Displaying items by tag: Upgrade
Early test phase of carbon capture unit at Holcim Deutschland’s Höver cement plant working well
11 May 2022Germany: Holcim Deutschland says that the preliminary test phase of a new CO2 separation unit at its Höver cement plant in Lower Saxony has delivered positive results. Plant manager Stephan Hinrichs said that the company was “delighted” with the results so far. In late 2021 Cool Planet Technologies and Hereon signed a memorandum of understanding with Holcim Deutschland to deliver a carbon capture system for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) trial at the plant based on Hereon’s PolyActive membrane technology.
The next stage of the project will start in August 2022 and it will last until late 2024. This will include a one-year active test phase, in which the system is to be examined in long-term operation, planned to start in September 2023. If the results are good enough then the carbon capture unit will be expanded step-by-step so that after the final expansion stage it can separate around 90% of the CO2 emissions and deliver high-purity CO2 in liquid form for sequestration or further use. The ultimate aim of the project is to demonstrate performance, economy and operational behaviour on a larger scale in order to check whether the technology can be used at both Höver and other cement plants. Continued funding for the scheme is dependent on an application to the Competence Centre on Climate Change Mitigation in Energy-Intensive Industries (KEI) as part of the Decarbonisation in Industry program.
France: Lhoist and Air Liquide have signed a memorandum of understanding with the aim to build a carbon capture unit at Lhoist’s Réty lime plant in Hauts-de-France. Air Liquide wants to build and operate a unit from 2028 using its Cryocap FG (Flue Gas) technology to capture and purify 95% of the lime plant’s CO2 emissions. The companies have jointly applied for the European Innovation Fund large scale support scheme to pay for the project. This partnership is a step towards the creation of a low-carbon industrial ecosystem in the Dunkirk area.
Lhoist’s ‘Chaux et Dolomies du Boulonnais’ plant in Réty is France’s largest lime production plant. A potential carbon capture unit at the plant could potentially reduce the CO2 emissions of the plant by more than 600,000t/yr. Captured CO2 would then be transported to a multimodal CO2 export hub in Dunkirk, currently under development, and sent to be sequestered in the North Sea as part of the D’Artagnan project, which has received the PCI (Project of Common Interest) label from the European Commission. The implementation of the project will be possible as public funding from European and/or French schemes supporting decarbonisation become available.
Aggregate Industries commissions Innovatium PRISMA liquid air energy storage system at Cauldon cement plant
04 May 2022UK: Aggregate Industries’ Cauldon cement plant in Staffordshire has become the first industrial facility to operate a PRISMA liquid air energy storage system. Green technology developer Innovatium developed the product in collaboration with the University of Birmingham. The supplier says that it can deliver 25% energy savings for air compression and will help Aggregate Industries to realise its 2030 goal of 500kg/t of CO2 emissions for its cementitious products.
Aggregate Industries sustainability director Kirstin McCarthy said “We are very proud to be the first partner to install the PRISMA system in an operational environment. Aggregate Industries is committed to transitioning to net zero, and supporting innovations like PRISMA is vital in helping us achieve that goal. McCarthy continued “We believe PRISMA can play a major role in addressing the ‘energy trilemma’ of managing energy efficiency, energy cost and energy security, and we're confident that its installation at Cauldon will further prove its decarbonisation credentials - a big step towards full commercialisation of the technology.”
Government of Quebec allocates US$36m towards upgrade at Ciment Québec’s Saint Basile plant
04 May 2022Canada: The Government of Quebec says it will allocate up to US$36m towards a US$110m upgrade project at Ciment Québec’s integrated St Basile plant. The plant intends to build a new grinding unit including new reception, storage and raw material handling systems and two mills. The work is intended to reduce the CO2 emissions from the plant. France-based Fives FCB previously said that it had won a contract for the project. Commissioning of the new equipment is scheduled for the beginning of 2024.
Domicem awards upgrade of limestone reclaiming system at San Cristobal plant to Bedeschi
04 May 2022Dominican Republic: Colacem Group subsidiary Domicem has awarded the contract to upgrade the limestone reclaiming system at its integrated Sabana Grande de Palenque cement plant in San Cristóbal province to Italy-based Bedeschi. The original stacking and reclaiming equipment, installed by Bedeschi in 2004, allows clay and limestone handling at the plant. The upgraded machine will improve the limestone reclaiming system, increasing its capacity from 200t/hr to 360t/hr, the capacity needed in order to feed a new production line that is being installed at the plant.
