Emission estimates and air quality impacts from the use of alternative fuels by the Titan cement factory in Thessaloniki

Cement production is an energy-intensive process. Utilisation of fossil fuels is common practice in
the cement industry around the world. Alternative fuel substitution rates increase every year. More
specifically, 18 % of the fuel used by the European cement industry in 2006 consists of alternative
fuels. This study aims to investigate the prospects for the partial replacement of conventional fossil
fuels currently used in the TITAN cement factory in Thessaloniki, Greece, with alternative fuels,
focusing on the impact of alternative fuel use on the emissions of air pollutants from co-incineration
operations. Air emissions were estimated for both the conventional fuel and mixtures of conventional
fuel with alternative fuels, based on emission factors found in the literature but also using the
measurements conducted by TITAN in 2010. Emission estimates indicate that legislative limit values
for all pollutants are not exceeded. Based on the emission estimates and measurements in the flue
gas, the dispersion of the plume around the factory has been described with an appropriate
numerical simulation model. Results suggest that the factory’s contribution to the air pollution levels
in the surrounding area is very low for most regulated pollutants.