Resource efficiency
The Aalborg Portland plant has the capacity to supply the city of Aalborg with around 495,000 mWh of thermal energy, equivalent to meet the district heating needs of around 36,000 households.
The thermal energy supplied to the city consists of waste heat recovered from flue gases in the cement plant. Sulphur dioxide is removed from the flue gases at the same time. This system has been in service since the early 1990s and has regularly been improved and upgraded to optimise energy efficiency and make the flue gas emissions even cleaner.
The plant also produces an annual 25,000 tonnes of desulphurisation gypsum which is used in the manufacture of cement. This gypsum replaces an equal quantity of natural gypsum that would otherwise have to be imported.
This example shows the holistic mindset underlying our constant efforts to simultaneously minimise environmental impact, optimise use of resources, and deliver economic benefits to the parties involved.
Beneficial use of resources