Articles on the cement industry from Global Cement

A cement is any substance which binds together other materials by a combination of chemical processes known collectively as setting.¹ Cements are dry powders and should not be confused with concretes or mortars, but they are an important constituent of both of these materials, in which they act as the 'glue' that gives strength to structures. Mortar is a mixture of cement and sand whereas concrete also includes rough aggregates.

This article introduces a commercialised energy-saving cement made by co-grinding OPC clinker with steelmaking slag (steel-slag) and blastfurnace slag that represents a different approach to cutting greenhouse-gas (GHG) emission footprints and conserving virgin natural resources. The cement uses only 15-30% of OPC clinker, 30-40% of steel-slag and 40-50% of blastfurnace slag (BFS), allowing for great reductions in GHG emissions, consumption of virgin natural resources and energy use by between 70% and 85%. The characteristics of steel-slag as a supplementary cementitious material are also discussed.

The energy intensive cement industry faces high and rising energy costs and must meet requirements for reducing CO₂ emissions. One remedy for these challenges is to increase energy efficiency by recovering waste heat and converting it to electricity.

2011 sees the 100th anniversary of the start of the Turkish cement industry. Since 1911 the cement sector has developed rapidly from a production capacity of just 20,000t/yr in 1911 to over 66Mt 100 years later.

In terms of production, the Turkish cement sector is ranked number one in Europe and number four in the world after China, India and the US. In terms of cement exports it is first with a global share of 12%, leaving China and many countries of South Eastern Asia behind.

By 2010 the sector became a vital branch of industry for the national economy, with turnover of around US$4.5bn, exports valued at US$1bn and direct employment of 15,000 people. Based on achievements during 100 years, the sector entered the new millennium with a new vision and mission enabling to serve as a model all over the world.

Teutrine GmbH has established itself as a reliable service partner for multi-faceted engineering, assembly and repair solutions for cement plant operators and plant engineering contractors. Companies from the chemical and wood-processing industries, from the waste disposal and power station sector also form part of Teutrine's customer base.