Displaying items by tag: Plant

Pakistan: The Punjab Assembly has constituted a committee to review proposed plans for a new cement plant in Chakwal in the Province's Rawalpindi Division. Protestors have previously complained about plans to the Punjab Environment Protection Agency. The Dawn newspaper has reported that stated concerns include the threat to the local water supply, damage to future tourism promotion and possible harm to endangered species, including autochthonous wild sheep.

France: HeidelbergCement subsidiary Ciments Calcia plans to lay the first stone of a major upgrade project at its Airvault cement plant on 5 October 2022. The event will mark the start of the construction phase of a new 4000t/day clinker production line, according to La Nouvelle République newspaper. The Euro300m project will be built by Germany-based ThyssenKrupp.

Germany: Heidelberg Materials says it is considering shutting down plants in Germany due to the high cost of gas and electricity. In comments reported by Reuters chief executive officer Dominik von Achten said, "If power prices won't come down sustainably, we would have to take individual plants in Germany completely off the grid. That's what we have prepared for." He added that the company is shifting production to times and days when power prices are lower including at the weekend. However, changing staff shift patterns has required ongoing discussions with labour unions.

The building materials company expects its energy bill to rise by around half year-on-year to over Euro3bn in 2022. It has called on the German government to place a cap on energy prices despite measures the company has already taken to protect itself from soaring costs, such as using alternative fuels.

India: Ramco Cements plans to inaugurate its upcoming Nandyal cement plant in Kalvatala, Andhra Pradesh, on 28 September 2022. The Sakshi Post newspaper has reported that the plant will have a cement capacity of 2Mt/yr. Ramco Cements’ planned total capital expenditure (CAPEX) investments during the 2023 and 2024 financial years (1 April 2022 – 31 March 2024) are expected to reach US$154 – 167m.

Two West Bengali welders fell to their deaths at the site of the upcoming Nandyal cement plant on 25 September. The welders had been working on a conveyor system when it snapped. The Times of India newspaper has reported that both workers died immediately. Police have informed their relatives and are conducting post-mortems.

India: Dalmia Bharat has accelerated its commitment to net zero CO₂ cement production by 2040 with the launch of its newTransformative and Collaborative Strategy Roadmap. The roadmap provides a framework forinnovation, growth and sustainability initiatives through shared synergies with private and public entities, including Asian Development Bank and 50 local government authorities. Initiatives already underway include non-recyclable waste disposal partnerships with local administrations across India. Dalmia Bharat is supporting these initiatives with the installation of chlorine dust bypass systems at two of its cement plants, the first in India. The producer's cement operations are already 40% renewably powered and 13 times water positive.

Dalmia Bharat's environmental, social and governance (ESG) executive director and chief risk officer Arvind Bodhankar said “As a cement producer, we are attached to people’s happiness by gluing thousands of dreams into reality. We therefore strive to give our customers only the best building materials with the lowest environmental impact. In addition, we also intend to drive a net-zero emissions reality with a strategy that’s aligned with our business philosophy, Clean and Green is Profitable and Sustainable.”

Angola: Portugal-based IPIAC has won a contract to upgrade the Cimangola plant in Luanda region to use Limestone Calcined Clay (LC3). The project will be the first in the world to convert an existing clinker production line into a clay calciner. Switzerland-based Ecosolutions conducted a study of raw materials and sustainability issues prior to the signing of the contract. The project will be coordinated and supervised by Portugal-based Techbelt. Once completed the plant will produce 0.3Mt/yr of calcined clay, which can be used to manufacture up to 1Mt/yr of LC3 cement.

Belgium: Holcim Belgium has joined Fluxys open-access CO₂ transport network project. It intends to use the Fluxys network to either transport captured CO2 for sequestration in the North Sea or reuse in other industry after it builds a new 6000t/day production line at its Obourg plant by early 2026. As part of this process Holcim Belgium also plans to build a cryogenic CO₂ capture and treatment unit at Obourg by early 2028.

Pascal De Buck, the chief executive officer of Fluxys, said "Holcim's interest in our CO₂ network project at the Mons industrial cluster confirms the efforts industries are making to find solutions for decarbonising their activities. We're here to meet that need, which is why we offer them an open-access CO₂ network they can use to transport their captured CO₂ to storage or reuse sites. This kind of network helps achieve climate objectives and contributes to the long-term viability of the economy."

The proposed Fluxys CO₂ transport network will see the construction and creation in Belgium of pipelines, intermodal hubs, port terminals and shipping from 2025 onwards. The proposed infrastructure is intended to transport three gases: CO₂, hydrogen and methane.

Italy: Buzzi Unicem has obtained technical evaluation certification for CEM II/C-M Portland composite cement products to be manufactured at its Trino, Vernasca, Settimello, Guidonia, Barletta and Augusta plants. The new cements will be part of its C-Green product line and the sustainability objectives from its 2030 roadmap. The new products will reduce their clinker factor by using granulated blast furnace slag, fly ash, pozzolan and limestone. They potentially offer up to a 40% reduction in CO₂ emissions per tonne compared to CEM I equivalents. They will be available in 32.5 N/R and 42.5 N/R strength classes for a range of applications. The cement producer hopes that the new products will quickly establish themselves in the market and even becoming the “standard cement” in Italy by 2030.

Russia: Eurocement is investing over Euro3m towards upgrading a mill at its integrated Lipetskcement plant. The main work will add a separator to the mill. The addition will allow the unit to produce finer grades of cement and increase output by 20%. Work on the project started in September 2022 and is expected to be completed in early 2023.

Malaysia: Makin Teguh and Borneo Oil have held a ceremony to mark the firing up of the kiln at the 0.23Mt/yr ILPP cement plant being built in Sabah. The new plant is next to a limestone quarry owned by Borneo Oil and it is set to further benefit from the oil company’s other limestone assets via long term supply contracts, according to the Borneo Post newspaper. Borneo Oil increased its stake in Makin Teguh to 38% in May 2022.

A China-based supplier has built the new plant. It includes a waste heat recovery (WHR) unit and it reportedly the first integrated cement plant in Malaysia to use alternative fuels such as heavy fuel oil derived from refined recovered oils, palm kernel shells and bio char.