Displaying items by tag: testing

Bolivia: Empresa Publica Productiva Cementos de Bolivia (ECEBOL) now expects to commission its upcoming 1.3Mt/yr Potosí cement plant in June 2023. It would then begin selling bagged cement from November 2023 onwards. The La Razón newspaper has reported that ECEBOL has recorded 'physical progress' on the project of 92%, and executed US$264m-worth (85%) of a total planned investment of US$311m.

ECEBOL ran successful empty tests on installed equipment earlier in March 2023. Government representatives and local stakeholders will visit the plant on 30 March 2023.

Philippines: Holcim Philippines carried out 70 upgrades aimed at increasing automation in its operations during 2022. The projects aim to optimise cement production, generate cost savings and ensure best safety practices. The Manila Times has reported that new Industry 4.0 initiatives include equipment monitoring systems offering 90-day performance projections, software capable of predicting cement's strength development and drones to replace visual inspections in remote spaces.

Holcim Philippines said that it is currently exploring the use of new predictive technologies in its operations.

Canada: Investment bank BDC Capital has invested US$3.7m in concrete testing technologies supplier Giatec. BDC Capital hopes that the investment will further the development of CO₂-reducing technology and AI-based concrete testing.

Giatec CEO Pouria Ghods said "The BDC Capital investment will propel Giatec's expansion into international markets and accelerate our innovation in CO₂-reducing technology, moving the concrete industry towards carbon neutrality. BDC has a long history of supporting emerging Canadian cleantech firms in their growth through exports, research and development. We at Giatec are looking forward to working with BDC in our mission to revolutionise the concrete industry and to create yet another success story for the BDC cleantech practice.”

Uzbekistan: BekabadCement plans to launch a testing laboratory at its Bekabad cement plant, from which it will run a dedicated customer support service. The facility will focus on automatic sampling. BekabadCement expects to launch the service to customers in late 2022.

Germany: SIEBTECHNIK TEMA has launched its Bulkinspector automatic gas pycnometer. The pycnometer can help cement producers to obtain precise measurements of bulk materials’ densities. The interior of its insulated system housing is covered with Peltier elements and can be heated or cooled as required to keep the temperature of the material constant for the measurement. The equipment calibrates automatically and provides reproducible measured data with low standard deviation.

Spain: LafargeHolcim España has announced the launch of a joint venture called ECCO2 with Carbon Clean and Sistemas de Calor. The joint venture will develop carbon capture technology for use at the producer’s Carboneras cement plant in Almería. It will then seek to market captured CO₂ from the plant for use as a gas in local agricultural greenhouses. When commissioned in early 2023, the carbon capture system will have the capacity to capture 10% of the Carboneras plant’s CO2 emissions.

India: ACC and Ambuja Cements have partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) to develop a range of calcined clay cements with 50% lower CO₂ emissions than Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). The collaboration will vary clinker, calcined clay and limestone levels in calcined clay cements in order to ascertain their effects on its performance. France-based Holcim Innovation Centre will fund the research.

Holcim India chief executive officer and managing director Neeraj Akhoury said "Through our extensive research and development setup, we consistently strive to develop new low-CO₂ materials for the construction industry. Calcined clay cement is one such avenue to make a significant quantitative difference in the industry and further accelerate our sustainability drive. Our academic partnership with IITD is a big step towards building a greener future and we are excited to collaborate with the best minds in the country."

The producers have previously partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) to study low-CO₂ binders with alternative reinforcements and with the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) to develop smart sensing technology for continuous on-site strength evaluation of a concrete structure.

UK: SigmaRoc has announced the ratification of its Greenbloc cement-free concrete block’s environmental credentials with an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). The EPD is a Type III environmental declaration with ISO 14025, providing full-lifecycle information on the product’s impacts. Greenbloc, an ultra-low carbon alternative to traditional concrete blocks, is the first product of its kind.

Managing Director Michael Roddy said “With the launch of Greenbloc, we believe that we can now offer architects, contractors and housebuilders a competitive, reliable and – thanks to our EPD certification – proven low-carbon alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) blocks. Making the switch from traditional blocks to Greenbloc can reduce the embodied carbon of a typical three-bedroom house by 73%, saving the equivalent of 2.7t of CO₂ per dwelling. It is also worth noting that we have obtained additional third-party test results against the declaration of performance certificate.” He added “The world is changing for the better, and technology is facilitating greater accessibility to materials that can bring about meaningful change for the construction industry. The reception for Greenbloc has already exceeded all expectations, and we are incredibly excited for the potential it has to offer.”

Japan: Rigaku Corporation has launched its new MiniFlex XpC high-throughput rapid x-ray diffractometer (XRD) for analysis of cement samples. The supplier says that the product is able to quickly identify variations in cement’s composition. It uses an EasyX interface and can be automated using a sample-loading robot or conveyor belt.

President and chief executive officer Toshiyuki Ikeda said “The MiniFlex XpC is a manufacturing-optimised powder diffractometer for fast and accurate quality control measurements. Using the latest developments and lessons learned from class-leading products like the Rigaku SmartLab, this compact XRD offers unrivalled performance and ease-of-use.”

Switzerland: Holcim Schweiz has partnered with Sweden-based Volvo Autonomous Solutions to test and develop automated electric dumpsters at its Gabenchopf quarry in the Siggenthal. The companies aim to develop a safe, efficient and sustainable dumpster for use in the cement industry.

CEO Simon Kronenberg said “We are very excited to be working with Volvo on this project. For us, this project means a further step towards realising our sustainability goals: in order to make a contribution to a sustainably built future, we continuously invest in measures to reduce our ecological footprint and look for solutions that are both innovative and sustainable."