February 2017

Global Cement news Alternative fuels Burners Dosing Filters Cementos Molins Cementos Portland Valderrivas Spain &
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FEBRUARY 2017 MAGAZINE
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THE CEMENT INDUSTRY.
For more info see: www.loesche.com

Failure Process
Prediction Improvement
Advice
Remote
Service
Maintenance
Preparation
Support
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Machine Protection Concept
Online Condition Monitoring
Performance
Optimization
DALOG Process Monitoring System
Process Signals D-PMS
Proactive
Failure Prevention
DALOG Torque Monitoring System
Torque D-TMS
Predictive
Failure Detection
DALOG Condition Monitoring System
Vibration D-CMS
DALOG IFC,3 Feb 2017.indd 2 23/01/2017 13:59

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This issues front cover... FEBRUARY 2017 MAGAZINE

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Loesche: In the year of our 110 years of history our clients world-
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Editor
Peter Edwards
Welcome to the February 2017 issue of Global Cement Magazine, the worlds most widely- peter.edwards@propubs.com
(+44) (0) 1372 840967
read cement magazine. This issue will be distributed to all delegates at the forthcoming
Global CemFuels Conference & Exhibition, which will take place in Barcelona, Spain on
1-4 February 2017. We look forward to meeting all delegates at the event. Web Editor
David Perilli
To tie in with the themes of the event, the issue is packed with alternative fuels david.perilli@propubs.com
content, including an article inspired by the previous Global CemFuels Conference in (+44) (0) 1372 840952
2016. Following a comment made last year in Prague by a major cement producer to
the effect there is no perfect burner on the market, combustion consultant and long- Commercial Director
standing CemFuels attendee Xavier Dhubert has contributed a detailed look at the Paul Brown
burner market. His detailed analysis looks at the main categories of burners available, paul.brown@propubs.com
Mobile: (+44) (0) 7767 475998
the origins of designs, the evolution of major trends and the role of marketing. Xavier
concludes that, while there may be no perfect burner, except on a paper napkin, the
ones available today offer the widest ever range of options to optimise individual plants. Business Development Executive
Sren Rothfahl
Read the whole article from Page 12 onwards.
soeren.rothfahl@propubs.com
As in past years, this issue features visit reports from the two cement plants that will Mobile: (+44) (0) 7850 669169
be visited by the CemFuels field trips: the Cementos Molins facility at Sant Vicen dels
Horts and the Cementos Portland Valderrivas plant at Santa Margarida I els Monjos. Company manager
Both plants have been challenged by the collapse in Spanish cement demand since 2008 Sally Hope
sally.hope@propubs.com
and have increasingly turned to exports to maintain economic production. They have
also turned up the wick on their use of alternative fuels, making use of the regions
RDF, meat and bone meal, sewage sludge and waste wood. Turn to Pages 42 and 48 Subscriptions
respectively. A review of the wider Spanish (and Portuguese) market can be found from Amanda Crow
amanda.crow@propubs.com
Page 55 onwards.
Elsewhere in this issue, authors from Di Matteo Group categorise the various weighing,
metering and dosing equipment used in the cement sector, again with a focus on Office administration
Jane Coley
alternative fuels (Page 30). We also look at the possibilities of burning low-calorie lean jane.coley@propubs.com
gases, (Page 21) as alternative fuels, powder silo filters (Page 28) and thermal imaging
The views expressed in feature articles are those of the named
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GLOBAL CEMENT CONTENTS
Global Cement articles

12 Theres no such thing as a perfect burner...
Combustion consultant Xavier Dhubert gives a comprehen-
12 sive rundown of different burner types, tracing major design

and fuel trends over the years.
23 Lean gases for cement production

Singhania System Technologists Mayank Singhania explains
how low-calorie lean gas waste streams from other industries
can be used in the cement sector.
23
24 Thorwesten Vent brings explosion protection
up-to-date at Eternit
Thorwesten Vent reports on the installation of new explosion
protection measures for cement board producer Eternit.
24 26 Maximising dust filtration efficiency

with new technology
Hycontrol outlines how the latest advances in filter
technology allow for increased efficiency.
30 A framework for the classification of bulk

material dosing equipment in the cement sector
Authors from Di Matteo Group categorise the disparate
weighing, metering and dosing equipment used by our sector.
34 New technology improvements in kiln

26
monitoring systems: A case study
VisionTIR explains an installation at a Spanish cement plant.
36 Product and Contract News

Maple Leaf order for FLSmidth; Gebr Pfeiffer receives order in
Georgia; UNTHAs mobile shredder goes global.
30
European cement
38 European cement news
Euro29m upgrade for Ribblesdale; New Russian plant for

StandartCement; Sagunto plant cuts production.
34
8 Global Cement Magazine February 2017 www.GlobalCement.com
GLOBAL CEMENT CONTENTS
42 Cementos Molins - Sant Vicen dels Horts plant:

Spains most efficient kiln

Global Cement visits the plant with Spains most efficient kiln,
38
which has a strong and growing use of alternative fuels.
48 Grupo Cementos Portland Valderrivas Santa

Margarida I els Monjos Plant
The history, production process, alternative fuels, markets and
future prospects of CPVs Santa Margarida I els Monjos plant.
55 The cement industries of the Iberian Peninsula

A look at cement producers, production and consumption
trends, exports and alternative fuels in Spain and Portugal.
Cement in the Americas

61 American cement news
Comment - The other side of the wall; Two big orders for
FLSmidth, Pennsuco gets zero waste certificate.
Asian cement
42
65 Asian cement news
Indian demonetisation policy to hit cement demand in 2017;
50Mt oversupply in Vietnam by 2020; Steppe revenue falls.
Middle East and African cement

68 Middle East and African cement news
Aumund wins six line order in Egypt; Saudi producers to cut
production by 10% in 2017; Raysut revenue falls in 2016.
Regulars and comment

70 CSI Focus 48
Our quarterly column from Philippe Fonta, Managing Director
of the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI).
71 Global Cement prices

Cement prices from around the world: Subscribers to Global
Cement Magazine receive additional information.
72 Subscription form for Global Cement Magazine

Use this form to subscribe to Global Cement Magazine,
55
or subscribe online at www.GlobalCement.com.
73 The Last Word

This issue: Stealing from the future...
74 Advertiser Index & Forthcoming issue features

A list of advertisers and editorial preview for next two issues. 61
GLOBAL CEMENT: DIARY
LETS PLAY IT SAFE
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& Exhibition
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18-19 May 2017, Dsseldorf, Germany
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21-25 May 2017, Calgary, Canada
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10 Global Cement Magazine February 2017
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slug area: notes & printer instuctions
GLOBAL CEMENT: BURNERS
Xavier Dhubert, Combustion consultant
Theres no such thing as a perfect burner...
This article was inspired by comments made by a representative of a major cement group
during the Global CemFuels Conference & Exhibition in Prague, Czechia in February 2016 that
can be best summarised as: There is no perfect rotary kiln burner on the market. This may
well be true, but there are some very good ones available these days for those that want to
optimise their production process and understand that burners are not just pieces of steel,
bought by the kilo...
T he purpose of this article is to help kiln engineers

and production managers select the burner that
is most suited to their current and future needs. It is
general, success for a cement plant burner project can
be achieved by involving both parties at the design
stage. This is made easier when the burner design
also to assist the end users of the burners in asking is flexible enough to match the specifics of the kiln
htt
pertinent questions to the OEMs and looks at some of specifics. Flexibility, as ever, is the key word.
www
the burners characteristics that are often overlooked.
Types of burner theg
I draw on my 30 years of experience with rotary
ian.c
kiln burner OEMs, with which I have consulted for A new burner is usually bought because of: Changes
news
the purpose of writing this article. This article does to the fuel mix; Excessive wear; Irreconcilable prob-
cuts/
not seek to critique or recommend any particiular lems with the existing burner; When satellite coolers
jan/2
OEM. Some of the cement producers I approached, are replaced with grate coolers; To increase produc-
nativ
however, were less than forthcoming, as if the pyro- tion and; To reduce NOx emissions.
the-g
processing book really did contain the secret of how I have categorised the main burners available on
stron
to design the perfect burner. the market, in what is a slightly artificial classifica-
As with modern cars, we can start by saying that, tion but nevertheless one that can be used as a first
in 2017, there is no bad burner made by the major point of differentiation. There are three groups, based
OEMs. However, we can say that the demands placed on the way that the primary air (PA) streams are
on the burner vary depending on the type of process, distributed and adjusted. The main differences are
plant configuration, the available fuels and a host of where and how the axial portion of the PA is injected
other parameters, just as different drivers may want a in relation to the fuels, the radial (swirl) PA and the
car that delivers speed, economy or a large capacity. secondary air (SA).
As ever, many cement producers would prefer an
okay burner with great service than the best burner Category 1: Fixed multi-channel burners that have
with poor service. One must consider the voids two to four independent air channels, not counting
between the potential sophistication of the burner the central/cooling/recirculation channel. The Pri-
designs and the time available by the operators mary Air (PA) is divided at the burner inlet into axial,
and kiln engineers to optimise every last detail. In radial, swirl, dispersion (and/or other) channels. The
Right: FCT TurboJet.
Far right: Dynamis D-Flame
12 Global CementMagazine February 2017 www.GlobalCement.com

Traditionally the 3-channel burners of the 1980s Above left: Polysius Polflame.
saw the coal channel sandwiched between the axial
air (outside) and radial/swirl air (inside). In the 1990s Above centre: Greco Flexiflame.
when the trend toward low-NOx burners began the
two air channels were located outside the coal. This
tps:// Above: KHD Pyrojet.
delayed mixing with the secondary air and thus low-
w.
ered the temperature of the flame (and hence NOx).
guard-
Left: Fives Pillard Rotaflam.
com/us-
Category 2: Burners that mix the axial (A) and radial
s/short-
(R) PA inside the burner in a chamber located toward
/2017/
the burner tip. The respective amount of A-PA and
23/alter-
R-PA or their respective intensity can be adjusted
ve-facts-
from the burner floor by sliding channels. Thus there
greatest-
amount of air going through the respective channels is only a single PA exit. Inversely there could be a
ngest-facts-that-ever-existed
is adjusted by valves, fan dampers or VDFs and some- single PA entrance to the burner with two separate
times by using multiple fans or blowers. exits after an adjustable split within the burner. In
In this category one could place the Greco this category we find the FLSmidth Duoflex and
Flexiflame, FCT Turbo-Jet, Dynamis D-Flame, the Pillard Novaflam. The Novaflam has one com-
Polysius Polflame and KHD Pyro-Jet. The Fives mon inlet and two separate outlets, the ratio of which
Pillard Rotaflam also fits into this category. It was (% axial versus % radial) is fixed at the design stage.
the leading burner for many years, but is no longer The swirl effect is given by vanes with variable pitch
the companys main offering. which makes it possible to modify the angle of exit of
Important parameters in this first category the radial air jet from 5 to 35. The older Duoflex
include: The number of PA jets and their qual- design saw the two air flows mix before being injected
ity. By this, I mean are the values quoted real, i.e.: through the conical air nozzle. This internal mixing
the ratio between the length and the diameter of requires channels to translate one into another, which
the air nozzle? Also, how many axial and radial PA requires a mechanism at the inlet side of the burner.
channels are there, and what are their respective
locations within the burner?
A users perspective Using 100% of solid AF;
E ric Bourdon, Vicats Director of Performance

and Investments explains, We still favour
solutions based on local specificity. The main
Handling new fuels that could soon appear from
the utilisation of captured CO2. This includes
objective for a burner is to provide the respon- algea, low methane content gases, H2, and oth-
siveness and flame power necessary for proper ers;
clinker burning. Clinker quality must constantly
be improved to decrease the clinker factor. Com- Reducing NOx emissions from the burner alone;
ing from a country with high environmental
constraints, we look for burners that can ensure Reducing volatilisation of alkalis, SOx
the expected quality of clinker while being able to and chloride;
adjust combustion to manage our complementary
objectives of, in descending order of importance: Lowering calorific consumption.

