Co-processing: waste shredding in Paraná
The cement industry has the ambition to develop carbon-neutral concrete by 2050. Co-processing is one of the technologies that will help achieve this goal, replacing petroleum coke with waste in production. Votorantim Cimentos has invested in a waste crushing unit, tripling its capacity to prepare non-recyclable waste for co-processing in Paraná.
Towards carbon-neutral concrete by 2050: innovation and sustainability.
Methodology
The waste processing unit is operated for Verdera, Votorantim Cimentos' sustainable waste management and disposal business, and began operating in April 2024 in Itaperuçu (PR). Combined with improvements to local road infrastructure, the project involved R$145 million in internal resources. The waste treated at the site replaces petroleum coke in cement production at the company's factory in Rio Branco do Sul (PR) – the largest cement factory in Latin America. The Itaperuçu (PR) unit is Verdera's only waste processing plant in Brazil.
R$ 145 million invested in infrastructure and sustainability.
Results
The unit expanded Verdera's support to industries, companies, and cities in Paraná in implementing the concept of a circular economy by giving new value to waste through environmentally sound and safe disposal, avoiding its disposal in landfills. At the same time, Votorantim Cimentos reduced its CO2 emissions from the Rio Branco do Sul plant by using waste in cement production. In 2024, 27.21 TPP3 of the fuels used at the plant were waste, totaling 227,632 tons of co-processed raw waste and 150,000 tons of CO2 avoided.
27.2% of the unit's fuel comes from waste, promoting sustainability.
We inaugurated a unit in Itaperuçu (PR) focused on agricultural inputs, circular economy, management and sustainable disposal of waste.