State cement maker Semen Padang is developing the use of waste materials to replace coal in generating power which is beneficial in several ways, a researcher said on Monday.
Abusyamsari, a member of Semen Padang’s innovation team, said the cement maker, a subsidiary of Semen Gresik Group, had been using waste rubber since 2011.
“In addition to helping the government in reducing waste, the use of waste rubber can also save production costs,” he told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the 2011 Semen Gresik Group Award on Innovation in Surabaya on Monday.
“With an assumption that we use 100 tons of waste from rubber producers, we can reduce production costs by up to Rp 1.7 billion [US$185,412] per year.”
He added that another benefit was that it was environmentally friendly and reduced CO2 emissions.
Semen Gresik president director Dwi Sutjipto said the company would continue to develop new innovations including environmentally-friendly technology and innovations to reduce fossil-fuel usage as part of the company’s support for the environment.
“Such environmentally-friendly innovations could save up to Rp 1.3 trillion in production costs in the next five years,” he said.
He added that in addition to waste rubber, the cement maker was also developing alternative fuels using sawdust.
