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Lafarge moves to reach emissions targets with new kiln in Canada 04 December 2015
Canada: Tony Levstik returned to Lafarge to pull the plug on the oldest piece of equipment at the Lafarge cement plant in Exshaw, Alberta, Canada. He was the first operator of the kiln when it was installed in 1975. He said that shutting it down was a lot easier than starting it up.
Kiln 6 is replacing kiln 4 as part of Lafarge's plant expansion project. The new technology will help to control dust and has fewer emissions. It will be approximately 30% cleaner with sulphur dioxide emissions, 75% cleaner with nitrous oxide emissions and have 25% less greenhouse gas emissions caused by combustion. The new kiln will also have better filter technology to help improve dust control. Kiln 4 used the gravel bed filter technology, which was prevalent in the 1980s and 1990s, but kiln 6 will have a state of the art bag house to collect dust.
"You can't make cement without using a lot of energy and these kilns that we're putting in are a lot more energy efficient, so we won't use as much fossil fuel, as much power to run the new plant," said Lafarge Plant Manager Jim Bachmann. "For a lot of reasons this is an exciting day." Kiln 6 will be operational in 2016.
Used tyres to reduce costs at Irish Cement 's Limerick plant 04 December 2015
Ireland: Irish Cement will burn used tyres in a bid to cut costs and secure jobs at its Limerick plant. The company plans to switch to dry waste material such as rubber from used tyres and plastic to heat the kiln at the plant. The switch will cut costs, make the plant cleaner and more competitive, according to the company.
A spokesman for Irish Cement said that the company would shortly be lodging a planning application with Limerick City and County Council for the replacement of fossil fuels with alternative fuels and raw materials to improve the sustainability of their operations. The company will also be seeking a revision of its licence from the Environmental Protection Agency.
"Limerick is Ireland's oldest cement plant, having commenced operations 77 years ago. Its continuous operation has been sustained by continuous investment in new technologies and processes. After the recent period of reduced demand, production is once again on the increase at home and abroad for cement. This fuel replacement programme will be key to sustaining this growth," said Plant Manager Pat Robinson. "Based on experience in other cement plants in Ireland and throughout Europe, the opportunity to reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels will prove critical to our ability to operate competitively and sustain jobs at Irish Cement Limerick into the future."
Ecocem US plant faces possible planning setback 04 December 2015
US: Irish cement maker Ecocem's proposed manufacturing plant in San Francisco Bay faces a potential planning setback after receiving almost 500 submissions challenging its environmental impact report.
Ecocem is seeking permission for a US$50m grinding plant in Vallejo, close to San Francisco, in the group's first venture in the US, but the town's residents are objecting to the proposal on environmental grounds. According to local reports, some 400 - 500 people and organisations have questioned the company's assessment of the plant's likely impact on the environment, which could force Vallejo's council to delay a decision on planning permission until 2016. The council was hoping to have cleared all planning hurdles by December 2015, but local sources have said that the volume of questions posed during a 60-day public consultation period means the deadline could be pushed back to March 2016.
California law requires Ecocem's subsidiary, Orcem Americas, which is directly responsible for the project, to answer the questions before preparing a final environmental impact report. The city's Architectural Heritage and Landmarks Commission will have to decide whether the buildings that would be knocked to make way for the plant are historic, which is likely to happen in December 2015. The proposal will then have to pass both the Vallejo Planning Commission and then get the support of a majority of councillors before it can get the go ahead.
According to local activist Peter Brooks, a group of citizens recently began a petition to remove four council members said to favour Ecocem's project. He also said that influential US environmental group, the Sierra Club, wrote to the city's authorities expressing concerns about the plans.
Ecocem wants to build the plant on the site of an old flour mill in the city's harbour. It would grind furnace slag from iron smelting that is then used as a component in cement. The process cuts greenhouse gas emissions from normal cement manufacture by 90%.
Tajik government scouting for cement plant investment 03 December 2015
Tajikistan: The government of Tajikistan is looking for investors for construction of a 1Mt/yr cement plant near the Tuyun-Tao limestone deposit in the Shakhritus district in the south of the country, according to Avesta news agency.
The project has been included in the government's investment portfolio for implementation through direct investments, according to the Tajik State Committee of Investment and State Property Management. The project requires US$350m of investment. Some Russian, Iranian and Chinese companies earlier showed interest in the deposit. Indeed, in 2012, Chinese building materials corporation CNBM prepared a feasibility study for the project, but the project did not reach implementation phase due to its high cost and the absence of infrastructure.
Cementos Argos names Calle as new CEO 03 December 2015
Colombia: The Cementos Argos board of directors has unanimously appointed Juan Esteban Calle as the new CEO of the company as of 1 April 2016. Calle will replace Jorge Mario Velasquez, who was recently named the new CEO of Grupo Argos.
Calle holds a bachelor's degree in business from EAFIT University (Medellin, Colombia) and has a master's degree in business administration (MBA) with emphasis in finance and economics from the University of Chicago.
Since January 2012, Calle has been the CEO of the Empresas Publicas de Medellin, a residential public utilities company with operations and subsidiaries across the Americas. Throughout his career he has held positions such as senior associate for Chase Manhattan Bank of New York (today JPMorgan Chase Bank), finance director for the Antioquia Department in Colombia, foreign investment director for Proexport in its Canada office, and investment advisor for the Bank of Montreal (today, BMO Financial Group), among others.
Calle is currently a member of the board of directors for Tigo-Une Comunicaciones, Empresas Varias de Medellin, Ticsa México and ENSA Panamá. He has also served on the board of directors for Isa, Isagen and Metro de Medellin, among others.