Right: FLSmidth Duoflex.
Far right: Pillard Novaflam.
Category 3: Burners with adjustable axial/radial PA rowing some features from the others, and have been
jets in a single channel, with or without a small swirl disputed by the OEMs.
component. This category hosts the Unitherm Mono
Airduct System (MAS); the Polysius Polflame VN Deeper into the numbers
and the new FLSmidth Jetflex, as well as the now To further compare each burner design the following
discontinued KHD Pyrostream. All of these come parameters must be considered:
in adjustable and fixed versions with the exception
of the Unitherm MAS. Other differences include the PA flow and exit velocity (pressure);
location of the PA jets in relation to the coal channel Number, adjustability and angles of PA outlets;
and the presence or absence of an additional (fixed Coal injection angle (concentric, excentric,
angle) radial channel. convergent, divergent);
Although OEMs offer various models and have Relative positions of all air and fuel pipes/channels;
designs that move back and forth within these The central/cooling/recirculation PA portion of
classifications, these categories broadly reflect the the burner. This ranges from non-existent to sim-
evolution of the market from enhancing coal/petcoke ple perforated plates to meshes. Although some
firing with the advance of indirect firing, to low, low- suppliers insist it is essential to ensure proper recir-
low and ultra-low NOx types, to high momentum culation of the combustion gases into the flame, in
designs for alternative fuel firing, then all-purpose reality its influence is unproven.
designs and, finally, back to more basic, yet flexible The above design parameters are calculated by
designs. The categories are not absolute, each bor- OEMs using various dimensionless numbers and
Case-study: Increasing AF substitution at CBRs Antoing plant in Belgium
T he following example was given by Jean-Luc

Van Landuyt, Senior Process Engineer at
CBR, HeidelbergCements Belgian subsidiary.
1. Enrichment up to 24.9% O2 of the PA;
2. Direct injection of pure O2 at the burner tip.
Due to confidentiality agreements, only the out- The Antoing plant chose to use pure O2 injec-
line of the results can be presented. tion for safety reasons. The project was successful.
The plants objective was to increase its solid The substitution rate is now 90%, with an average
alternative fuel substitution rate. It had been fuel LHV of 16.25 GJ/t. NOx did not increase
using coal, animal meal and plastic pellets in the significantly.
kiln and the substitution rate was already high at
around 60-65%. The aim was to reach >80% by Fuel LHV Throughput Contribution
adding dry granulated (0-6mm diameter) water (GJ/t) (t/hr) (GJ/hr)
treatment plant sludge (Lower heating value = Carbon 24 0.35 6
9-10.5GJ/t). This additional fuel has the additional
Plastic pellets 20 2.5 52
advantage of being CO2 neutral. Two solutions
were considered: Animal meal 17 2 36
Dry sludge 9.5 2.0 19

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fuel substitution with minimum risk?
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cement plant operators can reduce operating costs and
contribute to a cleaner environment.
With the launch of its new JETFLEX multi-fuel
kiln burner, FLSmidth has taken combustion
technology to a new level. The burners
innovative, proven* features allow any
combination of conventional and Conventional
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costs and simpler maintenance.
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WHY CHOOSE THE FLSMIDTH JETFLEX BURNER?

Greater fuel flexibility = lower fuel costs
Less transport air **
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Lower NOx emission = reduced or no need for SNCR
Fewer changeable wear parts + easier to change = lower maintenance costs
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* Industrial test, performance data over 106 days using SRF (Solid Recovered Fuel) vs. baseline test with previous burner; Rohoznik Cement Plant, Slovakia, 2016
** JETFLEX PLUS burner
Calculate your plants potential fuel, transport air and heat savings with the JETFLEX burner vs. your current burner at jetflex.flsmidth.com
16293 JETFLEX HELSIDES ANNONCE_RENTEGNET.indd 1 13/09/16 11:15

indexes, including turbulence index, tangential num- in France, when it was operated by Ciment Franais
ber, impulse and swirl number. These are usually (now HeidelbergCement). The system was developed
proprietary information from the OEM and shouldnt around a GRECO burner design at the end of the 1990s.
be used by plants for comparison between manufac- Flue gas was captured at the ESP exit (100C, 10% O2,
turers. For example, Dynamis uses a dimensionless high moisture) and was injected at the inlet of one of
geometrical index to assess the flux of secondary air the PA blower inlets. This test was unsuccessful and
entrainment into the fuel injection regions per open- short-lived. It reduced the NOx level from 1000mg/
ing interval. FCT uses the Craya-Curtet parameter in Nm3 to 900mg/Nm3. The same plant was able to use
burner design, effectively connecting burner momen- water injection inside the kiln burner to lower NOx to
tum to secondary air momentum rather than looking around 800mg/Nm3, although an SNCR system was
at burner momentum in isolation. later installed.
When classifying and assessing the quality of a The use of oxygen enrichment, staged combus-
burner offer, peripherals and accessories also have to tion and water injection have also been used by some
be considered, including the flame scanner, igniter, plants as a complement to low-NOx burners. This put
monitoring instruments, safety controls, emergency an end to the endless redesign of ultra-low-NOx /
cooling air fans and others. ultra-low-PA burners.
Finally, the physical limitations of the burner These days the consensus among most burner
floor, the positions of the necessary connections, and OEMs for a kiln burner that is firing 20-40% coal/
the burners weight are very important. The picture petcoke, 50-60% solid alternative fuels and some
below left shows the tip of a burner equipped with liquid alternative fuels is that the total PA (not
an air canon system. The air tank/blaster is mounted counting conveying air) should be around 10% of
on the rear of the burner, the design of which is often stoichiometric air. With the end of the focus on PA
problematic. If the exhaust slot is too far from the flow consideration, which marks the end of looking
burner tip, the blast will be too weak and if too close only at primary measures to reduce NOx emissions,
then it will only partially remove the and with the advance in solid
rhino horn. AF substitution, a new criteria
emerged.
Modern burner
developments The M word
It is very interesting to read various The M word is Momentum.
Right: Burner equipped with articles and sales leaflets produced It was all the rage several years
an air cannon system. by the OEMs and see the evolu- ago as a reaction to the ultra-low
tion of the message du jour over NOx burners of the late 1990s.
time. New burner concepts and The burner has to do the job and
designs are born from a combina- not focus solely on NOx reduc-
tion of changing cement sector tion. After all, to get zero NOx
needs (due to external factors) and we have to turn the flame off!
pure marketing by OEMs that seek Momentum (given in N/
to distinguish themselves from the MW) is simply the sum of
competition. Indeed, I know of new all primary air mass flows
designs that arose almost entirely multiplied by their respective
from a desire to come up with a product that was absolute ejection velocities (at the burner tip) divided
different from the competition, which were later ra- by the burner thermal power output. The question of
tionalised as technological innovations. whether or not the momentum should include the
conveying air flows led to many unnecessary discus-
Low NOx sions between plants and suppliers.
The trend toward ultra low-NOx burners ended in the The industry became obsessed with momentum,
late 1990s as the main adjustable parameter (PA mass which became, on occasion, the only criteria by which
flow) had reached its limit in terms of flame (and burners were being compared. Some leading OEMs
hence clinker) quality. Selective catalytic and non- came up with higher and higher values, reaching
catalytic reduction systems also offered a new way to about 13N/MW. This forced them to use PA blowers
reduce NOx without weakening the flame. That said, instead of fans, sometimes one blower per air chan-
it is still important to control NOx formation as much nel. To control the escalation toward the bigger the
as possible as the NOx level directly impacts upon the number, the better burner some OEMs came up with
size of the de-NOx systems and the amount of urea or the notion of useful momentum. For example, Pillard
ammonia they require. focussed on impulse efficiency, which characterises
Besides optimising the amount of primary air, the ratio between the relative amount of secondary
some plants have also looked at flue gas recirculation air that is absorbed within the first 2m of the flame
(FGR) to reduce NOx. One was the Gargenville plant (kg/s) and the axial momentum (N/MW).

GLOBAL CEMENT
Towards 100% solid alternative fuels

The discussion about momentum slightly preceded and then
accompanied the rise of (predominantly solid) alternative fuels
(AF) in the main burner. Of course, physically speaking, the kiln
burners can easily be designed to accommodate 100% solid al-
ternative fuels. It is purely a question of optimising the size of
the AF pipes, followed by the PA channels and the overall burner
diameter.
However, depending on the type of solid AF, it would par-
tially burn on the clinker bed creating localised reducing zone
and brown clinker. Designing 100% alternative fuels into the
main burner thus generates new problems. The amount that can
be burned depends predominantly on the suspension time of the
particulates inside the flame. Smaller, lighter particles are gener-
ally consumed rapidly and do not hit the clinker bed but larger,
heavier pieces cause problems. In addition to this many plants
want to have a 100% fossil fuel capability back-up.
There are two main issues to solve: 1. How can we bring
enough PA and SA into contact with the various fuels so that
there is no delayed or incomplete combustion and that the flame
shape and intensity are commensurate with the kiln process?
and; 2. How do we keep the AF in suspension?
How do various OEMs deal with these issues? It is com-
monly agreed that the ratio between the burner outer diameter
and the kilns internal diameter (not counting the concrete and
refractory) should not exceed 12-15%. The reason is that larger
diameters reduce the burners capability to bring sufficient SA in
contact with all the fuels, especially the solid AF that is usually
located inside the burner. The first thing to do is ensure that this
is the case.
In addition, OEMs have: Added PA channels closer to the
AF pipes (Greco); Injected extra AF above the burner through a
separate pipe (Polysius); Increased the efficiency of the axial PA
jets in drawing SA toward the flame, and; Designed central air
channels for a true recirculation effect. A solution that can be
applied to all burner designs is oxygen injection. The idea is to
bring localised oxygen close to the AF exit in addition to PA and
SA flows. This helps burn the difficult fuel, while not increasing
the total flue gas volume and, if properly injected, it can also re-
duce NOx emissions. However the cost of O2 has to be balanced
against the benefits.
To increase the time that AF spends in suspension, one could
use mechanical dispersion devices. However, these would wear
or plug quickly. Therefore, the trend is to use various air assisted
techniques. The Unitherm pneumo-deflector injects air under-
neath the SAF and lifts it up by a few degrees from the burner
axis, enough to increase the suspension time by 50% and thus
ensuring complete combustion. It requires a jacket-pipe, through
which the required air (about 30% of AF conveying air at around
250mBar) is injected. This air connects to the primary air pipe at
the back of the burner or to a separate air fan.
The Greco Flexiflame uses air jets around the exit of the solid
AF pipe as well as the dispersion air channel around the centre of
the burner. FCTs Lofting Air, for Air Assisted Dispersion of RDF
and other similar fuels performs a similar task.
Meanwhile the FLSmidth JetFlex withdraws the solid AF
pipes inside the burner to create a small expansion chamber.
The centre pipes can be retracted up to 200mm and the solid AF
particles are stopped and then accelerated again. The retraction
Global Cement Magazine February 2017 17

in combination with the axial air nozzles enables a
significant drop in fuel velocity in front of the burner.
This feature strongly increases the fuel retention
time in the flame and enables early ignition of low
grade AF.
There are also novel approaches devised by some
OEMs. These include injecting the AF through a
Right: Unitherm MAS.
channel (as opposed to a pipe) as it is done for coal
and petcoke. The benefit is faster ignition as the
secondary air comes into contact with the AF at an
earlier point. However it requires fine AF particles,
otherwise the channel will plug quickly at the loca-
tion of the spacers. Some types of AF, such as dried
sludges and even meat and bone meal (MBM) can
be mixed with the coal/petcoke and thus injected
through a channel instead of a central pipe.
The Greco Flexiflame EcoPro burner also
injects the fluff into the flame root through a ring
channel. To the inside and outside there is swirl flow
induced by swirl air channels. This way the turbu-
lence experienced by the fluff is increased, which
leads to faster ignition and better burnout. The basic
idea is to provide high temperature and high oxygen
content to the particles. However, such an approach
Right: KHD Pyrostream. does require the particle size distribution to be
below the current standard for RDF. A special mill
is required.
It may be possible to mechanically disperse the AF
stream, although one would have to consider the likely
fast erosion of such a system. Another way would be
to incline the AF pipe upward inside the burner by
a few degrees, although the drawback would be that
the inclination could only be corrected by modifying
the burner. One can also adjust the amount and pres-
sure of the conveying air to match the characteristics
of the AF. The apparent easier method, one that was
used at the very beginning of solid AF injection, is to
inject the lower calorific value and larger volume AF
in a separate pipe or pipes above the main burner.
This solution was advanced by Polysius and has the
Right: Polysius Polflame VN. big advantage of needing a smaller diameter main
burner. Different types of AF can also be mixed into a
single injection pipe or channel. This is an area where
more developments are under way.
Overlooked and practical issues

