heal.abstract |
The cement industry is a vital sector of the EU-25 economy. With an annual cement production of over 230 million tonnes, it contributes significantly to the national gross domestic product (GDP) of its member states. The cement industry like other mineralogical transformation process industries (lime, glass, ceramics, extractive metallurgy, etc.), is high energy intensive. Energy accounts for about one third of the cement production cost. Each tonne of cement produced requires not only large amounts of fuels (coal, fuel oil, natural gas), but additionally a significant quantity of electrical power as well. The majority of the fuels consumed by the EU cement industry are imported. Therefore, it is of interest for the EU and the industry to increase energy efficiency and to reduce the quantities of fuels consumed in the cement manufacturing process. In the present paper the serious economic, societal and environmental benefits provided by the waste to energy use of scrap tyres in the EU cement manufacture are briefly outlined. Then useful conclusions are drawn. |
en |