Displaying items by tag: Slag

Indonesia: PT Krakatau Semen Indonesia has ordered a slag grinding mill from Loesche for its Cigading grinding plant in Cilegon, Banten. Krakatau Semen will use a Loesche mill with an LDC classifier to grind ground granulated blast furnace slag to a fineness of 4500cm²/g. The scope of supply for this contract also includes the raw material transport system, the mill dust extraction system, the reject system and the silo equipment. The mill is scheduled for operation by the first quarter of 2017.

Subsidiaries of Loesche are participating in the contract. Loesche ThermoProzesstechnik is supplying the grinding plant with a hot gas generator type LF-36L (fully inline) for the combustion of industrial diesel oil. Automation of the plant is supplied by Loesche Automatisierungstechnik. Loesche Indonesia will provide a service contract including personnel services. In addition, Loesche will monitor the local production as well as the assembly and commissioning.

PT Krakatau Semen Indonesia was founded in November 2013 as a state-run company. In a joint venture with PT Semen Indonesia, PT Krakatau Semen Indonesia is building its first plant of this type with a planned production of 0.75Mt/yr.

UK: Lucideon has benefited from a newly published standard by the British Standards Institution (BSI) for alkali-activated cementitious material and concrete. The materials technology company has been developing and applying its proprietary MIDAR technology based on alkali-activated cements for several years. A recognised building standard gives it a stronger route to market in Europe.

“With the help of our materials experts, manufacturers can develop products using alkali-activated cement technology. This could potentially improve the performance and reduce the raw material costs and carbon footprints of products,” said Rebecca Law, a development scientist at Lucideon.

Lucideon develops materials technologies for a range of industries including construction, healthcare and nuclear sectors. MIDAR is a technology that binds alkalis and aluminosilicate materials, such as those from waste streams including fly ash and blast furnace slags, to form a rigid inorganic material. This technology can be used to make solid or aerated building products.

US: The US Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Cleveland Area Office has cited Essroc Cement for one repeated and 10 serious safety and health violations at its site in Middlebranch, Ohio. OSHA found that the company had exposed workers to machine, noise and respiratory hazards following an investigation started in November 2015 after a complaint was submitted alleging unsafe working conditions. The US subsidiary of Italacementi faces fines of up to US$92,000 for the violations.

"Employers have a responsibility to protect workers from exposure to noise and respiratory hazards that can lead to debilitating health conditions," said Howard Eberts, OSHA's area director in Cleveland. "Essroc needs to immediately re-evaluate its safety and health programs to keep workers safe on the job."

Essroc operates a slag grinding plant and a cement terminal at the site.

Ecuador: Union Andina de Cementos (UNACEM) has been recognised as an eco-efficient company by the Ministry for the Environment. The certification is given to companies that have demonstrated environmentally friendly production. Unacem submitted four case studies to qualify for the certification, according to La Hora. These included examples of using slag to produce clinker and co-processing alternative fuels like palm kernel shell and waste oils.

Tata Steel put up its UK business for sale last week. The Indian multinational declared that enough was enough having reported losses of over Euro2.5bn in the territory over five years. Non-UK readers may well wonder what the fuss is about. UK crude steel production comprised 10.9Mt in 2015 or about 0.7% of global production according to World Steel Association data according to World Steel Association data. By contrast the country produced 9.3Mt of cement in 2014 or about 0.2% of world production according to CEMBUREAU data according to CEMBUREAU data.

The UK’s flailing steel industry is worth discussing here for two reasons. Firstly, any decline in the local iron and steel industry will have implications for the supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) market as slag levels vary. Secondly, the cement industry in Europe may have lessons for a fellow heavy industry facing capacity rationalisation.

UK ground granulated blastfurnace slag (GGBS) production levels are low compared to total world supply. However, the UK Competition Commission certainly took note of the GGBS market in 2014. It was worried by LafargeTarmac’s and Hanson’s prominence in both the local GGBS supply chain and local cement production. At that time it ordered the HeidelbergCement subsidiary Hanson to sell one of its slag grinding plants to increase competition in the supply chain for GGBS. A GGBS plant in Scunthorpe was eventually sold to Francis Flowers in July 2015.

The general point here is that a Tata sale of its UK operations could have ramifications for the UK GGBS sector as existing deals are renegotiated following the shakeup. It would be even worse for the local slag market if any of the plants closed. No doubt the Competition Commission would also want to have its say to maintain some sort of competition in an already concentrated market. The UK cement market has been the bright spot in the multinational cement producers’ European regions in 2015. However, construction growth is starting to slow again with hints that the looming European Referendum in June 2016 may be having a negative effect. Uncertainty over GGBS supplies is not helpful in this atmosphere.

A wider lesson for other national cement industries looking in is that if Chinese steel continues flood the world market it will also hit the cement industry. Tata’s woes have been squarely blamed on China dumping its steel on the world market. Various jurisdictions promote the use of SCM cements and concrete for their low-carbon and sustainability properties. If local or existing GGBS supplies are hit then the cement industries may be penalised while the lawmakers and competition bodies play catch-up.

