Displaying items by tag: Plant

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has announced the winners of the 2019 Energy and Environment (E&E) Awards. The awards recognised environmental and community relations projects that were completed in 2018 and were presented at the 3rd Annual Cement and Concrete Fly-In.

The CalPortland Mojave cement plant in California won the Energy Efficiency award for the installation of a new classifier system for its vertical roller mill that increased energy efficiency by reducing fan power requirements. The plant also installed a control system for the finish mill that will maximise performance and help reduce wear on equipment. The classifier installation reduced the finish mill energy intensity by 1.5 to 2.0kWh/t, and the control system reduced energy intensity by 13%. In 2018 22% of the electricity consumed by the plant came from on-site renewable wind energy generation. CalPortland has implemented significant energy efficiency measures and its energy management program has been recognised by the Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star program as the Energy Star Partner of the Year for 15 years in a row.

Roanoke Cement Company and Titan America’s Troutville plant in Virginia won the Environmental Performance award for being the first cement manufacturing plant in the US to receive ISO 50001 certification for energy management of all aspects of energy procurement, design and use. The plant reduced its total electrical consumption by 10% and fossil fuels use by more than 12%. The plant has also implemented an alternative fuels program as part of its certification for the True Zero Waste Program, administered by Green Business Certification and has received silver status achieving a 96% rate of waste divergence from landfills.

Lehigh Hanson’s Permanente cement plant at Cupertino in California won the Innovation award for the installation of a water treatment system reducing concentrations of metals, including selenium, to meet permit limits. Lehigh Hanson developed a treatment system that combined ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis (UF/RO) technology in conjunction with biological treatment technology to remove metals, including selenium and dissolved solids. This ensured applicable effluent limits were met while optimising treatment capacity and efficiency. This treatment system is the first of its kind in the cement industry ensuring that effluent limits are met while, at the same time, limiting the quantity of waste needed to be managed.

Buzzi Unicem USA’s Greencastle cement plant in Indiana won the Land Stewardship award for opening a 4km smooth packed stone trail in conjunction with the not-for-profit People Pathways organisation as Phase 2 of the Putnam Nature Trail. Buzzi Unicem USA staff and People Pathways used heavy equipment for rough clearing and grading of the overgrown former railroad bed and improved and expanded the physical trail. These areas were then landscaped with trees, native prairie vegetation plugs, interpretive signage, benches, birdhouses and other features. Additional nature trail enhancements include placement of wildlife monitoring cameras along the trail, installation of nesting boxes and interpretive signage, and maintenance of the recently completed restoration of native flora installed in 2017 and 2018.

Cemex’s Lyons cement plant in Colorado won the Outreach award for volunteering work by its staff at the Rocky Mountain National Park in Boulder, Colorado, performing campground improvement activities at Glacier Basin Campground by moving rocks and fallen timber and clearing existing fire pits of ash deposits. The plant then introduced a new community outreach initiative by hosting a Manufacturing Day event, providing local students tours of the quarry and plant to increase youth interest in pursuing a vocation in skilled trades. Additionally, the plant teamed up with the Celestial Seasonings B Strong Ride for cancer care and research for an event aimed at increasing safety awareness while fundraising for two local organizations and their efforts to fight cancer.

Ivory Coast: Dangote Cement is building a 3Mt/yr cement plant with two production lines from an investment of around US$260m in the Ivory Coast. In an audience with Souleymane Diarrassouba, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Promotion of SMEs, the company said that the project is 70% complete, according to the Agence Ivoirienne de Presse. The new plant will create 800 jobs. It is scheduled to start production in early 2020.

Italy: Buzzi Unicem has purchased the Testi integrated cement plant at Greve and the Borgo San Dalmazzo and Arquata Scrivia grinding plants in Piedmont from HeidelbergCement’s subsidiaries. The enforceable agreement is expected to be completed by the end of July 2019. No value for the deal has been disclosed. Buzzi Unicem said it was making the acquisitions as part of its plan to strengthen its position in the national market.

Germany: Holcim Deutschland’s Kollenbach cement plant in Beckum has commissioned a Zeppelin Cat 6030 FS hydraulic excavator. The machine is 15m long, 7.5m high and it has an engine power of 1500HP. It will mine at least 470t/hr of limestone from the plant’s quarry. The excavator was purchased due to the height and thickness of the marl layers in the deposit. Material from the quarry will then be transported 2.5km by truck to a stationary primary crusher before use at the cement plant.

Syria: Russian companies have met with representatives of the Syrian Ministry of Industry to discuss restoring and upgrading the Al Arabiya cement plant in Aleppo. During the visit to Syria representatives of the company also held talks about building a new cement plant, Muslimiya, according to the Prime News Agency. Negotiations were also held about renovating a steel plant in Hama province.

Uganda: Hima Cement has agreed to return land it acquired in the Mwello Parish of Tororo District to the local residents due to mistakes made by its land agent. The company’s agent, Optima Mining and Minerals, allegedly purchased land from residents who did not hold the necessary paperwork, according to the Daily Monitor newspaper. The agent then intended to apply for a lease on the land from Tororo District Land Board.

Dunstan Ndyaguma, Optima’s managing director, was advised by the commission to obtain a lawyer to learn about the land tenure system in the district. He was also described as a ‘dangerous’ man because he had manipulated local residents in his dealings with them.

Hima Cement, a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, wants to build a US$250m new cement plant in the area. It has warned that the project may be moved to Kenya instead due to the difficulties in obtaining land.

Uganda: Nicolas George, the managing director of Hima Cement, has warned that a US$250m new cement plant project may be relocated to Kenya due to difficulties in obtaining land in Uganda. He made the comments to the Commission of Inquiry into Land Matters following complaints by local residents about the land purchase process, according to the Daily Monitor newspaper. The cement producer is trying to buy mineral rights in the Mwello Parish in Tororo District. Previously, it attempted to build a plant in Moroto.

George also alleged that the subsidiary of LafargeHolcim had repeatedly run up against ‘speculators with exploration licences’ with links to the Directorate of Geological Survey and Mines. He asked the government to cancel such licences within two years if the owners lacked the in financial resources to develop them.

Algeria: GICA Group’s Hadjar Soud cement plant has made its first 37,000t clinker shipment to the Ivory Coast via the Port of Annaba. It is part of a 0.2Mt/yr consignment planned for 2019 from the unit, according to the Algeria Press Service. Overall, GICA intends to export 1.5Mt of clinker to African countries in 2019.

Spain: Endesa sold 0.3Mt of fly-ash from its Carboneras power plant in Almeria to cement companies in the UK and North America in 2018. The energy company also sold fly-ash to the nearby LafargeHolcim Carboneras cement plant, according to La Voz de Almería newspaper. The company has also sold 30,00t of slag and 60,000t of gypsum from its limestone plant.

Japan: Sumitomo Osaka Cement has completed a new cement silo at its Kochi plant. The upgrade is part of a long-term plan to focus on exports to Southeast Asia. The cement producer intends to establish an overseas business presence outside of Japan.