White cement review

White cement is a value-added product that can be used instead of grey cement for its heat-reflecting properties and superior aesthetic appearance. Here Global Cement reviews the global white cement industry and its developments during 2014.

White cement is produced via a similar process to grey cement, although the raw materials differ significantly. The iron oxide and iron sulphate content in the limestone must be as low as possible as each 0.1% increase in iron oxide reduces cement reflectivity by 2.5%, producing darker cement. To ensure that all of the raw materials are fully converted in the kiln in the absence of iron oxide, mineralisers are added and higher temperatures are used, which uses more fuel. Additionally, the white clinker must be cooled rapidly, often with water, to prevent the oxidation of trace iron impurities that would darken the cement. The higher selectivity of the raw materials and the increased production complexities makes white cement more costly to produce.

There is high demand for white cement in countries with hot climates, as more heat is reflected from the resulting white concrete surface when compared to standard grey concrete. As a value-added product, it is increasingly popular in countries with advanced economies, where it is often used for the construction of innovative buildings and future landmarks. White cement is typically exported longer distances than grey cement, which means production is not limited by domestic demand. Egypt is the world's largest producer of white cement in 2014 (Table 1, Figure 1), with an installed production capacity of >2.69Mt/yr from five plants. Spain, Turkey, the UAE and India also have white cement production capacities in excess of 1Mt/yr.

Above - Table 1: Global white cement capacity by country. Source: Research performed for the Global Cement Directory 2015.

Note: The white cement production capacities of seven dual-stream cement plants are unknown and are as such not accounted for. In countries like Kuwait, where one dual-stream cement plant produces an unknown quantity of white cement, >0Mt/yr capacity has been noted.

White cement producers

In 2014 there are 31 global producers of white cement that operate 45 integrated plants in 29 countries. Combined production capacity is 13.3Mt/yr (Table 2). This does not include the white cement production capacity of seven dual-stream plants, for which only the grey cement production capacities are known. It also does not include white cement produced from grinding-only plants.

1. Cementir Holding (Italy) is in 2014, as in 2013, the world's top white cement producer by installed capacity. It has eight integrated white cement plants with a combined production capacity of 4.40Mt/yr, although this does not include the white cement production capacity of Aalborg's plant in Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia. Cementir produces white cement via three of its subsidiaries: Denmark's Aalborg Portland Cement, Egypt's Sinai Cement Co and the USA's Lehigh Cement Co (Table 3).

2. Çimsa Çimento (Turkey), part of Hacı Ömer Sabancı Holding A.Ş., is the second-largest white cement producer in 2014. It operates a 1.1Mt/yr clinker capacity white cement plant in Mersin and exports its white cement to more than 60 countries around the world.

3. JK Cement (India) is the world's third-largest producer of white cement in 2014 with two white cement plants. Its Gotan plant in Rajasthan State, India has 400,000t/yr of white cement production capacity. JK Cement also operates a newly-commissioned dual-stream 600,000t/yr white cement capacity plant in the UAE (see below). It exported white cement to 24 countries in 2013, including Australia, New Zealand, Angola and Qatar.

4. Cemex (Mexico) is the fourth-largest white cement producer in 2014. The company operates three white cement plants with a combined white cement production capacity of 970,000t/yr. Two of its white cement plants are operated by its Spanish subsidiary, Cemex España SA: The 310,000t/yr capacity Buñol white cement plant in Valencia and the 540,000t/yr capacity plant (which also produces grey cement) in Alicante. Cemex also runs the 120,000t/yr capacity Atotonilco white cement plant in Hidalgo, Mexico.

5. SOTACIB (Tunisia), which is 65% owned by Spain's Cementos Molins, is the fifth-largest manufacturer of white cement in 2014 with 600,000t/yr of white cement capacity from a single cement plant in Fériana, Tunisia.

29. Italcementi (Italy) is likely to be in the top five white cement producing companies in 2014, although the white cement production capacities of its three dual-stream cement plants in Egypt, Italy and Bulgaria have not been made available.

