COMMITMENT WITH EMISSIONS REDUCTION
The bet of the factories for the minimization of the environmental impact translates into millionaire investments in facilities and technology
Cement is a basic product for the development of society, since it allows the construction of housing and infrastructure. Its manufacture represents a job for many people, and its consumption is one of the main economic indicators of a territory. However, its production, like any industrial activity, has a series of effects on the environment, whose minimization is a priority for the sector.
For years, companies associated with Ciment Català carry out management actions aimed at improving the environmental impact of their productive activities, and also invest in facilities and technologies of an environmental nature.
I VOLUNTARY AGREEMENT
The cement industry, aware of the impact of the industrial activity on its environment, has been striving for years to avoid, reduce or mitigate these effects. The attitude of respecting and protecting the environment around the cement production centers is a firmly established mission in the sector, but in addition to these prevention strategies, many proactive initiatives are carried out, with the objective of generating environmental benefits, such as recovery strategies. In this sense, already in 2002, the industry sealed the first Collaboration Agreement for the Prevention and Control of Pollution with the Department of Environment of the Generalitat de Catalunya. It was a Voluntary Agreement because companies, beyond what was forced by the legal regulations in force, committed themselves to “dedicate economic, technical and human resources for the prevention and control of pollution from the industrial facilities that operate “. The agreement included the implementation of certain technical solutions as well as the investment in working methodologies and technologies aimed at improving the environmental behavior of the factories.
| Action | Target / achieved result |
|---|---|
| Dust from diffuse sources | |
| Covered clinker storage | 7 / 7 |
| Clinker transport | 93 / 93 |
| Continuous measurement of dust, NOx and SO2 | 16 / 16 |
| Kiln dust | |
| Target < 75 mg/m3N | 9 / 9 |
| Target < 50 mg/m3N | 7 / 7 |
| Cooler dust | |
| Target < 75 mg/m3N | 1 / 1 |
| Target < 50 mg/m3N | 5 / 5 |
| Dust from other sources: Target < 50 mg/m3N | 33 / 33 |
| NOx from kilns: Target < 1.200 mg/m3N | 16 / 16 |
| SO2 from kilns: Target < 600 mg/ m3N | 15 / 16 (*) |
(*) There is a facility (white clinker kiln in Vilanova) which had emission values exceeding 600 mg/m3N in 2008. This facility currently operates as a point of dispatch.
II VOLUNTARY AGREEMENT
The satisfactory results obtained with the first Collaboration Agreement for the Prevention and Control of Pollution with the Generalitat immediately promoted the talks for the closure of a second Voluntary Agreement for the period 2011-2014.
On this occasion, the objectives and results obtained are specified in:
| Action | Target / achieved result |
|---|---|
| Particulate emissions | |
| Cement kilns (Target* < 20 mg/m3N) | 10 / 11 |
| Other sources: mills, coolers, etc. (Target* < 20 mg/m3N) | 25 / 26 |
| Nitrogen (NOx) and sulfur (SO2) oxides atmospheric emission | |
| NOx emissions in kilns prior to 2010 (Target* < 800 mg/m3N) | 9 / 10 |
| NOx emissions in kilns in service since 2010 (Target* < 500 mg/m3N) | 1 / 1 |
| SO2 emissions using coke as fuel (Target* < 400 mg/m3N) | 12 / 12 |
| SO2 emissions using other fuels (Target* < 50 mg/m3N o AAI) | 9 / 9 |
| Other pollutants emission | |
| HCI (Target** < 10 mg/m3N) | 9 / 9 |
| HF (Target** < 1 mg/m3N) | 9 / 9 |
| Dioxins and furans (Target** < 0,1 ng/m3N) | 9 / 9 |
| Metals (Hg, Target** < 0,05 mg/m3N) | 9 / 9 |
| Metals (Cd + TI, Target** < 0,05 mg/m3N) | 9 / 9 |
| Metals (Sb + As + Pb + Cr + Co + Cu + Mn + Ni + + V, Target** < 0,5 mg/m3N) | 9 / 9 |
(*) Annual average of monthly averages. / (**) Annual average of periodic checks.
III VOLUNTARY AGREEMENT
The protection of the environment, the promotion of measures that make possible the transition of the sector towards a Circular Economy in accordance with the Action Plan of the EU Commission and the improvement of public information on the environmental impact of the activity of the Cement industry are the main objectives of the Voluntary Agreement signed on July 6, 2017 between the Generalitat and Ciment Català.
This pact, the third that is signed after the ones of 2002 and 2011, establishes up to 48 concrete actions of prevention, reduction and control of the contamination that have to be implanted in the Catalan cement factories during the next 4 years. These actions range from the reduction of particle emissions through chimneys to energy efficiency, biodiversity and mobility, and the use of waste as fuel.
ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENTS
