Displaying items by tag: GCW443

There was fantastic news for fans of novel cements this week, when Cementos Argos announced the completion of work on a new 0.45Mt/yr calcined clay production line at its Rio Claro plant in Colombia. This artificial pozzolanic material, developed and promoted by the Swiss-led LC3 consortium in recent years, can dramatically lower cement CO₂ emissions by replacing slag and/or fly ash in cement mixes. The Rio Claro plant is the first major cement plant to install such a line following smaller trials in Switzerland, India and Cuba.

Suitable clays are more widely available than slag and fly ash, alleviating some of the difficulty and cost of obtaining supplementary cementitious materials. They also need to be calcined at just 800°C, offering massive savings in terms of fuel costs, CO₂ emissions and embodied energy compared to Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) production. Karen Scrivener from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), the leading academic party in the LC3 consortium, explained that calcined clays are at their best when in ternary (three-way) blends alongside clinker and limestone in the September 2019 issue of Global Cement Magazine. “It has long been known that calcined clays can be pozzolanic,” she explained. “When used alone, the maximum substitution level is around 30%, which gives a moderate saving in CO₂ emissions. However, if we substitute a further 15% of the clinker with limestone, we get a significant reduction in CO₂ emissions, with a product that has almost identical properties to the blend that contains just the calcined clay.”

While the exact composition of Rio Claro’s new products is unclear, it will enable Cementos Argos to produce ternary cement blends with CO₂ emissions 38% lower than OPC. Energy consumption is also cut by 30%, which provides secondary benefits in terms of reduced off-site CO₂ emissions. At the plant’s launch, Cementos Argos’ President Juan Esteban Calle clearly stated that calcined clays were the way forward, announcing, “With this project we are sowing the seeds of the Argos of the future. It starts today with a new production line at Rio Claro. In our commitment to climate change, this project makes us very proud.”

The response from Argos’ consumers will be keenly watched, especially in Europe. Just this week LafargeHolcim and Vicat, along with France’s Technical Association of the Hydraulic Binders Industry (ATILH), called on the European Commission and European Committee for Standardisation to hurry up and publish ternary cement standards across the European Union (EU). At the moment these producers are primarily concerned with CEMII / C-M and CEM VI cements. These classes of cement comprise a range of ternary blends that contain clinker and limestone, plus a third component, be it slag, fly ash, natural pozzolans or calcined clay. They claim that placing low-clinker cements on the market could reduce the amount of CO₂ emitted by 127kg/t, around 20% of the 656kg/t average in Europe at present.

Frustrated with the delays at Commission level, cement producers have now taken things into their own hands. The plan is to establish the same standard within each EU Member State at the national level, rather than waiting in vain for standards from ‘on high.’ One pressing driver for this behaviour is the rapid approach of the Phase 4 of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in January 2021. In Phase 4 it is likely that EU cement producers will be allocated only 80% of the free allowances they have become accustomed to. They will have to buy the remainder at market prices, currently Euro25.1/t of CO₂ (17 February 2020). This will represent a massive new expense for some producers. The opportunity to sell cement that emits only 58% of the CO₂ of OPC is clearly exceedingly attractive as a way to reduce outgoings. CO₂ emissions will be reduced, of course but, as usual, the way to make companies do things is to hit them in the wallet.

Indeed, on this point, Vicat seemed to almost goad or ‘troll’ its competitors in Europe this week by announcing that it has never sold any EU ETS allowances and is sitting atop a 5Mt CO₂ reserve worth Euro120m. This is sufficient to last it until 2030 at current prices. The key part of that last sentence is ‘current prices,’ which are subject to change. In its press release, Vicat was keen to point out that it is not resting on its laurels, highlighted by its advocacy for ternary blends and continued development of alternative fuels. This may be wise, considering that EU ETS allowances will likely cost more once Phase 4 kicks in.

With clinker factors of just 50 - 65% for CEMII / C-M, and 35 - 50% for CEM VI, Edelio Bermejo, director of research and development (R&D) at LafargeHolcim insists, "These cements are no longer at the research and development stage. They have been widely validated and we are ready to produce them, especially as their manufacture does not require modification of our facilities." The establishment of Cementos Argos’ Rio Claro calcined clay plant proves his point. We can expect to hear a lot more about these blends in the coming months. In the words of Bermejo, “The future is here!”

