The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has signed a cooperation agreement with Al-Safwa Cement Company.
The agreement aims at the recycling of carbon ash and the use of oils and oil residues resulting from the burning of heavy fuel in power generation plants as an alternative source of energy instead of the previous method of landfilling. This would save millions of riyals for SEC and support its ongoing efforts in preserving the environment.
Khalid bin Abdulrahman Al-Tuaimi, executive vice president, Generation at SEC, said the objective of the agreement is to dispense with carbon ash projects at generating stations, which will achieve financial surplus of up to SR325 million ($86.6 million) during the period of the agreement, which extends to seven years.
He said the SEC is the first company to adopt this environmental option, which is to cooperate with the cement company, after the approval of the recycling technology by the General Authority for Meteorology and Environmental Protection.
Carbon ash contains high carbon ratio, sometimes up to 85 percent, while the cement plants need this ash as auxiliary fuel with heavy fuel, which is used in furnaces of cement factories.
This would reduce the full dependence of the cement factory on heavy fuel, thereby reducing dependence on oil, which is a key element of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 to restructure the national economy, the company said.
Al-Tuaimi added: “The most important goal that we are looking for from the process of recycling carbon ash and utilizing used oils and oil residues as an energy source is to implement SEC’s plans to apply accurate international standards in terms of environmental protection, social responsibility and maintaining safety and occupational health within its various efforts.”
He said carbon ash consists of micro-granules, which are able to penetrate the walls of the lungs and pose a serious risk to the respiratory system if dealt with in an unscientific way.
“At the Saudi Electricity Company, we have four generating plants that produce large amounts of carbon ash equivalent to about 200,000 cubic meters a year. The Jeddah South plant produces about 45,000 cubic meters, Al-Shuaibah plant produces 47,000 cubic meters, the Rabigh plant produces 60,000 cubic meters, and the Shuqaiq plant would produce 45,000 meters annually in the future,” Al-Tuaimi added.

Source: Arab News