Global Cement News

Iran: The Cement Industry Employers' Association has confirmed that cement plants will store heavy fuel oil to cope with a potential shortage of gas in the winter. The association told the Iranian Labour News Agency that plants had been granted permission to store up to 15 days worth of heavy fuel oil following negotiation with the Ministry of Oil. Fuel storage is a sensitive issue locally due to the potential for misuse in the black market. The cement sector faced gas and electricity shortages earlier in 2021.

Japan: Sumitomo Osaka Cement says it will raise the price of its cement from February 2022 due to rising coal and heavy fuel oil costs. It said that these mounting input prices were leading to ‘significant’ manufacturing and logistical overheads. The cement producer expects that these energy prices will remain high in the foreseeable future. It added that maintenance, labour and carbon neutrality goal costs were also growing.

Thailand: Siam Cement Group (SCG) says that a fire at its integrated Kaeng Khoi plant in Saraburi may affect exports on a temporary basis. The cement producer reported a fire at the site on 29 October 2021. The incident took place in part of a cable tunnel near to the control room at the plant. No injuries to staff were noted and the situation was stabilised quickly. The company said that the fire will not affect domestic cement sales as it has sufficient inventory.

US: The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded Cemex USA's Miami cement plant its 11th consecutive Energy Star or its on-going energy efficiency and sustainability efforts.

President Jaime Muguiro said "Sustainability and conservation are ingrained in our operations and our business, so we constantly seek opportunities to decrease our energy use and reduce environmental impacts." He added "Our team at our Miami cement plant is helping to set the standard for our industry, demonstrating what can be possible, and we are proud of their ongoing environmental performance and commitment."

US: LafargeHolcim US has revealed more information about a commercial-scale carbon-capture study based at its integrated Ste. Genevieve cement plant in Missouri. The project aims to deliver a front-end engineering design (FEED) study for a carbon capture retrofit that can separate up to 95% of CO₂ emissions at the plant. The captured CO₂ will be ‘pipeline ready’ for geological storage and analysis of the project socio-economic impact will also be part of the study. The US Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory awarded US$4m to the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois to work on the project in early October 2021. LafargeHolcim and Air Liquide are also making cost share contributions.

The design will use Air Liquide’s Crycocap FG system at the cement plant. LafargeHolcim US says that it combines pressure swing adsorption capabilities with cryogenic refrigeration technologies to achieve high CO₂ capture rates with high CO₂ purity rates. Notably, for a carbon capture project, the Ste. Genevieve plant has one of the largest single clinker kilns in the world.