Displaying items by tag: Clinker

France: Germany-based ThyssenKrupp has won a contract for the installation of a new 4000t/day clinker line at Ciments Calcia’s Airvault cement plant in Poitou-Charentes. The supplier expects the new line to double the plant’s clinker capacity while also reducing its CO2 emissions. It is intended to replace the two existing lines at the site.

ThyssenKrupp will supply a 1200t/hr double-shaft hammer crusher, a longitudinal blending bed, a 370t/hr Quadropol QMR² 45/23 type vertical roller mill and a 10,000t tangential blending silo to process raw materials for the line. A single-string, five-stage Dopol type cyclone preheater with integral calciner will be supplied that is suitable to use with alternative fuels, with the possibility of conversion to oxyfuel in future. ThyssenKrupp plans to preassemble the preheater, reducing anticipated construction time ‘by several months.’ The plant also includes a Polytrack clinker cooler, a solid recovered fuel (SRF) preparation line and dedusting systems. Commissioning is scheduled for mid-2024.

No value for the project has been disclosed by Ciments Calcia or ThyssenKrupp. However, Ciments Calcia previously announced a proposed investment of Euro300m in January 2021.

Spain: Cementos Cosmos plans to scale down the production of clinker at its Córdoba cement plant as a result as the high cost of electricity. The Cordoba Day newspaper has reported that parent company Votorantim Cimentos said that clinker grinding operations at the site will continue to ensure a sufficient cement supply in the region.

The Córdoba cement plant employs 48 people. The company is currently negotiating the situation and the scope of its impacts with the workforce.

North Korea: Manpho cement plant has increased its production capacity by 20% through ‘technical innovations.’ Korean News Service has reported that the installation of new equipment in the plant’s kiln line also improved clinker quality.

India: ACC and Ambuja Cements have partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) to develop a range of calcined clay cements with 50% lower CO₂ emissions than Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). The collaboration will vary clinker, calcined clay and limestone levels in calcined clay cements in order to ascertain their effects on its performance. France-based Holcim Innovation Centre will fund the research.

Holcim India chief executive officer and managing director Neeraj Akhoury said "Through our extensive research and development setup, we consistently strive to develop new low-CO₂ materials for the construction industry. Calcined clay cement is one such avenue to make a significant quantitative difference in the industry and further accelerate our sustainability drive. Our academic partnership with IITD is a big step towards building a greener future and we are excited to collaborate with the best minds in the country."

The producers have previously partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) to study low-CO₂ binders with alternative reinforcements and with the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) to develop smart sensing technology for continuous on-site strength evaluation of a concrete structure.

Tanzania: Prime Cement has received a 50,000t shipment of Saudi clinker via the Port of Tanga. The Daily News newspaper has reported that the clinker will continue its journey by road to Rwanda.

Prime Cement’s business operations manager Mvayo Fabrice said "I call upon Tanzania Ports Authority to continue marketing the Port of Tanga so that we can receive more cargo and boost the regional economy and people's welfare."

Venezuela: Corporacion Socialista del Cemento plans to begin to export cement to countries in the Caribbean from the beginning of 2022. The El Universal newspaper has reported that the company’s plant is in the process of increasing its production of cement and clinker for the start of exports. In the first 10 months of 2021, it more than doubled its production and more than tripled its sales volumes.

President Pietro Acosta said "We are contributing to the growth of a new free, non-oil, diversified economy.” He added “We will still continue to serve the national market."

Kenya: Cement companies are in the process of expanding their total clinker production capacity by 70% to 10.7Mt/yr by 2023 from 6.3Mt/yr. The Business Daily newspaper has reported that six producers – Bamburi Cement, East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC), Karsan Ramji & Sons, National Cement, Rai Cement and Savannah Cement – will add a total of 4.4Mt/yr to their clinker capacities.

Global Cement News previously reported that Kenya faced a 3.3Mt/yr national clinker shortage on 13 October 2021. Domestic producers are in the process of lobbying the government to raise the duty on imports of clinker to 25% from 10%.

Kenya: A report by the National Independent Clinker Verification Committee has found that the country has a clinker shortage of up to 3.3Mt/yr. It added that 59% of the imported clinker to compensate for this originates from Egypt without any tariffs, according to the East African newspaper. The committee was originally set up by the government in response to lobbying from industry to increase the duty on imported clinker to 25% from 10% at present. However, the committee also reported that Egypt has benefited from a free trade agreement. Local producers are divided against the proposal to raise tariffs on clinker as some of them reply on imports.

The report found that 3.8Mt of clinker was produced locally in 2020 against a demand of 5.3Mt. Local producers were reported to have been operating at a 65% capacity utilisation rate. Egypt and the UAE accounted for 92% of all clinker imports with a further 7% supplied by Saudi Arabia.

Vietnam: Vietnam National Cement Association (VNCA) members sold 77.5Mt of cement in the first nine months of 2021, up by 3.5% year-on-year. Vietnamese cement exports rose by 19% over the same period, to 31.9Mt. This corresponds to 41% of total sales. State-owned Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (VICEM) exported 14.5Mt of cement, 45% of national cement exports. Viet Nam News has reported that the country ended the nine-month period with 3.6Mt of cement and clinker in inventory.

Bolivia: Fábrica Nacional de Cemento (FANCESA) has received an order for 8000t of clinker from Chile. The Correo del Sur newspaper has reported that the company previously delivered 1000t of clinker to Chile-based Cbb’s grinding operations in the country. The producer says that it is in the process of securing a supply contract for 80,000t/yr of clinker with its Chilean customer.