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Oman Cement Company (OCC) will launch a waste-to-energy (WtE) facility to reduce gas consumption by processing municipal solid waste, according to a company filing (pdf). The plant will use Refused Derived Fuel (RDF) processed from municipal solid waste to power its cement complex at its Misfah complex with an annual capacity of 3.6 mn tonnes, Oman Observer reports. Oman’s Finance Ministry and Commerce and Industry Ministry own 51% of OCC, while the rest of the shares are publicly traded. China’s giant producer Huaxin Cement became a partner in OCClast year after purchasing almost 60% of the publicly traded shares from Oman’s state-owned Investment Authority Company.
What’s RDF? RDF is a type of fuel produced from various forms of waste and consists of combustible components, such as non-recyclable plastics and tyres, and biodegradable matter. Non-combustible materials are separated from the waste and the rest gets shredded and burned.
Not the first RDF initiative: Oman Environment Services (Be’ah) partnered with Oman Cement last year to supply RDF made from household and business waste to be burned as fuel in cement kilns, Oman Observer writes, adding that the company also agreed to supply processed old tires (Tyre Derived Fuel) as fuel for the kilns.
The UAE + Kuwait are also working on producing RDF for cement production: Kuwait Municipality approved a RDF project to power up its main cement production plan in 2022.The UAE’s Environment Ministry and Emirates RDF — owner of the first of its kind RDF Treatment Facility in the GCC — signed four MoUs with local cement producers to add RDF to their energy mix in 2022. Emirates RDF also signed an agreement to power Union Cement’s production during the same year.
