{"id":170112,"date":"2025-06-13T13:29:19","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T19:29:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/?p=170112"},"modified":"2025-06-19T13:44:03","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T19:44:03","slug":"urban-waste-into-fuel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/climate-and-sustainability\/urban-waste-into-fuel\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning Urban Waste Into Fuel: A Cleaner Alternative for the Industries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the major challenges faced by the cement industry<\/a> is the release of harmful gases when firing up their kilns. That\u2019s why finding a cleaner, more sustainable fuel alternative has become one of their key goals. But how do you locate the right materials in an enormous landfill?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laura Guerrero<\/a>, a biotechnologist at the School of Engineering and Sciences<\/a> and a professor at Tecnol\u00f3gico de Monterrey, Campus Ciudad de M\u00e9xico<\/a>, led a research project aimed at analyzing tons of urban solid waste collected from transfer centers\u2014the designated spaces where city waste is temporarily stored. The goal was to identify which types of waste<\/a> could potentially be used as alternative fuel for cement kilns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study was funded by Regenera, a subsidiary of Cemex, with the objective of finding a replacement for the natural gas<\/strong> currently used in kilns. To achieve this, the team first had to develop a method for sorting what we usually think of simply as trash<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis project was a direct response to very specific needs from the cement industry,\u201d Guerrero explains. \u201cThey approached us to conduct what\u2019s called a waste characterization study, which is the first step toward being able to recover and use these materials.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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