Displaying items by tag: Power Plant

Japan: Taiheiyo Cement plans to secure a captive power supply for its Saitama cement plant through the installation of a new gas-powered generator. The company says that electricity from the generator will replace purchased energy in the plant's operations. It is also in the process of constructing a new waste heat recovery (WHR) power unit at the facility. Taiheiyo Cement claims that both upgrades will result in a 62,000t/yr reduction in operations' CO₂ footprint. Construction is due to commence before 2022 in order for the producer to commission the new equipment in mid-to-late 2023.

Saitama cement plant's former coal and woodchip-powered generator exploded in April 2021. The producer said that work is on-going to prevent the incident's recurrence by investigating the causes of the accident and formulating preventative measures.

US: LafargeHolcimUS and its subsidiary Geocycle have successfully completed a barge shipment of 2000t of reclaimed bottom ash and fly ash from a pond at CenterPoint Energy’s AB Brown coal-fired power plant at Evansville in Indiana. The delivery is the first under a new 6Mt multi-year coal ash recycling contract with the energy provider.

LafargeHolcim US will use the coal ash to replace clay and sand in cement production at its Ste. Genevieve cement plant in Missouri. The producer says that this will help to reduce the plant's consumption of raw materials. LafargeHolcim US and Geocycle have invested US$80m in infrastructure to extract, process, transport, store and recycle ash from the power plant. Geocycle has managed the on-going joint recycling initiative between LafargeHolcim and CenterPoint Energy since 2009.

LafargeHolcim US's chief executive officer Toufic Tabbara said “This milestone is a tangible example of how industry participants together can develop creative and efficient solutions that contribute to the circular economy. Together, LafargeHolcim, Geocycle and CenterPoint Energy will avoid landfilling for power plants and reduce the consumption of non-renewable raw materials. This is a clear win-win for people and our planet.”

Japan: Taiheiyo Cement has revealed that a weakness in an evaporator tube in a fluidised bed heat exchanger in a captive power plant was the cause of an explosion that took place at its Hidaka cement plant in April 2021. It said that inspections had been carried out annually but that it was difficult to detect defects visually. The company has apologised for the incident. It says it will make changes including a review of inspection standards, including more personnel in the process, improved information sharing and starting regular training on the issue. These changes will be implemented across all of the company’s plants.

The 50,000kW circulating fluidised bed (CFB) boiler was supplied by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and commissioned in 1996. It ran on coal, wood chips and refuse-derived fuel. No blame for the explosion has been attributed to the manufacturer.

The explosion took place in the evening of 27 April 2021. No major injuries were sustained. However, 40 vehicles parked outside a Pachinko gambling parlour near the plant were damaged. Scattered debris was noted nearby and ash was reported up to 5km from the cement plant.

Nigeria: Mangal Industries has signed a contract with China-based Sinoma International Engineering for the delivery of a 3Mt/yr new integrated cement plant in the northern state of Kogi. The Daily Independent newspaper has reported that the plant will cost US$600m and generate ‘thousands’ of jobs when commissioned in early 2024. Sinoma International Engineering will also build a dedicated 50MW power plant for the plant.

Mangal Industries’ chair Alhaji Dahiru Mangal said “This investment is part of an ambitious investment programme under implementation by Mangal Industries. The factory will rely on the best available technology for cement production in line with highest environmental standards.” He added “Mangal is investing strategically in the Nigerian cement industry, to bridge the huge infrastructure and housing deficit in the largest economy of the region. This investment reinforces Mangal’s commitment to Nigeria’s infrastructural and economic development, and reflects its confidence in the favourable outlook of the economy in the country and the region.”

US: Charah Solutions has signed a contract with Associated Electric Cooperative (AECI) to receive bottom ash, fly ash and boiler slag from its Thomas Hill Energy Center coal-fired power plant in Missouri until 2026. Charah Solutions will recycle the by-products to produce supplementary cementitious products and redistribute these through its MultiSource materials network. The network consists of 40 locations across the US.

President and CEO Scott Sewell said "We are delighted to partner with AECI to manage their ash marketing needs at Thomas Hill while supplying our concrete producers with the high-quality material they need."

Pakistan: Fauji Cement says that two planned cement plant projects will increase its total cement production capacity by 64% to 10.5Mt/yr by mid-2023, from 6.4Mt/yr at present. The producer plans to establish a 2.05Mt/yr cement plant at Dera Ghazi Khan. After its commissioning before mid-2023, the plant’s capacity will more than double to 5.65Mt/yr. Subsidiary Askari Cement is expanding its 2.8Mt/yr Nizampur cement plant’s capacity by 73% to 4.85Mt/yr. The group estimates that the total 4.1Mt/yr-worth of new capacity will increase its national cement market share to 13% from 6.7%. It says that this will make it the second largest cement company active in Northern Pakistan, after Bestway Cement.

Fauji Cement said that it is well positioned for growth. It generated 70% of the power consumed in its operations in 2020 itself.

Kenya: National Cement has awarded a contract to Sinoma International Engineering for the construction of power plants with a total capacity of 35MW. Gelonghui News has reported that the supplier will provide a biomass-fuelled power plant and waste heat recovery (WHR) plant with a combined capacity of 10MW and a further 25MW power station. It previously delivered a WHR system for the producer in 2019.

Poland: Cemex Poland has established a new 50kW solar power plant at its Pruszków ready-mix concrete production plant in Masovian Voivodeship. The company says that it is planning other investments to retrofit renewable energy systems into its operations across Poland.

Materials director Michał Grys said “Cemex is actively addressing the climate challenge by decarbonising our processes. The key to realising our ambitious goals is finding and implementing new low-emission products as well as more sustainable technologies and construction solutions.” He added “Photovoltaic farms are another investment by Cemex Poland in renewable energy sources. Currently, much of the electricity used in our aggregate quarries, cement plants and many concrete plants comes from renewable sources."

Mozambique: West China Cement has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mozambique government for four upcoming ‘industrial investment and development’ projects including a cement plant worth a total of US$800m. Local press has reported that another of the projects will be the construction of a power plant.

President Zhang Jimin said Zhang thanked the government for its past support of subsidiary Dugong Cimentos. He added “Due to this support we have, we are confident to continue the implementation of the development projects in Mozambique, as the government shows its concern to improve the investment conditions and environment.”

Nigeria: Finland-based Wärtsilä has extended its operation and maintenance agreement with Lafarge Africa by another five years. The agreement covers the 100MW Ewekoro power plant, which provides a dedicated supply of electricity to the company’s concrete and cement manufacturing processes. The extension of the deal was signed in July 2021 and it follows a previous 10-year agreement. The scope of the agreement includes the operating crew, performance guarantees, plant availability and spare parts.

The captive Ewekoro plant was supplied and commissioned by Wärtsilä in 2011. It consists of six Wärtsilä 50DF dual-fuel engines, operating primarily on gas, but with the flexibility to automatically switch to liquid fuel in case of a disruption to the gas supply. The engines are also designed to function efficiently with a low-pressure gas supply, a necessity given the region’s vulnerability to supply interruptions.

“We have benefited significantly from the efficient way by which Wärtsilä has operated and maintained this plant for the past 10 years, and we had no hesitation in extending the agreement for a further five years. An uninterrupted reliable supply of electricity is essential to our production, and having our own power plant, built, operated and maintained by Wärtsilä, gives us this assurance,” said Lanre Opakunle, Strategic Sourcing Director, Power & Gas, Middle East & Africa, Holcim.

Wärtsilä has also supplied Lafarge Africa with another 100MW power plant located in Mfamosing.