Germany: Matthias Mersmann has been appointed by the Supervisory Board as a new member of the Management Board of KHD Humboldt Wedag International AG, effective 1 February 2020. He contributes his long-term expertise in the technology of cement manufacturing processes and equipment design, which he has acquired in various executive positions with OEM suppliers as well as an independent consultant. From 1994 to 2008, Mersmann worked for KHD Humboldt Wedag in Cologne and became familiar with the product portfolio, the staff and cement clients.

After leaving KHD in 2008, Mersmann founded the cement consultancy aixergee GmbH and specialised on the optimisation of equipment of all kinds and makes for the manufacture of cement. He was also called into the Executive Committee of Loesche GmbH for five years, where he was responsible for the technology of the Loesche products.

"While the cement industry emits 7% of all man-made CO2-emissions alone, a future without cement is unthinkable,” says Mersmann. “This, along with the digital transformation, will set the frame for all industry participants to re-shape their way of doing business. For KHD this provides so much more an opportunity than it provides a problem. KHD has a combination of advantages that can help it to develop a prosperous future, if we work it out right. It will take all our ambition and motivation and maybe a lot of ‘new thinking, ’ but it will be worthwhile. I am looking forward to cooperating with the best engineers in the industry and a highly qualified and motivated team in the management board to bring KHD back into a leading position of the cement equipment suppliers.”

Mario Zhu, CEO of KHD, said, “We are all very happy at the return of Matthias back to KHD! I am sure with his leadership KHD technology team shall be further strengthened and thus bring further benefit to our clients and the global cement industry.”

EU: Researchers from LafargeHolcim, Vicat and the Technical Association of the Hydraulic Binders Industry (ATILH), have called for harmonised European standards to enable the introduction of ternary cement blends such as CEM II C-M and CEM VI, which comprise clinker, limestone and supplementary cementitious materials, most commonly slag and fly ash, so that the European cement sector can lower its CO2 emissions. "It’s a very powerful short-term lever," said Fabrice Copin, director of the industrial process at ATILH.

The roadmap for achieving carbon neutrality in 2050, established by the industry in 2018, makes the development of new cements a priority. Placing low-clinker cements on the market could reduce the amount of CO2 emitted by 127kg/t, around 20% of the 656kg/t average in Europe at present.

With clinker factors of just 50-65% for CEMII / C-M, and 35-50% for CEM VI, Edelio Bermejo, director of research and development (R&D) at LafargeHolcim insists, "These cements are no longer at the R&D stage. They have been widely validated and we are ready to produce them, especially as their manufacture does not require modification of our facilities."

However, these new cements cannot be widely sold and used due to a legal deadlock at the European Commission level that hinders their approval, according to Xavier Guillot, the manager of standards coordination at LafargeHolcim. “To introduce them, the harmonised European standard which authorises their placing on the market must be revised,” said Guillot. “However, legal problems between the European Commission and the European Committee for Standardisation prevent the work from being finalised. The cement manufacturers are considering drafting a standard common to all member states, but which would be applied at a national level within each member state. We have to move forward to face the challenges we are asked to answer, namely reducing our CO2 emissions.”

One of the limits of CEM II / C-M and CEM VI cements is the availability of substitutes used to replace clinker which are clustered around other industrial sites such as steel plants and coal-fired power stations. "In the future, with an increase in the recycling of steel and possible relocations of steel mills, the deposits are likely to move away from our markets and to diminish,” said Laury Barnes, Vicat’s scientific director. “In addition, the current availability of slag will not cover all the needs for low-carbon cements. Likewise for the fly ash, which should become increasingly rare as the thermal power plants close.”

Barnes instead advocates calcined clays as a suitable replacement for slag and fly ash. "Clays are minerals found everywhere on Earth,” says Barnes, who, like Bermajo, advocates the use of LC3 cement blends being developed by a Swiss-Indian-Cuban consortium. These contain clay that has been heated to 800°C instead of slag or fly ash.

Cuba: State-owned Cementos Cienfuegos has started to burn waste tyres in order to save on imported petcoke costs. Cuba is suffering a coal shortage due to reinforced economic sanctions led by the US.

