Displaying items by tag: Trial
UK: First Graphene has announced a third trial at Breedon Group’s Hope Cement Works to test an optimised formulation of its PureGRAPH-CEM product under full-scale production conditions. The trial aims to further improve the performance of graphene nanoplatelets in cement production using practical experiences obtained from the previous two trials. The third trial is based on a PureGRAPH grade with a particle size distribution and morphology optimised for use in cement grinding mills, designed for direct addition to the mill without the need for additional equipment. The trial will last eight hours and involves close monitoring of cement fineness during the process. It will use just over 2t of the graphene product in up to 1000t of cement, according to the company. The trial is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2024.
Heidelberg Materials France to trial carbon capture installation at Airvault cement plant
13 March 2024France: Heidelberg Materials France plans to install a 1Mt/yr carbon capture system at its Airvault cement plant in the New Aquitaine. The Airvault cement plant is undergoing an upgrade, including the replacement of two pre-existing semi-dry lines with a new dry line and pre-calciner. This will reduce the plant’s CO2 emissions by 30% per tonne, reduce its energy consumption by 10% per tonne, reduce its clinker factor and raise its alternative fuel substitution rate to 90%. CO2 capture is set to commence in 2030. The project is one of several, under the GOCO₂ carbon capture, storage and utilisation (CCUS) cluster, which also includes installations at Holcim France’s Saint-Pierre-La-Cour plant and Lhoist France’s Réty lime plant.
Chair Dominik von Achten said “We started an ambitious modernisation programme for our sites in France several years ago, with a planned investment of more than €400m. With the integration of AirvaultGOCO₂, we are now adding a cutting-edge project in the field of carbon capture to our previous efforts, which will enable a further, massive reduction of Heidelberg Materials’ carbon footprint in France.”
Chief sustainability officer Nicola Kimm added “Our approach in Airvault is a perfect example of Heidelberg Materials’ strategy to implement dedicated carbon reduction roadmaps. We are taking every possible step to reduce CO₂ emissions: Phasing out fossil fuels, reducing the clinker content of our cements, and improving energy efficiency. To mitigate the remaining residual emissions, we rely on CCUS – as part of an integrated scheme and with our strong partners in GOCO₂.”
Taiwan Cement Corporation to roll out carbon capture projects with ThyssenKrupp Polysius
05 February 2024Taiwan: Taiwan Cement Corporation has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ThyssenKrupp Polysius. Under the MoU, the partners will implement carbon capture projects aimed at capturing 100,000t/yr (10%) of Taiwan Cement Corporation’s CO2 emissions by 2030. This will involve the development of a new generation of pure oxygen carbon capture technology in Line 1 of Taiwan Cement Corporation’s Hualien Heping cement plant. This technology aims to increase the concentration of captured CO2 to over 90% and reduce the energy consumption of carbon capture. The Hualien Heping plant project will conclude in 2026, with the commercialisation of the technology to follow before 2030. Taiwan Cement Corporation plans to supply its own captured CO2 to various other industries, including industrial welding, chemicals and food processing.
Taiwan Cement Corporation chair Zhang Anping said "Cement has created the civilised society we live in today, and Taiwan Cement Corporation will continue to participate in energy transformation and support the development of future civilisation. This cooperation with Polysius, a golden brand in the cement industry, is to solve the problem of greenhouse gas emissions, creating the future not only for the cement industry but for the whole world."
US: Holcim US, in partnership with The Ohio State University and GTI Energy, will install membrane carbon capture technology at its Holly Hill, South Carolina, cement plant. The project is partly funded by a US$7m the US Department of Energy. The partners aim to capture 99% of the plant’s CO₂ emissions.
GTI Energy vice president of carbon management and conversion Don Stevenson said "This project will showcase the power of collaboration and innovation in tackling the complex challenge of transitioning to cleaner energy systems. The development and implementation of cost-effective carbon capture technologies are key to meeting our decarbonisation goals."
MCi Carbon to install carbon capture plant at RHI Magnesita’s Hochfilzen dolomite plant
19 January 2024Austria/Australia: RHI Magnesita has signed a deal with Australia-based carbon capture company MCi Carbon for the construction of a large-scale carbon capture plant at its Hochfilzen dolomite plant in Tyrol, Austria. Prior to construction of the large-scale system in Austria, the companies will partner to test and scale-up MCi Carbon’s technology at the latter’s Myrtle demonstration plant in New South Wales, Australia. The Myrtle demonstration plant will aim to capture 1000t/yr of CO2.
RHI Magnesita CEO Stefan Borgas said "The partnership with MCi Carbon is forward-looking and their technological approach is particularly interesting because it combines carbon capture storage and carbon utilisation. This is currently the most promising way for the refractory industry to reduce process emissions."
MCi Carbon CEO of Marcus Dawe said "This investment marks a pivotal moment for MCi Carbon and underscores the trust our partners place in our transformative technology. With RHI Magnesita's support, we are poised to accelerate our global commercialisation efforts and address the challenges faced by heavy industries in achieving decarbonisation."
Attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the company’s chief operating officer Sophia Hamblin Wang said "We call on global leaders to move beyond rhetoric and embrace tangible actions, fostering a climate-conscious, prosperous future. MCi Carbon’s technology proves that it is possible to decarbonise and create profitable business models at the same time. The support of RHI Magnesita accelerates our impact, amplifies our voice and solidifies our position as leaders in carbon capture and utilisation."
Schwenk Latvija trials carbon capture at Brocēni cement plant
12 January 2024Latvia: Schwenk Latvija plans to build a 750,000t/yr carbon capture system at its 2Mt/yr Brocēni cement plant. The producer has hired Norway-based Capsol Technologies to conduct a CapsolEoP carbon capture feasibility study at the plant. Schwenk Latvija is a member of the CCS Baltic Consortium, which achieved provisional inclusion on the European Commission’s list of Projects of Common Interest in November 2023.
Schwenk Northern Europe CEO Reinhold Schneider said “Checking the best carbon capture methods and how they can be integrated with our production process is a crucial task for us on the way to carbon neutrality, and likely the major investment direction for the coming decade. To that end, we are excited to investigate the energy consumption and the scale of equipment required for carbon capture at the Brocēni plant, if potentially partnering with Capsol for this challenge.”
Capsol Technologies CEO Jan Kielland said “We are excited to work with Schwenk, one of the most innovative building materials producers in Europe, which has constantly improved its processes to reduce emissions since operations started at the Brocēni plant’s new kiln line in 2010” He added “With this feasibility study, we are taking another step towards building a position as the preferred carbon capture technology provider for cement.”
Capsol’s project pipeline includes 10 large-scale cement projects in the sales engineering and engineering studies phase. The total CO2 capture capacity of these projects is 11Mt/yr.
Spain: Cemex España has announced its participation in the HYIELD consortium, which plans to build a waste-to-hydrogen demonstration plant at the producer’s Alcanar cement plant in Catalonia. The demonstration plant will process a total of 2000t of biogenic waste to produce 400t of green hydrogen for use as fuel, fertiliser and for other applications. The trial commands Euro10m in funding from the EU’s research and innovation funding programme Horizon Europe. Parent company Cemex believes that the technology being demonstrated at Alcanar has the potential to process 300Mt/yr of waste across Europe and produce 30Mt/yr of hydrogen.
Cemex’s Europe, Middle East and Africa regional president Sergio Menendez said “As part of its drive towards reaching net zero by 2050, Cemex is committed to partnering with like-minded organisations to explore the very latest innovations in more sustainable technology that can support the cement production process. We are proud to provide one of our cement plants in Spain as the location for the HYIELD trial and excited to see the outcomes from this research and development project.”
Dalmia Cement (Bharat) and SaltX Technology to launch electric cement production pilot
12 December 2023India: Sweden-based SaltX Technology has partnered with Dalmia Cement (Bharat) to launch a pilot trial of fuel-free cement production using its electric arc calciner (EAC) in 2024. The pilot plant will be situated at Dalmia Cement (Bharat)’s Rajganga Nagpur cement plant in Odisha. Pre-study work, including material tests at SaltX Technology's test and research centre in Hofors, Sweden, will commence in early 2024.
Dalmia Cement (Bharat) managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) Mahendra Singhi said "In line with our ambition to further reduce our carbon footprint, we are delighted to collaborate with SaltX, a leading innovator with electrification and carbon capture technology that has great potential to play a decisive role in our intense work to reduce our carbon emissions."
SaltX Technology CEO Carl-Johan Linér said "I am pleased to confirm that we have now started working together on-site for the upcoming pilot in India. We have met all key individuals in the project and look forward with confidence to starting the pre-study next year."
Paebbl trials 100t/yr carbon-storing cement reactor
30 November 2023Finland/Netherlands/Sweden: Paebbl has commenced production of its carbon-storing cement using its new 100t/yr Obelix reactor. The company says that the trial represents a 100x scale up of its capacity in under six months. The Obelix reactor produces cement in 500l batches. Paebbl’s cement has a CO2 storage capacity of 200kg/t. It expects to begin shipping samples to early adopter customers in the Benelux and Nordic regions from early 2024. The next scale-up for the company will come with the construction of a continuously operating pilot plant in late 2024, further increasing its cement capacity by a factor of 10.
Taiwan: Asia Cement Corporation tested its waste wind turbine blade processing capacities using 12t of blades earlier in November 2023. The cement producer had previously processed 9t of waste turbine blades for use in its plants up to the end of October 2023. Asia Cement Corporation says that the waste consists of fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP), which is 60% silicon dioxide, calcium oxide and aluminium oxide and 40% polyester. The polyester can replace fossil fuels as alternative fuel (AF) for cement plants, while the other chemical compounds can serve as supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs).