Alternative Fuels & Raw Materials

There are a number of materials that can substitute for the natural resources that supply both the minerals and/or energy required for clinker and cement production. These alternative fuels and raw materials are typically by-products of other industrial processes or waste materials that would otherwise be disposed of.

Examples of the types of alternative fuels used in the Australia cement industry include wood waste, carbon powders, used oils and solvents, as well as spent cell liners from aluminium production that would otherwise become waste.

Currently alternative fuels meet around 15 per cent of the total energy requirements of the Australian cement industry (Figure 11). This is approaching the global average of around 16 per cent as Australian producers continue to seek out and opportunities to increase AFR usage in their operations.

Source: CIF Survey, Status and prospects of co-processing of waste in EU cement plants (Ecofys 2017), Portland Cement Association, Global Cement and Concrete Association, Cembureau