The Continental Cement Davenport Plant in Buffalo, Iowa, held a ribbon cutting on Tuesday, Sept. 10th, at 1 p.m., to announce the completion of its Green America Recycling expansion.
The expansion includes the addition of the Denmark company FLSmidth Cement's FUELFLEX Pyrolyzer, which breaks down landfill waste into energy the plant uses to create cement. The technology is designed to replace fossil fuels and Petroleum (pet) coke, a final carbon-rich solid material derived from oil refining.
Senior Vice President Nicholas Marks of Green America Recycling, which Continental Cement owns, says the FUELFLEX Pryolyzer is placed within the kiln and calciner, a steel cylinder that rotates inside a heated furnace.
"So most of the materials we take are everyday materials such as paper, plastics, rubber. Normally it would go to a landfill," Marks said in a phone interview with WVIK. "We take those in. We'll sort through those. We'll shred them down to a size. We'll mix them in for the right consistency of quality, and then we'll use those in the cement kiln to burn. And that will burn and replace with coal or pet coke. And we'll use that energy to create cement, which then goes into the value chains for our infrastructure."
The $38 million expansion also includes enlarging the plant's building to accommodate materials awaiting the newly installed primary and secondary shredders. Marks mentions that the funds improved the feeding system into the kiln and installed a new metal separator.
President and CEO Anne Noonan of Summit Materials, which owns the subsidiary Continental Cement, says the company's vision is to be the most socially responsible construction materials solution provider.
"And compared to the rest of the industry, the rest of the industry averages about 14 % alternative fuel replacement," Noonan said in a phone interview with WVIK. "Where we are leaders in this area, we were the first to move in this. And this will allow us to up this game here at Davenport to 55%. And we expect that this technology, we are the first doing it, but it will extend across the industry. So, it should have very positive impact from a carbon emissions reduction across the entire cement industry."
Peter Tokar, president and CEO of the Quad Cities Chamber, says Summit Materials has been a great community partner in the Quad Cities.
"...[I]t's refreshing to see a corporation that highly values safety, innovation, and environmental sustainability in their practices at such a high level," Tokar said in a phone interview with WVIK.
The Continental Cement Davenport Plant employs over 30 people, including operators and maintenance technicians.
