The projects reduced carbon dioxide emissions from burning Swedish lime

– The project focuses on the use of biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels in lime kilns, which has achieved great success, says Matthias Ericsson, director of the Center for Sustainable Cement and Quicklime Production and associate university lecturer in the Department of Applied Physics and Electronics. at Umeå University.

The project “Renewable Energy Vectors in Quicklime Production” aims to investigate and demonstrate how biofuels can be introduced as an alternative to fossil fuels in lime kilns. The aim is to reduce fossil carbon dioxide emissions in quicklime production by encouraging the use of renewable energy carriers, for example residual products from forests, agriculture or refined biofuels.

The project focuses on the use of biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels in lime kilns, which has been a great success.

– The project’s goal is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from non-renewable energy carriers in Nordkalk AB’s quicklime production by 46 percent, which is equivalent to 71,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year, says Matthias Ericsson.

To achieve this, the project set two sub-goals, namely to implement 100 percent renewable energy sources in the lime kiln Kalkproduktion Storugns AB (KPAB) in Lärbro, and to integrate 30 percent renewable energy sources in the lime kiln at Nordkalk AB in Köping.

Nordcalk has had remarkable success replacing coal with biofuel in a lime kiln in Köping, says Matthias Ericsson. At Copping Kiln, which produces high-quality lime for steel and pulp customers, they have exceeded the target that 30 percent of the fuel tax consists of biomass and are now working to reach 50 percent. Pilot trials using 100 percent liquid biofuel are also now underway at KPAB in Jutland, a majority-owned company by NordCook. These tests aim to assess the suitability of biofuels for continuous operation.

In addition to providing practical implementation support to Nordkalk and KPAB, researchers and doctoral students at the Center for Sustainable Production of Cement and Burnt Lime conducted laboratory studies examining selected biofuels in a simulated industrial environment.

– In these studies, the impact of biofuels on limestone, quicklime and refractory materials is evaluated under controlled conditions, providing a detailed understanding of the possibilities and limitations that come with fuel changes, says Markus Brostrom, professor at the Department of Applied Physics and Electronics at Umeå University .

The project resulted in several publications.

Read more about the studies published in the Center for Sustainable Cement and Quicklime Production