September 2024
The 2% and the IPCC 02 October 2013
Cement production took an unnecessarily harsh rap from the latest assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The cause? Misleading wording.
In its summary for policymakers from Working Group I contribution to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (WGI AR5), every time CO2 emissions were mentioned, cement was also mentioned. Typically this was along the lines of: "annual CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production". Energy supply or transport industries were not mentioned. Only cement was. Subsequently in some general press reports covering the IPCC report, cement was duly parroted as the major industrial source of CO2 emissions.
Digging into the data revealed that this particular wording derived from one of the data sources that the IPCC used that examined global CO2 emissions from fossil-fuel burning, cement manufacture and gas flaring from 1751 - 2008 from the US Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center. Here cement production was grouped along with different type of fossil fuels, such as gas, liquids and solids, and gas flaring. Deeper into the IPCC draft report it was revealed (using this research) that total cumulative emissions between 1750 and 2011 amounted to 365 ± 30 PgC (1 PgC = 1015 grams of carbon), of which only 8 PgC (2%) came from the production of cement.
Undoubtedly the cement industry's carbon emissions are huge but ambiguous wording in a release targeted for policymakers is not helpful.
Thankfully at about the same time as the IPCC made headlines last week European Cement Association, Cembureau, followed the UK's Mineral Products Association (MPA) in releasing its own lobbying document for the industry. This consisted of five parallel routes to lowering emissions related to cement production. Unfortunately Cembureau's press release didn't receive the global media coverage that the IPCC did.
The bottom line is this: cement is essential for modern industrial societies.
With or without climate change caused by human behaviour, we will all need somewhere to live and work. For the moment such structures will be built from cement and concrete. Organisations like Cembureau offer a way forward. Global policymakers should pay attention.
Democratic Republic of Congo: PPC (formerly Pretoria Portland Cement) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Democratic Republic of Congo's Barnet Group to build a US$230m greenfield cement plant. The project will involve building a 1Mt/yr plant and an associated quarry 20km from Kimpese in western Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
"This investment is another of PPC's commitments to invest in sub-Saharan Africa and we are very confident about DRC. 22% of PPC's revenue comes from outside South Africa, at present, but the target is to increase this to 40% by our 2016 financial year. We look forward to a growing contribution and partnership with the DRC in the years ahead," said CEO of PPC, Ketso Gordhan.
In its press release announcing the project, PPC noted that the existing cement market in DRC was 'severely' undersupplied. At present, the DRC has 16kg/capita annual cement consumption, the lowest in Africa, compared with the South African average of 240kg and the global average of 400kg.
For the project PPC has partnered with Jean Saidi Bamanisa, Chairman of the Barnet Group, who is also the Honorary Secretary of the Federation of Congolese Companies. He was elected Governor of the Oriental Province of the DRC. The project will take advantage of DRC's first special economic zone.
Vietnam adds three more cement plants despite surplus 01 October 2013
Vietnam: The Vietnam Cement Association (VNCA) has said that three more cement plants will open later in 2013 – X18, Quang Phuc and Dong Lam - despite the country's current cement surplus.
According to reporting by the Tuoi Tre newspaper, the new plants will raise national cement production capacity to around 70Mt/yr. Domestic cement demand is estimated at up to 46Mt/yr in 2013. The opening of the new plants will lead to a surplus of up to 25Mt/yr.
Local cement producers in Vietnam face rising debts and high stock inventories due to inaccurate demand forecasts and massive investment. The country's cement sales are expected to rise by 4 - 5% year-on-year to up to 57Mt in 2013, including 49Mt of domestic sales and 8Mt of export.
Italcementi expects weaker growth in Thailand for 2014 30 September 2013
Thailand: Asia Cement, the Thai subsidiary of Italcementi Group, has projected slower growth in revenue in 2014 due to a likely weaker domestic market and uncertainty over the government's US$64bn infrastructure investment.
Co-managing director of Asia Cement, Nopadol Ramyarupa, said that Thailand's fourth-largest cement maker expects revenue growth of only 4% in 2014, according to the Bangkok Post. The company's revenue for 2013 is predicted to rise by 17.6% year-on-year to US$319m from US$271m in 2012.
"The economic slowdown and revised gross domestic product figures have affected our projection," said Nopadol, adding that growth in the overall cement industry is heavily tied to the country's economy and to the construction sector in particular. Co-managing director Roberto Callieri added that he hoped that the Thai government's US$64bn infrastructure investment would stimulate the construction sector sufficiently to meet Asia Cement's 'optimistic' growth projection of 4% over five years. Asia Cement has not been affected by labour shortages in the country or by an increase in the daily minimum wage to around US$9.50/day.
Asia Cement has a 14% share of Thailand's 33Mt/yr cement market. The company is operating at 80% of its combined annual capacity of 7.3Mt/yr its cement plants in Saraburi, Nakhon Sawan and Phetchaburi provinces.
