08 September 2022

US: Total US cement shipments grew by 4% to 52.4Mt in the first half of 2022 from 50.4Mt in the same period in 2021. Data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) shows that local shipments and imports rose by 3.5% to 44.1Mt and 7% to 8.31Mt respectively. The largest sources of imports of cement and clinker were Turkey at 4.57Mt, Canada at 2.19Mt, Mexico at 1.28Mt, Greece at 1.23Mt and Vietnam at 0.94Mt. The largest cement producing states in the reporting period, in descending order, were Texas, California and Missouri.

Dominican Republic: The President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, has inaugurated the kiln of a restarted production line at the San Pedro de Macorís cement plant. The US$34m upgrade project was started in 2021. The line has a clinker production capacity of 0.5Mt/yr and it has been restarted to support the local market. The announcement follows the start of a project to use hydrogen at the unit that began in late August 2022. The plant also plans to increase its use of alternative fuels, move to using more CO₂-free materials and increase its use of additives over the next five years.

Honduras: Argos Honduras is set to start a new hydrogen injection process at its integrated Piedras Azules cement plant. During the process, water molecules are split using electricity into hydrogen and oxygen and then injected into the kiln through the main burner. The main objective of this technology is to reduce the use of fossil fuels, CO₂ emissions levels and energy consumption at the plant.

Luis Eduardo Tovar, the manager of Argos Honduras, said “We are proud to be committed to innovation and new technologies that allow us to keep our operation at the forefront of the industry. This project has allowed us to reduce our C0₂ emissions and optimise our processes to become increasingly efficient."

A pilot was previously conducted in conjunction with Portugal-based UTIS. It showed that by using the technology the plant could increase its clinker production and reduce petcoke consumption.

Denmark: FLSmidth says it will lead CO₂Valorize, a new consortium intended to develop and deploy carbonation technologies in the cement industry. The group will receive Euro2m from the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Networks and is supported by the European Commission’s Horizon Europe initiative. The expected commercial and technical outcomes of the consortium include a full flow sheet of the carbonation process line, the techno-economic analysis of various technology and materials options, and the optimisation of FLSmidth's proprietary reactors. The project is also intended to be a key part of FLSmidth MissionZero programme.

Burcin Temel McKenna, Head of Green Cement Solutions Development at FLSmidth, said “We have been granted a unique opportunity to revolutionise the cement industry at a time of extreme urgency”. He added, “On-site carbon capture and utilisation projects will be a quicker and more economically viable way forward for in cement plants.”

The consortium includes the following partners: Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Karlsruhe Institute of Technology; HZDR Innovation with Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and Technische Universität Dresden; Technical University of Denmark; University of Padova; Siemens Process Systems Engineering; and the Slovakia-based cement producer Cemmac. The partners will support eight fully funded PhD students conducting research into the characterisation and kinetics of carbonated materials and optimisation of the carbonation process. They will also explore the commercial opportunities for mineral carbonation. The focus will be on the carbonation of calcium-, aluminium-, and magnesium-silicates as well as cement derivatives, slag, fly ash, recycled concrete fines and mine tailings.

Philippines: Cemex Philippines says that it was the sole supplier of cement for the construction of the Cordova Link Expressway, the longest bridge in the country. It supplied nearly 70,000t of cement for the project. It connects Cebu City to the municipality of Cordova on Mactan Island and spans a total of 8.9km standing on twin tower pylons reaching 145m in height. The bridge opened to road traffic in 2022.

Pakistan: Bestway Cement’s turnover grew by 21% year-on-year to US$460m in the financial year to 30 June 2022 from US$380m in the same period in 2021. Its operating profit rose by 32% to US$85.4m from US$64.4m. Its cost of sales increases by 23% to US$221m from US$180m.