Displaying items by tag: Clinker
Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies launches H-Iona clinkerless cement on bagged cement market
16 September 2021France: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies has launched H-Iona clinkerless cement, its first cement to be made available to retail customers in bagged form. Dow Jones Institutional News has reported that H-Iona cement production’s CO2 emissions are 150kg/t, according to the producer. It claims that this is just 17% that of ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies produces H-Iona, primarily from ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and gypsum, heat-free at its fully automated Bournezeau plant.
Co-founder Julien Blanchard and David Hoffmannsaid "By launching H-Iona, the lowest carbon cement on the European market, Hoffmann Green Cement is following its continuous innovation approach.” They added “This is the first low-carbon cement to have received CE marking. Thanks to this ground breaking technology, we are democratising access to low-carbon cement.”
Oman Cement to upgrade Rusayl cement plant
14 September 2021Oman: Oman Cement plans to upgrade its 4.2Mt/yr Rusayl cement plant. Reuters News has reported that the producers’ plans consist of a 25% capacity expansion of Line 3 of the plant to 5000t/day from 4000t/day and the construction of a new 10,000t/day Line 4. Lines 1 and 2 will subsequently shut down. Thus, the upgrade will increase the plant’s nominal clinker capacity to 15,000t/day from 8700t/day.
Turkey: 120,000 members of the Construction Contractors Confederation (IMKON) downed tools on 9 September 2021 in protest against high cement prices. Emerging Market Watch News has reported that the strike will last until 21 September 2021 or until ‘satisfactory developments.’
The Ministry of Trade has tightened procedural restrictions on exporting clinker. Trade Minister Mehmet Mus is in talks with construction and cement industry representatives.
Moroccan cement and clinker standards tighten
25 August 2021Morocco: The government of Morocco has tightened cement and clinker quality standards. The Le Matin newspaper has reported that the new standards will see cement and clinker assessed on the basis of higher consistency and final product durability standards than previously.
Ghanaian cement producers warn of mounting clinker costs
03 August 2021Ghana: George Dawson-Amoah, the executive secretary of the Chamber of Cement Manufacturers Ghana, has warned that mounting clinker costs are negatively affecting the cement industry. He said that the cost of clinker grew by 55% in the first half of 2021 and it is expected to nearly double, according to GhanaWeb. Cement prices have risen subsequently. Dawson-Amoah added that congestion at local ports is also adding to clinker import costs as importers potentially face demurrage fines.
Vietnam: The Ministry of Finance has proposed increasing the export tariff for clinker to 10% from 5%. The ministry said that exports of cement and clinker were not sustainable as they use non-renewable resources, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper. It added that cement producers also benefit from low electricity prices. Customs data shows that the country exported nearly 33Mt of cement and clinker in 2020. 22Mt or 73% of this total consisted of clinker.
Peru: Cement production in the 12 months ending on 30 June 2021 was 12.2Mt, up by 43% year-on-year from 8.54Mt in the previous 12 months. Data from the Association of Cement Producers (ASOCEM) shows that local dispatches totalled 11.9Mt, up by 42% from 8.41Mt.
Cement exports recorded a drop, down by 7% to 0.16Mt from 0.17Mt, while clinker exports rose by 44% to 0.52Mt from 0.36Mt. High demand led to an increase in imports to 0.94Mt of cement, up by 59% from 0.59Mt, and 1.41Mt of clinker, almost triple the previous year’s volume of 0.48Mt.
India: Shree Cement is on track to commission its 3.0Mt/yr cement grinding plant at Patas in Pune, Maharashtra in September 2021. The plant was originally scheduled for commissioning in late 2020 but this was delayed due to Covid-19 led-disruption. The unit has had an investment of around US$80m and it will source clinker from a group site in Karnataka. The plant is Shree Cement’s first in western India.
Mexico: Holcim subsidiary Holcim Mexico has inaugurated its new 650,000t/yr cement grinding plant at Umán in Yucatán. The cost of the project was US$40m. The plant will receive clinker from its integrated plants at Macuspana in Tabasco, and Orizaba in Veracruz. The producer says that the plant will optimise delivery times for cement customers in the area. It says that it will create 400 local jobs.
General director Jaime Hill Tinoco said, “At Holcim we are very proud to continue growing with the community, as well as to continue promoting well-being in the region through the creation of direct jobs, infrastructure and investment with this new grinding plant that, as I pointed out on the day that the first stone was laid, will strengthen national and foreign investments in benefit of the growth of the region.”
Italy: HeidelbergCement subsidiary Italcementi has announced a planned investment of Euro5.0m to restart clinker production at its Trentino cement plant in Sarche di Madruzzo. The plant will have an integrated production capacity of 0.25Mt/yr when it resumes full operation from January 2022. The company aims to establish a ‘reference plant for the Northeast’ at the facility. It will begin hiring 30 new staff in late 2021. The unit has been operating as a grinding plant since 2015.
Technical director Agostino Rizzo said, “The cement plant is equipped with the technologies necessary to guarantee high level environmental performance. To this will be added a landscape integration. The relationship with the region and local communities is of great importance for us.”