Displaying items by tag: Research
Research organisation predicts end of export growth and rise in domestic demand in Vietnam in 2021
11 January 2021Vietnam: Vietnamese cement export growth is forecast to slow in 2021. The Viet Nam News newspaper has reported on research by SSI Research that expected exports to remain stable due to high infrastructure spending in China, but that growth is unlikely due to the full recovery of Chinese domestic cement supply in 2020. SSI Research forecasts a total 2021 cement and clinker sales growth of 2% year-on-year to 104Mt from 102Mt. It predicts a 5% - 7% increase in domestic sales. The country’s installed cement production capacity is due to rise by 7% or 7Mt in early 2021.
HeidelbergCement considers relocation of Italcementi’s Bergamo research centre to Germany
27 November 2020Italy: Germany-based HeidelbergCement is reportedly considering a relocation of its subsidiary Italcementi’s research centre from Bergamo, Lombardy to Heidelberg in Baden Württemberg, Germany. The Italia Oggi newspaper has reported that Italcementi said, "The reorganisation of innovation and product research activities will be concentrated on a global level to better enhance the important skills acquired in Bergamo, making them available to all the countries that are part of the group. The process of relocation to Heidelberg of the research activities will be defined in detail during 2021 and at the same time all the possible solutions for the workers involved will be implemented through internal or external relocation offers."
The proposed move has attracted local resistance. Chamber of Deputies member for Lombardy Maurizio Martina said, “All the institutions, from the national government to the regional council, must promote an initiative to discuss with the owners the choice of moving the HeidelbergCement research centre to the German headquarters. The agreements signed in 2016 were different: we are talking about one of the most important research centres in the world, which brings quality employment and added value to Bergamo and Lombardy, and it is essential to do everything to ensure that it remains in our territory."
Catch4Climate project moves forward with Mergelstetten oxyfuel plans
19 November 2020Germany: The Catch4Climate project has moved into the planning stage of its oxyfuel pilot plant at the Mergelstetten cement plant. The group, comprising Buzzi Unicem’s subsidiary Dyckerhoff, HeidelbergCement, Schwenk Zement and Vicat, signed a letter of intent with the state’s prime minister and transport minister in Stuttgart in mid-November 2020.
The consortium intends to build and operate its own demonstration plant on a semi-industrial scale, to use the oxyfuel process to capture CO2. In the future, the captured CO2 will be used to produce so-called ‘reFuels’, climate-neutral synthetic fuels such as kerosene for air traffic, with the help of renewable electrical energy.
The cement producers formed CI4C – Cement Innovation for Climate in late 2019. The aim of the Catch4Climate project is to create the basis for a large-scale application of CO2 capture technologies in cement plants enabling the later use of CO2 as a raw material in other processes such as a carbon capture and utilisation/storage.
FYM helps found chair on climate change at University of Malaga
06 November 2020Spain: HeidelbergCement subsidiary FYM has partnered with the University of Malaga (UMA) to create a chair on climate change at the institution. The position aims “to create and promote the study, research and development of new solutions to the climate emergency and its consequences for nature and daily life.” The company said that this consists in: “deepening the knowledge of the causes and consequences of climate change in Malaga Province, investigating the possibilities of its mitigation, especially through circular economic processes, encouraging research, development and innovation within the different lines of action in the fight against climate change, setting and substantiating industry targets and promoting understanding of the effects of climate change and the different forms of mitigation and adaptation.”
Mexico: Cemex has announced the signing of a collaboration agreement with Switzerland-based alternative fuel (AF) specialist Synhelion, through which the pair aim to develop the use of solar power as an alternative heat source to fuel in clinker production. Pilot testing of Synhelion products will begin at a Cemex plant in late 2022, at a total investment cost of up to US$10m.
Head of global research and development Davide Zampini said, "Thanks to the technology that Synhelion is developing, we can bring the solar heat up to 1500°C. In the process, we can also capture the carbon dioxide (CO2), and that fits perfectly into the process of the synthetic fuel."
Sumitomo Osaka Cement issues update on cement radioactivity
30 September 2020Japan: Sumitomo Osaka Cement says that independent tests have confirmed that the radioactivity levels of cement produced at its 0.9Mt/yr Tochigi plant in Sano, Tochigi Prefecture are “below the lowest detectable limit,” meaning that the product is safe. The company said, “We hope that you will continue to use our products with peace of mind.”
Production at the plant was disrupted in 2011 when it was discovered that it was co-processing sewage sludge sourced from near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima Prefecture. The power plant suffered a nuclear meltdown following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that led to widespread radioactive fallout.
Thai university conducts cradle-to-grave analysis of Myanmar’s cement
28 September 2020Thailand: King Monkut's University of Technology Thonburi has conducted a cradle-to-grave analysis of the environmental impacts of 1t of cement from neighbouring Myanmar. The study concluded that the cement’s production had major environmental impacts in terms of “climate change, photochemical oxidant formation, fine particular matter formation, terrestrial acidification, fossil resource scarcity, damage to ecosystems and damage to human health. Resultantly, researchers concluded that “some improvement measures should be considered, which include upgrading the cement manufacturing process, increasing the share of clinker substitutes, utilising alternative fuels, optimising energy efficiency and implementing energy recovery technologies."
Conch Group partners with Shanghai Jiaotong University for joint research and development facility
24 September 2020China: Conch Group has announced the signing of a partnership agreement with Shanghai Jiaotong University for the establishment of a technology centre called the Intelligent Equipment Joint Research and Development Centre.
General manager He Chengfa said, “This centre established in cooperation with Shanghai Jiao Tong University is an important carrier for the group's innovation and development. Shanghai Jiao Tong University is a first-class domestic and internationally renowned comprehensive university with strong scientific research capabilities and a complete talent training system. It is hoped that Shanghai Jiaotong University will educate Conch Group's future scientific research team, enhance Conch Group's innovation level and provide assistance for the Conch Group to become a world-class enterprise with global competitiveness.”
National Energy Technology Laboratory invests US$1.5m in LafargeHolcim CO2MENT project
18 September 2020US: LafargeHolcim says that Department of Energy institution National Energy Technology Laboratory has awarded US$1.5m of federal funding to the company’s CO2MENT Colorado project. The project aims to capture 2.0Mt/yr of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the company’s 1.9Mt/yr Portland cement plant in Florence, Colorado for sequestration underground by Occidental.
The group said, “With the successful completion of the initial scoping study in June 2020 and confirmation of Department Of Energy funding, the partnership has committed to the next project phase.”
Solidia Technologies partners with Chryso to further develop Solidia concrete product
15 September 2020US: Solidia Technologies and France-based Chryso have announced a collaborative partnership for the further development of the Solidia ‘ultra-low’ CO2 concrete product. The companies plan to use their “combined expertise to improve the sustainability performance and material properties” of the concrete.
“Incorporating Chryso’s exclusive water-reducing admixtures adapted to the specific chemistry of Solidia Concrete, will further reduce water consumption in the curing process,” said Tom Schuler, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Solidia Technologies.