As seen above, it can be easy for the cement sector
and OEMs to become obsessed with various burner
parameters, like low NOx or high momentum. This
however, can lead them to neglect
other important areas that should
be looked at in more detail. I have
encountered many of these over
the decades.
Many plants struggled for
Right: Unitherm Pneumo-deflector. years with such issues as ring
and ball formation, plugging,
premature refractory failures
and other problems. Sometimes,
a burner that is poorly designed

GLOBAL CEMENT
or that doesnt fit the plant is the cause. However, I have

also seen plants replace their burners to no avail. The fol-
lowing are additional points of consideration when a
burner has been selected and doesnt appear to perform
as expected.
1. Particulate size (distribution): Getting the correct parti-

cle size distribution is easier said than done, especially when
AF suppliers have the upper hand. However, even with coal
and petcoke some issues such as recurrent ring formation
can be solved with a different coal fineness. For instance
making the coal coarser can slightly delay combustion.
2. Secondary air temperature is of great importance to

the quality and shape of the flame, as well as the overall ef-
ficiency of the kiln.
3. Burner position inside the kiln: This is an important

parameter that is not used to its full extent. It sets the start
of the cooling zone but it also affects the AF flow pattern
around the burner and thus the flame shape and the impact
on the kiln refractory.
when it comes to ...
4. What is the real importance of the central/cooling/recir-
culation air channel? It is supposed to produce an internal
recirculation zone (IRZ), assuming that one is designed on
secondary fuel
purpose and not as an afterthought. In reality, being the
most fragile portion of the burner tip, they sometimes plug
energy efficiency
or burn and operators often dont see any change. One has to
bypass optimization
assume that cooling is the only use. This was not always the
thinking as earlier designs focused more on providing suf- calciner efficiency
ficient air at the root of the flame. Experience and CFD show
that the usefulness of central air cant be proven. combustion improvement
5. Coal injection: nozzles, shapes, and angles. Of course flue gas cleaning
coal is not the topic du jour but most of the burners in the
world still operate from 20-100% on coal or petcoke. Yet ...
how the coal is ejected from the burner doesnt figure as a
key parameter in the OEMs literature. When you are trying
dont just
to influence the mixing of 5t/hr of coal with 80,000Nm3/hr
of SA using only 8000Nm3/hr of PA, the design of the coal
nozzle is important. The impact is important and should
toss the dice!

be considered more closely. Is it straight, angled towards
the axis of the burner (convergent) or divergent, adjustable
cross-section? What is the shape and number of the spacers?
The impact can be great.
6. On the topic of coal, an often encountered issue is the un-

even distribution of the coal at the burner tip, which is often
the result of an improper coal inlet injection angle coming Ask the world leading process and
to the burner, or an excessively high velocity. It can also be simulation experts for the
that the coal channel is too narrow. In most cases 20mm is a
safe minimum. cement industry
Why not have two optimally-designed

burners, one for each fuel, instead of a
hybrid that is optimised for neither...?

+ 49 241 4134492-50 www.aixergee.de
build-up. Too far and it loses

its blowing power. The extra
concrete of the inverted droplet
could work but does add con-
siderable weight.
e. The issue of the automatic

adjustment of the burner is an
Right: Greco Flexiflame.
issue that comes back on a regu-
lar basis. But is it a valid option?
One may recall that a ther-

mal imaging camera company
that claimed to be able to pre-
dict, on line, the free lime or
NOx emissions, only by viewing
and analysing the flame. It was
supposed to send signals to the
burner to automatically adjust
the various PA flows in order to
optimise the flame. Other kiln
data were also used, including
rotation speed, O2 levels and
kiln shell temperature.
A way to automatically ad-
Once the burner has been selected there are some just the main burner settings based on an array of
practical tricks that have been shown to help: measures with sophisticated control loops has been
tried but to my knowledge not very successfully and
a. Use of a laser pointer and a target to reposition it is not an option offered by the OEMs these days.
the burner precisely where it was prior to its removal Remote control of the burner setting is another
during maintenance. The laser is installed in one of matter that can be easily achieved by investing in
the pipes of the burner and pointed at a target sev- extra actuators for the PA air flow valves and ad-
eral metres down the kiln. Alternatively the laser can justing the angle of the nozzles (if applicable) and
point to a surface on the burner floor. transmitters for feedback. It is also a matter of philos-
ophy, depending on the plant. Some plants give more
b. Progress has been made in the concrete casting of or less freedom to their operators. In cases where
the kiln burner outer-pipe as fewer issues are encoun- there is less freedom the valves are held in position
tered these days and the target of one year life is often using padlocks, the keys for which live in the kiln
met. This is despite the fact that higher levels of AF engineers pocket.
lead to higher levels of chemical attack. Nevertheless
installing thermocouples between the outer steel pipe Conclusions
of the burner and the concrete during pouring will On paper, I have designed a revolutionary rotary kiln
send an alarm to the operator in case of concrete fail- burner for modern cement plants that can achieve:
ure to decide if the burner should be pulled out of the 100% AF with a large fuel mix flexibility; Unique
kiln immediately. rhino horn elimination; Automatic flame adjustment
relative to process kiln conditions; Fully instru-
c. There were previously attempts to improve the mented for flows, pressures, temperatures, positions
concrete life by using special refractory bricks, special and; It operated well over any load conditions. How-
anchors and special installation methods. This was a ever, reality has other ideas and it never went further
particular topic of interest around 12 years ago with than sketches on a paper tablecloth.
the use of sinter ceramic bricks between ribs welded As environmental, quality, financial and other
onto the outer pipe. constraints grow stronger and stronger, perfect
burner design and kiln/plant conditions are more
d. Dealing with the rhino-horn. Some kilns and important than ever. Thankfully, these days all major
coolers will produce huge build-up on the top of the OEM burners are of high quality. A portion of the
burner. Two common solutions are to use a droplet arguments they develop is of course more good mar-
shape casting and/or an air cannon. The air cannon keting than proven science, as not everything in the
solution is hard to properly design: Too close to the burner can be calculated, especially in relation to the
burner tip and it can only handle a portion of the kiln. Plant engineers in their discussions with burner

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OEMs and with their evaluation should keep an open to keep all the benefits of previous designs, some
mind and first see which OEM approach they feel designs have become overly complicated, producing
more comfortable with. large burners that do not work well.
Producers of burners with moving parts may At the same time, newer concepts are emerging. If
assume that one burner can fit all conditions/cases, 100% coal or petcoke back-up is no longer required,
while the ones with fixed parts will spend more time why not inject the 10-30% coal through a pipe rather
studying the specifics of each application. The third than a channel? In Europe, with so many types of
category, with sliding pipes and channels, appears solid AF that vary greatly in quality and quantity, why
to be going out of favour, as these adjustments have not change the configuration of the burner internals
often proven to be difficult to make under dusty and to optimise the given situation? Why not mix various
hot conditions. Parts often stick in place and there AF streams with coal prior to entering the burner?
has been difficulty in reproducing flame shapes. Why not design a smaller, more agile burner and
Furthermore bringing two separate air streams and inject some of the solid AF above that burner in sepa-
mixing them inside the burner prior to being ejected rate pipes? If the AF can be ground finely enough,
as a single stream creates efficiency losses. why not inject it through open channels? Why not
As with other products, trends in the burner partition some of the channels? Finally, why not have
market are cyclical and burner features are borrowed a few spare configurations of burner internals and
from one another. For instance, the KHD channel is replace them as the AF market dictates?
universally adopted. The Pillard Rotaflam arrange- For markets like the US and Egypt that alternate
ment was the first to break with the established axial between coal/petcoke and natural gas firing (due to
air-coal-swirl air arrangement and now OEMs play either availability or price), why not have two opti-
more freely with the location of channels and pipes. mally-designed burners (one for each fuel), instead
The Unitherm MAS concept of an adjustable single of a hybrid that is optimised for neither?
PA channel was the precursor of other designs. FCTs
stance on no moving parts is shared by other OEMs Evolution is key...
such as Greco and Dynamis. Above all, the burners of the future will continue
However care should be taken to separate the true to evolve both due to technical advances and good
benefits from the faade. While this article was not marketing. They have several variations around some
intended as a critique of any design in particular, I company specific principles. Versatile design is the
question the validity of some of the common argu- main trend, with OEMs offering options around
ments. What is the real impact of the shape of the their main platforms in keeping with the analogy of
PA jets (square, round, rectangular) on the fuel/air the automobile industry. The difficulty for the plant is
mixing efficiency? How is a large number of PA axial that their objectives can be accomplished in different
jets different, in reality, from an open channel? (Some ways and they have to choose!
OEMs simply add a plate with some holes to give the
illusion of jets). Some of the techniques and devices The March 2017 issue of Global Cement
to break or spread the streams of solid AF into the Magazine will include a survey of major burner OEMs
flame are also to be examined closely. When uncon- and will consider their history, the drivers behind their
trolled this can have the effect of throwing more RDF famous designs, design philosophies and approaches to
on the clinker bed. Finally, be aware that, by trying different fuels.
Acknowledgements
T he author would like to express his thanks to the following:

Alexander Lederer, Managing Director Unitherm Cemcon,
Austria
Alex Knoch, Product Manager Burners & Firing Systems,
KHD Humboldt Wedag, Germany. Joel Maia, Technical Director FCT, Germany
Dipl.-Ing. Stephan Pallmann, Head of Process & Quotation Renata Favelli, Commercial & Marketing, Dynamis, Brasil
Pyroprocessing thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions (Polysius),
Germany. Fives Pillard, France
Carsten Damslund Jensen, Regional Product Line Manage- A TEC GRECO Combustion Systems Europe, Austria
ment, Pyro Products, FLSmidth, Denmark.

Mayank Singhania, Singhania System Technologists Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, India
Lean gases for cement production
Many industrial processes emit waste gases as byproducts, some of which include
unburned hydrocarbons that can be used to provide further energy. Due to their low
calorific values, these are termed lean gases. Examples include blast furnace gas, coke oven
gas and syngas. In India lean gas producers are often next to cement plants, opening up
the potential to use lean gases as an alternative fuel. Here Singhania System Technologists,
an engineering company specialising in combustion, heat transfer, fuel handling and
inerting solutions for the cement industry, explains the difficulties of such a task.
L ean gases are gas mixtures that contain low per-

centages of combustible gases like CO and H2
and high percentages of inert gases like N2 and CO2.
scroll is sandwiched between two
streams of counter-rotating com-
bustion air. A specially-designed air
Therefore, lean gases have low calorific values, of spinner located at the centre of the
600-2500kCal/Nm3. To generate useful quantities core section develops a strong recir-
of heat, a large volume of lean gas must be burned culation vortex in the burner throat.
completely and efficiently. Using lean gas therefore The fuel gas that is sandwiched
poses a great challenge, which is further complicated between the core and the annulus
by their low pressures. air is injected into the turbulent air
A lean gas burner design should ensure that the such that a thoroughly mixed turbu-
combustion air penetrates through the inert gases in lent air-fuel mixture is formed and
the lean gas and mixes with the combustible gases burned in the hot furnace. Each of
thoroughly and in adequate quantities to ensure the annular gas injectors is provided
complete combustion of the lean gas within the with its share of swirling air. Two
combustion zone of the furnace. The burner must separate, easily regulated, multi-
generate the required air and fuel momentum to vane louvres are used on each core. An annulus air Above - Figure 1: A Singhania
achieve this. As by-products, lean gases are usually stream provides the counter-rotational momentum lean gas burner.
only available at low pressures. A good part of this for the central combustion air.
is required to control and measure the flow, with The design and distribution of air and gas injec-
only a small part of the pressure available for fuel tors and the turbulence produced by the combustion
momentum. The burner design needs to ensure that air ensure that thorough mixing of fuel and air takes
adequate momentum is generated using this low fuel place. Due to the thorough mixing of the combus- Below - Figure 2: Exploded
pressure. tion air and fuel, the temperature profile is extremely schematic of a Singhania lean
gas burner.
homogeneous. The burners can be designed for
Burner design flush mounting as well as for plenum mounting. The BF = Blast furnace
Singhania System Technologists has developed and unique design of the burner allows it to be installed CA = Combustion air
EGM = Enhanced gas mix - A
installed lean gas burners in cement plants, despite horizontally, vertically, downward or at any angle. type of processed lean gas
the considerable challenge to design a burner and
furnace design to burn 100% lean gases without Summary
fuel support. Singhanias multifuel fired hot gas gen- Lean gases can-
erators have successfully fired blast furnace gas, coke not be vented BF gas inlet 2
oven gas and producer gas independently and simul- directly into the
taneously. A specially designed coke oven gas pilot atmosphere and are BF gas
inlet 1 Blade
eliminates the requirement for conventional igniter often burned using
(Annulus)
fuels. This contrasts with typical lean gas burners, stack flares prior to Blade
which need high-calorie igniter fuels to provide an discharge into the (Core) Register burner
EGM gas
initial high temperature flame. After a short period atmosphere. It is inlet
the flame burns solely with lean gas. thus advantageous
Figure 2 shows an exploded cross-section of a typ- for industries to
ical Singhania lean gas fired burner. In the Singhania collaborate and fur- CA inlet 2
Process Burner, lean gas is divided and introduced ther utilise them for
CA inlet 1
through multiple injectors: One central scroll and one energy generation
set of annular injectors. The gas through the central to improve overall
process efficiency.

