Faced with the challenges of declining demand and intensified contradiction between supply and demand in the cement industry, cost control has become the primary problem to be solved urgently by enterprises, and cost reduction and efficiency enhancement are regarded as the key to solve the dilemma by the industry.
Alternative fuels, as an effective way to reduce clinker production costs and improve energy efficiency, are gradually becoming the focus of attention in the cement industry. So, how much cost can it save for cement enterprises? In the latest list of energy efficiency "leaders" published by the
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, four cement enterprises were selected, one of which stood out with outstanding achievements. Through high alternative fuels, the comprehensive energy consumption per unit product of clinker was successfully controlled at 78.18 kgce/t. After deducting electricity consumption, the comprehensive coal consumption of clinker was about 72 kgce/t. It is far lower than the benchmark level of 94kgce/t of comprehensive coal consumption per unit of clinker in the industry in 2023.
This means that every ton of qualified clinker produced by the enterprise saves about 22 kg of standard coal compared with the industry benchmark level, which is converted into the actual consumption of steam coal, and the reduction is about 28 kg (based on the calorific value of standard coal 7000 kcal and the calorific value of steam coal 5500 kcal).
Cement big data show that the coal price in 2023 (taking Qinhuangdao Q5500 power coal as an example) fluctuates between 800 and 1200 yuan per ton, with an average price of about 970 yuan. With the market price of 1000 kcal calorific value of about 0.176 yuan, the above-mentioned enterprises can reduce the cost of coal purchase by about 27 yuan per ton of clinker.
At present, most of the alternative fuels used in China's cement industry are RDF/SRF, whose market price ranges from 300 to 500 yuan/ton, and whose calorific value ranges from 3500 to 4500 kcal, with an average of about 0.1 yuan per 1000 kcal.
After deducting the expenditure of alternative fuels, the above enterprises can reduce the cost of 10-15 yuan per ton of clinker only from the perspective of fuel cost.
This achievement has set a benchmark for the cement industry to reduce costs and increase efficiency, which not only enhances the market competitiveness of its own enterprises, but also contributes substantially to the realization of the national carbon peak and carbon neutralization target.
Despite such remarkable achievements, China's cement industry still has great potential to be tapped in the field of alternative fuels. Zhou Jinbo, deputy to the National People's Congress, said that developed countries in Western Europe have mature alternative fuel technology for cement kilns, with an average substitution rate of 39%, including 63% in Germany and 85% in the Netherlands. In contrast, alternative fuels in China are still in their infancy, with an average fuel substitution rate of only about 5%.
5% to 39% is the realistic gap between figures and the potential space for development. China's cement industry still has a long way to go in the field of alternative fuels. At a time when the
industry is facing severe challenges, it is of immeasurable strategic significance and practical utility to actively promote the upgrading of large-scale production equipment and actively promote the energy-saving technological innovation and environmental protection upgrading and transformation of the cement industry, so as to enhance the core competitiveness of cement enterprises and realize the grand blueprint of sustainable development of the industry.
To this end, China Cement Network will hold the 11th China Cement Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Technology Exchange Conference-Equipment Renewal Forum in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province on June 13-14 . This forum will gather government leaders, industry technical specialist, scientific research institutions, universities, cement enterprises and equipment suppliers to discuss and analyze the practical path of equipment renewal and green upgrading in the cement industry, so as to promote the industry to move towards a more energy-efficient, greener and environmentally friendly future.
