Displaying items by tag: Study
Egypt: Siemens has submitted an integrated survey of the digitalisation potential of various industries in four zones to the Ministry of Industry (MoI) with a view to improving the competitiveness of the country’s products. Daily News Egypt has reported that the Germany-based technology company has already signed contracts for the supply of digital efficiency solutions with El Ameria Cement and Lafarge Egypt. It is also negotiating with Misr Beni Suef for the installation of thermal emission measuring units at its 3.5Mt/yr integrated cement plant in Beni Suef, Maadi.
Eurocement tests shipping efficiency solution
20 September 2019Russia: Eurocement has trialled a novel cement transportation solution to increase the capacity of its Volga river barges by 100%. Firstly, the company strengthened its pallets to bear a double load. It then piled a second layer of cement in all four holds of its vessel, which successfully conveyed the 1200t load 1000km upriver to Yaroslavl from its 1.3Mt/yr integrated Sengileevskiy cement plant. Eurocement’s Director of Transport and Logistics Tatyana Dureiko has stated that this was the first time that the company has directly overseen the transportation by boat of its cement from launch to reception.
Sugarcane bagasse and bamboo leaf ash enhance hydration and concrete strength in cement study
16 September 2019Brazil: A research team at the University of São Paolo (USP) has concluded a study of cement hydration and pozzolanic activity when using 10% sugarcane bagasse (SB) and bamboo leaf ash (BLA) mixture. A paper released by the team has stated that the additive lowered the calcium hydroxide and heat required for hydration, saving on costs and emissions in cement production. Both binary and ternary concretes had higher compressive strengths with than without the mineral-rich additive. The study was supported by public and private funding.
Conifers indicate cement plant’s carbon footprint
04 September 2019China: Research conducted by the North-West Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources has ascertained detailed data on carbon dioxide (CO2) and mercury (Hg) output at a cement plant in Lanzhou using local spruces.
VerticalNews has reported of distance-dependent variations of Hg concentration in needles close to the cement plant, with the highest concentrations observed in needle samples from the site nearest to the plant. Hg in tree rings increased gradually for all sites by year, reaching a concentration of 65.8ng/g in the last growing period at 0m from the plant.
The study fuels hopes of accurate quantification of historical accumulation of air pollutants, including heavy metals, as well as contributing to our understanding of biochemical Hg cycling in forest ecosystems.
University of Dundee study looks at fly ash moisture
02 September 2019UK: A study by the University of Dundee has dispelled the myths of substantial performance differences between concretes made with cement containing dry or wet-stored fly ash, with comparable reinforcement corrosion between the two.
Vertical News has reported that the research, whose backers included the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Heathrow Airport Holdings, was aimed at “quantifying moisture effects, which indicate agglomeration of fly ash and a tendency for this to increase with free lime content, storage period and temperature.”
Researchers tested five moistened fly ashes and samples from two power station stockpiles, and further investigated different material and storage variables, comparing the concretes at 75mm slump and 28 day strength. Air permeability and water absorption of moistened fly ash proved greater with high free lime (up to 0.9%) and lower with low free lime (to under 0.1%). What benefits there were improved with longer storage. The moistening of low-free-lime fly ash generally yielded similar, or slightly higher, carbonation and chlorine diffusion. The moisture caused little change in high-free-lime ash’s carbonation, while increasing chloride diffusion. Furthermore, high storage temperature equated to greater carbonation.
In spite of these intriguing chemical differences, the study concluded, "these didn't seem to have a noticeable effect on concrete resistance.”
Sweden: HeidelbergCement’s subsidiary Cementa has completed a feasibility study into electrifying its cement plant at Slite in Gotland as part of its Cemzero project. A report from the first phase of the project has been submitted to the Swedish Energy Agency.
The study found that using electricity to supply heat during the clinker production process is possible using plasma technology, although this needs to be tested on a larger scale. Using an electrified process was found to be competitive compared to other options for achieving high reductions in carbon emission. The production cost of cement would be doubled approximately but the research suggested that this might only mean a small percentage increase to the end cost of a building or an infrastructure project. Finally, the study reported that any future electrification of the Slite plant would work well with a planned expansion to wind turbine generation at the site. It would improve the energy balance and reduce the maximum power surplus that might occur.
Cementa and energy company Vatenfall will now look at how to build a pilot plant.
RKW ranked second in employer study
01 January 2019Germany: The RKW Group came second in a study into ‘Germany's Most Sought-After Employer 2018’ by the FAZ Institute and the IMWF Institute for Management and Economic Research. The institutes looked at the 5000 largest companies in the country and scored them by quality, performance, success, sustainability, corporate culture and values.
The RKW Group is a family-owned company headquartered in Frankenthal, Germany and a manufacturer of film solutions for hygiene, agricultural and beverage sectors. It also produces packaging for powdery goods. In addition, the company makes films and nonwovens for medical applications, for the chemical and converting industries as well as for the construction sector.
Ukrcement says that most wrongly labelled cement is counterfeit
19 September 2018Ukraine: Ukrcement, the Ukrainian cement association, has found in a study that over 80% of cement with the wrong labelling was counterfeit. The research was conducted on 50 cement bags for the consumer market, according to Interfax. 82% of cement proved to be counterfeit, over 50% of the samples were below the declared weight and 56% had weaker strength and did not comply with the В.2.7-46 -2010 national standard for minimum compressive strength.
The association said that the risks of using counterfeit cement vary from loss of time and revenue in smaller projects to a direct threat to human life in larger projects such as high-rise buildings. Local regulations require that cement bags include five items: the name of the producer, the conventional designation of cement, the designation of the normative document, the net weight and a conformity mark.
Raysut Cement to consider building plant in Georgia
21 March 2018Georgia: Oman’s Raysut Cement has approved an initial study to consider building a 1Mt/yr cement plant in Georgia. The company’s subsidiary Pioneer Cement Industries Georgia owns a limestone mine with reserves of over 30Mt about 60km from Tiblisi. A final decision on the project is expected to be made by June 2018. Discussions have also commenced with possible partners for both equity participation and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracting.
Loma Negra to study using two trailer trucks
24 January 2018Argentina: Loma Negra is considering using two trailer trucks or b-trains. The study follows a government relaxation concerning their usage in January 2018, according to the El Cronista newspaper. The cement producer is looking at using the longer trucks for both input materials and cement shipments. Due to a strong market locally most of the company’s 5.5Mt/yr cement production capacity is sold domestically.