Missouri Cement Plant Would be World’s Largest

Holcim (US) Inc., Dundee, Mich., is proceeding with plans to build what would be the world’s largest cement plant in Sainte Genevieve County, Missouri, along the Mississippi River.

The proposed Lee Island facility will be capable of producing more than four million metric tons of cement annually and will employ approximately 200 people. The plant may also serve as a new destination for scrap tires.

According to the Web site of Holcim (US) Inc., which is a subsidiary of Switzerland-based Holcim Limited, the plant makes sense because, “U.S. demand for cement [is] outpacing domestic supply.”

At other Holcim plants, alternative fuels are used to heat the cement kilns, including scrap tires. “By supplementing our fuel with these high-heat-value tires, we can save fuel costs, preserve natural resources, and rid the landscape of unsightly—and dangerous—piles of huge tires,” Holcim notes on its Web site.

The kilns also use recycled industrial solvents, paint thinners and dry cleaning fluid as supplemental fuels.