Our Processes

WHAT IS MEANT BY PRE- AND CO-PROCESSING?

Pre-processing refers to preparing of waste to make it suitable for co-processing in cement kilns. Waste is converted from an unwanted discarded material to a useful resource, so-called AFR.

Co-processing refers to using AFR in the cement production process at suitable feed-in points in a controlled manner, where it burns as fuel and provides raw material. This enables substitution of primary fuels (coal, petroleum coke, natural gas) and raw materials, recovering energy from the waste and recycling its mineral content. Only qualified waste materials may be used for this process.

PRE-PROCESSING

Waste occur in different forms and qualities. Some types of waste cannot be used directly for co-processing, but must undergo a preparation process.

Pre-processing in general can be defined as those operations that lead to homogenization of the chemical composition and/or physical characteristics of the wastes.

The transformation of wastes to homogeneous forms requires certain standards. This step produces a waste product with defined characteristics the complies with the technical specifications of cement production and guarantees that environmental standards are met. Pre-processing plants usually store incoming waste and contain grinding, mixing, and homogenization processes.

CO-PROCESSING

Co-processing in cement kilns is globally recognized as one of the preferred methods to safely dispose of a wide range of hazardous and non-hazardous materials. It offers many environmental advantages which are:

High cement kiln gas temperatures
(over 1800°C) at high residual time
(up to 5 seconds) – representing ideal conditions for virtually complete destruction of any organic materia

Inherent cleaning of gases using lime
(a basic ingredient of cement)

No waste residue (total incorporation of ash into finished product)

Types of waste co-processed by INSEE Ecocycle

We are able to accommodate a wide range of waste, which in most cases is subjected to pre-processing procedures, requiring engineering expertise to ensure the waste is suitable for co-processing.s.