Communities
All around the world communities are opposing cement kilns. This site is intended to bring those communities together and any additional information regarding groups that are working against cement kilns would be gratefully received. Please e-mail te 7;m@groundwork.org.za with any information that you might have.
Cement Kilns in South Africa
There are four cement manufacturers in South Africa: Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC), with seven kilns, Afrisam (previously Holcim), Lafarge (once Blue Circle) and Natal Portland Cement (NPC).
PPC, NPC and Afrisam have all currently submitted EIAs for the burning of alternative fuels in their kilns.
Initially, these were submitted individually to the various provincial Environmental Departments but at the
moment they have been placed under the auspices of the national department (Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism - DEAT),
who are currently involved in a process to create policy and regulations around the burning of AFRs in cement kilns.
The DEAT National Policy on High Temperature Thermal Waste Treatment and Cement Kiln Alternative Fuel Use
As part of the consultative process, groundWork commissioned Public Interest
Consultants, Wales, UK, to augment groundWork's submission with an evaluation
of DEAT inputs. The resulting Response to the Consultation on a National Policy
Development Process For High Temperature Thermal Waste Treatment was given
to the DEAT at the beginning of 2008.
The Draft Waste Incineration Policy was published for public comment on 30 January 2009.
Tyres
One of the primary "alternative fuels" being spoken about in South Africa is tyres, which are perceived to be an enormous problem in South Africa.
An organisation called South African Tyre Recycling Process Company (SATRP Co) has been set up
by the tyre industry. In order for them to begin the process, it was apparently necessary for tyre regulations (2007) to first be promulgated. These were poorly drafted and did not
properly address the problems, as is outlined in groundWork's comments.
A second set of Waste Tyre Regulations (2008) were released. These were substantially better, although groundWork still made comment.
The final regulations were
gazetted on 13 February 2009.
In addition to this there is a draft Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between the DEAT and SATRP Co. We have
subsequently been informed that this MoA will not be acted upon, and that
the management of levies, etc. will be handled in the Integrated Industry
Waste Tyre Management Plan provided for in the Waste Tyre Regulations.
groundWork has released a report which attempts to address the issues surrounding the use of tyres as fuel.
South African Cement Communities
The South African cement communities are working together to fight the cement
companies. Their primary concerns relate to the current operation of the
kilns, as most of the communities are subject to a great deal of dust and there
is a high incidence of lung disease in these communities, and to the proposals
to burn waste in the kilns.
A meeting of the all the communities was held in Port Elizabeth on the 27th
and 28th of October. This press release outlines the purpose of the meeting. A full report of
what turned out to be a very successful meeting will be posted shortly.
Lichtenburg
Lichtenburg and surrounds are home to two cement factories, Afrisam and Lafarge.
Afrisam Dudfield Plant
The Afrisam (previously Holcim) Dudfield plant is located near Lichtenburg in the North West Province. It
currently recieves limestone feedstock from a nearby limestone quarry, while coal
is brought in to the plant by rail. Dudfield's kiln 3 has been recently upgraded.
The upgrade included the installation of a low-NOx multichannel primary burner which
allows for multiple energy sources to be introduced into the kiln. It has also
been fitted with a pre-calciner and a bag filter with a design particulate emission limit
of 30mg/Nm3.
Lafarge Lichtenburg Plant
The Lafarge (previously Blue Circle) plant is said, by Lafarge, to be the biggest and most modern plant in South Africa. It is difficult, however, to establish anything about the plant. So far, Lafarge have not entered the AFR fray.
Hercules
The Hercules cement plant was the first in South Africa, producing its first
cement in December 1980. Hercules supplies Surebuild, Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and Rapic Hardening
Cement (RHC). The limestone for the plant comes about 80km, by rail, from the Beestekraal Quarry.
There are two kilns, kilns 4 (commissioned in 1965) and 5 (commissioned in 1974).
Kiln 4 is 114 metres long, with a single stage pre-header. Kiln 5 is shorter,
at 66 metres, and has a 4-stage pre-heater. A planetary clinker cooler cools
the clinker and both kilns have conditioning towers are are equipped with
ESPs to limit dust emissions. An ESP is also fitted to one of the three
cement mills. The other two are equipped with bag filters.
A summary APPA permit indicates
that this plant is permitted to burn scrap tyres and sewerage sludge in kiln 5.
This permit has expired and groundWork has requested a copy of the renewed permit.
What we received was this.
On 3 October 2008, a Record of Decision for the Hercules Kiln 5 to burn
waste was issued. groundWork appealed this RoD, but the appeal was dissmissed. groundWork considers
that the letter does not
meet the requirements of the Promotion of Administrative
Justice Act and is writing a further letter in this regard.
Slurry
The Slurry plant is located in the North West Province, near Lichtenburg, in
the Mafikeng Municipality. It was the second PPC factory and commenced production
in 1916. Slurry makes OPC, Surebuild and RHC (Rapid Hardening Cement). Part of the production
is sent to smaller plants (Port Elizabeth, Jupiter and Hercules) to supplement
their production. Some is exported to Botswana where it is processed further.