GLOBAL CEMENT: CEMENT BOARDS
Thorwesten Vent GmbH
Thorwesten Vent brings explosion protection

up-to-date at Eternit
In the manufacture of fine wood chippings, which are required in the production of
cementitious particle boards, large volumes of process-related dust arises, which is explosive
under certain circumstances. In order to be able to guarantee the safety of its fine wood
chippings line, Eternit GmbH, based in Beckum, Germany, decided to upgrade its entire
process chain with the latest explosion-protection technology. On the recommendation of
its own property insurer as well as its technical competence, Thorwesten Vent, also based in
Beckum, was selected as its project partner.
A t the end of 2015 engineers performed an ini-

tial status analysis, during the course of which
the optimisation requirement, the measures to be
sion pressure-relief flap, a dedusting filter and the
appropriate sensor technology. On the basis of the
measures stated above, the company Eternit GmbH
adopted and an estimation of costs were ascertained. is acquiring an explosion-protection certificate
It was determined that, in the roughly 30 year-old through a notified body.
plant, neither a zoning conforming with ATEX safety What is noteworthy about this project is not least
directives nor an effective isolation of the installed the considerable extent of engineering that was per-
Below: Fitting of a new silo components were present. In the case of an explo- formed prior to the upgrade. In close cooperation
roof with modern explosion
sion, the installation would cope neither with the with the customer, Thorwesten Vent took on the
pressure relief flap on a fine
wood-chippings silo. high speed of flame propagation nor with the related measuring of the pipework structure in the build-
pressure. The result would be devastating damage to ing as well as the entire creation of plant component
components and buildings that could take place at drawings in 3D, in addition to the structural analysis
Below right: The newly
any time. of the silo and building structures. The building work
installed explosion vent with
explosion pressure relief The existing explosion-protection measures were was also realised by Thorwesten Vent.
flap isolates the system and evaluated to be inadequate and, at times, ineffec- The Beckum-based company once again un-
prevents damage to machinery tive. As a consequence, Thorwesten Vent created a derlines through this project its position as a
and buildings.
new plant concept, into which the latest findings of recognised specialist in the field of structural ex-
modern explosion-protection technology would be plosion-protection for components and systems for
Bottom: Installation of an incorporated. For the affected cyclone, supply silo process industries.
explosion vent by Thorwesten and process filter, the required explosion pressure-
Vent personnel.
relief surfaces were
determined on the
basis of technical data
and the new construc-
tion-related measures
were designed. The
latter largely com-
prised the isolation of
the individual units by
installing the neces-
sary explosion-relief
vent and the fitting of
pipework in several
sections, as well as the
partial renewal and
retrofitting of the fine
wood-chippings silo
to a pressure-shock
resistance of 2bar over
pressure. In addition,
the silo was equipped
with a modern explo-

gl bal
1st
PROCESS OPTIMISATION
cemprocess
IN CEMENT MANUFACTURE
CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION
24 25 APRIL 2017, LONDON, UK
CemProcess.com
#cemprocess
Including
confirmed visit
to Hanson Cements
Ketton plant to see
industry-best-practice
case studies in
action
Photo courtesy Lark Energy
Process optimisation,
de-bottlenecking,
production maximisation
and troubleshooting
Exhibition and sponsorship enquiries

paul.brown@propubs.com
Tel: +44 1372 840950 Mob: +44 7767475998
Need a hand with your material handling?

We eliminate:
Solids bridging and ratholing in bins
Material buildup and plugging in chutes
Raw meal segregation (causing LSF variability)
Abrasive wear in pneumatic conveying lines
Poor gravity reclaim from large stockpiles
Erratic feed with alternative fuels
50 Innovating, modeling, and designing.

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Primasonics-Jenike-House Feb 2017.indd 1 23/01/2017 14:00

GLOBAL CEMENT: FILTRATION Contents Subscribe Ad Index
David Wadsworth, UK Sales Manager, Hycontrol Ltd
Maximising dust filtration efficiency

with new technology
Particle filters are an essential component in any powder storage silo, providing safe
ventilation of air without expelling product into the atmosphere. However, this process will
inevitably lead to product being entrained in the filters, leading to loss of efficiency and,
potentially, more serious consequences. Here Hycontrol looks at the problems associated
with filter degradation and outline how the latest advances in filter technology, utilised in
the companys Hyvent unit, allow for increased efficiency.
T he storage of powdered
products in silos is com-
monplace in a wide range of
replaceable filter media be-
comes entrained with dust and
filtration efficiency drops, users
processes in diverse industries, should be able to easily remove
including the cement sector. them to insert fresh filters.
However, there are important Filter housings are usu-
safety considerations associated ally fitted with some form of
with the operation of storage silos, self-cleaning system, typically
particularly during the pneumatic mechanical shakers or reverse jet
filling process when excess pres- systems that blow dust back out of
sure can become trapped inside. the filters and into the silo using
The dangers posed by over-pres- compressed air. Of the two, air
surisation of silos on sites can jet systems are generally regarded
include serious injury or even death as the more modern and efficient.
and should not be taken lightly. Filter units without self-cleaning
Damage to equipment will also re- systems, referred to as static units,
sult in financial loss and production are still seen but current guidance
downtime. advises against their use.
Right - Figure 1: Tapered
filters provide a number The purpose of a silo protection
of advantages. system is to negate the risks of over- Filter problems on top
filling or over-pressurisation when of the silo
powdered material is transferred from Faulty operation of filter units can
a road tanker to a silo. Guidance on stem from a range of issues, includ-
minimum requirements for acceptable ing blockages, failure of the cleaning
silo safety equipment is available from system and the fitting of unsuitable
national and regional associations. In or wrongly-sized filters. It is to be ex-
the UK, the Mineral Products Associa- pected that, over time (and with the
tion guidance lists essential components regular filling and emptying of con-
for safety systems, including: tents from the silo) the filter media will
become blocked with more and more
A sufficiently-sized pressure relief valve; powdered product, which, eventually,
Pressure sensor and alarm system; the cleaning system will not be able
Level monitoring equipment; to remove.
An efficient air filtration system. Although filter manufacturers give
recommended check routines and filter
Filter units replacement schedules, evidence from
Filter housings mounted at the top of silos the field indicates that these guidelines
are designed to vent the air that is blown in are often ignored. In some instances car-
during filling, while preventing dust from tridges in larger or taller filter units are
escaping. Designs vary, but modern systems very difficult to access without the use of
are usually based on filtration using either additional scaffolding and personal safety
bag filters or cartridge filters, which utilise equipment. As a result, such cartridges are
porous media to trap dust particles. As the left to operate long after they lose filtration

GLOBAL CEMENT: FILTRATION
efficiency. However it is often not just inaccessible

filters that are given scant regard when it comes to
maintenance as filters at more readily-accessible
heights regularly suffer the same level of neglect.
Most modern filtration cleaning systems rely on
reverse pulse air jet systems to clean dust from car-
tridges with short, powerful blasts of air. This requires
a reliable supply of compressed air to the silo-top.
Loss of air-flow will drastically reduce the effective-
ness of the cleaning system, leading to rapid product
build-up.
Insufficiently-sized filter units, which are fre-
quently found on older silos, are problematic because
the filter may not be able to vent sufficient volumes
of air quickly enough to adequately relieve increas-
ing pressure in the vessel during filling, even if the
filter media is well-maintained. As we will see, such a
build-up can be extremely dangerous.
Blocked filters are a common contributor to silo
protection problems. If dusty air cannot be cleaned
and escape through the filters then it will blow out
through the pressure relief valve (PRV). This poses a
significant risk, as powders carried in the air-flow will
form hard compounds when mixed with atmospheric
moisture, leading to the PRV becoming blocked with
hardened product over time. This problem becomes
Improving the design Above - Figure 2: Blocked
acute during the filling process if increasing air pres-
filters can lead to a range of
sure inside the silo cannot be safely vented. In the The latest advances in filter technology, utilised in processing issues and hazards.
past, this has led to silos rupturing or the filter unit Hycontrols Hyvent unit, allow for greatly increased
physically being ejected from the silo roof due to built airflow within the vent unit, while simultaneously
up pressure. Consequences could include: reducing air velocity from below. This has been
achieved by changing to a conical filter shape, as op-
Serious or fatal injury to workers or the public; posed to the old-style cylindrical cartridges.
Catastrophic silo damage; The advantages of this new design are three-fold.
Loss of material and production; Firstly, by greatly increasing the space for free air flow
Harmful environmental pollution; from below the can velocities are reduced. Lower
Damage to company reputation and significant velocities of circulating air make it easier for dust
health and safety fines. particles to drop out of suspension back into the ves-
Can velocity
We see therefore that efficient, well-maintained filtra-
tion units are an important factor to ensure silo safety. 530mm
Key to ensuring reliable filtration is the velocity of air
flow within the filter unit casing between the car-
tridges. This is referred to as the can velocity.
Can velocity is a fine balance to strike. It must be 59%
free area Left - Figure 3: Increased
consistent along the full length of the filter at a suf-
space above the filter inlet
ficient strength that allows the dust dislodged during
point as a result of the
pulse cleaning to escape from the cartridge surface tapered filter design.
and fall away into the vessel below. If the velocity is
too low, the loss of pressure towards the bottom of
the filter cartridges (furthest from the air jet nozzles)
will not be enough to dislodge the dust particles rest-
ing in the filter. If the velocity is too high, dislodged
dust is re-entrained in the air flow and is re-deposited
82%
on the cartridges or dust is simply blasted from one free area
filter cartridge into its neighbour. Congested fil-
ters mean reduced performance, ultimately risking
complete blockage.

GLOBAL CEMENT: FILTRATION
Right - Figure 4: Comparison

of cleaning air flow in cylindrical
(left) and conical (right) filters.
Conclusion
sel below, thereby reducing re-entrainment into the A modern, high-efficiency filter unit should have:
cartridges. Figure 3 illustrates the increased space
above the filter inlet point as a result of the tapered Easy to access filter cartridges for maintenance
filter design. This means that 82% of the area at the and changing;
inlet chamber of the filter unit is free (as shown in the
bottom half of the illustration) as opposed to typi- A correctly-calculated size to deal with the
cally 59% when using cylindrical elements. The result maximum volume of air-flow;
is lower upward air velocities at this point, increasing
dust separation. An efficient self-cleaning system (ideally reverse
Secondly, the increased space between the filters pulse air jets firing down into the filters);
reduces the likelihood of dust being passed to neigh-
bouring cartridges, particularly when the airborne The latest enhanced filter cartridge design to ensure
dust is moving at a lower velocity. This will help optimum performance.
quicken the rate at which the dust drops out of the
filter. The less dust that is retained circulating in the Advances in filter technology are greatly improv-
filter unit, the less dust that will become re-entrained ing both the lifespan and performance of silo filtration
into the filter media, resulting in better performance systems. However, even the most efficient self-clean-
and a longer lifespan for the filter cartridges. ing unit will require regular, scheduled maintenance
Finally, the design results in greater cleaning ef- to ensure continued optimum performance. As
ficiency by the compressed air jet. Figure 4 shows mentioned in the introduction, filters should also be
the flow of compressed air into the cartridge and considered as an essential part of an integrated sys-
the reduction in dust expulsion that results from tem to monitor for and prevent over-pressurisation
decreasing air pressure. Traditional cartridge filters in silos. In fact, a testable protection system that
(on the left) suffer from reduced air flow towards the monitors and records high pressure events during
bottom as pressure is lost. filling operations will also assist preventative main-
Conical filters (shown on the right of Figure 4) tenance for the filters, as regular occurrences may
offer an improvement by evenly distributing pressure indicate issues with airflow through the unit.
down through the cartridge, maximising product The complete silo protection system, including
removal. The tapering of the inner core of the filter el- the filter, should be inspected and the functionality
ements enhances the effectiveness of the compressed of the components physically checked on a regular
air jet, giving a more even clean over the length of the basis. It is not sufficient to merely visually inspect
cartridge. Collectively these features mean the new- and dust down equipment. Hycontrol recommends
style filters have a longer functional life and offer a thorough service assessments be conducted every six
higher consistency of performance. to 12 months depending on the filling frequency.

