Whole tyres used as green fuel

Lafarge Cement has recently invested over GBP1 million in a new system from Geo Robson Conveyors to feed whole used tyres to the two cement kilns at its Westbury works, in Wiltshire

Designed and installed by Geo Robson, the system is based on proven US technology and is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK.

Burning waste tyres for cement production is a key process in the Lafarge Cement environmental improvement programme, as it reduces the impact of the factory on the local environment, saves fossil fuels and is helping to tackle the growing problem of used tyre disposal.

Tyres also provide a highly efficient form of energy generating 25,000 kJ/kg.

Robson has supplied Lafarge Cement (formerly Blue Circle Cement), and other companies with systems to feed tyre chips to kilns but handling whole tyres provided a new challenge.

Tyres arrive in various sizes and condition and need to be sorted and fed to the kilns in a controlled manner.

The system has been designed to carry tyres up to 1220mm x 350mm and weighing up to 80 kg with a reject process to filter out larger tyres, those still on the wheel, and any smaller than 500mm x 100mm.

Tyres are loaded into a walking floor reception hopper and a series of conveyors, rotating disk singulators, photo-cells and magazines help sort, separate and store tyres ready to be fed to the two cement kilns.

The system is designed to feed each kiln with up to 350 tyres per hour giving the plant the capacity to burn 700 tyres per hour or more than 5,000 in a typical shift.

The Lafarge Cement Westbury factory was opened 40 years ago and produces around 720,000 tons of cement a year for customers throughout south and west England.

As well as being the pioneer location for using whole tyres, Westbury has the lowest dust emissions of any cement plant in the UK.

The company is the largest cement manufacturer in the UK with a market share of 50%.

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