is the energy to sort the debris, truck the debris and shred the debris at the Lafarge site. However, the diversion from the land-fill, where it would eventually rot and be-come methane, also must be considered in the analysis. According to Cumming, the life cycle assessment provides “…the most trans-parent, comprehensive, and accurate way of assessing fuels and their carbon emis-sions.” CHALLENGING INFRASTRUCTURE The introduction of the new fuels into Lafarge’s energy production system has its staff learning as the process unfolds. That goes for the fuel suppliers as well, being asked to change the way they approach their waste. “Getting the infrastructure changed for processing the material from jobsite to end user has been a challenge,” Cumming says. “Using C&D waste as an example, that means having the mindset to separate the waste that can be used as LCF while others continue to go to previous outlets like landfills.” That challenge extends to building sustainable infrastructure for supplying LCF to Bath, which can’t be done as the company experiments with multiple types of fuel. That makes it cost-prohibitive for many fuel suppliers until someone like La-farge is in a position to ask for consistent supply. On the plant side, the challenge comes in the intake process. New processes for quality control, storage, moisture, logis-tics, safety and training have to be estab-lished at the plant for dealing with the new types of fuel versus what has already been established using coal and petroleum coke. Cumming cites that it is the infra-structure and the logistics that will be the biggest hurdle for the adoption of low car-bon fuels. “But once you get it right, the other fuel users will be able to benefit from those supply chain systems,” he says. But the lessons already being learned have been shared with other Lafarge Can-ada facilities that are also experiment-ing with alternative fuels. In Nova Sco-tia, Lafarge’s Brookfield plant is working with Dalhousie University on tests using non-recyclable plastics, asphalt shingles and scrap tires. BIOMASS ALTERNATIVES There are also experiments being done with a new type of fuel at the Richmond plant in B.C., one that just recently re-ceived national recognition thanks to work being done by Ontario Power Generation in Thunder Bay, Ont. The fuel is known as torrefied or black pellets. The pellets are wood pellets that are pre-cooked to become a product that closely resembles charcoal’s textural and energy properties. “In most plants, you can get to 20 to 30 per cent co-fire before running into mechanical and thermodynamic issues,” Cumming says. “But if you can convert C&D wood into something that works like charcoal, then you can use it in your existing process and at a higher substitu-tion rate.” OPG Thunder Bay discovered just that during testing phases with the pellets, sup-plied by a company in Norway. OPG then FUEL | AIR | GAS | ASH www.processbarron.com | 205-663-5330 | 2770 Welborn Street Pelham, AL 35124 CBM_ProcessBarron_JulyAug16_CSA.indd 1 Canadian BIOMASS 2016-07-25 10:32 AM 15
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