Cement companies now saving on energy

With about 50 percent to 80 percent of its variable cost of production accounted for by fuel and power, cement manufacturers are advancing new ways to either improve energy efficiency or save on energy consumption.

Pressed to survive in the midst of high power and fuel costs, Philippine cement companies are blazing the energy conservation trail and are becoming showcases of creative solutions to the energy problem in the country.

"The energy situation in the Philippines has probably brought out the best in each of the cement manufacturers in their drive to adapt. Local cement companies have evolved into decidedly fitter enterprises," Felix Enrico Alfiler, president of Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CeMAP) said.

Self-generation is one way cement companies are saving on energy. Some cement firms have also started to go into self-generation of energy by setting up their own power plants.

"This will allow kilns to continuously operate and be less susceptible to power fluctuations and outages. Capital expenditure for the power plant is about $1 million per megawatt hour," Alfiler said.

Use of alternative fuels is also being explored and tested extensively. Despite the massive costs, many companies are turning to indigenous products such as riice husks and used tires to power the plants’ kilns.

The CeMAP Alternative Fuels sub-committee is also working closely with the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), the approving authority for the industry’s use of fuels not covered by an Environmental Clearance Certificate. Alternative fuel use is already widely accepted abroad, with many companies, such as pet food manufacturers, allowing cement companies to dispose of their waste in their kilns.

Companies are also turning to more environment-friendly cement variants that are made with clinker substitutes, which aid in lowering the cement plants’ power consumptions.

One of the latest energy-related innovations has enabled cement companies to hurdle the skyrocketing prices of imported coal from China.

"The prices of Chinese coal had become so prohibitive, we were forced to consider purchasing local coal which has now become more affordable relative to Chinese coal," Caridad Francisco, purchasing manager of Republic Cement, said.

However, since local coal did not have the same superior qualities of Chinese coal in terms of burning consistency, Francisco said cement companies had to work fast in retooling their machinery so that they could utilize local coal without any adverse effect on the resulting quality of the cement product.

All cement companies now also use "green fuels" to replace conventional energy sources while saving the environment. Mostly derived from farm waste, which would otherwise pose problems in disposal, these unconventional fuel sources are being used by cement companies in varying degrees.