Mercuria CSR Report 2021 - Flipbook - Page 57
2021 Corporate Social Responsibility
waste fractions that would otherwise be landfilled or incinerated as feedstock to produce alternative
fuels. By switching to the alternative fuels produced by N+P, various industries can not only reduce
their costs prices, but also benefit from significant CO2 savings and contribute to landfill diversion. It
also provides these industries with new incentives on how to best reduce their carbon footprint. (See
Illustration Below: Alternative Fuelsl Production).
How is N+P accelerating the energy transition?
N+P is accelerating the energy transition by utilizing the value of waste to reduce the global carbon footprint.
For example, the composition of the “waste of the waste” consists of approximately 45 to 55% of biogenic
content. Biogenic content comes from fractions like paper, cardboard, textiles, and wood. The concept of
waste derived fuels is not new but its complex to execute. This is why N+P was one of the first companies
to commercial produce waste derived fuels. It has been pioneering the development of high-quality waste
derived fuels, which are able to substitute up to 100% fossil fuel. This results in results in cheaper production
costs, but more importantly, it leads to a massive reduction of CO2 emissions. Up to 1.6 tons of CO2 can be
saved for each ton of fossil fuel which is substituted according to a study carried out by Ingenia (NL).
Rising CO2 prices is increasing the potential value ofalternative fuels. For example, pulverized alternative
fuel (PAF) can help a cement plant increase its alternative fuel substitution up to 100%. PAF is used to
substitute the initial 10% of substitution, or the final 25% of fossil fuels with minimal alterations to the
plant. In many cases PAF can be dosed in using fossil fuel dosing equipment, or underutilized systems
like MBM silos.
Moreover, PAF can be handled, transported and processed easily. It can be supplied as a milled fuel,
using variety of modalities like silo (tanker) trucks or walking floor trailers. Industry users can also mill
the pellets on site themselves.
What are key characteristics of alternative fuels?
Alternative Fuels are specifically produced to meet requirements from existing pyro processes in order to
substitute fossil fuel in existing installations. N+P aims to achieve both chemical and physical properties
in order to maximize the substitution of fossil fuel while maintaining process stability: depending on the
application up to 100% of fossil fuels can be substituted.
The production of alternative fuels also requires a mindset of finding opportunities for innovation
within a systemic problem. For example, China’s decision to ban the import of plastics reverberated
globally. The country was the world’s largest importer of waste plastics and processed hard-to-recycle
plastics for other countries. Its ban meant that refuse derived fuel (RDF) streams would have higher
calorific values globally. With no value for the plastics, many recycling companies choose to not pick
out more plastics from mixed wastes. This would potentially pose both a systemic problem and a new
opportunity as many solutions for waste are designed for a specific quality range.
N+P began pushing companies to split both fractions to get the optimal waste solutions for each
individual quality. It is a well-known issue that high calorific streams tend to have less options available
apart from landfill. However, lower calorific value streams are perfectly suited for many domestic and
abroad located waste incineration plants. Traditionally, N+P works from the back end of the supply chain:
the company focuses on the quality which is needed at the end users, and either buys or produces the
right quality from various types of waste to achieve optimal waste solutions. This approach benefits the
suppliers as well as the end users in the complete waste value chain. Lower grade materials, typically
57
