India’s cement industry could replace more coal with waste fuel, but adoption hurdles remain
India's cement industry can replace a larger share of coal and petcoke with waste-derived fuel, but infrastructure, pricing, and adoption hurdles remain. The thermal substitution rate (TSR) remains below 5% in India, compared with global benchmarks of up to 90%.
Intelligence analysis by Llama
India's cement industry can replace more coal with waste fuel, but adoption hurdles remain due to inadequate processing infrastructure, limited plant-level acceptance, and uncertain pricing. GGEPIL processes different types of hazardous waste by shredding, drying, blending, and formulating it into a standardized fuel.
Imagine a way to turn trash into fuel that can help reduce pollution and make our environment cleaner. That's what some companies are trying to do in India's cement industry, but they're facing some big challenges.
Analysis
India's Cement Industry and Waste-Derived Fuel Opportunity
India generates about 70 million tonnes of municipal solid waste and 18.5 million tonnes of industrial hazardous waste, while about 3.5 million tonnes of industrial material requires landfilling. Conventional waste management relies on landfills and incineration, but co-processing offers an alternative by using pre-processed waste as fuel in power, cement, and steel plants.
The opportunity is particularly large in the cement industry. The thermal substitution rate (TSR)—the share of fossil fuel replaced by alternative fuel—remains below 5% in India, compared with global benchmarks of up to 90%. Some Indian cement plants, however, have reached about 40% TSR.
Unlocking the Potential
Unlocking this potential requires more than a steady supply of waste. Waste streams differ in their physical form and chemical composition, so they must first be sorted, dried, blended, and formulated into a consistent fuel that cement plants can use. Sopariwala said India’s low thermal substitution rate reflects inadequate processing infrastructure, manufacturers’ reluctance to use waste as fuel, and the absence of clear pricing benchmarks against coal and petcoke.
Scaling Up
The group works with about 10,000 industries across sectors including automobiles, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, engineering, textiles, and wind energy, and supplies roughly 1,000 tonnes of alternative fuel a day to cement plants. Its Karad, Maharashtra, facility uses automated storage for hazardous waste and tests every incoming waste stream to verify its physical and chemical properties before processing it into fuel, Sopariwala said.
Key points
- India's cement industry can replace a larger share of coal and petcoke with waste-derived fuel, but infrastructure, pricing, and adoption hurdles remain.
- The thermal substitution rate (TSR) remains below 5% in India, compared with global benchmarks of up to 90%.
- GGEPIL processes different types of hazardous waste by shredding, drying, blending, and formulating it into a standardized fuel.
- The company's alternative fuel is priced at ₹ 4,000- ₹ 4,500 a tonne, which is 30-40% cheaper than fossil fuels on a cost-per-kilocalorie basis.
If the adoption of waste-derived fuel in India's cement industry continues to grow, it could lead to a significant reduction in the country's reliance on fossil fuels and a decrease in environmental pollution. This could also create new job opportunities in the waste management and recycling sectors.
However, the adoption of waste-derived fuel in India's cement industry is hindered by inadequate processing infrastructure, limited plant-level acceptance, and uncertain pricing. If these challenges are not addressed, it could lead to a slower-than-expected adoption of waste-derived fuel and continued reliance on fossil fuels.