The plant is using 130-150 tyres per day as part of a project that, in its initial phase, makes it possible to replace 5% of its petcoke requirements. Plant manager Ernesto Gálvez, explained the plant eventually aims to burn 400 tyres per day.

Tajikistan: Tajikistan continued to import a small volume of cement in 2019, despite a year-on-year increase in the production and export. The country produced 4.2Mt of cement, 0.4Mt (10.5%) more than in 2018. 20,000t of cement was imported into the country in 2019, especially white cement, which is not produced in Tajikistan.

Exports of cement rose during 2019 to 1.5Mt, at a value of US$68.1m. 980,000t were exported to Uzbekistan, 576,000t were exported to Afghanistan and 80,600t were exported to Kyrgyzstan.

India: Deccan Cements has firmed up its plan to expand its cement plant in Mahankaligudem, Nalgonda District, Telangana. The plant will be expanded from 1.8Mt/yr via the installation of a third line at an investment cost of US$85m.

The project will also increase the capacity of the plant’s waste heat recovery power plant from 18MW to 33MW. The project will generate employment opportunities for 170 new staff.

The project is expected to commence by September 2020, with completion scheduled for mid 2021.

Germany: HeidelbergCement has reported that its result from current operations (RCO) for the fourth quarter of 2019 grew by 3% year-on-year to Euro603m, from Euro584m in the fourth quarter of 2018. Its result from current operations before depreciation and amortisation (RCOBD) grew by 13% to Euro968m from Euro858m, while its revenue declined by 3% year-on-year from Euro4.70bn to Euro4.58bn.

HeidelbergCement reported that its cement sales were 31.4Mt for the quarter, 2% lower than the 32.0Mt sold in the fourth quarter of 2018. It will release its consolidated financial results on 19 March 2020.

Italy: Cementir Holding, a Caltagirone Group company, closed 2019 with revenues of Euro1.21bn, according to the consolidated preliminary results examined yesterday by the board of directors chaired by Francesco Caltagirone Jr. This represents a year-on-year rise of 1.2% compared to 2018.

Cementir’s gross operating margin grew by 10.6% to Euro263.8m. Cement and clinker volumes, however, fell by 3.4% to 9.5Mt. On a like-for-like basis, cement and clinker sales were down 5%. The company attributed this to a ‘negative trend’ in Turkey, partially balanced by the positive performance of Belgium and Denmark. Ready mixed concrete sales also fell due to the effects of the Turkish economy. Overall ready mixed concrete sales fell to 4.1Mm3/yr, a drop of 16.4% year-on-year.

France: French press has reported that Vicat, the last remaining cement producer in French hands, has accumulated a large stockpile of EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) credits, sufficient to last it until 2030. It says that this makes it unique among cement producers covered by the scheme. It has never sold any of the credits that it was over-allocated in the first three stages of the ETS. It is thought that this will put it at a competitive advantage from the start of stage 4 in January 2021, when free allowances for the sector will become significantly scarcer.

Vicat has a stock of credits that represent 5Mt of CO₂, valued at Euro120m at the current market price. "It covers our activity in France and Switzerland and we will still be in a surplus position in 2030. We are entering the next European regulatory phase in a good condition," said CEO Guy Sidos.

Vicat is keen to point out that this does not mean it is complacent or will pollute at all costs. "At the end of 2019, we reduced our CO₂ emissions by 15% compared to 1990. The objective is a further decrease of 13% between today and 2030," explained Sidos.

Vietnam: Cement and clinker production in Vietnam is expected to rise by 4-5% to 101-103Mt in 2020, according to the Ministry of Construction. This includes domestic consumption of 69-70Mt and exports of 32-34Mt.

Chairman of the Vietnam Cement Association Nguyen Quang Cung said that cement demand has expanded at higher pace compared to GDP growth in previous years. He added that cement producers will have to face major challenges in 2020, with rising input costs, environmental and technological issues, as well as increasing wage costs.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Construction said that Vietnamese cement exporters would face fierce competition as China and Thailand increase exports. It recommended that domestic firms study market trends to adjust their production plans, stabilise cement prices and map out long-term business strategies.

The ministry has asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to direct the Vietnam National Coal-Mineral Industries Holding Corporation Limited (Vinacomin) to provide sufficient coal, and the Vietnam Electricity to ensure adequate power for cement production activities.