The wider point about heavy industry reducing its production capacity is one that the European cement industry will be well used to. Spain, for example, has seen its cement production drop from 55Mt in 2007 to 15Mt in 2014 according to Oficemen data. Alongside this, demand for cement has dropped to levels not seen since the 1960s. The European response has been to shut plants, sell assets and to merge companies.

The big question following the 2008 recession is whether ‘this’ is the new normal for mature construction markets. Eight years later global interest rates are still lagging and China’s economy is slowing down. All of the European infrastructure was built long ago meaning that steel and cement will only be required to maintain it. Luckily it looks likely that demand for SCMs should stay buoyant as industries are encouraged to decarbonise. The problem though is where the slag comes from. Oversupply in the short term in areas like Europe might be great for cement producers but as the iron and steel industries readjust to market reality there might be a hangover in store.

India: Kiran Global Chems has launched Geocement, an environmentally-friendly branded cement. The company claims that the product is stronger than Ordinary Portland Cement and that it does not require water for mixing or curing, according to local media.

Geocement is made from Geopowder and Geobinder, other products also made by Kiran Global Chems. Geopowder uses industrial by-products such as fly ash, rice husk ash, slag, activated clay and alumina. At construction sites it can be mixed with the company's proprietary Geobinder liquid and aggregates to make concrete. The company claims that Geocement does not require water curing and attains maximum strength within seven hours. Kiran Global Chems has also launched Geocrete, a Geocement concrete made with its powder and binder for various industrial applications.

"We have started distributing this to the bulk customers, such as builders and now we are launching the brand for retail. We are planning to sell it through e-commerce," said M S Jain, chairman of Kiran Global Chems. The price of Geocement will be slightly higher than normal cement, but it promises lower finished building cost and less construction time and labour. The company intends to target southern Indian states in 2016.

Kiran Global is also preparing a US$29m expansion programme to set up 12 Geobinder units, 12 Geopowder plants, two precast concrete units and four grinding units across the country. The expansion, is intended to cut logistics cost, will result in 4Mt of capacity with a potential turnover of up to US$300m by the 2018 – 2019 financial year. The company has an in-house research and development centre, accredited by the Union Ministry of Science and Technology, and has been conducting geopolymer research in collaboration with leading research institutes.

India: JSW Cement has ordered eight 90t/hr roller press slag grinding units from KHD Humboldt Wedag India Private Ltd (India) and KHD Humboldt Wedag GmbH (Germany) for its plants in India.

US: Essroc, part of Italcementi, has acquired the Holcim (US) slag cement grinding plant in Camden, New Jersey, according to MarketLine. As part of the transaction, Essroc will also obtain Holcim's cement terminal in Everett, Massachusetts, US. Upon completion of the transaction, Holcim's staff in Camden and Everett will join Essroc. The transaction is expected to be completed later in 2015. The acquisition will allow Essroc to strengthen its position in the sustainable building products market.

US: Essroc Italcementi Group has signed an agreement with Holcim to purchase its slag cement grinding facility in Camden, New Jeresy. As part of the transaction, Essroc will also obtain Holcim's cement terminal in Everett, Massachusetts. The acquisition will finalise when the pending Holcim and Lafarge merger completes later in 2015.

"The acquisition of the Camden slag grinding facility reiterates Essroc's commitment to the northeast market," said Francesco Carantani, Essroc's president and chief executive officer. "With the focus on sustainability and durability, there is a projected growth in the demand and usage of slag cement."

The Camden facility can produce upwards of 700,000t/yr of slag cement. Essroc currently produces slag cement at its Picton, Ontario, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, cement plants and at its slag grinding facility in Middlebranch, Ohio. With the addition of Camden, Essroc has a combined annual production capacity in excess of 1Mt/yr. Holcim's staff in Camden and Everett will join Essroc once the transaction completes.

China: Loesche GmbH has completed work on the largest slag mill in the world for Shanxi Taigang Stainless Steel Co (TISCO) in Taiyuan, China achieving a new record product rate of producing 255t/hr blast-furnace slag meal. The Loesche type LM 63.3+3 vertical mill for grinding granulated blastfurnace slag was originally ordered by the Taigang Group International Trade Co in September 2011. It started operation in March 2014.

At the TISCO steelworks the LM 63.3+3 has now been used for the pure grinding of granulated blast-furnace slag for the first time. The mill is driven by a motor with an output of 7400kW, the most powerful motor to have been installed so far by Loesche in a mill. The projected guarantee values of 255t/ hr granulated blast-furnace slag at a fineness of 4400 Blaine are reliably attained here. This is also ensured by the newly developed Loesche LDC classifier, used in the grinding plant and ideally customised to the Loesche mills.

The first Loesche LM 63.3+3 mill started production at Nallalingayapalli, India in 2009. It attains a peak value of 367t/hr ordinary portland cement at 3000 Blaine or 371t/hr portland pozzolana cement at 3400 Blaine.