Use of Cement Kilns in Managing Solid and Hazardous Wastes: Implementation in Australia

The use of cement kilns for managing solid and hazardous wastes is facilitated by the high temperature, long gas retention periods, natural alkaline environment, minimum amount of waste produced and high thermal capacity. The main benefits include energy recovery, conservation of fossil fuels, reduction in cement production costs and the use of already existing facilities.
The test burns conducted in cement kilns worldwide have demonstrated very high destruction efficiencies for most stable organic compounds, with toxic contaminants barely above the background levels.
There are several cement plants in the US and Europe presently using solid and hazardous wastes as supplementary fuel. The application of this technology in Australia has been ignored in the past. An international conference (Kilnburn'92) on the role of cement kilns in waste management was held recently in Australia and has enhanced the implementation of this technology in Australia.