Global Cement News

Austria/Canada: Canada-based Solex Thermal Science has been selected by Austria-based Cemtec for a mineral cooling project based in Central Europe. As part of the agreement, Solex will deliver a customised plate-based moving bed heat exchanger (MBHE) that will be used to indirectly cool a milled, mineral-based powder that’s similar to cement. The unit is expected to be delivered by the summer of 2022.

Solex says that the use of a welded plate-channel design allows the powder to flow by gravity within a vertically orientated exchanger and between banks of stainless-steel plates. A heat transfer fluid passes within the plates to cool the material by conduction. The use of indirect heat transfer technology, combined with customised plate spacing, provides the necessary residence time to eliminate caking within the unit while also ensuring consistent temperature profiles at the outlet.

“We are excited to bring our decades of thermal engineering experience to this collaboration with Cemtec,” said Gerald Marinitsch, Global Director, Industrials for Solex Thermal Science. “We are confident that our MBHE technology will provide a reliable, real-world solution to this unique and important cooling application.”

Cemtec is a specialist in providing wet and dry grinding technologies for many types of bulk materials and minerals including the cement sector. Solex Thermal Science develops indirect heat exchange technology for the heating, cooling and drying of free-flowing granular materials such as solid granules, pellets, beans, seeds and particles.

India: Jindal Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with the state government of Chhattisgarh for the establishment of its planned Raigarh cement plant. The Times of India newspaper has reported that the plant will have an integrated capacity of 2.5Mt/yr, in addition to a further 2.5Mt/yr in clinker capacity. It will also operate a 12MW waste heat recovery (WHR) plant.

China: Huaxin Cement has signed a capital injection agreement with Huangshi State-owned Assets Company to acquire a 5.2% stake in the latter for US$150m. The producer says that it will strengthen its cooperation with Huangshi State-owned Assets Company in order to accelerate development of its non-cement business. It said that the transaction will also improve its innovation capabilities, helping it to achieve a low-carbon transformation. Huangshi State-owned Assets Company indirectly owns a 16% share of Huaxin Cement.

China: Anhui Conch Cement has engaged Conch IT Engineering for software platform supply and maintenance services for some of its subsidiaries. The supplier will provide design and technical services for the production process control system software, a sales and product dispatch system, production data uploading and a quality management system for clinker production lines, grinding units, aggregate, commodity concrete and technology modification projects. The value of the work is US$36m.

Vietnam: Vietnam National Cement Association (VNCA) members exported 15.5Mt of cement in the first five months of 2022, down by 14% year-on-year from 16.2Mt in the corresponding period of 2021. The value of the cement and clinker was US$693m, up slightly from US$690m.

In May 2022, Vietnam exported 1.5Mt of cement and clinker, with a value US$92m, down by 52% in volume and up by 29% in value year-on-year.