Displaying items by tag: Upgrade
SOCOCIM Industries to upgrade Rufisque cement plant
07 January 2022Senegal: SOCOCIM Industries, a subsidiary of France-based Vicat, has signed a contract with France-based Fives Group for an upgrade to its Rufisque cement plant in Dakar. Under the contract, Fives Group will supply a new 6500t/day kiln line for the 3.5Mt/yr plant. The supplier said that the line will be optimised for alternative fuel (AF) substitution. It said that the companies share mutual trust, 200 years of history and a commitment to reducing the carbon footprint of the cement industry.
LafargeHolcim España launches CCSU joint venture with Carbon Clean and Sistemas de Calor
06 January 2022Spain: LafargeHolcim España has announced the launch of a joint venture called ECCO2 with Carbon Clean and Sistemas de Calor. The joint venture will develop carbon capture technology for use at the producer’s Carboneras cement plant in Almería. It will then seek to market captured CO2 from the plant for use as a gas in local agricultural greenhouses. When commissioned in early 2023, the carbon capture system will have the capacity to capture 10% of the Carboneras plant’s CO2 emissions.
Qassim Cement planning new mill and solar unit at Buraydah plant
05 January 2022Saudi Arabia: Qassim Cement has entered into a preliminary agreement with China-based Chengdu Design & Research Institute of Building Materials Industry (CDI) for the engineering, supply and construction of a cement mill at its integrated Buraydah plant. The new mill will have a production capacity of 300t/hr. The project is budgeted at around US$40m and it has an implementation period of 15 months. More binding detailed contracts are expected to be signed by mid-January 2022.
The cement company also plans to appoint a consultant to define the scope of work and identify contractors to build a 30MW solar unit near the Buraydah plant. It said that the company would not incur any capital or operational expenditure as the payment would be based on actual consumption. The solar unit project is part of the country’s Saudi Vision 2030 strategic framework to reduce dependence on oil.
Insee Cement to upgrade Galle grinding plant in Sri Lanka
05 January 2022Sri Lanka: Insee Cement plans to spend US$56m on an upgrade to its Galle grinding plant in Southern Province. The project will add an additional 1Mt/yr of production capacity to the 1.4Mt/yr unit, according to the Daily News newspaper. Commissioning is scheduled by the end of 2023. The company’s integrated plant at Puttalam and its grinding plant at Galle have reportedly been running at full utilisation since mid-2020 to meet high local demand.
MAN Energy Solutions to supply compressor system for Norcem carbon capture and storage unit
29 December 2021Norway: Germany-based MAN Energy is supplying a compressor system for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) unit being built at Norcem’s Brevik cement plant. The scope of supply includes an RG 63-7 type electrically-powered compressor train. The steam generators cool the CO2 mixture between the compressor stages and generate steam that is in turn used for capture. The project will be the first to use the ‘Carbon Capture Heat Recovery’ technology (CCWHR) developed by MAN and Aker Carbon Capture. This new process allows the heat emerging from the compressor system to be recovered and used as steam to meet approximately one third of the total heat demand from the Aker Carbon Capture plant. Consequently, MAN says that the system solution demands less energy compared with conventional carbon-capture technologies.
Alexander Sobolyev, Head of Standardisation & Solutions at MAN Energy Solutions, said: "As part of the Norcem project, the digital-twin-based engineering approach of MAN Energy Solutions has led to concrete optimisations. The dynamic process simulation showed that originally planned system components, including heating, valves and additional pipes for safe plant operation, were not required. The time taken for a cold start of the plant can thus be reduced from around 12 hours to 20 minutes – an important characteristic as quick-start capability is always a central criterion for renewable energies."
Malawi/Zambia: Huaxin Cement says it has completed its acquisition of Lafarge Zambia and Lafarge Cement Malawi. In late December 2021 the Chinese cement producer completed the equity delivery conditions for Lafarge Cement Malawi. This follows a similar process for Lafarge Zambia in late November 2021.
In June 2021 Huaxin Cement said it had agreed to spend US$150m on purchasing a 75% stake in Lafarge Zambia and US$10m on acquiring Pan African Cement from Lafarge Cement Malawi. The former operates two integrated cement plants in Zambia with a combined production capacity of 1.5Mt/yr. The latter operates a 0.25Mt/yr grinding plant at Blantyre in Malawi. Following the completion of the takeover Huaxin Cement now intends to increase its cement grinding capacity in Malawi by 0.25Mt/yr.
Oman Cement opens bids for new production line at Rusayl plant line
22 December 2021Oman: Oman Cement Company has invited contractors to submit bids for work at its integrated Rusayl plant. It wants to build a new 10,000t/day production line (Line 4) and upgrade an existing line (Line 3) to 5000t/day from 4000t/day. The plans were originally released in September 2021. The company also intends to shut down Lines 1 and 2 once work is completed.
It was previously reported in October 2021 that the cement producer was spending US$300m on the project and that it had hired Switzerland-based PEG Resources. At this time the project had a commissioning date of 2024.
Cementos Argos to expand Piedras Azules cement plant
21 December 2021Honduras: Cementos Argos plans to expand the production capacity of its 1Mt/yr Piedras Azules cement plant by 35%. The plan is part of a group of planned projects, including solar power and alternative fuels, with a total investment value of US$23m. The company expects to complete all of the work before 2024. It says that the expanded operations will generate 500 new direct job opportunities.
The company will increase its energy supply from the Comayagua solar power plant to 25% of the plant’s requirements from 20% at present. It will also establish a new 1.2MW solar power plant at Río Blanquito. The cement producer will also strengthen its industrial waste co-processing operations with the aim of achieving 12% refuse-derived fuel (RDF) substitution rate by 2030, the equivalent of 5500t/yr. If reached, this will reduce the company’s carbon footprint in the country by 14%.
Chief executive officer (CEO) Luis Eduardo Tovar said "This investment is a vote of confidence of Argos in Honduras and represents our commitment to the country's economic reactivation and our firm determination to contribute to the consolidation of prosperous and sustainable communities based on competitive and visionary initiatives.” He continued “We will continue our efforts to promote the development of Honduran families through the creation of social value at a national level."
FLSmidth to carry out Pacasmayo cement plant upgrade
15 December 2021Peru: FLSmidth has secured a contract for the supply of a new pyro line for Cementos Pacasmayo’s Pacasmayo cement plant near Lima. The new line will give the plant an additional production capacity of 0.6Mt/yr. The supplier says that it plans to install a Cross-Bar cooler, low-NOx calciner, Jetflex burner, equipment for dosing and feeding and process automation. FLSmidth says that the upgrade will reduce the plant’s energy consumption and open new opportunities for the use of alternative fuel (AF).
FLSmidth’s head of projects and upgrades and senior vice president Anders Josefsen said “We are very excited to work with Cementos Pacasmayo on this project – not only on growing the business, but doing it in a sustainable way. The new line will be equipped with a state-of-the-art pyro system including several of our MissionZero solutions. With this, Pacasmayo makes a significant investment in future-proofing its production.” He added “The Pacasmayo project is a prime example of our capabilities within process design: ensuring the integration to an existing plant, while also demonstrating our ability to deliver equipment that meets demands for energy and fuel efficiency.”
Yanbu Cement completes production line upgrade
15 December 2021Saudi Arabia: Yanbu Cement has completed an upgrade project to Line 4 at its integrated plant. It previously, in April 2021, reported delays to the work due to difficulty obtaining spare parts. The cement producer says that the cost of the project remains unchanged.