Energy recovery
Despite still remaining far from the levels ofleading European countries in environmental management, energy recovery from waste has increased for another year, reaching41% of the total energy (in terms of heat) consumed in cement kilns. This has allowed to reduce the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere by more than 347 thousand tons, thanks to the fact that most of these wastes contain biomass in high proportions. The fight against climate change is one of the priorities of the cement industry.
In this sense, the noteworthy increase (47%) in the use of the various types of wood waste (cuttings from wood processing, bulky waste, containers and packaging, construction and demolition waste, train sleepers, urban and landscape elements) really catches the eye. An increase that contrasts with the reduction inenergy recovery of Tire-derived fuel (TDF) (-54%).
As a whole, Catalan factories prevented more than 284 thousand tons of waste from ending up in landfills thanks to their energy recovery. A volume that grew 4% compared to the previous year.
| WASTE TYPE | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | Var. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant biomass (industrial of agricultural origin, pineapple, olive bones, industrial of agricultural origin, shell, energy crops, untreated wood) | 11.470 | 41.621 | 41.518 | 0% |
| RDF-MSW | 131.582 | 138.563 | 159.000 | 15% |
| Animal meal | 36.165 | 38.908 | 40.728 | 5% |
| Urban wastewater sludge | 7.563 | 5.457 | 6.450 | 18% |
| Wood (wood processing cuts, bulky waste, packaging, construction and demolition waste, sleepers, urban and landscape elements) | 20.395 | 15.114 | 22.164 | 47% |
| Waste from end-of-life vehicles | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Waste from the paper industry | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TDF | 10.103 | 32.198 | 14.759 | -54% |
| Total | 217.278 | 273.220 | 284.620 | 4% |
| % energy substitution | 31% | 35% | 41% | 16% |
| Avoided t of fossil CO2 | 252.028 | 316.876 | 347.409 | 10% |
Note: Quantities in tons.
Source: Generalitat de Catalunya