Above - Table 2: Global companies that operate integrated white cement plants ranked by installed capacity. Source: Research performed for the Global Cement Directory 2015.

Note (*): Several of the dual-stream cement plants, which produce both white and grey cements, report only their grey cement production capacities. This presents a challenge to definitively identify the white cement production capacity of the following plants: Aalborg Portland Cement's Aalborg Perak plant in Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia; Suez Cement's (Italcementi) El Minya plant in El Sararya Valley, Egypt; Italcementi's Devnya cement plant in Varna, Bulgaria; Lafarge's CIBA plant in Oran, Algeria; Saudi White Cement Co's Al Muzahmeyah plant in Saudi Arabia; Kuwait Cement Co's Shuaiaba plant in Shuaiaba, Kuwait; Chinfon Cement Corp's (PT Gama) Chinfon plant in Chinfon, Vietnam.

1. Sastobe White Cement's (BaselCement) plant in Kazakhstan is undergoing capacity expansion to 700,000t/yr.

Above - Table 3: Cementir Holding's global white cement producing subsidiaries, locations, plant numbers and installed white cement production capacities.

White cement events of 2014

2014 has been a year of ups and downs for the white cement market, with two new white cement plants being commissioned, one being closed down and another ceasing white cement production due to high costs.

In January 2014 HeidelbergCement's subsidiary CBR announced plans to close its 180,000t/yr capacity Harmignies white cement plant in Hainaut Province, Belgium. CBR cited structural difficulties, high logistics and production costs, an unfavourable geographical location and a decline in the market for white cement. Although a number of restructuring measures were implemented in 2007 and 2013, in addition to investments aimed at lowering production costs, these were not enough to offset the challenges facing the plant. In July 2014 the kiln was closed and by the end of 2014 operations will have ceased completely.

In early 2014 JK Cement Works (Fujairah) FZC commenced production of white cement from its newly-commissioned cement plant in Fujairah, UAE (Figure 2). JK Cement Works (Fujairah) FZC is a joint venture between JK Cement (India), which owns 90% of the company, and the Government of Fujairah, which owns the remaining 10%. The plant has 600,000t/yr of white cement production capacity or 1Mt/yr of grey cement production capacity. In March 2014 the first shipment of white cement was dispatched from the plant.

In April 2014 the Almalyk Mining and Metal company commissioned a new cement grinding plant in the Zafarabad district of Jizzakh Province, Uzbekistan. The plant uses a MPS 3350 B vertical roller mill from Gebr. Pfeiffer and has 350,000t/yr of white cement production capacity and 760,000t of grey cement production capacity. 70% of the white cement produced is intended for export.

In August 2014 Boral Cement announced that it would cease clinker production at its Maldon off-white cement plant in New South Wales from 31 December 2014. Boral's executive general manager Ross Harper said that a decline in demand for off-white clinker was behind the decision. "Unfortunately, demand has declined sharply as consumers switch to products made from imported white clinker," said Harper. "This decline has coincided with a downturn in demand, rising costs of production, the availability of cheap imported clinker and the slow recovery of the building and construction industry." He said that the combination of these factors, plus the Maldon kiln's high costs and sub-scale output, rendered off-white clinker production unsustainable. The plant will continue to operate as a cement grinding facility.

Future

According to JK Cement, the global demand for white cement is growing in line with the expanding middle class, which has enjoyed greater purchasing power in recent years. Its proportion of white cement sales volumes grew from 19% of its total production in fiscal 2010 to 31% in fiscal 2014 (Figure 3). This occurred when JK Cement only operated the Gotan plant in India, which limited white cement production volumes to 600,000t/yr. Now that it has a second white cement plant, sales are expected to grow further. In fiscal 2015, JK Cement has forecast 8% year-on-year growth of white cement sales. Cementir Holding also expects increased demand for white cement in 2014-2015. Although Suez Cement (Italcementi) reported a 1.75% year-on-year fall in domestic white cement sales in 2013 at 1.12Mt, export volumes grew by 38% year-on-year to 150,000t, indicative of healthy demand.

This article was updated on 2 January 2015