Displaying items by tag: Fly Ash

UK: Aggregate Industries has launched six new products in its Lafarge Cement range. The additions include Super White Cement and Sulfate Resistant Portland fly ash cement as well as Concrete Mix, Postmix and Mortar Mix blends, and Hydrated Lime. The new products join the LafargeHolcim subsidiary’s already established Lafarge General Purpose Cement range.

India: 15 companies have expressed interest in building cemeunt plants near to NTPC’s power stations. The electricity generation company sought cement producers in early 2017 to submit expressions of interest for partnerships to build 1Mt/yr cement plants, according to the Mint newspaper. NTPC wants its partners to sign long-term agreements with it to exclusively use fly ash and electricity from its power plants. The company has declined to name the companies that have expressed interest in the scheme. However, the power plants it wants to set up cement plants near include Barh, Farakka, Bongaigaon, Dadri, Badarpur, Moda and Aravali Power.

US: Boral has completed its acquisition of Headwaters, a leading building products manufacturer and fly ash marketer in North America. Boral USA and Headwaters will form a new division to be named Boral North America, which will be headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the location of Boral’s current US headquarters.

India: Ambuja Cement has launched Ambuja Compocem, a composite cement made from fly ash and slag. The product is being produced at its Chhattisgarh plant and it has been introduced to markets in Bihar and Jharkland. It is being marketed to all market segments including individual house builders, real estate developers and infrastructure projects.

“With the launch of Ambuja Compocem, we have achieved a three pronged sustainability approach by conserving natural resources, creating a greener product and fulfilling customer needs for a superior performance product. We call this approach delivering true value,” said Ambuja Cement’s managing director and chief executive officer Ajay Kapur.

Tanzania: Kibo Mining has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mbeya Cement, a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, to collaborate regionally and to share materials in the Mbeya and Songwe regions. The agreement includes arrangements to supply coal, limestone, fly ash, electricity and cement between the parties. It also includes plans to bring together local development bodies to develop the region.

Kibo Mining operates a thermal coal deposit at Mbeya and it is developing a 250 – 350MW coal power plant at the site with the help of Chinese contractors.

UAE: Renca, a technology start-up working with Dubai’s Future Accelerators programme, has developed a geopolymer cement from fly ash and ground granulated blast slag that can be used in 3D printing, according the National newspaper. The product’s advantage over Ordinary Portland Cement when used in additive manufacturing is that it can be used without additives making it cheaper.

The start-up is a joint venture between Andrey Dudnikov, a Russian businessmen, and Alex Reggiani, an Italian geologist and mineralogist. The company is working with the Dubai Municipality to develop its material for use in 3D printing projects in Dubai. The company is also looking to set up a plant for its product in the city.

India: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has decided to form a multi-disciplinary committee to examine the possibility of building cement plants near to power plants to use fly ash. The decision was taken at the ministry's Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for thermal power projects in mid-February 2017 following a directive by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in January 2017, according to the Mint newspaper.

"Only 20 - 30% of fly ash is being currently used in making Pozzolana Portland Cement (PPC). Though there are technologies available worldwide for using 80% of fly ash in cement manufacturing, it is not practised in India for various reasons," said an expert committee convened by the ministry.

A sub-committee may be formed with the representative Ministry of Mines, Ministry of Power, CEA (Central Electricity Authority), Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and Ministry of Coal to examine the issue. In 2015, about 180Mt of fly ash was produced across India and by 2025 it is estimated to reach 300Mt/yr. Unused fly ash is typically dumped into ash ponds.

India: NTPC is looking for cement producers to help it build cement plants to take advantage of its fly ash and electricity. The power generation company is asking cement producers to submit expressions of interest for partnerships to build 1Mt/yr cement plants near its power stations, according to the Times of India. Partners will have to source their fly ash from NTPC but will be responsible for marketing their own products. NTPC has previously tried to enter the cement market since 2008 with both partners including the Cement Corporation of India and on its own. It produces 65Mt/yr of fly ash.

US: Boral has agreed to buy Headwaters, a manufacturer of building products, for US$2.6bn subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. Headwaters’ Construction Materials division delivers around US$370m/yr of revenue and is one of the largest marketers of fly ash in the US. Boral has described the acquisition as ‘transformative’ as it will significantly boost its US division, Boral USA.

“The businesses of Headwaters are highly complementary with Boral’s existing US operations – in fly ash, roofing, stone and light building products. It’s this strong alignment that means we can deliver substantial value through synergies – ramping up to approximately US$100m/yr of synergies within four years of closing,” said Boral’s chief executive officer and managing director Mike Kane.

Australia: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has filed an appeal against a US$12.6m fine against Cement Australia, which it views is too low. On 16 May 2016 a Federal Court published orders imposing a penalty of US$13.7m on the cement producer. One order was then set aside, reducing the fine to US$12.6m. However, the ACCC contends that a penalty of over US$66m is more appropriate for the breaches of Australia’s competition legislation.

“The ACCC will argue to the Full Court that the penalties imposed on Cement Australia are manifestly inadequate, and not of appropriate deterrent value,” said ACCC Chairman Rod Sims. He added that suitable financial penalties were considered ‘essential’ as a deterrent to anti-competitive conduct and to prevent businesses viewing such behaviour as an acceptable cost of doing business.

The proceedings relate to contracts that were entered into by Cement Australia companies between 2002 and 2006 with four power stations in South East Queensland, to acquire fly ash. The court found numerous contraventions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. It also fined Christopher White, a manager in the Cement Australia fly ash business during the relevant period, a penalty of US$14,700 for his involvement in making the contravening contracts with the operator of the Swanbank power station in 2005.