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GLOBAL CEMENT: DOSING
Dr Dominik Aufderheide & Dr Luigi Di Matteo, Di Matteo Group, Germany
A framework for the classification of bulk material

dosing equipment in the cement sector
The metering and dosing of bulk materials is a key task in the cement sector and, even
though many different system architectures have been used, there has been no systematic
classification available until now. This article proposes a general taxonomy for the
classification of metering and dosing devices for bulk material to aid decision-making.
T he transport and logistics systems used in the

cement sector are driven by strict requirements
regarding the accurate dosing of bulk materials. The
example is the transfer of positive or negative expe-
riences with a particular piece of equipment from
a specific application to a completely different sce-
equipment used must be carefully considered and nario. This is a common trap in the conceptual phase
requirements will vary depending on the point in the of engineering projects and runs contrary to a logical
process where the equipment is used. Furthermore, and rational selection of the optimal equipment.
it needs to vary greatly from the quarry to the bag-
ging plant in terms of scale and the types of material Classification of dosing devices
being dosed. The three main functional elements of typical dosing
The materials to be dosed may be powdery, granu- devices are measuring, conveying and controlling.
lar, flaky or fibrous, may flow freely or be cohesive and The combination of either any two or all three of
will have different densities. All of these factors affect these basic elements defines the specific character of
the type of equipment that should be used to dose the equipment (See Figure 1). From this Venn dia-
them. It is also important to consider the long-term gram, we can name five different classes of machines
stability of the aforementioned characteristics, which as a general taxonomy for the proportioning of bulk
is often underestimated during the design phase of materials. The exact definition and correspond-
bulk material handling systems. Also important are ing aspects are summarised within Table 1. All are
the legal requirements that need to be fulfilled, for justified within their specific applications as there
example in the dosing of fuels. is no suitable piece of equipment that can meet
Even if the above factors are taken into account the needs of all different applications.
there can be no guarantee that the selection and
integration of the optimal corresponding dosing Breakdown of equipment
equipment can be completed successfully. A typical 1. Pure measuring devices Silo scales and weighing
hoppers are typical examples of pure
measuring devices. They are mainly
used in order to determine actual fill-
eg. Static scale ing in terms of weight and/or volume
(in the case of bulk material with
constant density and humidity). The
eg. Loss in mass of the material is measured by
weight dosing means of a set of load cells, mechanical
Measuring
eg. Belt scale mounting modules for effective force
transmission and an evaluation unit.
Right - Figure 1: A classifica- Indirect Figure 2 shows a typical example.
tion of dosing systems based on dosing Metering
three basic functional elements.
Closed loop 2. Differential systems - Differential
dosing or indirect dosing systems typically
Controlling consist of a silo scale or weighing
Open loop
Conveying hopper that is equipped with a con-
dosing
trollable discharge system. A screw, for
example, is used to discharge a hopper,
which is placed on a set of load cells.
These measure the actual material
eg. Belt weigh feeder eg. Volumetric dosing eg. Screw conveyor weight within the hopper. By using
the loss-in-weight principle the actual

Device Measuring Metering Indirect dosing Open loop dosing Closed loop dosing
Description The volume or The material is conveyed The volume or The conveying The weight or volume
weight of the with a certain conveying weight of material speed is controlled and the conveying speed
material is speed and at the same is measured. At the based on a pre- are measured to calculate
measured and time the massflow is same time a separate defined calibrated the mass or volume flow.
used to define the determined based on a conveying system is relationship in order The conveying speed is
amount at a given measured weight controlled in order to achieve a pre- continuously controlled in
time to achieve a certain determined volume order to achieve a desired
volume or mass flow or mass flow mass or volume flow
Measured Mass (kg), Speed (m/s), Mass (kg) Speed (m/s), Mass (kg) Speed (m/s), Mass (kg);
values Volume (m3) Mass flow (kg/hr) or Left - Table 1: Overview of
Volume flow (m3/hr) different dosing, metering
Control Mass flow (kg/hr) or Speed (m/s); Mass flow and weighing devices.
variables Volume flow (m3/hr) (kg/hr) or Volume flow
(m3/hr)
Type of Continuous Discontinuous Continuous Continuous
operation
Type of Gravimetric Volumetric Gravimetric
dosing
Example Silo scale Belt scale Loss-in-weight system Screw conveyor ODM-WeighTUBE
with pre-defined
relationship
between volume
and screw speed
mass flow (kg/hr) can be continuously calculated by Open-loop dosing - Open-loop dosing is also known
taking into consideration the mass difference within as volumetric dosing. Its main principle is the opera-
a defined time interval. By changing the screw speed tion of a certain conveyor with a certain pre-defined
it is possible to achieve a desired mass or volume flow. speed for each possible mass flow set-point. Thus, the
The main drawback of this setup is the missing actual weighing of the real material is neglected and
possibility to dose the material continuously, as one instead it is assumed that, for the generation of a con-
cannot know the weight lost if material is constantly stant mass flow, it is sufficient to generate a constant
entering the same receptacle. This means that differ- volume flow. This assumption is only valid if the bulk
ential systems are only suitable for batch-type dosing. density of the material is constant.
As there is no information of the actual mass flow
3. Metering - The process of metering of mass flows from a gravimetric measurement unit, it is neces-
consists of a standard conveying system such as a sary to define a calibration curve or generalised
belt or screw conveyor and the determination of the mathematical relationship in order to define the
actual flow by means of an integrated weigh-
ing system. A typical belt scale consists of a
belt conveyor that transports material with a
certain speed to a single weighing roller, which
determines the actual belt load. From the
measured belt load it is possible to compute
the mass per length unit, which can be used to
determine the mass flow. A standard metering
device contains no control circuit at all, as it
only computes the actual mass flow. There is
Left - Figure 2: A typical
no feedback to alter the speed of the conveyor.
load cell module for silo
scales or weighing hoppers.
Avoid the status-quo
decision-making trap,
which can be prevalent in
conservative industries such
as cement manufacturing...

dependency between the actual speed of the con- a regular basis, as often as once a month, in order to
veyor and the mass flow. In most cases volumetric guarantee long-term stability. These two issues led
dosing is realised by a screw conveyor, since the use Di Matteo to develop a completely novel closed-
of a trough or tubular screw conveyor guarantees a loop dosing system: the tubular weigh feeder
quite stable volumetric feeding behaviour for differ- ODM-WeighTUBE.
ent speeds compared to, for example, a belt.
However, for materials that have variable proper- The ODM-WeighTUBE
ties over time, (such as humidity or density as is the The ODM-WeighTUBE was introduced in 2010.
case with alternative fuels) for the accurate dosing Although many of its early installations focused on
of alternative fuels, an open loop dosing method is problematic bulk materials, such as refuse-derived
not applicable. fuels (RDF), the system has since been used in
cement plants for a range of other materials, includ-
5. Closed-loop dosing The most sophisticated ing raw meal, fly ash, iron ore and clinker. Around
and accurate solution for the dosing of bulk materi- 100 units now operate in the global cement industry.
als is closed-loop dosing, also known as gravimetric Figure 3 shows the ODM-WeighTUBE RWS
dosing. This is because the actual mass flow is deter- series, which includes three models (RWS 500, RWS
mined by an integrated weighing unit. 400 and RWS 250). The selection of the individual
The actual conveying speed is measured by, for model depends on the type of bulk material and the
example, an incremental encoder and, along with intended dosing range.
the material load, it is evaluated constantly. There is The general dosing principle is similar to the clas-
direct feedback from the calculated mass flow to the sical closed-loop scheme. The ODM-WeighTUBE
variable speed drive unit. If there is a deviation be- consists of a tubular screw conveyor, which con-
tween the actual mass flow and the desired set-point, tinuously discharges material from an intermediate
the actual conveying speed can be adapted. Thus, buffer. The material is conveyed to the tube section,
high precision is guaranteed. The maximum devia- which is placed on a set of load cells that are de-cou-
tion from the set-point is <2%. pled from the main frame of the machine by flexible
However, the operation of classical belt weigh connections. It is therefore possible to measure the
feeders, as shown in Figure 5, in practical applica- actual material weight within the tube. Furthermore,
tions is characterised by two main aspects: First of the actual conveying speed of the screw is constantly
all, belts are by nature non-closed systems. This monitored. Both physical values are processed in
leads to non-negligible dust emissions and spill- order to calculate the actual mass flow. By taking into
age of material, which affects the measurements consideration the desired mass flow (set-point) it is
taken by the scales. Secondly, many existing dosing possible to determine the actual deviation, which is
methodologies suffer immensely from time-variable fed to the continuous dosing controller (CDC). The
material properties. This leads to a non-negligible CDC adapts the screw speed in order to minimise the
Below - Figure 4: The ODM- drift in the dosing accuracy over time. Thus, belt deviation under all circumstances and at any given
WeighTUBE RWS series. weigh feeders need to be manually re-calibrated on time. All software elements are implemented within

90 Phase 2 -
Samples mplant (kg)
Emptying buffer
for calibration phase
hopper
85
Phase 3 -
80 Reaching
normal Left - Figure 4: The three
Weight buffer Mplant (%)
No calibration active
75 phases of the ODM-WeighTUBEs
set-point
calibration routine.
70
65
Phase 1 - Filling of
60 intermediate buffer
hopper
65
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Time (s)
the ODM-GravitAS control system. This system was of the controller depending on the given material
developed by Di Matteo as a unified platform for all properties is a very important element for long-time
of its weighing and dosing applications. stability and accuracy of the gravimetric dosing.
Furthermore, the ODM-GravitAS control system By the combination of the ODM-WeighTUBE
implements an automatic calibration routine, which platform with the GravitAS control system a high
provides the possibility to estimate properties of the dosing precision of <1% related to the nominal
dosed bulk material and automatically adapt the throughput can be guaranteed.
controller parameters in such a way that the dos-
ing accuracy remains stable over time. The actual Summary
process operation is not influenced by performing This article introduces a framework for the systematic
the automatic calibration routine, so that the avail- classification of dosing and metering equipment for
able machine time can be increased. During the cement plants and relative industries. The defined
automatic calibration routine the intermediate buffer taxonomy allows a better understanding of the exact
hopper of the ODM-WeighTUBE is filled to a pre-set nature of a certain type of equipment and can be used
maximum. In the second phase the buffer hopper is as a guideline during the design and implementation
emptied by normal dosing operation as no further of system setups.
material enters it, up to a predefined minimum buffer An important aspect of the selection of adequate
weight. From the resulting difference in mass and dosing equipment is to avoid the status-quo decision-
the corresponding expired time, the actual control making trap, which can be prevalent in conservative
parameters of the continuous dosing controller are industries such as cement manufacturing. This can
automatically adapted. have severe consequences on the competitive situa-
To avoid possible undesired influences, all control- tion of many organisations, because it might happen Below - Figure 5: The
ler parameters are checked for plausibility based on that technological developments are adopted too late ODM-GraviSCALE
a probabilistic analysis of former calibration cycles, or even neglected entirely. belt weigh feeder.
before they become active in the system. A typical
calibration process, with its three phases, is shown
in the Figure 4, where the actual buffer weight mplant
(kg) is shown changing with time.
The decreasing buffer weight in the second phase
of the calibration process is almost completely linear,
which indicates constant material throughput. A pos-
sible deviation between the actual and the desired
mass flow during this phase is evaluated for the prob-
abilistic adaption of the controller parameter. The
possibility for a continuous on-the-fly auto-tuning

