Articles on the cement industry from Global Cement

Introduction

The most easterly of the countries on the Indochina Peninsular, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam stretches for over 1400km north to south. It shares borders with China to the north, Laos to the west and Cambodia in the south west.

The country's 91.5 million inhabitants make it the 13th most populous nation in the world, although its large area (331,210km²) means that it is far from overcrowded.

The main population centres are in the north east, surrounding the capital Hanoi and in the extreme south around Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. Additionally, the extensive eastern coast, which runs for over 3200km, is populated throughout its length, with population density generally decreasing as one goes inland.

Introduction

Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy located in south east Asia. It is split into two roughly equal-size regions, Peninsular Malaysia, which shares the Malay Peninsular with Thailand, and Malaysian Borneo, which occupies around a third of the island of Borneo, which is shared with Indonesia (Kalimantan).

The country has approximately 29 million inhabitants over its 329,847km², although the population distribution is far from even. Approximately 73% of its inhabitants live in Peninsular Malaysia, with just 27% in Malaysian Borneo.

The higher concentration of people in the western half is both the cause and effect of greater development in this region. Such development is typified by the country's impressive and highly-developed capital Kuala Lumpur. By contrast the eastern portion of the country remains far more rural and is yet to face anything like the development seen across the water. Malaysia is often described as being 'two countries in one,' such is the contrast between the regions.

Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam are large and diverse nations located in south east Asia, a region of the world that continues to undergo rapid economic development despite the 'global' economic downturn. With many of their major towns and cities developing heavily in recent decades, attention is now shifting to other areas. Indonesia is looking to develop its eastern region of Papua and Malaysia is turning its attention to the development of Malaysian Borneo. Less developed Vietnam also has massive development potential.

Like the nations themselves, the cement industries of Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam are changing and developing rapidly, with expansions, projects and proposals announced frequently.

Introduction

The Republic of Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state, stretching for over 5200km east to west between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The country consists of approximately 16,700 islands, of which only around a third are inhabited. Its total area is 1.9 million km², making it the third largest country in Asia after China and India.

Indonesia is also the third most populous country in Asia, with a population of 237 million recorded in its 2010 census. It has the fourth highest population in the world after China, India and the USA and is home to more Muslims than any other country.

Biofuels have a number of advantages over traditional fuels in economic, environmental and practical terms. They are often local, cutting down on transport costs and associated traffic emissions, achieve CO₂-neutral combustion at high temperatures and are suitable for automatic combustion if suitably processed. One obvious disadvantage of biofuels compared to traditional fuels is that they often need extensive drying to remove moisture before use. In this article, authors from Allgaier Process Technology describe their company's Rolling Bed Dryer, which satisfies the full 'wish-list' for drying organic residual materials for biofuel production.

There are numerous examples of residual organic materials that can be made into biofuels via simple processing. These include the production of wooden pellets made of wood chips, manufacturing briquettes from waste wood, green garden waste and bark and processing rejected material from the waste-paper recycling process into fuels. Other common organic residues include the fermented substrate from the pulp of sugar beet, bagasse, plastic waste, straw and grass, pomace from fruit and grapes, used coffee grounds, straw and horse dung.

CBV case-studies

Compagnie Belge de Ventilateurs (CBV), located in Esneux near Liège in southern Belgium is a supplier of fans for heavy industry, including the cement industry. It has expertise in radial and axial fans, standard lightweight fans and can build custom equipment for specific customer requirements.

The diameter of its fans ranges from 25cm all the way up to 5m, with power ranging between 0.5kW to 7000kW, withstanding temperatutres up to 850°C.

CBR Lixhe, Belgium

In 2010 CBV undertook the replacement of the rotor of the kiln ID fan at CBR's Lixhe plant in Belgium, which had become worn.

The flow rate was 1,019,000m³/hr and the motor power was 3000kW. CBV recommended a rotor with higher efficiency, which resulted in a reduction of 190kW, more than 6%.