India: ACC’s earnings before taxation, interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBTIDA) fell by 26% year-on-year to US$83.1m in the first quarter of 2022 from US$113m in the same period in 2021. Net sales rose by 3% to US$566m from US$552m. Sales volumes of cement dropped by 3% to 7.71Mt but volumes of ready-mixed concrete grew by 5% to 0.87Mm3. The subsidiary of Ambuja Cement and Holcim said that its costs had been negatively affected by a global rise in fuel costs caused by ‘geopolitical events.’
The cement producer said that its new integrated plant at Ametha in Madhya Pradesh is scheduled to be commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2022. It commissioned an upgrade to its Tikaria grinding plant in Uttar Pradesh in February 2022. Waste heat recovery unit projects at its Jamul and Kymore plants are ‘on track’ and the board of ACC has approved the next phase of similar projects at its Chanda and Wadi plants.
Switzerland: Jura Cement has commissioned a regenerative thermal oxidation system at its Wildegg plant. The air pollution control system, supplied by Dürr, was installed to meet anticipated lower gas emission limits for carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and ammonia (NH3).
Titan America to expand Norfolk terminal in Virginia
12 April 2022US: Titan America plans to spend around US$37m towards expanding its Norfolk terminal in Chesapeake, Virginia. The plans at the terminal, run by subsidiary Roanoke Cement Company, include building a 70,000t dome, enlarging truck and railway capacity and enabling the site to import and distribute raw materials such as fly ash, slag and aggregates. At present the unit has a bulk storage capacity of 35,000t. Titan says that the upgrade will enable it to meet growing demand for its products in the Mid-Atlantic region. The project also follows a similar investment in a 70,000t dome currently under construction at Titan's import terminal in Tampa, Florida.
"The major expansion and modernisation of these two marine terminals is another important step toward meeting fast-growing demand for our products and services in critical infrastructure, commercial and residential projects in our communities," said Bill Zarkalis, president and chief executive officer, Titan America.
The dome and associated expansion projects are scheduled for completion in 2023.
Elex starts up electrostatic precipitator at National Cement’s Ragland plant in Alabama
12 April 2022US: Switzerland-based Elex has completed a cold start-up of an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) it has supplied to National Cement’s Ragland plant in Alabama. The ESP will be used for primary dedusting and it has a separation area of approximately 7000m2. The cement plant, owned by France-based Vicat, is currently building a new 5000t/day production line that is due to be commissioned in mid-2022.
India: Aumund Engineering India has been selected by ACC to refurbish a 175.3m high bucket elevator, the tallest in the world. The elevator is installed at ACC’s Wadi Cement plant in Karnataka where it is used for raw meal pre-heater transport at a rate of 600t/hr.
Originally, the machine was fitted with a steel cord belt of width 1320mm and tension rating of 3150N/mm. Aumund has decided to offer an alternative based on its own design concept resulting in a belt width of 1300mm but with higher tension rating of 4000N/mm with a bucket size of 1250mm at bucket spacing of 450mm. The Aumund belt concept will use continuous close pitch longitudinal ropes without rope free bucket mounting spaces. However, it will use additional wire ropes running laterally across the width of the belt adding lateral stiffness without significantly changing the belt longitudinal flexibility. This cross-stabilised construction is intended to improve stability to the belt with improved bucket fixing.
To make the necessary belt punching, Aumund has developed a special punching machine design which gives clean fixing holes that are accurately aligned relative to the belt edge and at precisely the correct pitch. The belt is held in a cassette and advanced automatically under the punching frame using a precision encoder to measure the pitch. The belts are prepared at the Aumund production in Rheinberg, Germany and shipped to site at the exact required dimensions including a prepared joint and the required clamping connection.
In addition to the new belt the elevator will also be fitted with new drive pulley including friction linings and rubber bucket mounting strips. The casings, inlet and outlet plus the complete drive unit remain unchanged.
No commissioning date for the project has been announced.