Aalborg Portland in Aalborg, Denmark, has been using solid recovered fuel (SRF) for many years. The SRF is burnt in the pre-calciner on a grey cement kiln line. Substitution rates have grown over the years and are currently at approximately 45%. Around 65,000t/yr of its alternative fuel is baled and wrapped SRF, which mostly arrives via sea directly into the plant. To overcome some operational issues, Aalborg Portland recently purchased a new bale-opener from fellow Danish firm ReTec Miljø ApS.
The past 12 months have been relatively quiet for the UK, as the nation entered a kind of post-Brexit-vote ‘phoney war,’ defined by the evolving consequences of the EU Referendum in June 2016. The economy has been stable, except for a sharp downturn in the months surrounding the referendum campaign itself, with reasonable prospects for modest growth in construction activity over the next couple of years. Here Edwin Trout of the Cement Industry Suppliers’ Forum looks back over the UK cement sector in the past year...
Increasing requirements relating to energy consumption, productivity, emissions and operational costs have led to a range of ways to optimise cement production. Here KIMA Echtzeitsysteme describes its KilnCooler system, which uses water to reduce the impact of hot spots on cement rotary kilns. When we speak about putting water on an, admittedly hot, rotary kiln, many people have concerns. These should be thrown overboard. A rainstorm will bring far more water onto the kiln than the system described below.
To tie in with the location of the 59th IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Industry Technical Conference, Global Cement turns its attention to the cement sector of Canada, with a look at production trends, producers and the future.
A lot of time has been spent discussing the recent financial crisis and its impact on the cement sector. The pre-crisis strategic drivers and behaviour of the sector have changed significantly in the post-crisis era. How can cement businesses proceed from here...?
