Global Cement News

Senegal: The Ministry of Commerce has fixed a maximum price of cement to protect consumers. The ministry said it had made the decision following exports of a rise of the price of cement in early October 2018, according to the L'Agence de Presse Sénégalaise. The minister said that he invited all cement plant in the country to comply with the new regulations.

Canada: Environmental groups including Nature Canada, Ontario Nature, Nature Quebec and the VanKleek Hill and District Nature Society have called on Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna to start a review of the proposed Colacem Canada L’Orignal cement plant in Ontario. The groups have received a response from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) saying that their concerns had been acknowledged and that it was providing advice to the minister, according to the National Observer. Colacem hopes to build a 3000t/day plant next to a limestone quarry it already operates.

Europe: US-based company GCP Applied Technologies has received a European patent for increasing the efficiency of cement grinding by using sustainable raw materials. The grinding aids and quality improvers allow the use of bio-derived glycerol and reduce the use and the impact of oil-derived chemicals. The new Opteva and Tavero brand cement additives enable cement producers to reduce the energy consumption and the CO₂ emissions associated with cement production, with a reduced use, or no use at all, of oil-derived chemicals.

European Patent No. EP 1 728 771 B1 has been granted and registered into 17 European countries. The patent addresses methods for increasing the efficiency of cement and mineral grinding by using sustainable raw materials.

The patent relates to methods for improving the efficiency of grinding materials such as clinker and limestone, using glycerol derived from biofuel production, in combination with various grinding additives. GCP products can help to reduce the carbon footprint of cement and concrete. Grinding aids and quality improvers make cement manufacturing more efficient, while concrete admixtures can reduce the amount of cement needed to achieve a given strength specification.

US: Charah Solutions has launched a proprietary fly ash thermal beneficiation technology that improves the quality of fly ash. It says that its new MP618Multi-Process technology reduces loss on ignition (LOI), ammonia, activated carbon and moisture in fly ash.

The technology allows for the beneficiation of both wet and dry fly ash. It advantages include lower costs, self-contained environmental controls that can be deployed in weeks, as opposed to years and a modular design that can be scaled up or down to increase production based on market demand.

MP618 can process both wet and dry fly ash. It can be installed at both operating and non-operating power plants, regardless of whether the fly ash is current production or legacy ash stored in ponds or landfills. The technology also allows for the processing of kiln dust to remove mercury for emissions regulations compliance. With the introduction of MP618, Charah Solutions expects to increase its supply of marketable fly ash to concrete producers and add greater value to its utility customers.

“MP618 will expand our MultiSource materials network, a unique distribution system of more than 30 nationwide sourcing locations, and improve our ability to provide a continuous and reliable supply of supplementary cementitious materials, including quality fly ash and slag cement, for ready mix concrete producers and other customers throughout the US,” said Scott Ziegler, Vice President of Byproduct Sales at Charah Solutions.

Greece: Titan Group has submitted a share exchange offer to help list its shares at exchanges in Brussels and Paris. Following the completion of the process, Belgium-based Titan Cement International will become Titan's ultimate parent company managed from Cyprus, according to Reuters. The group intends to list its shares at Euronext Brussels with secondary listings on the Athens Exchange and Euronext Paris. Titan says it wants to broaden its funding sources by improving access to international finance.