What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to assess the environmental and economic impacts of using refuse-derived fuel in cement manufacturing in Egypt.

April 4, 2026Open Access

Environmental and economic evaluation of Egyptian cement production using refuse-derived fuel from municipal solid waste

Key Points

This research aims to assess the environmental and economic impacts of using refuse-derived fuel in cement manufacturing in Egypt.
Conducted Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) under different RDF substitution scenarios (20%, 50%, 80%, 100%)
Defined functional unit as one ton of cement produced
Applied cradle-to-gate system boundary including waste management and cement production
Analyzed environmental performance compared to conventional production
Higher RDF utilization leads to greater reductions in emissions across various categories
Scenario with 100% RDF substitution resulted in the lowest GWP score of 858.18 kg CO2-eq ton−1
GWP, acidification, and eutrophication reduced by significant percentages compared to conventional methods
20% RDF integration increases capital costs slightly but reduces operating costs significantly

Abstract

Egypt’s cement sector is a major environmental polluter, yet life cycle-based environmental assessments of this industry remain scarce in the country, highlighting a critical research gap that this study addresses. This study employs Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to evaluate the environmental impacts of cement manufacturing under four Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) thermal substitution scenarios, Sc-II (20%), Sc-III (50%), Sc-IV (80%), and Sc-V (100%), in comparison with a conventional baseline scenario (Sc-I). The functional unit is defined as one ton of produced cement, and the system boundary follows a cradle-to-gate approach, encompassing waste collection, RDF processing, fuel substitution, and cement production. The findings demonstrate a consistent and proportional relationship between RDF utilization rate and environmental performance, indicating that higher RDF substitution rates correspond to progressively greater reductions in emissions across the assessed impact categories. Sc-V had the lowest Global Warming Potential (GWP) score of 858. 18 kg CO2-eq ton− 1. As compared to the Sc-I, Sc-V decreased GWP, acidification, eutrophication, photochemical oxidants, and abiotic depletion by 19. 1, 38. 7, 33. 7, 45. 2, and 12. 9%, respectively. The economic analysis shows that integrating 20% RDF slightly increases capital investment (0. 026 to 0. 033 ton⁻¹) but significantly reduces operating costs by 5. 65 ton⁻¹, while net revenue remains stable (6. 09 ton⁻¹). Additionally, RDF substitution saves 0. 134 ton⁻¹ of cement compared to natural gas and hard coal, confirming that RDF is an economically viable and sustainable alternative fuel for cement production.

Bookmark

View Full Paper