Lao energy developer eyes sale of fly ash
Lao energy developer eyes sale of fly ash
Lao Holding State Enterprise (LHSE) expects to start selling fly ash to both local and foreign companies by the end of this month or next, after several years of preparation.
Fly ash, a by-product of fuel combustion in electricity generation, can be sold to the construction industry for use in cement factories. It can be mixed with concrete to reduce the cement requirement by 15 to 20 percent.
“We will draw up a purchase agreement with three companies this month,” LHSE General Manager Dr Somboune Manolom said yesterday.
The buyers are MBTEC from Thailand, a cement factory in Xayaboury province, and a Lao-Chinese joint venture.
“Initially we will sell the ash for about US$3 per tonne,” Dr Somboune said.
“The Vangvieng cement factory will also buy it and we have held talks on the issue.”
The buyers have tested the fly ash for quality and analyses have yielded positive results.
Dr Somboune said that currently the enterprise gives 100 tonnes of fly ash free to each company interested in the product.
“But they will have to pay if they want more than 100 tonnes,” he added.
LHSE is preparing to start its fly ash business after receiving approval from the Ministry of Energy and Mines early last year following the completion of a feasibility study into the business commissioned by the LHSE.
Construction of the necessary facilities and preparations to start the business are now 70 percent complete, according to a report from the enterprise.
Land has been cleared so the fly ash can be loaded onto trucks, and a laboratory and dormitory were built earlier this year. At present a parking area is being built for trucks along with a canteen and other facilities.
LHSE employed the New Zealand consulting company AECOM to carry out the feasibility study.
The company confirmed the fly ash business would operate profitably and efficiently if LHSE were to invest in it.
LHSE, through the Lao government, will have access to a free supply of fly ash for a period of 25 years after the Hongsa Mine-Mouth Power Project in Xayaboury province began commercial operation in May this year.
In Laos, the product will be used in the construction of dams, roads and buildings, as well as the production of bricks and roof tiles.
The Hongsa power plant has three generators, “with each unit able to produce about 1,800 tonnes of fly ash a day,” Dr Somboune said.
LHSE was set up by the government in February 2005 to facilitate investment in energy generation, and it holds a 20 percent share in the Hongsa power plant.
Thailan d's Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Public Company reported in October 2010 that the Hongsa power plant would produce about 2 million tonnes of residual ash annually during electricity generation.
At LHSE's annual meeting to review its 2012 operations, Dr Somboune said that based on the initial study LHSE could earn about 64 billion kip (US$8 million) annually from fl y ash sales. That would yield about 1.6 trillion kip (US$200 million) over the 25 year period.
Ratchaburi has a 40 percent shareholding in the project, while Thailand's Banpu Power Ltd owns the remaining 40 percent.
