Pollution Research Paper

STUDY OF POLLUTION LOAD IN ENVIRONMENT DURING COPROCESSING OF SOLID WASTE (CARBON BLACK) IN CEMENT ROTARY KILN

SATISH SAINI, B.R. BAMNIYA, G.V. RAMAKRISHNA AND D.M. KUMAWAT

Abstract

Fuels made from waste have been used by power plants and various industrial plants (including cement plants) using high-temperature processes. The fuels applied can be solid or liquid, made from municipal waste, industrial waste, or their mixtures. Replacement of some conventional fuels with alternative fuels (AF) brings both economic and ecological benefits. Use of alternative fuels for meeting energy requirement is a sustainable initiative which not only help save fossil fuel and mitigate GHG emissions, but also facilitate the intimidating task of waste disposal in an environmentally sound manner. An industry that is especially suitable for the application of such fuels, from the technological and environmental points of view, is the cement industry. Ambuja Cements Ltd., Unit: Rabriyawas has started using carbon black (derived from pyrolysis of waste tyre) in cement rotary kiln as a partial replacement of fossil fuel. In the present work pollution load alteration in environment during co-processing of carbon black with conventional fuel was studied. The resulting pollutants were monitored at stack and ambient level. The pollutant load was studied in terms of particulate matter (PM), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from process stack and in ambient level particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), SO2, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon monoxide (CO). The pollutant load at ambient level was measured at four locations in different directions (north-west, south-east, north-east and south-west) with respect to stationary source (stack). The results are promising and the waste (carbon black) studied as co-processing material is sufficiently efficient in providing energy without any significant alternation in the pollutant load emissions at stack and ambient level. Interestingly, the NOx level reduced marginally with the use of carbon black. Over all no major changes were observed in baseline emission concentrations of pollutants in the environment.