Displaying items by tag: Upgrade

India: UltraTech Cement has announced a plans to install a RotoDynamic Heater (RDH) supplied by Finland-based Coolbrook at one of its cement plants. The RDH uses renewably powered electrical heat, eliminating the need for cement fuels. UltraTech Cement will initially test the equipment in the drying of alternative fuel (AF) in its existing AF line.

UltraTech Cement managing director Kailash Jhanwar said “As a founding member of the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA), we are committed to the sectoral aspiration of delivering net zero concrete by 2050. Towards this end, we are continuously striving to innovate at every stage of the whole life of concrete. Coolbrook’s RDH technology represents an exciting technological pathway that we believe has the potential to exponentially accelerate our progress towards full decarbonisation. Every megawatt of clean energy we add to our mix makes a big difference.”

Read more about Coolbrook’s RDH in the September 2022 issue of Global Cement Magazine

Türkiye: Italy-based CTP Team says it is currently installing a new waste heat recovery (WHR) system at Medcem Çimento’s Mersin plant. Its contribution to the construction of a new production line at the site includes installing an organic rankine cycle-based (ORC) 10.5Mwe WHR system and three new process fabric filters for the kiln and raw mill, coal mill and cement mills. The new line is expected to be commissioned in 2024.

US: Continental Cement has ordered a Fuelflex Pyrolyzer alternative fuels combustion system from Denmark-based FLSmidth for installation at its Davenport plant in Buffalo, Iowa. The supplier says that its product offers a lower capital expenditure compared to competing systems, can control NO_x emissions without the need for ammonia water and can be installed without a long shutdown period. This is the first commercial installation of the Fuelflex Pyrolyzer system following a pre-commercial installation at the Mannok cement plant in Northern Ireland, UK, in 2022.

David Loomes, the president of Continental Cement, said “We’re very excited about what the Fuelflex Pyrolyzer will do for our process.” He added, “We’re planning to achieve 55% fossil fuel replacement across the plant, utilising non-hazardous waste that would otherwise go to landfill or incinerators. The economic and environmental benefits of this technology are very significant and a key element of executing our carbon reduction commitment.” Continental Cement, a subsidiary of Summit Materials, has been incorporating waste materials as fuels for more than 30 years.

Jens Jonas Skov Larsen, Head of Capital Sales at FLSmidth, said “Mannok has called the Fuelflex Pyrolyzer a game-changer for the cement industry.” He continued, “This system effectively rearranges the order of the combustion process to make use of hot preheater meal, which is the heat source for the waste fuel pyrolysis. It’s a more efficient way of burning alternative fuels and it comes with a host of benefits, including reduced emissions and a more stable process.”

The installation at Davenport cement plant is expected to start operation in 2024. The full commercial launch for the system is scheduled by 2025. No value for the order has been disclosed.

Germany: Chemicals company BASF has won a contract to supply its OASE Blue CO₂ separation technology for use in the upcoming 70,000t/yr carbon capture installation at Heidelberg Material's Lengfurt cement plant in Bavaria. The Capture to Use (Cap2U) project, in partnership with fellow chemicals company Linde, aims to capture CO₂ from the plant for use in the chemicals, food and beverages industries.

BASF head of gas treatment Andreas Northemann said “Our portfolio of OASE technologies makes a significant contribution to sustainability and is perfectly suited to help our customers achieve their sustainability targets. This carbon capture and use unit facility has the potential to become a show-case project in a hard-to-abate sector."

US: Heidelberg Materials North America has secured funding for a feasibility study for a 2Mt/yr carbon capture installation at its Mitchell cement plant in Indiana. The study will also investigate possible storage and utilisation solutions for a future installation. The producer says that the US government's Department of Energy has pledged US$5m in funding towards the US$10m study.

Heidelberg Materials North America president and CEO Chris Ward said “We are pleased for this additional federal funding to help move our Mitchell carbon capture project forward. Heidelberg Materials recognises the significant role that carbon capture will play in achieving its goal of net zero carbon, and we are very excited to take the next steps in exploring this technology at our new cement plant in Mitchell.”

India: Sagar Cements says that its subsidiary Andhra Cements will relaunch the clinker line at its Durga cement plant in Andhra Pradesh before July 2023. The Hindu BusinessLine newspaper has reported that the producer previously relaunched grinding operations at the plant in April 2023.

Sagar Cements plans to invest a further US$56.8m in Andhra Cements’ Durga cement plant to increase its installed cement capacity by 67% to 3Mt/yr and its clinker capacity by 39% to 2.3Mt/yr before 2025.

Germany: Flender has officially completed construction work on an expansion at its site in Voerde with the opening of its new logistics and storage hall for the assembly of large gear units. The hall has been built on an open area on the company's premises covering almost 8000m². The new building is part of the drive manufacturer’s investments to be able to handle the expected growth in the global wind energy business and to drive the energy transition in Europe. In addition to large components for wind power gearboxes, the logistics hall will also serve its industrial business. The company has also leased another 10,000m² hall, directly next door to its Voerde unit, to further support its logistics.

Flender’s chief executive officer Andreas Evertz said "With the new storage areas, we are making our logistics processes sustainable and thus reducing a considerable part of the previous transport routes and the associated CO2 emissions. Components that were previously stored elsewhere can now be stored centrally and made available for assembly more quickly with optimised transport routes.”

Flender’s Voerde plant is the company’s largest in Germany with an area of 276,000m². It employs 1500 people.

France: Germany-based Heidelberg Materials announced a planned Euro65m upgrade to its Bussac-Forêt cement plant in Charente-Maritime Department on 14 May 2023. The project will involve the installation of systems for the production of calcined clay cement. The producer says that this will enable the 0.8Mt/yr plant to reduce its CO₂ emissions by 20%.

Chief sustainability officer Nicola Kimm said “In Bussac-Forêt, we are investing in a technology with great potential. It will allow us to significantly expand the range of low-carbon products. Using calcined clay as a clinker substitute is an important measure to reduce the carbon footprint of cement and concrete. In principle, a CO₂ reduction of up to 40% is possible when substituting cement clinker with calcined clay.”

Heidelberg Materials is already involved in the on-going pilot trial of a 400,000t/yr clay calcination plant in Ghana.

Uzbekistan: United Cement Group subsidiary Qizilqumsement says that it has awarded contracts for the upgrade of Lines 1 and 2 at its Qizilqum cement plant in Navoiy Region. Uzbekistan Newsline has reported that the producer has completed testing to ascertain the lines' parameters of operation, fuel and energy consumption and output. This will inform its decisions, with a view to reducing the cost of clinker production.

Qizilqumsement is currently in the process of building the Qizilqum plant's new 767,000t/yr Line 4, which will also increase its clinker capacity by 657,000t/yr. The producer expects this to lower the cost of its clinker production by 30%.

Nigeria: Lafarge Africa has opened a bag manufacturing unit at its Ewekoro cement plant in Ogun State. It has a bag production capacity of 105m/yr. The company says it is the first of its kind in the country. It is intended to increase the availability of bags through large-scale production locally. The project is a joint-venture run with MDV Industries.

Khaled El Dokani, the country chief executive officer for Lafarge Africa, said “We are using the best technology that produces the most efficient and durable bag in Nigeria. It is a very great day for us at Lafarge Africa.”