Displaying items by tag: Alternative Fuels
National Cement Company of Alabama’s Ragland cement plant upgrade to reduce CO2 emissions by 40%
25 July 2022US: National Cement Company of Alabama has reported that the new kiln line at its Ragland cement plant will reduce the plant’s CO2 emissions by 40%. Its energy consumption will also fall by 30% as a result of the upgrade. The new line includes a 78m-high homogenisation silo, vertical crusher, five-stage preheater and automated clay storage system. AF used in the kiln will include waste tyres, woodchip and sawdust. The new kiln will help in the Ragland cement plant’s transition to 100% Portland limestone cement (PLC) production by 2023, further diminishing its carbon footprint.
Vicat CEO Guy Sidos said "Our ambition is to use AF in all our cement plants around the world. In addition to eliminating fossil fuel energy and replacing it with recycled regional waste, our investments contribute directly to local development. We are proud of the modernisation and transformation of our Ragland site, which was our very first acquisition outside France in 1974."
US: Vicat subsidiary National Cement Company of Alabama inaugurated its new US$300m production line at its Ragland cement plant on 21 July 2022. Local press has reported that the line includes a new rotary kiln, equipped for alternative fuel (AF) use.
President Spencer Weitman said “This puts us into the next 40 or 50 years. And it’s prolonged the life of the plant to move us forward into the next century hopefully.”
Germany: Zement- und Kalkwerke Otterbein plans to invest Euro10m in upgrades to its Otterbein cement plant to increase the sustainability of cement production there. The new equipment will include a hot gas filter SCR catalytic converter system. The producer says that this will install the facility as one of the lowest-CO2 cement plants in the world. Local press has reported that, after commissioning the new system, the company plans to increase its approved substitution of biomass as fuel to 100% from 60%.
Morocco: Holcim subsidiary LafargeHolcim Maroc has released information about its 1.6Mt/yr Agadir cement plant in Souss-Massa Region. The producer invested US$299m in the plant’s construction and it has been operational since late 2021. The plant is highly automated in line with Holcim’s Plants of Tomorrow strategy. It will run off wind power from 2023, and also uses alternative fuel (AF). 200 people work at the plant.
In conjunction with its work in setting up the new cement plant, LafargeHolcim Maroc developed drinking water networks in the surrounding area, including the construction of three solar-powered water towers.
DG Khan Cement ships 50,000t of cement to the US
21 June 2022Pakistan: DG Khan Cement has despatched a shipment of 50,000t of cement for Houston, US, from Karachi. The Balochistan Times newspaper has reported that the shipment is the first of 12 consignments of the same size under an order for 600,000t of low-alkali cement. If successful, the order may double to 1.2Mt. The producer is using jumbo bags to transport the product on its 42-day journey overseas.
Marketing director Fareed Afzal said that Pakistani businesses need to diversify their export markets and strengthen foreign currency reserves. He added that DG Khan Cement continues to reduce its products' carbon footprints by using renewable energy, waste heat recovery (WHR) and alternate fuels (AF).
Peterburgcement to increase Slantsy cement plant’s efficiency through alternative fuels upgrade
17 June 2022Russia: Eurocement says that its subsidiary Peterburgcement’s Slantsy cement plant in Leningrad Oblast is undergoing an upgrade in order to co-process 100,000t/yr of alternative fuel (AF) in its cement production. The group claims that the upgrade will improve the efficiency of the 1.9Mt/yr plant and reduce its consumption of natural gas by 25%. The purported cost of the upgrade is US$1.77m.
Eurocement previously implemented the same technology at another of its cement plants in the Republic of Mordovia.
Tyre fire breaks out at Vassiliko Cement plant
14 June 2022Cyprus: Vassiliko Cement’s Vassiliko cement plant was the site of a tyre fire in an alternative fuel (AF) storage area on 11 June 2022. The Cyprus Mail newspaper has reported that the fire begun due to a mobile shredder malfunction. Enerco Energy Recovery operates the shredder at the 2.5Mt/yr cement plant. Local residents protested the incident at the site of the plant’s former quarry on 13 June 2022.
Germany: HeidelbergCement has replaced its existing revolving credit line with a new syndicated credit line based on the Loan Market Association’s sustainability-linked loan principles (SLLP). HeidelbergCement says that key performance indicators of its progress towards sustainability objectives will determine the credit line’s credit margin, adjusted according to its CO2 emissions per tonne of cementitious material and alternative fuel (AF) substitution rate. HeidelbergCement says that its ‘solid financial base’ enabled it to reduce the syndicated credit line to US$2bn from US$3bn, and to avoid financial covenants.
Chief financial officer René Aldach said “With the conclusion of the new syndicated credit line, we have taken the first step towards sustainable financing. In addition, we were able to improve the terms and conditions compared with the previous credit line.”
France: Germany-based IKN says it successfully commissioned a new Pendulum Cooler at Lafarge France’s Martres cement plant earlier in the year. The 2500t/day cooler was supplied for the new production line at the unit. It is also equipped with a single grate Dynamic Linear Drive and a roll crusher with three rolls at the cooler end as well as a bypass. It is designed to be used with an alternative fuels thermal substitution rate of up to 85%. IKN thanked Lafarge France and China-based CBMI for their cooperation on the project. The new production line was commissioned in January 2022.
India: Nuvoco Vistas recorded full-year consolidated sales of US$1.2bn in its 2022 financial year, up by 24% year-on-year. The group’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) remained level year-on-year at US$198m. Its profit after tax also remained level at US$4.12m.
The Pioneer newspaper has reported that Nuvoco Vistas’ Chittor cement plant achieved an alternative fuel (AF) substitution capacity of 23% during the 2022 financial year. The group says that it remains focused on increasing its proportion of blended cement products, in addition to AF and waste heat recovery (WHR) projects.