A quarry adjacent to the factory provides raw materials, which are also
distributed to smaller plants. There are 4 kilns currently in operation.
Kilns 5 (commissioned in 1959) and 6 (commissioned in 1960) are long dry
kilns. They are not fitted with pre-heaters. Both kilns are 145 metres long
and 3.45 meters in diameter.
Kiln 7 (commissioned in 1968) is a large kiln, being 4.55 metres in diameter. It
is fitted with a 1 stage preheater.
Kiln 8 (commissioned in 1976), is fitted with a 4-stage preheater and a conditioning
tower for cooling the exit gases. It is 5.25 metres in diameter.
All the kilns are fitted with planetary clinker coolers and ESPs to limit dust
emissions. The raw mill is also equipped with an ESP, as are three of the
finishing mills, one of which also has a bag house filter.
Although, in terms of groundWork's PAIA application, we should have been furnished with
a copy of the APPA operating permit for the Slurry plant, we were not and our request
to be given a copy has been ignored.
Port Shepstone
The factory at Simuma Farm, which is about 13km north of Port Shepstone, is
owned by Natal Portland Cement (NPC). Both a clinker manufacturing facility
and a quarry are situated on the site. At the moment the clinker is taken by rail to NPC's Durban
milling operation, where it is milled and made into first Ordinary Portland Cement
(OPC) and then further blended into other products.
In September 2008 a Background Information Document was issued in respect of a Basic Assessment for a second kiln at the Simuma site.
groundWork made comment to the draft
Basic Assessment Report.
The Final Basic Assessment Report for the
second kiln was submitted to the DAEA on 29 January 2009.
New Brighton, Port Elizabeth
The PPC factory in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth, began manufacture in 1928. It
produces Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and Surebuild cement. When necessary,
production is supplemented with clinker and/or cement from the Slurry plant. Limestone comes by rail from the PPC
Grassridge quarry, about 40km away. There is a single long dry kiln (commissioned
in 1966). It is not equipped with a pre-heater, although a planetary cooler
cools the clinker. There is also no conditioning tower and the exit gases
from the kiln are cooled by direct water injection. Dust emissions from the
raw mill, finishing mill and kiln are minimised by passing exhaust gas streams
through ESPs.
Residents are experiencing increasing dust problems from the site, and
report that chronic chest problems are the norm.
As can be seen from the summary permit the permit that we were supplied by the DEAT is very old. We have asked whether
there is a more current one, but have not received a response.
Riebeeck
The Riebeeck plant is in the Western Cape Province, near Riebeeck West. It
first began manufacturing cement in 1960, and produces Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)
and Rapid Hardening Cement (RHC). The Limestone comes from the Riebeeck
Quarry which is next to the plant. There are two kilns in operation,
kiln 1 (commissioned in 1959) and kiln 2 (commissioned in 1968). Kiln 1 is
a long dry kiln, 145 metres long. Kiln 2 is a long kiln of 138 meters, with a
1-stage pre-heater. Both kilns have planetary clinker coolers. Kiln 2 has
a conditioning tower to cool the kiln exit gases. The kilns and raw mills are
all equipped with ESPs. One finishing mill is fitted with an ESP, while the
other has a bag filter.
The summary permit does not indicate what fuels may be used, and is very old. A request to DEAT
as to whether there is a newer permit has been ignored.
Dwaalboom
The Dwaalboom plant is in the Thabazimbi Municipality in the Limpopo Province.
It came into production in 1985, but was later mothballed because of a market
turndown. In 1996, the factory recommenced manufacture, and now produces
Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and Surebuild cement. Raw materials come
from the Dwaalboom quarry, which is next to the plant. There is a single kiln
(commissioned in 1985). It has a 5-stage pre-header which feeds into a
rotary kiln which has a diameter of 4.85 meters. From the kiln the clinker
is dropped onto a grate cooler, which works more efficiently than planetary
clinker coolers. To limit dust emissions, all exhaust gases from the kiln
stack as well as the finishing mill stacks pass through ESPs. An indirect coal
firing system is used, and the coal mill exhaust gas is dedusted in a bag filter,
as is vent air from the grate cooler. Dwaalboom is being expanded to increase
its capacity and a new pre-calciner kiln is expected to be commissioned in 2008.
The summary permit makes no
reference to fuels, and is due to expire in September 2008.
De Hoek
The PPC De Hoek manufacturing plant is in the Western Cape Province, near Piketberg.
It came into production in 1921, although PPC only acquired it in the 1950s. De Hoek
produces Surebuild and Rapid Hardening Cement (RHC). The limestone comes from the nearby
Zoutkloof Quarry. There are two operational
kilns, kiln 5 (commissioned in 1974) and kiln 6, commissioned in 1980. 4-stage
pre-heaters, conditioning towers and planetary clinker coolers are fitted to
both kilns. To limit dust emissions, both the two kilns and the two finishing
mills are equipped with ESPs.
As the summary APPA permit indicates, no mention is made of what fuels may be used. This permit is
very old but our query to DEAT as to the availability of a more current permit
has not been responded to.