Displaying items by tag: supplementary cementitious materials

France: Holcim France has announced its successful industrial-scale production of the world's first 100% recycled clinker. The La Tribune newspaper has reported that the company's Altkirch, Alsace, cement plant produced the clinker. Holcim France chief executive officer Francois Petry said that the plant's team collaborated with researchers at the Holcim Innovation Center to develop a recipe that incorporated multiple waste streams, including mineral wastes and wood ash. The producer says that most of the waste materials were locally sourced.

Spain: Cemex España has received clearance from the Balearic Islands Environmental Commission (CMAIB) to import up to 10,000t/yr of granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) to Majorca. Ultima Hora Online News has reported that the producer will substitute some of the limestone used in the company's Lloseta plant's cement production with the material.

Waste management company Tirme previously handled the Lloseta cement plant's slag supply.

Canada: Progressive Planet Solutions has successfully produced a new supplementary cementitious material (SCM) called PozDE from diatomaceous earth. The company says that it developed PozDE using calcium bentonite-containing diatomaceous earth from the Red Lake mine in Kamloops, British Colombia. The SCM’s seven-day and 28-day strength activity index (SAI) values are 101% and 120% those of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) respectively, while its water demand is lower at 98%.

Chief operating officer Ian Grant said “It is uncommon to see SCMs exceed the 7-day strength of the control Portland, so we are excited to see better strength while indicating lower water demand."

Brazil: The Falcão Bauer Quality Institute (IFBQ) has certified LafargeHolcim Brasil’s CP III-32 blast furnace slag cement for all construction applications. The certificate confirms that the product offers 50% reduced CO₂ compared to the average cement on the Brazilian market.

The Jornal Dia Dia newspaper has reported that sustainability manager Bruno Hallak said “The IFBQ is an institution recognised by the market and this certification confirms that we are on the right track. The production processes and methodologies evaluated can even be reproduced in other units, according to their local characteristics, increasing the gain for the environment.”

LafargeHolcim Brasil previously obtained IFBQ certification for its CP III-40 blast furnace slag cement, which offers a slightly less reduced clinker factor than CP III-32 cement, in 2021. It was the first cement of its type in Brazil to receive the certification. The company produces both cements at its Vitória grinding plant in Espírito Santo.

Ghana: Heidelberg said that it has signed an agreement with CBI for the acquisition of 50% of the latter’s shares. CBI is the parent company of CBI Ghana, which operates the 0.6Mt/yr Tema grinding plant in Accra. It is in the process of establishing a calcined clay plant at the facility. HeidelbergCement says that it and CBI will explore the possibility of further calcined clay projects in West Africa. Other investors in CBI Ghana include Denmark-based Investeringsfonden for Udviklingslande (IFU) and Norway-based Norfund.

HeidelbergCement’s existing Ghanaian susbidiary Ghacem operates 3Mt/yr-worth of grinding capacity at two plants in Accra and Takoradi.

HeidelbergCement managing board member Hakan Gurdal said “Characterised by high sustained market growth rates, Ghana is one of HeidelbergCement’s core markets in Africa. The new flash calciner in Ghana will be the largest worldwide, with a calcined clay production capacity of more than 400,000t/yr. Start of production is planned for 2024.” Gurdal concluded “We are committed to lowering our CO₂ footprint also in emerging markets.”

Canada: Progressive Planet Solutions has appointed Ian Grant as its chief operating officer. He has been promoted from Vice President of Business Development. In his new role Grant will work with chief executive officer Steve Harpur to oversee operations and development of its micronised mineral technologies in addition to supporting the growth of the company's current business.

In May 2022 Progressive Planet completed the acquisition and integration of Absorbent Products and the expansion of its regenerative fertiliser operations. It also changed the name of its new subsidiary to Progressive Planet Products. As part of his work on the company's plan, Grant will be managing the shutdown of the seasonal regenerative fertiliser pilot plant in Spallumcheen by moving key equipment to expand the full commercial plant in Kamloops. Grant will be based at the company’s new joint head office for Progressive Planet Solutions and Progressive Planet Products in Kamloops.

Progressive Planet sells products with sustainable benefits to the agricultural, construction and industrial sectors including micronised minerals such as a proprietary supplementary cementing material made from recycled glass.

India: JK Lakshmi Cement has partnered with the Society for Technology and Action for Rural Advancement (TARA) to integrate calcined clay technology into its operations in order to commence production of limestone calcined clay cement (LC3). United News of India has reported that the producer says that this type of composite cement reduces the product's clinker factor by 50% and its carbon footprint by 40%.

JK Lakshmi Cement said "This partnership will be a game-changer for the cement industry, giving impetus to its efforts in mitigating emissions, combating climate change and bringing a holistic change in the surrounding communities to create sustainable livelihoods in large numbers."

France: Eqiom has launched its new reduced-CO₂ CEM II/C cement range on the French market. The range includes the Portland limestone, slag and clinker filler CEM II/CM (SL) 42.5 N cement produced at its La Rochelle cement plant. The cement is the first product to obtain NF certification from the Scientific and Technical Center for Building (CSTB) under its new standard designation EN 195-5. The producer says that in mid-2022 EN 197-5 will assimilate into the EN 206/CN standard for use in structural concrete.

Eqiom said that the range will offer its customers a more sustainable alternative to its other NF EN 197-1 certified compositions. La Rochelle cement plant operations manager Ahmed Mansouri said “We are proud of this result, which is the result of close collaboration between the different Eqiom teams. This commitment has made it possible to provide our customers with a solution with low CO₂ emissions while guaranteeing sufficient performance so as not to impact practices on the construction sites.”

India: ACC’s Chaibasa cement plant in Jharkhand has received its first instalment of fly ash for use in cement production from Vedanta Aluminium subsidiary Vedanta Jharsuguda. Global Cement News previously reported that Vedanta Aluminium had been seeking a cement industry fly ash and bauxite residue buyer for a long-term collaborative partnership in July 2021.

In the 2022 financial year, Vedanta Aluminium supplied 190,000t of fly ash to Indian cement producers.

Vietnam: Vicem Hoàng Mai Cement has announced a full-year sales target of US$79.2m for 2022, down by 1.5% year-on-year from 2021 levels. Its target net profit for the year is US$656,000, more than five times its 2020 figure. The company forecasts cement production of 1.73Mt, up by 11% from 1.56Mt, and clinker production of 1.4Mt, down by 4.1% from 1.46Mt, for the year. It plans to replace 30 – 40% of the natural gypsum currently used in cement production with synthetic gypsum. It will also increase the proportion of ash and slag in its raw materials mix.

The Chúng Khoán newspaper has reported that Vicem Hoàng Mai Cement said that it is experiencing increased costs due to high raw materials and fossil fuel prices. A coal shortage has also disrupted production.