GLOBAL CEMENT: MONITORING
VisionTIR
New technology improvements in kiln monitoring

systems: A case study
Kiln operators must have reliable temperature data from the kiln to detect hot spots, prevent
failures and to extend the life of kiln refractory. In recent decades, infrared (IR) kiln shell
scanning systems have been used to monitor the temperature of the kiln shell. With the
new developments in uncooled microbolometers, an improving price/performance ratio
and a trend towards mass production, it is now very attractive to use thermal camera-based
monitoring systems to solve these applications. These new systems can offer innovative
solutions. VisionTIR has developed several applications based in thermal-cameras to solve
different needs and requirements of cement plants, with the ultimate aims of offering
optimised kiln maintenance and reduced maintenance costs due to less damage and
unscheduled downtime.
Rotary kiln monitoring system scanners. In others the customer wanted to combine
the system with others that are already in place to
The RKS300 thermal camera-based kiln monitoring cover additional requirements or additional areas of
system monitors kiln shell and provides real-time the kiln that were not previously being monitored.
inspection of the entire kiln length. It integrates For example, the latter case was the reason that
hardware and software as a complete solution, allow- VisionTIR was recently asked to supply an RKS300
ing the detection and measurement of all hotspots on system to Italcementi Group in Spain. The customer
the kiln shell. had already used a scanner system to monitor its kiln
in the cement plant for 10 years, but with the incon-
Case of study: Italcementi Cement Plant venience that the scanner did not cover all the length
In recent years the RKS300 system has been installed of the kiln.
in different cement plants around the world. In VisionTIR supplied one kiln monitoring system
some cases, the client had not previously installed to monitor a 65m long kiln. The system was pre-
wired and pre-tested before installation at the plant.
It includes several thermographic cameras, proxim-
ity sensors, climate-controlled camera enclosures,
rack cabinet mounts, DAQ and control boards and
a PC with the RKS300 software installed. After
analysing and studying the customers requirements,
VisionTIR installed the RKS300 system to monitor
all of the kiln length in real time, achieving a higher
pixel resolution. Because of that, the companys ro-
tary kiln system detects a higher number of hot-spots
and with greater accuracy.
By providing the highest resolution and real time
Right: A thermal camera, part
inspection, RKS300 optimises kiln efficiency and
of the RKS300 system installed
at the Italcementi plant. reduces the cost of maintenance due to damage and
unscheduled downtime.
Furthermore, for the Italcementi plant, the
RKS300 also incorporated a fan control system, a tyre
slip monitoring system and several IR thermometers
for shadow area monitoring. On top of the systems
technical functions, another major advantage that
the client found was a very competitive price/perfor-
mance ratio.
To withstand the aggressive environment that
surrounds the system in a cement plant, the RKS300
is protected by a rugged protective housing that re-
sists adverse conditions thanks to an air purge and

GLOBAL CEMENT: MONITORING
Left: RKS300 software.
internal temperature control. This keeps the camera real thermographic imaging of the cooler. As the so-
clean and within a constant ambient temperature. lution resists up to 2200C, it is possible to position it
RKS300 software provides real-time thermal im- within the cooler. VisionTIR already has a contract to
aging for temperature monitoring, display, analysis provide such a unit to HeidelbergCement.
and detection of hot-spots. The software also enables
access to all temperature points giving it the kilns Conclusions
surface coordinates with very accurate measure- Overall, thermal imaging cameras are becoming
ments. The resolution ranges from 478 pixels up to an attractive alternative solution for cement plant
3200 pixels. RKS300 software incorporates OPC monitoring requirements. They are able to provide
server protocol and client configurations. real time inspection and the images are much more
intuitive for the user. This enables easy recognition of
ProTIR System defective areas of the kiln, hot-spots and even the real
In the cooler, some cement plants incorporate a effects of the fans in real time.
boroscope inspection camera in the visible spectrum Furthermore, thermal camera-based monitor-
to inspect inside the cooler and identify so-called ing systems are now cost-effective thanks to new
snowman formation. However, due to the amount of developments on uncooled microbolometers and a
smoke and gases inside the cooler, this system is not trend towards mass production. With regard to all
able to faithfully detect snowman formation. these considerations, the use of thermal monitoring
In recent years, VisionTIR has developed a new systems should be considered a potential solution for
solution to inspect inside the cooler or kiln, the the optimisation of the cement production process
ProTIR System. This system is also based on and reducing maintenance cost due to damage and
Below: The ProTIR system
thermal-cameras and is able to withstand the high unscheduled downtime. and software.
temperatures generated inside the cooler, offering

GLOBAL CEMENT NEWS: PRODUCTS & CONTRACTS
Contents Pakistan: FLSmidth receives plant order from Maple Leaf Cement
M
Subscribe
aple Leaf Cement has ordered a 7300t/day cement calciner, a FLSmidth Cross-Bar cooler, a Jetflex burner and
production line from FLSmidth. The plant will be lo- two OK 39-4 vertical mills for cement grinding.
Ad Index cated in Iskanderabad in the Mianwali District. The order This is the latest project to underline FLSmidths
has been placed at above Euro75m and it will be completed strength as the leading supplier of the most productive
by the end of 2018. and energy-efficient equipment and technology - and our
The order will include an ATOX 52.5 vertical mill for raw position as the preferred supplier of complete production
grinding, an ATOX 27.5 vertical mill for coal grinding, an EV lines to the Pakistani cement industry, said FLSmidths
200 x 300 Hammer Impact Crusher, stacker and reclaimer Group Executive Vice President, Cement Division, Per
systems for storage, a ROTAX-2 rotary kiln with low NOx ILC Mejnert Kristensen.
World: UNTHAs mobile shredder goes global
U NTHA has announced that, as of the start of 2017,

its newest waste shredding solution, the all-electric
XR mobil-e, has proven it is more than just hype. Two
machines have been sold to customers in Italy, one to
a customer in Spain, two in the UK for waste wood and
commercial and industrial waste, Ragn-Sells is using
the XR mobil-e to shred waste wood in Norway and
Breitsamer is already utilising the shredder in Germany.
Commenting on the rapid interest in this machine,
UNTHAs head of the waste business unit Peter Streinik
said, I think 2017 will be a pivotal year for waste shred- operators are still pressed to manufacture more, for
ding. The market is opening up with greater investment less, without compromising quality or the environment.
and increased appreciation for the role that alternative The XR mobil-e and the static equivalent will prove key
fuels can play within the global energy agenda. But to this.
Georgia: Gebr Pfeiffer receives order for Saudi Arabia: Yamama orders two
HeidelbergCements Kaspi plant clinker conveyors from Aumund
G ebr Pfeiffer has received an order to supply a mill for the

Kaspi Cement plant, part of HeidelbergCement Group. The
vertical roller mill will be used in a new 3000t/day kiln line at the
Y amama Saudi Cement has ordered two sets of
clinker conveying equipment from Aumund.
The Saudi Arabian cement producer plans to start-
site. The order was placed through Chinas Sinoma Chengdu in up two clinker production lines in 2018 at a new
November 2016. site to the southwest of Riyadh. The two lines, with
The type MPS 4000 B mill, equipped with a SLS 3750 B type a combined capacity of 20,000t/day, are being built
classifier, has been designed for a capacity of 270t/hr of raw meal. by thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions.
The mill will be delivered with an enlarged housing to allow the The scope of supply includes 29 chain bucket
raw material with a moisture of up to 10% to be dried almost ex- elevators and 18 belt bucket elevators, in heavy-
clusively with the available preheater gases. Commissioning of the duty and lighter designs, for these two lines. For
plant is scheduled for 2018. raw meal, Aumund belt bucket elevators will be
used. Filter dust will be conveyed by Aumund chain
bucket elevators optimally designed for low capac-
India: Petron to build silos for Shree ity. Two Aumund double chain bucket elevators
P etron Engineering Construction has received a letter of intent

to build silos and other miscellaneous work at Shree Cements
cement grinding plant near Cuttack in Orissa. The contract is val-
with a capacity of 2300t/hr have been ordered per
line as recirculating bucket elevators in the cement
mill. The supply package for the two lines also in-
ued at just under US$5m. In September 2016 Petron received a cludes six Aumund pan conveyors as well as various
letter of intent from Shree Cement for civil work at cement plants in flat gates, silo discharge gates, telescopic chutes
Aurangabad, Bihar and Gulbarga, Karnataka with a contract value and cleaning conveyors.
of just under US$7.5m.

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NEWS
Russia: Plant for StandartCement

- a strong solution for the environment
BALE OPENER S tandartCement plans to build a 3.0Mt/yr ce-

ment plant in the Krasnogvardeysk district
of Belgorod with an investment of US$638m.
FLSmidth has been designated as the equipment
supplier and lead engineering contractor for the
project, according to Construction magazine and
Interfax. Local government has allotted land and
the project is expected to create over 700 jobs. No
schedule for construction and commissioning has
been released.
UK: Hanson to spend Euro29m towards

The ReTec Bale Opener can open Key Points: upgrades at Ribblesdale cement plant
bales of various types of material. Automatic reversing at high
Both wired bales and plastic
wrapped bales can be opened.
loads, for example, with
impurities.
H anson is spending Euro29m on upgrades at its
Ribblesdale cement plant in a seven-year project to
improve production efficiency and emissions. In the first
Able to open virtually any type six months nearly Euro13m will be spent on improve-
Materials: of bales without adjustment
RDF/SRF bales ments and maintenance to enable the plant to meet new
or change in settings or
dust emission regulations. This is the biggest investment
Straw bales programming.
programme at the site since the 1990s and includes a
PET/Plastic bales Capacity up to 80 t/h depending Euro2m replacement of the filters on two cement mills.
Recovered paper/cardboard on size and density of the bales.
The permitted dust level is being reduced by 66% in
bales Few wear parts ensures April 2017, from 30mg/m2 to 10mg/m2 - the new equip-
economical operation. ment will perform better than this, said plant manager
Terry Reynolds. He added that the filters will run well
ReTec Milj ApS ReTec develops, constructs and manufactures special
machines for the waste and recycling industry. We offer below the new maximum dust emission levels after
Tel.: +45 7456 8106
www.retec.dk practical solutions to our customers needs, helping the installation.
them increase profitability in their business.
The plant will spend Euro7.5m, its largest investment,
towards replacing its wet gas scrubber in March 2017. In
addition, 75m of ducts have been replaced at a cost of
Euro440,000 during a shutdown in January 2017 as part
of a five-year improvement plan for the sites exhaust gas
Ireland: Irish Cement to submit further handling system.
details on Limerick plans by end of March Ribblesdale employs 116 people and is supplied
by two on-site quarries worked by an 11-person team
Irish Cement has until the end of March 2017 to submit fur-
ther information to the local government about its plans to
upgrade its cement plant in Limerick to allow it to co-process
and a team of contractors managing the loading and
hauling of quarry materials. The cement plant has pro-
duced cement for projects including the Manchester
alternative fuels. The company is waiting for planning per- International Airport, Heysham nuclear power station,
mission for a 10-year licence to use solid recovered waste and Manchester United football stadium, Liverpools Roman
tyres in cement production. However, the application has Catholic cathedral and also now for Hinkley Point C nuclear
been delayed twice, following opposition by local residents. power station.
Left: Pictured at Hanson Cements
Ribblesdale works are (left to
right): Environment Manager
Spain: Sagunto plant cuts production Nick Sharpe, Quality Technician
Rasheed Firfire, Project Manager
L afargeHolcims Sagunto cement plant in Valencia cut its

production by nearly 10% in 2016 due to a fall in exports to
Algeria. The plant exports 85% of its production and Algeria
Chris Sheady and Plant Manager
Terry Reynolds.
cut its imports by half, according to the Expansin newspaper.

The plant is considering new export destinations including World: James Bond wins cement draw
Colombia. However, its permit to mine aggregates from the
Salt de Llop quarry is due to expire in December 2017 and the
local government is reportedly not keen to renew it.
C anadian cement consultant James Bond has won a
Global Cement prize draw after taking part in a survey
on a possible new conference on global cement trans-
port and logistics. See www.Cem-Trans.com for details.

