Global Cement News

India: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has issued a show cause notice to Parasakti Cement for processing hazardous waste like battery scrap and operating without permission. The CPCB also noted that the particulate matter emissions from clinker rollers and cement mill exceeded the revised standards, according to the Times of India newspaper. The cement plant, based at Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, has been given 15 days to remedy the situation. Previously in 2016 the company said it was complying with the emissions regulations.

Bangladesh: A cargo vessel carrying 1035t of clinker has sunk on the Rupsha River. Local police said that water started to enter the ship, MV-BB 134, whilst in the middle of the river when a crack opened in its hull, according to the United News of Bangladesh news agency. The vessel sank within an hour. No casualties have been reported.

Malaysia: Lafarge Malaysia has won a US$68.9m contract from China Communications Construction to supply cement for the East Coast Rail Link project. The contract will run until the end of 2019 with options for renewal by a further two years.

Turkey: Data from the Turkish Cement Manufacturers’ Association (TCMA) shows that clinker exports rose by 32.4% year-on-year to 4.93Mt in 2017 from 3.72Mt in 2016. Cement production rose by 6.8% to 80.6Mt from 75.4Mt. Production rose in all regions with the exception of the Aegean and Mediterranean.

Australia: FCT Combustion plans to launch its Turbu-Flex burner in April 2018. The pyro-processing engineering company says that the product will enable operators to switch between different fuels and optimise for each with the one burner. Switching between alternative and refuse derived fuels is intended to allow cement and other industrial plants to lower fuel costs and improve kiln performance. The burner also offers reduced maintenance, as it no moving parts are needed to change the air supply.

“We’ve now proven the burner’s benefits and ease of use in the field. Under testing for almost one year, and operating with over 80% fuel replacement using refuse-derived fuel (RDF), the results are very pleasing for the plant operator and FCT,” said Con Manias, the Managing Director of FCT International. He added that the company also focused on building its footprint in South East Asia.

The company says that it has projects running in six continents due to a ‘surge’ in burner orders. FCT Combustion is currently working on projects in the US, Canada, Brazil, Ecuador, Poland, France, Egypt, Belgium, Italy, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Algeria, Oman, Belgium, France, Ukraine, Turkey and Australia.