To reduce the use of valuable primary fuels like coal, German building materials giant HeidelbergCement uses alternative fuels, including waste tyres, at its cement plant in Lengfurt, Bavaria. The calorific value of rubber is comparable to that of hard coal. And because the iron from the armouring can be incorporated mineralogically into the cement, it reduces the need to add ferrous corrective substances.
For the Lengfurt plant, BEUMER supplied and installed a fully automated waste-tyre transport system, including conveyors, that sorts, separates and regulates the tyres of different sizes and weights and feeds them to the rotary kiln inlet. Thanks to the new system, the cement plant’s kiln is now fed with a constant stream of material.
“With every tonne of waste tyres that we’re using, we’re replacing the same amount of valuable hard coal,” explains Michael Becker, director of HeidelbergCement’s Lengfurt site.