CEMENT NEWS: EUROPE
Poland: Producers to meet forecast
T he Polish cement industry is expected to meet a sales

forecast of 15.8Mt made by the Polish Association of
Cement Producers (SPC). Jan Deja confirmed the predic-
tion based on data for November and December 2016
from the Central Statistical Office (GUS) and the weather
at this time in comments made to the Polish News Bul-
letin. He added that 2016 had seen a significant drop in
investments and that a boom in residential construction
had compensated for a decline in infrastructure devel-
opment. However, tenders for infrastructure projects
have been launched suggesting that sales might reach
up to 16.5Mt in 2017.
Russia: Sibirskiy spent US$17.8m on

upgrades in 2016
S ibirskiy Cement spent a total of US$17.8m towards up- Casting a

confident glance
grading its cement plants in 2016. It spent US$5.2m
towards modernising and automating production and
about US$12.6m on the repair and maintenance of equip-
at the future!
ment, according to local media. Installing automated control
systems was a priority of the upgrade work. Notably, the
cement producers Topkinskiy plant received upgrades to
its grinding and finished products units. Upgrade work
will continue in 2017 with purchases of both domestic and
foreign equipment.
Sibirsky Cements production has fallen by 19% year-on-
year to 3.1Mt/yr in 2016. It has blamed the fall on a reduction
of market demand in the Siberian Federal District. Cement
consumption in the region is expected to fall by 14% in 2017.
Belarus: Government reduces plan for

cement production and export
T he Belarusian government has reduced its national plan

for the production, consumption and export of cement
from 2017 to 2020. The national cement production target HARDTOP Bimetal Castings provide
has been set at 4.5Mt in 2017, 4.7Mt in 2018, 4.9Mt in 2019
and 5.1Mt in 2010, according to local media. During this
high wear resistance
period it is anticipated that the countrys cement production increased durability
capacity will fall to 5.4Mt/yr from 5.9Mt/yr. Exports of cement reduced overall costs
are forecast to reach 1.6Mt in 2017, 1.7Mt in 2018 and 2019
and 1.8Mt in 2020. Consumption of cement is planned to be
high efficiency
3.3Mt/yr in 2017, 3.4Mt in 2018, 3.5Mt in 2019 and 3.6Mt in reduced expense for maintenance
2020. The country produces cement from three state-con- minimised downtime
trolled integrated plants.
raised production
added profit
Russia: FAS warns certification bodies
T he Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has issued warn-

ings to companies certifying cement products that
certification has been mandatory since March 2016. The Reichelstrasse 23
competition body reported that the decision by Cemiscon D-39124 Magdeburg
and SibNIIcement to refuse some applications for certifica- Germany
tion without adequate grounds could restrict competition
in the cement market. The FAS has since warned the compa-
phone: +49 (0) 391 532969-0
nies that their actions broke the law.
fax: +49 (0) 391 532969-21
e-mail: sales@hardtop-gmbh.com
Global Cement Magazine February 2017 39 web: www.hardtop-gmbh.com
18-19 MAY 2017 DSSELDORF
NEWS: EUROPE
gl bal CONFERENCE
12th
UK: Master Magnets to be acquired
slag
EXHIBITION
AWARDS 2017
The 12th Global Slag Conference will bring together
B unting Magnetics, a US company specialising in the
magnet and magnetic equipment sector, has signed
an agreement to acquire Master Magnets, a UK-based
manufacturer of magnetic separation equipment. The
Redditch-based firm produces magnetic separation,
recycling and metal detection equipment to several in-
slag producers and slag users from around the world dustries worldwide including the mining, quarrying and
for business, technical exchange and networking. aggregate sectors. No value or terms for the deal have
been disclosed.
If your business is slag, make it your business to attend
the 12th Global Slag Conference in Dsseldorf! UK: Greek Labour ministry comments on
cement worker ruling by ECJ
T he Labour Ministry has said that a European Court of

Justice (ECJ) ruling on a group dismissal of workers
by the Heracles General Cement Company in 2013 has
supported the governments position on the issue. The
ministry has defended its current legislation on mass
layoffs, saying that it should be modified not abolished,
according to the Athens News Agency.
We must first clarify that the courts decision does
not concern the existing restrictions on mass dismissals,
which are absolutely compatible with community law.
The courts ruling is confined to the issue of the admin-
istrative advance approval of dismissals and the criteria
taken into account by Greek authorities to make these
decisions, said the labour ministry in a statement. It
added that the ruling found that the Greek government
was allowed to block mass layoffs under European Union
law in certain circumstances.
Denmark: Corpina appointed CEO at

Aalborg Portland
Global slag markets
New applications P iero Corpina has been appointed as the head of
the Nordic & Baltic region of Aalborg Portland
Holding and chief executive officer of Aalborg Port-
Networking and business land and Unicon with effect from 2 January 2017.
The Nordic & Baltic Region includes Aalborg Port-
Worlds largest slag-related exhibition! land, Unicon with plants in Denmark, Norway and
Sweden, and subsidiaries in Poland, Russia, Iceland,
International Slag Association sponsors the UK, France and the US. Corpina will be based at
the groups Nordic headquarters at Islands Brygge in
Copenhagen, Denmark.
Corpina, aged 47 years, has 20 years of industry
experience with LafargeHolcim covering senior line,
staff and project roles and he worked on the merger
between Lafarge and Holcim. In 2011 he was nomi-
nated the chief executive officer of Holcim Italy.
The Italian and Swiss national holds an MBA and
PhD from Hochschule St Gallen in Switzerland and
is an alumnus of Harvard Business School in Boston,
USA and IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Event partner Organiser
gl bal
cement
TM
MAGAZINE
40 Global Cement Magazine February 2017
CEMENT NEWS: EUROPE
Germany: Schenck Process launches

vibration sensing smartphone app
S chenck Process has launched a smartphone application

(or app) that can measure the performance of vibrating
machines. A smartphone running the vibe2know app can be
inserted into a proprietary mount and attached to the equip-
ment being monitored. The app then immediately measures
vibratory amplitude, frequency, oscillating angle and op-
erating speed, enabling the user to visualise the vibrating
machines motion pattern.
The idea for the app came from a Schenck Process em-
ployee in the companys in-house Research & Development
department, which was taken up and implemented by the
future lab. Schenck employees around the world were then
asked to suggest their ideas for the brand name.
I am thrilled with vibe2know, it is a good example of
how our established development team and future lab
complement one another within our company. Our speed in
achieving this project and getting a product to market is ex-
actly why we set up our future lab. This sets a great precedent
for future projects, said Andreas Evertz, president and chief
executive officer of Schenck Process.
Grind down your

Turkey: BillerudKorsns buys minor
stake in Hanhaa maintenance costs
S wedens BillerudKorsns has purchased a minor stake in tech-
nology company Hanhaa in order to invest in the so-called
internet of packaging. The companys technology allows users to
track the location and the condition of deliveries in real time and
on a large scale across carriers and countries. The investment is
being made by a development wing of BillerudKorsns in order to
develop new solutions in the packaging value chain. No value for Kppern roller presses have been proven successful
the transaction has been disclosed but the investment has been throughout the world in plants for the cost saving high
described as small. pressure grinding of cement clinker, blast furnace slag,
Combining our own core-related skills with the skills of these limestone and other cement raw materials.
start-up companies will allow us to create fruitful collaborations
and together identify entirely new solutions. We will also draw on
Our patented Hexadur tires feature an extremely wear-
our experience and knowledge of bringing products to market
resistant surface that provides enhanced roller protection
on an industrial scale. Together with Hanhaa, were continuing to
and maintenance-free operation.
build tomorrows internet of packaging. Expanding our offering
of digital solutions will allow us to continue challenging conven-
tional packaging for a sustainable future, said BillerudKorsns Kppern Quality made in Germany.
Venture Managing Director Anders Persson.
BillerudKorsns produces packaging materials and its clients State of the art technology
include cement producers. Process technology know-how
High plant availability
Low operating cost
Belgium: Csar to be appointed CCB chairman
P hilippe Csar has been appointed member of the board of

directors of Compagnie des Ciments Belges (CCB), a company
acquired and added to the Cementir Groups consolidation in
For further information please contact
sales@koeppern.de
October 2016. He will also be appointed as the chairman of CCBs
board of directors.
www.koeppern.de
GLOBAL CEMENT: PLANT VISIT
Interview by Peter Edwards, Global Cement Magazine
Cementos Molins - Sant Vicen dels Horts plant:

Spains most efficient kiln
The Cementos Molins Sant Vicen dels Horts plant traces its history back to 1928, when Joan
Molins Parera and Joaquim Molins Figueras founded Cementos Molins SA. They started
to produce calcium aluminate (CA) cement at the site in 1929. Now known as Cementos
Molins SAU, the company still makes CA cement at the plant, as well as Portland cement. It
operates the largest and most efficient kiln in Spain. Global Cement recently visited the Sant
Vicen dels Horts plant ahead of the visit to the plant by delegates of the Global CemFuels
Conference, which will take place in Barcelona in February 2017.
GC: Can you describe the history of this plant? Construction of kiln 6 began in 2008, just as
the market began to turn downwards, and it was
Manel Guillem, Plant Manager (MG): The Sant completed in 2010, at which point kilns 3-5 were
Vicen dels Horts plant was designed to produce cal- decommissioned. If the decision has been delayed,
cium aluminate (CA) cement, which it began making the new line might never have been built. However,
in 1929. This was unusual because all of the other we actually now have the most modern kiln in Spain.
companies in Spain were making Portland cement at
the time. GC: Can you take us through the kiln 6 production
Cementos Molins did not catch up with this trend process as it stands today?
Below: The Sant Vicen dels
Horts plants unique octagonal until 1943, when the plant made its first Portland ce-
preheater tower, with kiln at the ment from kiln 1, which was from FLSmidth. Kilns MG: Certainly. Limestone is brought in by truck
bottom to the right. 2, 3, 4 and 5, also all from FLSmidth, came online from our captive Vallirana quarry. After blasting by
The conveyor on the left hand
between 1952 and 1974, to give a total capacity of an external contractor, the limestone enters a sin-
side feeds solid alternative fuels
to the inline calciner. 1.4Mt/yr. Then, in 2006 the company signed a con- gle crushing step to reduce it to <100mm, which is
tract with FLSmidth then separated into different fractions to be used for
for a new 1.4Mt/yr several purposes. We then truck the material to the
dry process line, to be plant, a distance of around 15km.
known as kiln 6. This Once it arrives at the plant, the limestone is ho-
was on the back of mogenised in a large linear stacker-reclaimer and
many years of cement enters an ATOX vertical roller mill from FLSmidth.
market growth in the In 2015 this operated at an average of 333t/hr. The
region, as well as the mill is actually rated at 380t/hr but we use quite a bit
relative inefficiency of sandstone. This is abrasive and we find it best to
and environmental run at a lower rate for the sake of reducing wear. The
impact of the earlier mill is very efficient, using just 18.2kWh/t compared
set-up. to over 20kWh/t for our previous ball mill set-up.
Plant profile: Cementos Molins, Sant Vicen dels Horts

Location: Sant Vicen dels Horts, ~15km NW of Barcelona
CA cement production started: 1929

Portland cement kiln 1 started: 1943
Portland cement kiln 6 started: 2010
Alternative fuels use started: 2011

Alternative fuel substitution rate in 2016: 36%
Portland cement capacity: 1.4Mt/yr

CA cement capacity: 40,000t/yr

Far left: The plants captive

sandstone (above) and clay
(below) quarries.
Construction of kiln 6 began

in 2008, just as the market began
to turn downwards...
Left: The 56m FLSmidth and
clinker cooler, as seen from the
top of the preheater tower.
After the mill the material enters a 16,000t raw
mix silo via a bucket elevator. This new conveying
method also represents an improvement over the
previous pneumatic system that the plant used to
have. We used to use a lot of energy to generate the
conveying air.
From the silo, the raw mix is fed into our five-
stage, 120m-high preheater tower from FLSmidth via
a bucket elevator. The inline calciner uses 60% of the
total thermal energy. From there the material enters
the kiln, which is 4.75m in diameter and just 56m
in length. The main burner, a Duoflex design, uses
40% of the total thermal energy. The clinker cooler
is an FLSmidth cross bar cooler with a total area
of 92.7m2. GC: What additives are used and from where are
Overall, the line is very efficient, which puts us they sourced?
in a good position in the local and regional mar-
ket. In 2015 our average fuel consumption was MG: For the raw mix we source around 98% of the
just 744.8kCal/kg at an average production rate of raw materials from our captive sources. In addition
4039t/day. to the limestone quarry, the plant uses clay from a
After the pyroprocessing components, we have captive quarry that is directly adjacent to the plant
three clinker silos. One is for clinker to make our itself. Sandstone is taken from our Pallej captive
own cement, one is for clinker exports and a third quarry, which is located around 1km from the plant
is for rejected material. Our four cement mills date site. Both of these quarries are operated by external
from the 1960s and 1970s. At the moment we are contractors on our behalf. We also use externally-
only using two, each of which can produce 100t/hr of sourced slag for iron. This comes from the south of
cement with a surface area of 3700cm2/g, according Spain by boat into the Port of Barcelona.
to Blaine.
Company profile: Cementos Molins Group

Founded: Sant Vicen dels Horts, Spain, 1928
CATALONIA
Barcelona Cement producing subsidiaries Plants and Capacity
SPAIN
Cementos Molins Industrial, Spain 1 plant, 1.4Mt/yr
Madrid Cementos Molins
PORTUGAL
Cementos Avellaneda S.A., Argentina (with Votorantim) 3 plants, 4.9Mt/yr

