Hanson UK to test a technology of cement production on neutral carbon fuel

The trial of a cement kiln was successfully completed at the Hanson UK plant in Ribblesdale (UK), which operated on a 100% climate-neutral fuel mixture with the addition of hydrogen. Tests on a commercial scale were conducted under the guidance of Hanson UK and the Mineral Products Association (MPA). If the new type of fuel is used in all kilns of the plant, then only in Ribblesdale CO₂ emissions will be reduced by 180 thousand tons per year.

The trial was carried out at the British Ribblesdale plant taking into account the pre-project study funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in 2019. According to its results, the use of energy based on biomass, hydrogen and plasma can reduce CO₂ emissions by 100 % in cement production (if all the necessary framework conditions are met and infrastructure is created).

During the trial of the Ribblesdale cement kiln’s main burner, entering proportion of fuels was gradually brought to 100 % of the new fuel mixture consisting of hydrogen (39 %) delivered by tanker, as well as biomass components (12 % meat and bone meal) and glycerine (49 %) formed as by-products of other industries. It is planned to replace traditional hydrogen with green in the future.

Hanson UK is one of the largest producers of low-carbon concrete in the UK. For this reason, the use of hydrogen in the fuel mixture for combustion in cement kilns will allow to realize the company's goals for the production of concrete by 2050, in the manufacture of which CO₂ emissions will be zero, as noted in the company.