Displaying items by tag: GCW130
Fracking up the cement industry
11 December 2013Water conservation is on the agenda this week with two water-related news stories from the multinational cement producers.
First came a story that Lafarge Canada is preparing to run a trial using waste water from hydraulic fracking at its Brookfield cement plant in Nova Scotia. Currently the plant uses 35ML/yr of fresh water from a nearby lake to control temperatures of its rotary cement kiln. Potentially some of this water could be replaced with water produced during the fracking process. This water would then evaporate and be emitted from the stack.
The background to this pilot project is that the Nova Scotia regional government introduced a two-year moratorium on fracking in 2012 while it reviews the situation. Given the high level of public debate on fracking, any process using waste products from it is going to receive a high level of attention. One of the major arguments against fracking concerns the toxicity of the fluids used. Hence Lafarge stressed in their statement how safe the waste water would be before it would even be used in the plant. Safe enough to drink apparently.
Focusing on the industrial aspects of the pilot for cement production, it will be fascinating to see what effects the fracking waste water might have even just as a coolant on plant equipment. Among other contaminants, fracking waste water often contains high levels of salt. Managing a transition from a fresh water coolant source to a saltier more corrosive one may pose the first of many challenges.
Later in the week Cemex announced the latest stage in its work on water conservation with the implementation of a corporate water policy. The policy aims to focus on resource availability, resource quality, and ecosystem integrity. It continues Cemex's Water Project, developed in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Notably Cemex's water policy aims to maximise efficiency by managing water consumption with increased captured recycled or captured water usage given as an example. How Cemex might use recycled water from a contentious industrial process such as hydraulic fracking is not specified. However, the policy does aim to actively reduce pollution and limit the effects of discharge upon water ecosystems from its operations.
Water policies such as a Cemex's are great for an industry that often has an image problem in the eyes of environmentalists. Linking cement production to fracking runoff will not improve this image. Yet placing science before lobbying is the way to go. Bring on the results of the pilot.
Savannah Cement appoints Ronald Ndegwa as first CEO
09 December 2013Kenya: Savannah Cement has appointed Ronald Ndegwa as its first Chief Executive Officer on 9 December 2013. The company was commissioned in July 2012 as Kenya's sixth cement manufacturer and has been operating without a substantive CEO since that time.
Savannah Cement board chairman, Benson Ndeta, disclosed that Ndegwa, who previously served as the director of supply chain at Tata Chemicals Magadi (Magadi Soda), has joined the firm with a clear brief to spearhead the business development agenda. Savannah Cement currently operates a state of the art, eco-friendly cement grinding plant with a capacity of 1.5Mt/yr.
"By retaining Ndegwa, a seasoned manufacturing and business management professional, Savannah Cement is making a bold statement that we intend to play a very key role in Kenya's, and indeed East Africa's, development agenda," said Ndeta.
India: Holcim Group, which is under the process of restructuring its holdings in India, has appointed Bernard Terver as additional director on the board of ACC and Ambuja Cements with effect from 4 December 2013.
Terver graduated from Ecole Polytechnique, Paris, in 1976 and has worked in the cement industry for more than 35 years. He has been in the service of Holcim since 1994, holding senior positions including that of CEO of Holcim Colombia and Holcim US.
The board also re-appointed Kuldip Kaura as the CEO and MD for one year with effect from 1 January 2014.
Cembureau issues joint statement on European Commission air policy review proposals
11 December 2013Belgium: Cembureau has issued a joint statement with other members of the Industrial Emissions Alliance declaring its concern for aspects of the upcoming European Commission proposals regarding the Air Policy Review. In particular the European Cement Association (Cembureau) singled out emissions reduction targets and the target year of 2025.
The statement calls for 50% 'gap closure' for emission reductions as it views a proposed rate of 75% as 'unobtainable' due to issues with how emissions reductions will be delivered by current legislation, the costs of going beyond current legislation and the environmental benefits of further measures. It added that the high rate would damage European Union (EU) industrial competiveness and EU jobs. The statement also calls for the target year to be extended to 2030 to align it with the Framework for Climate and Energy Policies dates.
