Global Cement News

Bolivia: SEDEM, the government’s business development agency, has refuted accusations that a new cement plant being built in Caracollo, Oruro does not have enough water or raw materials. Patricia Ballivián, the general manager of SEDEM, presented reports from PricewaterhouseCoopers and C & C Ingeniería y Procesos defending the supplies to the unit. The reports were released in response to accusations by a local politician that the project had been poorly planned.

The reports revealed that the Empresa Publica Productiva Cementos de Bolivia’s (ECEBOL) plant will recycle the industrial portion of its water supply. It will have a supply of 4l/s and a 3.5Ml reservoir. It also has limestone, gypsum and clay reserves sufficient for the production of 100Mt of cement. These are expected to last the plant 60 years.

Indonesia: Indocement is aiming for 4% growth in sales year-on-year to around US$1.12bn in 2019 due to sluggish cement consumption. This compares to 5% growth in revenue in 2018. The subsidiary of Germany’s HeidelbergCement expects demand to increase in the second half of 2019 following elections, according to the Jakarta Post newspaper. It predicts that cement consumption will be driven by government infrastructure projects and the construction of residential projects and buildings. It plans to spend up to US$70m towards setting up a quarry in West Java and completing new cement terminals.

The cement producer is also preparing to increase its thermal substitution rate with alternative fuels like refuse-derived fuel (RDF). This follows a 50% rise in production costs due to coal in 2018. In September 2018 to agreed to buy 500t of RDF from the West Java government.

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has announced the winners of the 2019 Energy and Environment (E&E) Awards. The awards recognised environmental and community relations projects that were completed in 2018 and were presented at the 3rd Annual Cement and Concrete Fly-In.

The CalPortland Mojave cement plant in California won the Energy Efficiency award for the installation of a new classifier system for its vertical roller mill that increased energy efficiency by reducing fan power requirements. The plant also installed a control system for the finish mill that will maximise performance and help reduce wear on equipment. The classifier installation reduced the finish mill energy intensity by 1.5 to 2.0kWh/t, and the control system reduced energy intensity by 13%. In 2018 22% of the electricity consumed by the plant came from on-site renewable wind energy generation. CalPortland has implemented significant energy efficiency measures and its energy management program has been recognised by the Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star program as the Energy Star Partner of the Year for 15 years in a row.

Roanoke Cement Company and Titan America’s Troutville plant in Virginia won the Environmental Performance award for being the first cement manufacturing plant in the US to receive ISO 50001 certification for energy management of all aspects of energy procurement, design and use. The plant reduced its total electrical consumption by 10% and fossil fuels use by more than 12%. The plant has also implemented an alternative fuels program as part of its certification for the True Zero Waste Program, administered by Green Business Certification and has received silver status achieving a 96% rate of waste divergence from landfills.

Lehigh Hanson’s Permanente cement plant at Cupertino in California won the Innovation award for the installation of a water treatment system reducing concentrations of metals, including selenium, to meet permit limits. Lehigh Hanson developed a treatment system that combined ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis (UF/RO) technology in conjunction with biological treatment technology to remove metals, including selenium and dissolved solids. This ensured applicable effluent limits were met while optimising treatment capacity and efficiency. This treatment system is the first of its kind in the cement industry ensuring that effluent limits are met while, at the same time, limiting the quantity of waste needed to be managed.

Buzzi Unicem USA’s Greencastle cement plant in Indiana won the Land Stewardship award for opening a 4km smooth packed stone trail in conjunction with the not-for-profit People Pathways organisation as Phase 2 of the Putnam Nature Trail. Buzzi Unicem USA staff and People Pathways used heavy equipment for rough clearing and grading of the overgrown former railroad bed and improved and expanded the physical trail. These areas were then landscaped with trees, native prairie vegetation plugs, interpretive signage, benches, birdhouses and other features. Additional nature trail enhancements include placement of wildlife monitoring cameras along the trail, installation of nesting boxes and interpretive signage, and maintenance of the recently completed restoration of native flora installed in 2017 and 2018.

Cemex’s Lyons cement plant in Colorado won the Outreach award for volunteering work by its staff at the Rocky Mountain National Park in Boulder, Colorado, performing campground improvement activities at Glacier Basin Campground by moving rocks and fallen timber and clearing existing fire pits of ash deposits. The plant then introduced a new community outreach initiative by hosting a Manufacturing Day event, providing local students tours of the quarry and plant to increase youth interest in pursuing a vocation in skilled trades. Additionally, the plant teamed up with the Celestial Seasonings B Strong Ride for cancer care and research for an event aimed at increasing safety awareness while fundraising for two local organizations and their efforts to fight cancer.

Mexico: Holcim Mexico has won an award from the National Chamber of Cement (CANACEM) for reporting no accidents at its cement plants in 2018. The award was presented at CANACEM‘s XXXVI National Congress of Occupational Health and Safety in Chihuahua.

Ivory Coast: Dangote Cement is building a 3Mt/yr cement plant with two production lines from an investment of around US$260m in the Ivory Coast. In an audience with Souleymane Diarrassouba, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Promotion of SMEs, the company said that the project is 70% complete, according to the Agence Ivoirienne de Presse. The new plant will create 800 jobs. It is scheduled to start production in early 2020.