HOW CAMEL WASTE IS FUELLING THE UAE’S CIRCULAR ECONOMY

More than 50 tonnes of manure is
helping power cement production every day as part of a waste not, want not
approach in Ras Al Khaimah

In Ras Al Khaimah, the government
has tied two of its biggest industries in an unlikely partnership to cut carbon
emissions. Every day, more than 50 tonnes of camel manure are used as fuel in
cement production.

“When we started to make an
estimate, people wouldn’t believe me,” said Sonia Nasser, the executive director
of the waste management agency at the RAK Municipality. “But the first thing in
creating a circular economy is, what do I have that I’m throwing away?”

The emirate is home to 9,000
camels and each produces about eight to 10 kilogrammes a day. Instead of dumping
it, the government began a programme last May to process it and give it to
local cement factories as fuel.

Camels produce far more waste
than farmers use to fertilise palm orchards. The excess manure was going to the
landfill. When Ms Nasser suggested the programme, camel farmers were
immediately supportive.

For cement companies, it cut
costs and carbon emissions. The project began in May 2018, and more than 10,000
tonnes from 6,000 camels have been diverted so far this year.

Farmers bring manure to four
collection stations where it bakes in the sun. From there, the manure is taken
north to Gulf Cement Company in the town of Khor Khair.

This has saved an estimated 18
tonnes of carbon emissions, and cut costs.

To make cement, ovens must burn
at 1,400 degrees, 24 hours a day. More than 70% of Gulf Cement’s production
costs are heat and power. With so much energy required, cement production is
one of the country’s main contributors to carbon emission.

Dried camel manure has about half
the calorific value of coal, so a tonne of camel manure replaces half a tonne
of coal.

After some experimentation, they
found they it worked best mixed with coal as boiler fuel. About 8 to 10% of
coal is substituted with camel waste.

“Cement production is a natural
incinerator,” said Tiruneveli Palanikumar, the head of Gulf Cement’s business
development. “Most of the waste we can burn. I need about 1,500 metric tonnes
of fossil fuel every day.”

Similar programmes could be
applied to other animals. After all, Ras Al Khaimah has more livestock than
people. In addition to its camels, there are more than 317,000 goats, 81,000
sheep and 5,000 cattle.

Following the success of Gulf
Cement, other cement factories want to use camel fuel and RAK hopes to expand
the manure fuel project to other Emirates. There are 14 cement plants in the
UAE and six are in Ras Al Khaimah. About 13,000 tonnes of coal is burned in the
Northern Emirates every day.

“If you can stop using this
amount of coal, there’s a whole carbon emissions trail that we’re reducing,”
said Ms Nasser. “Coal is being shipped all the way from South Africa to Ras al
Khaimah.”

Other waste like clothing,
agricultural waste and dry sludge could be alternative fuels.

Some cement factories are already
substituting coal with carbon dust, a byproduct from the aluminium industry and
Star Cement substitutes 10% of its fuel with tyre chips.

“When people have strange
materials, we call the cement factories,” said Ms Nasser. “Does it have
calorific value? Instead of trying to landfill it, can we incinerate it?
There’s a lot you can get rid of.”

By 2020, all coal-burning cement factories must use local municipal, commercial and industrial waste for at least 10% of total energy needs.https://www.thenational.ae/uae/environment/how-camel-waste-is-fuelling-the-uae-s-circular-economy-1.877698