Arabian cement sales fell by 17% to 3.65Mt in November 2013
11 December 2013Saudi Arabia: Cement sales dropped by 17% year-on-year to 3.65Mt in November 2013 from 4.37Mt in November 2012, according to local media. The decline in sales was blamed on a campaign against migrant workers following the end of an amnesty period on 3 November 2013.
Sales of all of the cement companies fell during November 2013 with the exception of Northern Province Cement Company, Arabian Cement Company and Madinah Cement Company, whose sales increased by 58%, 24% and 20% respectively, according to data from Yamamah Cement Company. Riyadh Cement Company and Jouf Cement Company posted the biggest drop in November 2013 at 45% and 44% respectively. Sales by Saudi Cement Company and Yamamah fell by 21% and 32% respectively.
Sales of clinker for the country's fifteen cement companies rose by 9% year-on-year to 4.75Mt in November 2013 from 4.35Mt in November 2012.
Suez Cement orders bag filter system from Boldrocchi
11 December 2013Egypt: Suez Cement has ordered a bag filter system from Boldrocchi srl for its Helwan Plant. The turnkey contract includes new bag filters, a heat exchanger and fans for the kiln, raw mill and clinker cooler. This will replace the plant's existing baghouse and glaver bed filters.
Previously Italian engineering firm Boldrocchi had signed a contract with the Helwan Plant in 2012 to provide bag filters and fans for the Helwan Plant. Line one was commissioned in November 2013 and Line two is expected to be completed at the end of May 2014.
Development Bank of Ethiopia signs US$33m loan agreement with Habesha Cement to build plant
11 December 2013Ethiopia: The Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) has signed a loan agreement with Habesha Cement for US$33m to build a 1.4Mt/yr cement plant at Holeta in Oromia State. Additional loan agreements were also signed in late November 2013 between Habesha, the DBE and the Preferential Trade Area (PTA) Bank, the financial arm of the Common Market for Eastern & Southern Africa (COMESA). The PTA Bank is co-financing the Habesha project by lending US$50m.
According to Addis Fortune, Habesha is now seeking a letter of credit to allow equipment for the cement plant to be imported. Chinese engineering firm Northern Heavy Machinery Industries have been hired to import and erect machinery for US$80m.
Previously the DBE approved a loan for US$83m to cover 70% of the project costs but it withdrew the offer in early 2013. The current DBE loan only covers 30% of the project costs. Other investors, including PPC and South Africa's Industrial Development Corporation (SAIDC) paid US$21m for nearly half of Habesha Cement in 2012. The plant was originally scheduled to start production by 2012.
Lafarge earns US$60m/yr from clinker sales in Bangladesh
11 December 2013Bangladesh: Lafarge Surma Cement (LSC) earns up to US$60m/yr from sales of clinker to other cement companies in the country. The Bangladesh-based subsidiary of Lafarge imports limestone from a quarry in Meghalaya, India via a 17km belt conveyor to its cement plant at Chhatak, Bangladesh. According to the Financial Express, the setup is the only cross-border industrial venture between India and Bangladesh.
Cemex implements water policy
11 December 2013Mexico: Cemex has implemented a corporate water policy that defines its global strategy for responsible water management across its operations worldwide. The policy, developed in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), aims to develop business activities in a sustainable manner, minimising pressure on water resources and to cover three essential aspects that include resource availability, resource quality and ecosystem integrity.
Cemex's corporate water policy includes the company's compliance with relevant regulations and pledges to maximise water efficiency by managing water consumption and utilising sustainable water sources such as rainwater.
Since forming their partnership in 2010, Cemex and IUCN have standardised water measurement and management to increase water efficiencies in all of the company's operations.
Thang Long Cement exports 30,000t of cement to Peru
11 December 2013Vietnam: Thang Long Cement has exported 30,000t of cement cargo in bulk packed with Jumbo bags to Peru. This is the first and largest shipment of cement the Semen Indonesia subsidiary has exported to Peru in 2013. Since May 2013 Thang Long Cement has exported over 750,000t of products.