Recycling the unrecyclable: Hagerstown's Holcim plant turns industrial materials into fuel

It takes a lot of energy to turn limestone and other raw materials into cement.

But Holcim, which operates a cement plant east of Hagerstown, has made a huge investment in turning materials that might otherwise end up in a landfill into energy to run its powerful kiln.

And on Friday, the company showed off to local officials a new alternative fuel platform that Plant Manager David Romero said is helping to bring its use of alternative fuels to 45%. It will help Holcim "lead the way" for sustainability in the region, he said.

It represents an $11 million investment at the Hagerstown plant, which currently employs 100 people and has been operating since 1903.

That's on top of a $96 million upgrade made at the plant in 2016 that The Herald-Mail reported allowed it to cut its nitrogen-oxide emissions by more than 60% and its sulfur dioxide output by about 50%, and a further investment in a solar field on the company's property.

That solar field generates up to 18.4 million kilowatt hours of renewable power, supplying more than 28% of the plant's electricity energy, according to a company news release.

Its new "co-processing system" could produce 58,000 tons of engineered fuel per year, company officials said, from otherwise non-recyclable commercial and industrial materials, such as packaging materials.

It's a Western Maryland operation, as much of the material will be pre-processed by the company's subsidiary Geocycle at a new facility in Cumberland, Md.

And it represents the "newest and most innovative" technology for turning these materials into thermal energy, said Michael Nixon, senior vice president of Manufacturing North for Chicago-based Holcim US; and will further reduce the plant's reliance on traditional fossil fuels.

The goal, company officials said, is to eventually power the whole plant with alternative fuels.

'This has potential'

County commissioners, state legislators and Hagerstown Councilman Peter Perini participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new platform.

"Holcim has always been a leader in technological advances, and the use of alternative fuels in a safe and efficient manner," said Del. William Wivell, R-Washington/Frederick. "It's always been difficult for me to understand the process of how crushing and heating rocks creates a bonding agent so we can build buildings."

Washington County Commissioners' President John Barr commended Holcim for its "phenomenal" corporate responsibility.

After teasing Del. Brooke Grossman, D-Washington, by aiming a pair of ceremonial scissors at her hair before helping cut the ribbon, Wivell got to learn more about the process during a short tour as Holcim staff explained the materials and methods used for turning limestone into cement.

Then as Geocycle's staff explained how they prepare industrial trash to be turned to energy treasure, wheels were clearly turning in Perini's mind.

"This has potential," he mused. "This has potential."

While Wivell, Grossman and Del. William Valentine, R-Washington/Frederick, were the only legislators present, they weren't the only lawmakers to endorse Holcim's project.

“The Maryland House of Delegates is proud to support Holcim’s efforts to develop low-carbon construction materials,” Speaker Adrienne A. Jones said in a statement included in the company's news release.

“Whether through the Buy Clean Maryland Act or this year’s legislation adding cement production to the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act, Holcim has continued to demonstrate their commitment to voluntarily reducing the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions.”

Holcim US includes nearly 350 sites in 43 states and employs 7,000 people in the United States and about 63,448 worldwide.

The current Hagerstown plant is the result of the upgrade in 2016, and is the fourth generation cement plant at the site. It has the capacity to produce 800,000 tons per year. It supplies the Washington-Baltimore and Pittsburgh markets.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Holcim introduces alternative fuel platform at Hagerstown plant