In 2015, the idea was born by the industrial start-up Cem’In’Eu to create a new offering for cement materials that was both better adapted to the needs of local actors and closer to them. A modular cement grinding unit with smaller production capacities was intended to be built in strategic locations that offered good access by road, river and rail. For this purpose, reliable and experienced contract partners had to be found for the realisation of this ambitious project. The grinding unit for the first of seven identical regional grinding plants has now been realised by Cem’In’Eu in partnership with partners that include Intercem Engineering, which was to engineer, deliver and commission the plant’s grinding plant module...
Cem’In’Eu is in the process of developing a new cement production and marketing concept, the first European network of regional modular grinding plants. It offers an innovative and flexible approach to the business, with strong breakthroughs in the supply, logistics, production and sale of cement products within Europe.
The company has launched seven identical projects in France and the rest of Europe, with a targeted market share of between 6% and 8% of local markets. The first project has now been realised and inaugurated in partnership with Intercem Engineering. The Aliénor Ciments grinding plant in Tonneins, Lot et Garonne, is located adjacent to the large cement markets of Toulouse and Bordeaux.
The Tonneins site is near to the railway line between Bordeaux and Toulouse, allowing the supply of clinker from Spain via the port of Bordeaux. The plant is intended to serve southwest France. The other six plants are as follows:
CimSaro: Located in the port of Chalon-sur-Saône, the plant will be directly connected to the rail network and the river Saône. Targeted markets are Auvergne, Rhône-Alpes, Burgundy, Franche-Comté and French-speaking Switzerland.
Rhône Ciments: Located in the port of Valence, the plant will be connected to the rail network and the river Rhône. Targeted markets are Rhône-Alpes, Auvergne and the Mediterranean Coast.
Ciments des Trois Frontières: Situated near the port of Mulhouse Ottmarsheim, the plant will use rail and the river Rhine. Its targeted markets are Alsace, Baden-Württemberg (Germany) and German-speaking Switzerland.
Val de Loire Ciments: The plant will be located in Western France, in Montreuil-Bellay, with its private rail access. Its targeted markets will be Western and Central France.
Pomorski Cement: Located at the Port of Gdynia near the bulk docks, the plant will supply northern Poland in the area surrounding Gdansk.
Thamesport Cement: Located in the deep-sea port of Thamesport, this plant will serve the customers of the dynamic region of Greater London and southeast England.
All of the modular grinding plants are designed with the same modules principle and are situated in the middle of their targeted markets. This approach reduces outbound logistics requirements to the minimum.
Logistics and engineering
Each of the plants will comprise three modules: The raw material module (RMM); The grinding plant module (GPM), and; The cement silo module (CSM). Intercem Engineering was responsible for engineering, design, construction and commissioning of the GPM.
The plants are to be supplied with bulk raw materials (clinker, gypsum and limestone) using sustainable and environmentally-friendly logistics, a combination of sea-borne imports and then river and/or rail transportation from the seaport to the inland sites. All plants have direct rail access and/or are situated in or near river ports.
The modular grinding plants of Cem’In’Eu adapt themselves to many possible installations. They only need a small land area, around 2.5 hectares. They are modular and completely above ground, so that the necessary civil engineering is simplified. Thus they can be adapted to different topographic conditions. They are designed to ensure the highest possible cement qualities.
With regards to environmental protection and environmentally-friendly logistics, the plants are designed for areas where conventional cement plants would not be possible. The architectural approach of the modules allows for an innovative industrial aesthetic in harmony with the environment, whether semi-urban, rural or industrial. Thanks to the containerisation of the raw materials and to fully closed storage and production buildings, the plants integrate well within their locality.
Raw material feeding station
The modular grinding plants benefit from the latest available technologies in terms of safety and environmental protection against noise and dust. All the equipment used in the factories is manufactured in the EU.
Production capacity
At full capacity, and depending on the product mix, the modular grinding plants produce around 0.25Mt/yr, which is about 8% of the local requirements. The targeted markets are independent readymix and precast concrete manufacturers for bulk cement, and retailers and construction companies for cement in bags. These will be made of polyethylene, welded, 100% dense and re-sealable.
Intercem scope of supply
For the project at Aliénor Ciments, Intercem supplied a closed-circuit ball mill with vertical high-efficiency air separator. The mill type is a two compartment ball mill with a diameter of 3.2m and an effective grinding length of 10m. The first compartment is equipped with lifting liners to ensure powerful impact for coarse grinding. The second compartment is equipped with a three-step classifying liner system to ensure ball sorting, with ultra-fine grinding action. The intermediate diaphragm allows material flow adjustment to optimise the material levels in both compartments. The intermediate and outlet diaphragms ensure maximum air ventilation.
The plant is equipped with the latest generation IVS 62 vertical air separator to ensure high-efficiency particle separation. The installed mill power is 1300kW (side drive). The product is collected by direct separation by air jet filter (70,000m³/hr) and the dust content within the clean gas is <15mg/m3. The plant can produce three different types of cement: CEM II B-L 325; CEM II A-L 42.5; CEM I 52.5.
With the Aliénor Ciments projects, an extra technical challenge was the maximum allowable noise emission of 82dB/A around the building. This was realised with a special cladding, consisting of perforated substructure, mineral wool and trapezoidal external cladding. With these measures, Intercem achieved noise emissions of less than 82dBA.
Future plans
Work by Intercem Engineering is already well underway on the next two Cem’In’Eu grinding units, for CimSaro and Rhône Ciments, respectively. All of the plants have space that will allow the installation of a second grinding mill with the same capacity. This provides the opportunity to expand the regional grinding plants in future, should market conditions allow.