Articles on the cement industry from Global Cement

The 7th International VDZ Congress 2013, 'Process technology of cement manufacturing,' has successfully taken place in Duesseldorf, Germany, on 25 - 27 September, attracting around 600 delegates of whom around 250 were from outside Germany. The Congress - in English - takes place every four years and is regarded as one of the most prestigious cement technical conferences in the world.

Alternative fuels are now a firmly-established reality in well-developed cement industries around the world and increasing amounts of alternative fuels are also being used in developing economies. Here, MVW Lechtenberg & Partner's Dirk Lechtenberg uncovers a wealth of information regarding the use of alternative fuels in the German cement industry, especially with reference to the relatively unexplored negative aspects of their use. Alternative fuels may mean lower CO₂ emissions, avoidance of landfill and decreased costs but they may also entail higher numbers of truck movements, higher dust emissions and higher specific energy consumption per tonne of cement. Part 2 of Dirk Lechtenberg's research will follow in the November 2013 issue of Global Cement Magazine.

The countries of South America are at different stages of economic development, with cement industries of varying size and ages. Nine countries, namely Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, have integrated cement facilities. These have a combined cement industry that is the same size as that of Brazil, which is not covered in this review.

DG Khan's cement plant at Chakwal, Pakistan, is one of the largest cement plants in Asia. With the support of Vecoplan FuelTrack it is successfully using alternative fuels.

The People's Republic of China is the world's most populous country and the second-largest economy after the USA.¹ It is also a dominant industrial power and has the largest cement industry in the world,² although its exact size is up for debate. However large, the country's massive cement capacity has helped fuel massive government-led infrastructure and settlement projects. China is also one of the largest global cement exporters.³