What to do with 900 tons of ash from coal-fired power plant? Cebu finds triple-win solution

Cemex's Apo cement plant in Naga City, Cebu. CEMEX WEBSITE

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InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5

CEBU CITY - Cebu has found a triple-win solution to the problem of getting rid of 900 tons of ash, the unhealthy by-product of the 200-megawatt coal-fired power plant of Kepco Salcon Power Corp. in the City of Naga in southern Cebu.

After agreeing in 2009 to take on the responsibility of getting rid of the ash, the Cebu provincial government recently found a buyer for the estimated 600 metric tons of fly ash and 300 metric tons bed ash that Kepco produces every month: Apo Cement Corp. (Cemex Philippines), Cebu Provincial Legal Officer Marino Martinquilla said.

Apo will use the fly ash to increase the strength of concrete, improve workability of fresh concrete, and reduce water demand, shrinkage, and permeability of the finished product.

Fly ash, the fine ash produced at coal-fired power plants that develops cement properties when mixed with cement and water, is widely used in the United States.

From this deal, Keppel is able to dispose of its operations’ by-products, and Apo is able to find a source of raw material for its output, and Cebu will earn both from Keppel (at $1 per ton) and from Apo (at P40 per ton).

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Apo for this triple-win solution.

Garcia signed the MOA with Pedro Palomino, president and chief executive officer of Apo, and was witnessed by Jong Woo Moon, vice president of Kepco and Atty. Guillermo Dabbay Jr., corporate secretary and general counsel of the power plant.

”Cemex will be willing to accept all the projected output of Kepco,” Garcia said. 

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