Iranian cement producers owe banks Euro750m 30 September 2013
Iran: Cement producers in Iran owe about Euro750m to the country's banking system, according to Abdolreza Sheykhan, the secretary of Iran's Cement Producers Association.
Sheykhan added that cement producers were also incurring losses due to changes in foreign currency rates, in a report by Iran's Donya-e-eqtesad newspaper. Cement producers received bank credits based on an old official rate of 9000 rials to the US$. However they have to pay back the credit at a new rate of 25,000 rials to the US$.
Cimpor to increase cement production to 2.4Mt/yr in Mozambique 30 September 2013
Portugal: Cimpor intends to increase its cement production capacity in Mozambique to 2.4Mt/yr after a new grinding unit is put on stream, the company has said in a statement.
The new unit at the plant in Dondo, in southern Mozambique, has a production capacity of 60t/hr. The unit will double the Dondo plant capacity and will add almost 0.5Mt/yr to Cimpor's overall cement output in the country. Tests at the new grinding unit began on 27 August 2013. Works for optimisation of the capacity and reduction of electricity consumption will be carried out in October 2013.
In July 2013 Cimpor signed a contract to rent a cement grinding plant close to its Matola cement plant.
European cement industry presents five routes to a low carbon future 27 September 2013
Belgium: CEMBUREAU, the European Cement Association, has published a roadmap, the role of cement in the 2050 low carbon economy, detailing how the cement industry could achieve lower carbon emissions.
The project presents five parallel routes that can each contribute to lowering emissions related to cement production, as well as concrete production. These include methods such as resource efficiency, energy efficiency and carbon sequestration and reuse. These methods have been quantified in the roadmap because they are under the cement sector's control. The other two routes, product efficiency and downstream, look at how cement and concrete can contribute to a low carbon society.
"The cement roadmap is a view into the future. It shows us what is possible and where we find limitations. It is a good basis for future work, a good starting point. We need cooperation, not confrontation, but we also need to push each other to find new ideas, new pathways, towards a more sustainable future," said MEP Karl-Heinz Florenz at the launch event on 25 September 2013.
Tabba elected APCMA chairman 27 September 2013
Pakistan: Muhammad Ali Tabba of Lucky Cement Company has been unanimously elected Chairman of the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) for the 2013 – 2014 term. Sayeed Tariq Saigol of Maple Leaf Cement and Babar Bashir Nawaz of Attock Cement Pakistan were also unanimously elected as Senior Vice Chairman and Vice Chairmen of the association respectively.
Muhammad Raza Mansha of DG Khan Cement, Azam Farooque of Cherat Cement, Major General Rehmat Khan (retired) of Lafarge Cement Pakistan, Lieutenant General Muhammad Sabir (retired) of Fauji Cement, Lieutenant General Taufiq Rafiq (retired) of Askari Cement, Syed Asif Shah of Bestway Cement, Aizaz Mansoor Sheikh of Kohat Cement, Mazhar Iqbal of Pioneer Cement and Muhammad Tousif Paracha of Gharibwal Cement were elected as members of the executive committee.
A TEC GRECO supplies kiln burner to Irish Cement 26 September 2013
Ireland: A TEC GRECO Combustion Systems Europe GmbH has been awarded a contract by Irish Cement's Platin Works to deliver a new kiln burner for its kiln line 3.
At Platin Works, the 4300t/day FLS kiln uses petcoke and alternative fuels. The modern concept of A TEC GRECO´s Flexiflame® burner offers a high flame momentum to be able to control the flame shape according the required kiln- and process parameters in consideration of a high solid alternative fuel substitution rate.
The new Flexiflame® kiln burner will allow the plant to work more flexible with respect to future fuel supply scenarios. The new equipment is part of a policy to fulfil very strict environmental controls.
Hazemag supplies two crushing plants to Brazil 26 September 2013
Brazil: Germany's Hazemag & EPR GmbH has received an order from the Brennand Cimentos Group in Brazil for the delivery of two crushing plants for its new cement works in the federal state of Paraiba, Brazil. The order comprises one limestone crusher and one clay crusher.
The limestone crushing plant is designed for a throughput rate of 1500t/hr for the production of a final product of 95% <90mm. A second product of 95% <50mm may also be produced at a lower throughput rate. HAZtronic, a hydraulic input apron control, can switch between the two production modes. The clay crushing plant is designed for a throughput of 300t/hr for the production of a finished product of 0 - 90mm.
The plant consists of the following components: Hazemag apron feeder, Hazemag roller screen VARIOwobbler® with adjustable gaps, Hazemag primary impact crusher fitted with the hydraulic impact apron control, Haztronic discharge belt conveyor.
The commissioning of both plants is planned for spring 2014.