Cement industry is one of the prominent industries in Bangladesh. It is one of the fastest-growing industries in Bangladesh. In recent years, per capita cement consumption has become 187 kg, and there are almost forty government and non-government companies who produce cement. In our country, clinker, the main raw material of cement is not available. Thus, almost 30% of the production cost of cement is utilized to import clinker. The second major cost comes from power consumption, which is about 28% of the total cost. Power supplies in cement industries take place by burning coal. According to a report, in cement industries, about 30-35 kW electricity is required per metric ton, which is rising gradually. Due to burning lots of coal, a huge amount of CO
2 emission takes place. CO
2 emission is hazardous for the environment. They enhance respiratory problems caused by smog and air pollution, as well as contributing to climate change by trapping heat. Again, there are lots of hazardous wastes and biomass which get eliminated from rubber industries, textile industries, rice mills, wood industries, etc. such as - rice husk, saw dust, rubber granules, waste water sludge, empty fruit bunch, etc. These waste materials are not dumped or recycled properly sometimes, which causes pollution to water and soil.
Thus, this project is focused on developing an alternate energy source utilizing the hazardous wastes and biomass, which will be applied in cement industries. This alternate energy source is completely produced from waste materials, named as Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF). The production cost of RDF is very low, almost half of the price of the coal. Necessary calculation has been performed to determine the calorific value of RDF produced from available waste materials in our country, which is 22451 kJ/kg, which is almost similar to the calorific value of coal which is 23,000 kJ/kg. The utilization of RDF can decrease coal consumption up to 5%. Also, an economic analysis says these waste materials can decrease the cost of power consumption up to 40%. Allover, RDF is a very promising and amazing alternative for coal in cement industries considering its environmental, economic and financial impact.
