Displaying items by tag: Upgrade
Vicat to implement Carbon8 Systems carbon capture and use system at Montalieu cement plant
10 July 2020France: UK-based Carbon8 Systems has announced plans for the commercial implementation of its carbon capture and use (CCU) system at Vicat’s Montalieu integrated cement plant in France. It follows successful demonstration projects at cement plants in the UK and Canada.
The company’s CO2ntainer product will be deployed directly onsite at the plant and integrated into Vicat's existing industrial processes. It will capture CO2 directly from the plant's flue gas emissions and use this as part of its Accelerated Carbonisation Technology (ACT) process. This accelerates the carbonation of cement bypass dust into lightweight aggregates. In its first phase of operation it will process and convert up to 12,000t of cement bypass dust.
Tanzania: Huaxin Cement subsidiary African Tanzanian Maweni Limestone has ignited the kiln and begun trial production of clinker at its newly upgraded 0.75Mt/yr Maweni Limestone clinker plant. Huaxin Cement acquired the subsidiary in May 2020 and begun upgrading the kiln line on 1 June 2020, in spite of the fact that only 14 Huaxin Cement management team colleagues remained in the country due to the company withdrawing staff to China prior to the coronavirus lockdown.
Huaxin Cement says that it will not upgrade the plant’s grinding unit “for various reasons.” The company said, “subject to the epidemic prevention and control situation, the company will send an excellent management team to implement advanced cement process technology and management. We are committed to turning Maweni Limestone into a benchmark industrial enterprise in Tanzania and promoting the local cement industry to achieve quality.”
Zimbabwe: PPC Zimbabwe has announced that it has entered into a preliminary agreement with a Zimbabwe-based energy investor “with technical partners in South Africa” that will build and operate the company’s planned 32MW solar power plant in Matabeleland South. 16MW will power PPC Zimbabwe’s cement production and the rest will be fed in the national electricity grid, according to the Herald newspaper. The unit will be located adjacent to PPC Zimbabwe’s 0.5Mt/yr integrated Colleen Bawn plant.
US: Vicat subsidiary National Cement has received a fine of US$148,000 from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) for exceeding mercury emissions regulations over a 123-day period between May 2019 and February 2020 at its integrated Ragland plant in Alabama. The Daily Home newspaper has reported that unexpectedly high mercury levels in coal and other raw materials burned as fuel during that time caused the breach, which the company immediately reported to ADEM.
National Cement president Spencer Weitman said, “The issue took several months to fix.” Multiple upgrades and operational changes solved the issue, including installation of a US$400,000 mercury absorption carbon injection system. ADEM said, “National Cement did not economically benefit from the emissions violations.”
In January 2020 National Cement began work on construction of a new US$250m kiln line, due for completion in 2022.
Pakistan: Power Cement says it has started commercial operation of its new 7700t/day clinker production line at its Nooriabad plant. It completed the procurement and installation of machinery for the new line in mid-2019. It was supplied by Denmark’s FLSmdith.
Austria: Lafarge Zementwerke, OMV, Verbund and Borealis have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the joint planning and construction of a full-scale plant by 2030 to capture CO2 and process it into synthetic fuels, plastics or other chemicals. As part of the ‘Carbon2ProductAustria’ (C2PAT) project the companies intend to build the unit at the integrated Mannersdorf cement plant and capture all of the 0.7Mt/yr of CO2 emitted.
"We are committed to leading the industry in reducing carbon emissions and shifting towards low-carbon construction. We have worked consistently and successfully on the reduction of the CO2 footprint of our cement plants, products and solutions. Ultimately, CO2-neutral cement production can only be possible with the implementation of breakthrough technologies, like carbon capture, which is why we have great expectations for the C2PAT project", said Lafarge’s local chief executive officer (CEO) José Antonio Primo.
The project aims to use hydrogen produced by Verbund to allow OMV to transform the captured CO2 into a range of olefins, fuels and plastics. Borealis would then use some of these products as a feedstock to manufacture plastics. However, the companies say that, “taking the next steps towards a Zero CO2 economy will require the right financial as well as favourable regulatory framework conditions. The success of C2PAT will largely depend on whether the right financial and regulatory framework conditions are created both at the European Union and Austrian national level.”
The joint project is designed in three phases. In phase one, the partners are currently evaluating and developing a joint strategy for project development, business modelling and process engineering. Based on the results of phase one, a cluster of industrial pilot plants in the Eastern part of Austria could be technically developed and built in the mid-2020s in phase two. Phase three entails building a full scale CO2 capture and utilisation unit at a cement plant.
Lafarge Zementwerke is the Austrian subsidiary of building materials manufacturer LafargeHolcim. OMV produces and markets oil and gas, energy and other petrochemical products. Verbund is an Austrian-based electricity generator, with a focus on hydroelectric power. Borealis is a chemical company and a producer of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilisers.
Timlyuy Cement upgrades two raw mills
19 June 2020Russia: Sibtsem Holding Company subsidiary Timlyuy Cement has announced the completion of essential upkeep on raw material mills five and ten at its Timlyuy Cement plant. Improvements included the replacement of exhausted plate feeders with bucket feeders for accurate dosing, “improving the quality of the finished product while lowering cost,” according to Timlyuy Cement process control chief expert Vladislav Zarubin. A new conveyor belt with an electric drive, strain gauges and control system was also included under the US$57,500 upgrades.
Timlyuy Cement says that per unit productivity has increased by 37% to 55t/hr from 41t/hr. Managing director Vladimir Klichko said, “For the Timlyuy Cement plant, improving the reliability of process equipment is traditionally one of the primary tasks. The modernisation of raw materials grinding, performed at the proper level, is the key to stable and efficient operation of the enterprise - a guarantee that even at the peak of the construction season, consumers will receive high-quality products on time, and in the right amount.”
Norway: Norcem, a subsidiary of HeidelbergCement, has signed an agreement with Aker Solutions to order a CO2 capture, liquification and intermediate storage plant at its integrated Brevik cement plant. The final decision for the project depends on funding from the Norwegian government, which is expected to approve the unit in its national budget for 2021.
The project will use Aker Solutions’ Advanced Carbon Capture (ACC) technology and its S26 amine solvent. Once complete the unit will capture 0.4Mt/yr of CO2. This will be transported to the Northern Lights project for permanent storage offshore beneath the North Sea.
Nigeria: Sinoma Construction Nigeria says it has completed the construction of a second 6000t/d line at BUA Group subsidiary Obu & Edo Cement’s Edo cement plant, bringing the plant’s total integrated capacity to 5.5Mt/yr. The subsidiary of China-based Sinoma said that it completed the work in spite of an outbreak of malaria and electricity shortages. It said, “The successful fulfilment of the project has laid a solid foundation for the company's in-depth localised operation and comprehensive cooperation with the BUA Group.”
Germany/Vietnam: Loesche says that it has dispatched two LM 53.3+3 CS vertical roller mills from its plant in North Rhine-Westphalia for a new line at Thanh Thang Group Cement’s integrated Bong Lang cement plant. The mills have a combined capacity of 180t/hr and grind clinker to a fineness of 4000 Blaine. The new line, installed by Sinoma-NCDRI, will be commissioned in late-2021. Loesche will also supply two cellular wheel feeders, metal detectors and sealing air blowers.