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Canada: Mantra Energy Alternatives has struck a deal with Lafarge Canada to deploy an electrochemical reduction technology at one of Lafarge cement plants. The technology will convert carbon dioxide emissions into useful chemicals.
"This will be the first pilot plant of its kind in the world," said Mantra's vice president Patrick Dodd. If the system works as advertised it could be deployed at all of Lafarge's facilities.
The technology would convert carbon dioxide into useful chemicals like formic acid and formate salts. The pilot plant would convert 100kg/day of carbon dioxide emitted from the cement plant into concentrated formate salts. Colin Oloman and Hui Li of the Clean Energy Research Centre developed the technology at the University of British Colombia. Mantra Venture Group then purchased it in 2008.
Mantra plans to use the formic acid for use in its patented fuel cells, which it bills as a significantly less expensive fuel cell with greater power density.
Now that the deal between Mantra and Lafarge has been signed, work will begin on the detailed engineering for the plant and the purchase of custom equipment.
Uzbekistan: OJSC Akhangarancement, a subsidiary of Russia's CJSC Eurocement Group, has received a limestone and marl production license for the Shavazsay field in the Almalyk region of Uzbekistan. A special commission of the Uzbekistan government issued the license, which covers the extraction of non-ore mineral resources.
The Shavazsay field, which was opened in 1974, has resources of 36.4Mt of limestone. Preliminary data shows that these resources will last for 25 years given Akhangarancement's current capacity.
Akhangarancement is one of the largest cement producers in Uzbekistan, with a 30% share of the market. It exports mainly to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. The company is projected to produce 1.99Mt of cement in 2014. Cement production increased by 6% in 2013, while clinker production increased by 13% in the same period. The company's mountain division produced 1.64Mt of limestone in 2013, up by 19% on 2012.
Changing the fuels mix in North America
Written by Global Cement staff
26 March 2014
Three news stories this week cover the gamut of fuels used by the cement industry in North America.
First we had an example of the changing trends in fossil fuel usage when TruStar Energy announced a deal to supply compressed gas to Argos USA. Then we moved to an example of recycled fuels used in co-processing when chemical waste firm ChemCare trumpeted its 100 million gallon milestone (that's 379,000m3 to the rest of the world) in supplying fuel-quality waste to the Lafarge co-processing subsidiary Systech Environmental. Finally, Cemex rounded off the main fuels groups with renewables, when it released pans to build a US$600m wind farm project in north-east Mexico.
Obviously fossil fuels still dominate in kilns north of the Darian Gap, as they do almost everywhere else, and fuel buyers wouldn't be doing their job properly if they weren't searching for the next best deal. Yet the range here shows a dynamic industry.
Jan Theulen from HeidelbergCement pointed out one example in the US at the recent Global CemFuels Conference held in Vienna. Here, rising landfill prices are increasing opportunities for alternative fuels use alongside changing US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) permitting for solid recovered fuel. Alternative fuels consultant Dirk Lechtenberg, in an interview with Global Cement Magazine in February 2014, singled out the US as one country that is developing its alternative fuels use. As he explained, "Even though the fossil fuel prices are quite low in the US, the industry is developing supply chains for alternative fuels to be more independent with their fuels sourcing."
This race between cheaper fossil fuels in the US (via shale gas) and increasing development in alternative fuels is fascinating. Specifically: why is it happening now? Gas prices have fallen and demand for cement is returning in the US. The annual mean Henry Hub natural gas spot price in the US fell from US$8.86/million BTU in 2008 to a low of US$2.75/million BTU in 2012. This compares to up to US$15/million BTU in Japan and US$9/million BTU in Europe.
Public environmental pressure made manifest by the policies of the EPA and general increased knowledge about co-processing may be factors for the surge in alternative fuels investment. Long lead times for alternative fuels schemes may be another. Planners making a decision about what fuels mix to pursue in 2008 at the start of the recession might well have bet on alternatives to spread their risk. Yet the cause could be something else, as shale gas takes over higher paying industries, such as electrical generation, and the cement industry continues to be priced out of the leftovers.
Ultimately what burns in a cement kiln comes down to price. Depending on how the shale gas market plays out in North America it would be ironic if 'frackers', the bogeymen of current environmentalists, inadvertently cleaned up the cement industry.
Sephaku Holdings alternate director Johannes Wilhelm Wessels dies
Written by Global Cement staff
26 March 2014
South Africa: The board of directors of Sephaku Holdings have announced that Johannes Wilhelm Wessels died on 23 March 2014. Wessels was an alternate director to Rudolph de Bruin since 2007 on the Sephaku Holdings board.
Wessels originally provided legal counsel on the emerging business structure in 2005 and he later joined Sephaku Holdings as Head of Corporate Affairs holding key responsibility for group legal counsel, transaction structuring advice and contractual negotiations. He led the process of the group's unbundling strategy and worked on the legal and tax aspects of the process. Wessels helped reposition the company from a multiple mineral exploration company to a construction and building materials focused company.
"Wes was pivotal in negotiating the relationship agreement with Dangote Industries PLC to establish Sephaku Holdings' partnership in South Africa's newest cement producer since 1934, Sephaku Cement. At the time of his untimely death Wes was also serving as a director of the Sephaku Cement board. We will always remember him for his astuteness, legal savvy, business acumen and spontaneous sense of humour," said Chief Executive Officer, Lelau Mohuba.
Asadul Haque Sufyani appointed chief marketing officer of Seven Circle
Written by Global Cement staff
26 March 2014
Bangladesh: Asadul Haque Sufyani has been promoted to Chief Marketing Officer of Seven Circle (Bangladesh), a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Shun Shing Group. Previously Sufyani had been working as the General Manager (Sales, Marketing & Distribution) of Seven Circle. He joined in Shun Shing Group in 2009.
Sufyani, aged 40, started his career in the Brand Management department of Sanofi-Aventis and later worked as a Senior Marketing Manager in Bengal Group and Head of Trade Marketing in Robi (formerly AKTEL). Sufyani graduated in Commerce from Delhi University, India and later gained his MBA from the Lincoln School of Management, University of Lincoln in the UK.