The conference focused once again on climate change and how the lime industry can meet this challenge; what solutions are available and what ideas and thoughts the various stakeholders in the industry are coming up with to address this issue.
In the first of three lecture symposia, Maerz Ofenbau had the opportunity to present its contribution to the lime industry for the reduction of CO2 emissions and an energy-efficient lime production. Beat Schweizer, Key Account Manager in the Maerz sales department, showed the interested audience which solutions around the new Maerz EcoKiln® series the lime industry can expect.
The link to the presentation slides can be found here.
The CO2 from lime production comes from both the combustion of fossil fuel and the chemical conversion of limestone to quicklime. The solution to eliminate the former is called renewable fuels. Maerz Ofenbau offers firing systems for its kilns for every conceivable liquid, solid or gaseous alternative fuel – from wood to biomass to hydrogen.
However, the ultimate solution for handling the CO2 from limestone is the Maerz EcoKiln®, which enables very high CO2 concentrations in the flue gas with a combination of oxygen-enriched recirculated flue gas as the combustion medium and the extraction of cooling air from the kiln. The components developed by Maerz for this purpose, such as the airtight limestone charging system and the likewise airtight quicklime discharging system, have already been tested and verified to such an extent that their use in a new kiln plant is possible with immediate effect.
But Maerz doesn’t just support its customers where new kilns are concerned. . Maerz also offers optimal solutions for upgrading conventional kilns to more environmentally friendly and energy-efficient operation; for example with the retrofitting of oxygen combustion or the replacement of rotary blowers with energy-saving high-pressure fans for the process air supply.
This year's conference ended with a festive dinner at the historic Khoo Kongsi clan house in the heart of Georgetown and a visit the following day to the Schaefer Kalk Malaysia lime plant in Kuala Ketil; leaving us eagerly awaiting the 2024 ILA conference in Oslo.
