Consumers and Phoenix Team Up to Dispose of Fly Ash

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Consumers Energy, a subsidiary of CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) (Dearborn, Michigan), is following the industry trend of finding innovative solutions for fly ash disposal. Consumers Energy recently signed an agreement with Phoenix Materials Company to lease a 20-acre site adjacent to Consumers' JH Campbell power plant located in West Olive, Michigan, for construction of an aerated concrete products manufacturing plant. The plant will utilize a significant amount of fly ash from the JH Campbell power plant as a feedstock in the production of aerated concrete products.

Phoenix Materials Company is currently 100% owned by Hartwick Capital LLC, a merchant bank and venture capital company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They have signed agreements with Consumers and ISG Resources, Incorporated (Salt Lake City, Utah). ISG will provide a technology license for Phoenix to use FlexCrete technology, which utilizes a chemical curing process that is quite different from the more common autoclave steam curing process. The autoclave steam curing system produces Aerated Autoclaved Concrete (AAC). The company hopes that the technology can be used by other coal end users across the country.

The company claims that capital costs for building a FlexCrete manufacturing plant are significantly lower than those utilizing the AAC process, which utilizes a substantially more expensive autoclave to steam cure the product. Phoenix estimates that capital costs to construct the plant will be about half of the $15-20 million required to build an AAC plant. This low capital cost will help reduce initial overhead and allow the company to produce a more competitive product.

The company also hopes to capitalize on the growing market for aerated concrete building products in Michigan and surrounding states. Most of the AAC plants in the country are located in southeast states. The product has been used in area buildings resulting in significant utility savings. Phoenix Materials retained Kajima Construction, Incorporated (Palatine, Illinois) to assist with up front design on the project. Currently the company is trying to raise funds for the project and is seeking investors or joint venture partners to move the project along. Permitting should start after funding occurs. Phoenix Materials hopes to start construction by October before winter sets in.

Fly ash is a byproduct of coal combustion at coal-fired power plants. The plant would initially use 50,000 tons of fly ash per year as a feedstock in the aerated concrete manufacturing process. The plant could be expanded to use up to 100,000 tons of fly ash annually. This would save Consumers Energy significant landfill costs associated with the disposal of fly ash.