Leading producers in China are shifting from third-party fuel procurement to operating dedicated, automated pre-treatment and fuel preparation centers.

By utilizing multi-stage shredding, screening, air classification, and magnetic separation, these systems remove inert impurities, ensure homogeneous particle size (<30–50 mm), and allow Thermal Substitution Rates (TSR) to reach 40% to 60%.

1. Top Cement Producers Scale Alternative Fuel Integration

Leading cement manufacturers are establishing dedicated solid waste pre-treatment infrastructure to secure alternative fuel quality at the source:

Huaxin Cement: In 2024, domestic clinker lines achieved a 26.7% alternative fuel primary energy share, consuming 4.41 million tons of alternative fuel.

The Chongqing Diwei production line maintains a Thermal Substitution Rate (TSR) above 60%, saving 26,600 tons of standard coal and reducing CO₂ emissions by 85,200 tons annually.

Conch Cement: Over 90% of clinker bases utilize alternative fuels, with total consumption reaching 6.77 million tons in 2025 (reducing CO₂ emissions by over 12 million tons).

The 500,000-ton capacity AFR preparation center in Tongling Conch generates over 200 million RMB in annual revenue.

Jinyu Jidong Cement: Consumed 3.10 million tons across 30+ alternative waste streams in 2024, achieving an 11.58% overall fuel substitution rate, with single-line TSR exceeding 30%.

Red Lion Cement & Tianshan Material: Red Lion increased its overall substitution rate to 18%–20%, planning to exceed 25%. Tianshan Material has commissioned 89 alternative fuel projects. Cement Taiwan (Mainland Operations) expanded its thermal substitution rate to 19%.

2. Operational Benefits & Bottlenecks in High-TSR Co-Processing

Core Advantages

• Cost Reduction: Replaces fossil coal with municipal solid waste (MSW), industrial offcuts, scrap tires, and biomass, lowering raw coal procurement expenditures.

• Emissions Reduction: Cuts direct production-level carbon emissions to fulfill carbon quota requirements.

• Waste Diversion: Provides safe thermal co-processing for municipal and industrial solid waste within cement kilns.

Technical Bottlenecks

• High substitution rates often fail due to contaminated raw waste containing heavy inerts (sand, stone, metals) and non-uniform particle sizes.

• Unprocessed feedstock causes unstable kiln combustion, ring formation, and clinker quality fluctuations. Overcoming the TSR ceiling requires high-precision upstream fuel pre-treatment.

3. High-Purity AFR/RDF Pre-Treatment Solutions

 Summary & Key Specifications:

• Harden provides standardized, modular alternative fuel preparation lines designed to convert heterogeneous solid waste into homogeneous kiln-ready fuel.

Below is the breakdown of technical processing configurations:

• One-Step Shredding Solution (Retrofit / Compact Facilities):

• System Configuration: Highly integrated primary shredders.

• Operational Impact: Fits within existing plant footprints without civil engineering modifications. Prevents shaft wrapping and produces uniform semi-finished fuel while minimizing power consumption and maintenance expenditures.

Multi-Stage Fine AFR Processing Line (Large Scale / High TSR Facilities):

• System Configuration: Multi-stage line featuring Primary Shredder- Screening - Wind Shifter - Magnetic Separator - Fine Shredder.

• Operational Impact: Extracts inert metals, stones, and heavy contaminants to stabilize fuel calorific value. Achieves a >95% output compliance rate, enabling cement kilns to achieve stable TSRs of 40% and higher.

4. Conclusion

Upstream waste homogenization is the deciding factor in scaling thermal substitution rates for cement production. Implementing specialized pre-treatment systems allows cement manufacturers to stabilize kiln operation, reduce operational expenses, and meet international carbon neutrality standards.