Displaying items by tag: Plant
India: The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) has issued Zuari Cements’ Kapada cement plant with a closure order. The order follows an alleged failure to conform to a previous environmental order from the APPCB. The Indian Express newspaper has reported that, pursuant to the order, the board has requested police to cut off the power supply to the integrated cement plant.
Bolivia: Fábrica Nacional de Cemento (FANCESA) has increased the clinker capacity of its Cal Orcko cement plant to 2100t/day with the inauguration of a new clinker line. The La Razón newspaper has reported that the company launched the project in May 2018 at an investment cost of US$215m. The work employed 1390 people, and a further 4000 indirectly. The producer expects the expanded plant to reach full capacity by mid-2021.
FLSmidth to prepare Norcem’s Brevik cement plant for carbon capture and storage installation
22 April 2021Norway: Norcem, part of Germany-based HeidelbergCement, has awarded a contract to Denmark-based FLSmidth to provide modifications to allow for downstream CO2 removal at its integrated Brevik cement plant. The supplier will begin work in the unit’s winter 2022 shutdown. Its upcoming carbon capture and storage (CCS) installation is scheduled for commissioning in September 2024.
Norcem project manager Tor Gautestad said, “We are very excited to have FLSmidth on board and to finally begin the construction of the full-size installation.” He added, “FLSmidth’s extensive process knowledge, and air pollution control in particular, will be critical to the success of the project.”
Saudi Arabia: Yamama Cement plans to transfer and install the seventh production line from its old plant in the south of Riyadh to the new plant’s location in Northern Halal in Al-Kharj governorate of the Riyadh region. The line has a clinker production capacity of 10,000t/day. Following the completion of the move by the end of 2024 the new plant will have a capacity of 30,000t/day. The cement producer said that cost of the move would be funded from the available company's resources.
Saudi Arabia: Yanbu Cement says that a two months modernisation project on Line 4 at its integrated Yanbu plant that was first reported in mid-February 2021 has been delayed. This has been caused by a hold up in receiving certain spare parts. The cement producer said that the financial impact would be limited to the increase in production costs only since the start of the shutdown date. It also stressed that sales would not be affected by the stoppage due to its existing clinker stocks.
France: LafargeHolcim France, part of Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim, plans to invest Euro6.2m in 2021 in upgrading its integrated La Malle cement plant in Bouc-Bel-Air, Bouches-du-Rhône department. The La Provence newspaper has reported that the plans include a Euro4.5m modernisation of the flue gas desulphurisation system of the plant’s Line 2 using equipment ordered from Italy-based Boldrocchi. The company said that it plans to maintain similar investment levels in the plant in 2022 and 2023.
The plant had reportedly received complaints about sulphurous smells in the local area. The producer attributed this to the high sulphur content in its clay, which is sometimes over 70%. It said that it is altering supply arrangement to include clay from its L'Estaque, Bouc-Bel-Air and Bellegarde, Ain quarries in its clinker mix in order to reduce sulphur content by 20%.
France: A fire has been reported at LafargeHolcim France’s integrated Saint-Pierre-la-Cour plant. It appears to have been caused by a fuel supply line explosion attached to the plant’s kiln, according to the Ouest France newspaper. No casualties have been reported by local fire fighters. The single kiln 1.5Mt/yr plant is the company’s largest in the country.
Taiheiyo Cement to start CO2 capture project at Kumagaya plant using Carbon Clean technology
21 April 2021Japan: Taiheiyo Cement plans to start a CO2 capture demonstration project at its Kumagaya plant in Kumagaya City, Saitama. It will use technology for CO2 chemical absorption supplied by UK-based Carbon Clean, which has been awarded by Japan-based Marubeni Protechs in Japan. The project will have a capacity of 10t/day and demonstration tests will begin in September 2021. Taiheiyo Cement says that it believes that CO2 recovery technology from cement kiln flue gas will require compact equipment that could be installed in cement plants and that suitable amine solvents for cement kiln flue gas are essential conditions. Its ultimate goal is to establish a technology that can be used to help it reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
The cement producer has been developing this technology as a sole grant recipient of the ‘Development of Carbon Circulation Technology for the Cement Industry,’ a project funded by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) which was awarded in June 2020. It also launched its internal Carbon Neutral Technology Development Project Team in April 2020, which has led on the project.
Marubeni Protechs, a wholly owned subsidiary of Marubeni Corporation, which invested in Carbon Clean, have been involved in a variety of domestic and international projects involving equipment supply and construction. The project at the Kumagaya plant is expected to be the first CO2 capture plant that Marubeni Protechs and Carbon Clean have introduced in Japan. Marubeni Protechs and Carbon Clean intend to jointly introduce CO2 capture plants in the future.
Spain: Cementos Cosmos and the Cooperativa Apícola del Bierzo have installed 25 bee hives at the Corullón quarry, which supports the integrated Toral de los Vados plant in Leon. The collaboration agreement aims to promote the production of honey, propolis and pollen. The hives will be cared for by the Bierzo Beekeeping Cooperative and the adaptation and maintenance of the land where they will be located will be carried out by Cementos Cosmos. The cement company will also become the preferred customer for the production of the beehives located in the quarry. Following the signing of the agreement plant director Jaime Santoalla said, "we are convinced of the coexistence and synergies between our industry and other sectors of Bierzo, such as the agricultural-food sector.”
Companhia Nacional de Cimento acquires CRH Brasil
20 April 2021Brazil: Companhia Nacional de Cimento (CNC), part of Italy-based Buzzi Unicem’s 50% subsidiary BCPAR, has acquired CRH Brasil following approval by the Brazilian antitrust authority (CADE). The deal was originally agreed for US$218m although changes in the financial positions of the acquired companies changed this. Buzzi Unicem supplied CNC with US$242m to support the deal.
CRH Brasil’s assets included three integrated cement plants and two grinding plants in the south-east of the country. The company sold approximately 2.8Mt of cement in 2020.