Cementos Artigas, Uruguay (with Votorantim) 2 plants, 0.5Mt/yr
Cementos Moctezuma, Mexico (with Buzzi Unicem) 3 plats, 6.4Mt/yr
SOTACIB, Tunisia (65% share) 2 plants, 2.1Mt/yr
Surma Cement, Bangladesh (with LafargeHolcim) 1 plant, 1.2Mt/yr
TOTAL 12 plants, 16.5Mt/yr

Above: The installation that As far as additives to the clinker as concerned, MG: The plant does bag cement but this represents
feeds the plants main burner we use limestone from our own quarry, as well as only around 8% of total sales.
receives RDF, wood waste and
sewage sludge. There are two purchased natural gypsum from around 40km away.
storage silos: one for RDF and The grinding aids and chrome reducer are from com- GC: Are any production process changes planned
another for wood and sludge. mercial sources. in the coming months?
Top right: The granulated tyres GC: What is the current production regime? MG: There are no major changes planned at the mo-
or RDF/wood mix enters the ment due to the fact that we invested so heavily in
preheater via a Pfister MG: We are running all year round, except for sched- kiln 6. The exception is an ongoing alternative fuels
Weighfeeder, followed by the uled maintenance. We make around 1.3Mt/yr of project and another possible exception could be in
conveyor belt shown.
clinker, which we supply to our region and to export. the new cement mills. However, we will have to wait
until the domestic market picks up. We presently ex-
Lower right: RDF material GC: What types of cement are produced here? port a lot of clinker, not cement, so there is not the
destined for the main burner. demand to improve our cement mills at present.
MG: The plant produces four types of cement. Three
of these - CEM I 52.5R, CEM II/A-L 42.5 R, CEM Fuels and the environment
II/B-L 32.5 N - are made from our standard clinker. GC: What types of fuel does the plant use and how
These have different amounts of limestone added. In is this changing with time?
addition, we also make sulphate-resistant CEM I 42.5
R - SR 5 from a sulphate-resistant, low C3A clinker MG: In its previous configuration, the plant used
that is made on a campaign basis. We only make just petcoke and we were reluctant to develop alter-
a small amount of the sulphate-resistant clinker, native fuels. This was because we had committed to
around 50,000t/yr. The bulk is standard clinker. kiln 6 and knew that it represented a much better
It can be tricky to use our one raw mix silo for platform for long-term, sustainable development of
these two different types of clinker. We have to do alternative fuels.
extensive cleaning and ensure that there is as little Since kiln 6 has been commissioned, the com-
material lost as possible during the change-overs. pany has developed alternative fuels rapidly at Sant
Vicen dels Horts. At the end of 2011 the plant used
GC: Does the plant produce bagged cement as well alternative fuels for the first time, giving an average
as bulk? of 1.5% thermal substitution for that year. However,

Calcium aluminate cement production at Sant Vicen dels Horts
T he original 1928 calcium aluminate plant

is still going strong at Sant Vicen dels
Horts, supplying customers with high-quality
products for onward use in the refractory and
special mortars sectors.
CA cement is made from bauxite and lime-
stone in two L-shaped reverberatory kilns,
which heat the materials to around 1450C
using coal as the sole fuel. The clinker, a liquid,
is removed from the kiln in shallow baths, in
which it partially solidifies. The clinker is then
dropped from a height to shatter it and is sub-
sequently ground in a ball mill.
The limestone is sourced from Cemen- Above: One of the two CA cement kilns. The molten clinker Above: Clinker is extracted and allowed to
can clearly be seen. cool in baths. Pallet shown for scale.
tos Molins captive supply and the bauxite is
sourced from Turkey and Greece.
Cementos Molins is currently working on
the development of a new Portland-like kiln
for CA cement production.
Right: CA cement clinker is dropped out of the clinker baths from

a height. It shatters when it hits the pile and is later ground in
a ball mill.
We had become obsessed

this rate rose to 21% in 2012 and then to 36.7% in
2013. This was primarily from refuse-derived fuel with thermal substitution only
(58,668t), supplemented by waste wood (14,525t) and learned the hard way that
and sewage sludge (6652t).
consistency is key...
However, we had become obsessed with thermal
Below: The plant has three
substitution only and learned the hard way that con- clinker silos. Left to right:
sistency is key. Due to problems with RDF quality High-quality clinker for export;
and consistency, we experienced numerous problems MG: The RDF is made in PRONATURs, local RDF Standard clinker for production
of the plants own cement
with kiln stability and with high chloride content. In plant from material sourced within the local area.
products and; Rejected clinker
2014 we took steps to focus instead on RDF quality. It makes all the RDF that we use. The tyres, sewage that will be reused in the
This dropped our overall alternative fuel use to 28.3% sludge and wood waste are also sourced locally. production process.
of our thermal requirement, with waste wood taking
up some of the energy no longer supplied by the RDF.
In 2015 we were able to take the rate back to 31.7%,
by sourcing consistent, high-quality RDF from our
in-house supplier PRONATUR. Another subsidiary
company, GRP, is the source of our granulated waste
tyres, which we started to use in 2015.
In 2016 we achieved 34% alternative fuels from
RDF, waste wood, sewage sludge, plus a significant
increase in the use of granulated tyres to around
4% overall.
GC: What are the plants targets for 2017?
MG: In 2017 we want to reach 40%, from increased

use of tyres. We are in the process of applying for a
permit to use even higher quantities of tyres.
GC: Where are the alternative fuels sourced from?

this is possible or not at this site re-

mains to be seen. It will be determined
by the availability of fuels, as well as by
some technical limitations.
Right: Looking along the short For example, the plant does not
FLSmidth kiln. have a bypass for chlorine, which limits
RDF consumption. We do not plan to
introduce this because it would only
change the problem that we are work-
ing on and result in large volumes of
kiln bypass dust. We want to use tyres
instead, as I already mentioned.
At the moment we can only feed
either waste tyres or waste wood/
RDF to the calciner via the single
GC: Where are the various fuels used and how are feeding point. We feed tyres at the
they fed to the plant? weekend and RDF/wood during the week. We have
to alternate the supplies because of the fuels different
MG: The calciner uses around 60% alternative fuels. calorific values. When we tried to homogenise the
We use a coarse waste wood fraction, coarse RDF and three fuels together, we had very unstable operations.
granulated waste tyres, as well as petcoke. We want to The calciner still experienced fluctuations, which led
take the rate to 80%. to a series of undesirable knock-on effects. Now we
In the kiln, we actually have two burners. These just have to change the feed twice per week, instead
burn around 10% alternative fuels at present. The of reacting to what happens all of the time.
main burner is fed with petcoke and fine RDF. We From June 2017, however, we have a second feed-
also have a smaller burner that is inclined upwards ing point so that we can feed tyres all of the time,
into the main burner. This feeds a fine wood waste along with the RDF/wood mixture. The tyres will be
fraction and sewage sludge. The intention is to in- fed via a new belt weigher, with RDF/wood fed via
crease the residence time by firing the material up the existing Pfister Weighfeeder. This will enable us
and over the centre of the main flame. However, in to exceed 40% alternative fuels in 2017 and go even
reality it has been fairly difficult to optimise. If the higher in 2018. The new system also has other ben-
sewage sludge is a powder, all is well. However, some- efits. For example, if we get a high level of chlorine we
times it can form pellets, which causes secondary could dial back the RDF and increase the use of tyres
flames and localised reducing conditions in the kiln. for a short period to counteract the problem.
This causes problems from time to time.
In terms of feeding, we have two systems: One is GC: What are the economics of using alternative
for the main burner and one for the calciner. Both fuels in Spain / Catalonia?
systems use Pfister Weighfeeders.
MG: We are unfortunate in that we have to purchase
GC: Do you expect any changes in the fuel mix our alternative fuels from our suppliers. This is be-
going forward? cause the landfill gate fees are not high enough to
make waste generators think about other options.
MG: Ideally we would also be able to use liquid The Catalonia government is trying to increase the
fuels but this is not permitted by the government in gate fee, however, although it is already the highest
Catalonia. We are trying to change this but the au- in Spain.
thorities are very strict. Indeed, getting any permit That said, all of the fuels are cheaper than petcoke,
has been difficult in our experience. At every turn we even though it has fallen in price. Of course, we are
have been up against opposition from local residents. in a buyers market, which means that we can select
The culture here is different to that of, for example, quality alternative fuels, rather than being left with
Germany or the UK. People always think that burn- what other producers and industries dont want to
ing alternative fuels is a big health risk. use. We continue to invest in alternative fuels because
we know that the petcoke price will increase in the
GC: How high could this plant go technically in longer term.
terms of alternative fuels and do you think you will
be able to source sufficient wastes? GC: What environmental abatement systems does
the plant use for dust, SO2 and NOx?
MG: We know from experiences around Europe that
we could theoretically achieve at least 80% thermal MG: Kiln 6 has a 6600 bag baghouse that covers
substitution on a plant of this type. However, whether the whole kiln, mills and clinker cooler. This is un-

like FLSmidths usual proposal, which

features two baghouses. The baghouse
has an area of close to 16,000m2, with
10 independent chambers. Our average
dust emission in 2015 was just 2.5mg/
Nm3, well below our permit of 20mg/ Left: The plants control room.
Nm3. Below that we have an operational
limit of just 5mg/Nm3. With the previous
lines we had electrostatic precipitators for
dust. This made it very difficult to operate
in this heavily-populated area.
Our instantaneous emissions limit for
NOx is the EU-wide 500mg/Nm3 but we
have another limit set by the Catalonian
environmental authorities, which states that we can but then the crisis set in. The rate in 2015 was just
only emit 1500t of NOx from the entire facility, both 209kg/capita in Catalonia. In 2014, we had consump-
kiln 6 and the CA plant, in any given year. To hit this tion 46% lower than the EU 28 average and around
limit we use a 25% aqueous ammonia solution, which 19% less than the Spanish average.
we inject into the precalciner. Before the Catalonian market was for 6.0Mt/yr of
We do not have a problem with SO2 at this plant, cement and now it is only 1.2Mt/yr. We are consum-
even though we use high sulphur petcoke. We benefit ing as much cement as we did in the 1960s! It is a
from our very efficient tower. It works like a sulphur very difficult market. We actually bought the neigh-
scrubber. The limit is 400mg/Nm3 but we see emis- bouring Cemex plant in 2013 just to close it. It was a
sions of only 18mg/Nm3 on average. big facility, around 1.1Mt/yr of capacity. The market
has contracted and we must contract too. The cost of
GC: What about the plants CO2 performance? operating the Sant Vicen dels Horts plant was lower
than that other plant, which is why it survives.
MG: This is the most efficient plant in Spain, with Looking to the future, we want to achieve par-
emissions of 769kg CO2 per tonne of clinker in 2015. ity with some of the larger EU cement markets like
This is the result of the commissioning of kiln 6 in France, Germany and Italy in terms of per capita
2010, followed by the introduction of alternative fuels cement consumption. Those countries had rates of
in 2011. 280-340kg/capita in 2014. I think that this could hap-
pen within two years, from a mixture of private and
Market and future public investments. One particular project that could
GC: Where are the plants major markets and how be very good for this plant is a proposed Mediter-
does it serve them? ranean Railway to link Northern Europes existing
high-speed rail links with Spain and then onwards
MG: Around 0.55Mt of cement and clinker was sold to North Africa. One of the proposed routes comes
in the local market in Catalonia and 0.85Mt of clinker directly down this stretch of coastline.
was exported in 2016. The local market has com-
pletely crashed here since 2008 and we have had to GC: What one thing would you change about the
rely on exported clinker more and more. In the past plant or its situation (technical, political, markets)
the market was South America, predominantly Bra- if you could?
zil. However, we have no customers there any more.
These days we send almost all of our exported clinker MG: The highest priority would be to open the
to west Africa. This is done via a number of interna- minds of our local residents to the possibilities of
tional traders, which helps us, a smaller player, operate alternative fuels. When we speak to the politicians
in the international arena. While the export price we they understand our arguments but we need to work
can achieve is fairly low by EU standards, our operat- hard together trying to convince the public that fir-
ing costs are also low, due to the fact that the plant is ing alternative fuels in cement kilns is a safe win-win
very modern and efficient. We can compete interna- solution to avoid landfilling.
tionally, even with large players that are growing in
west Africa. GC: Manel Guillem, thank you for your time today.
To provide some historical context, the cement
market in Catalonia was very crazy up to around 2008. MG: You are most welcome!
In 2007 consumption hit more than 1000kg/capita

Interview by Peter Edwards, Global Cement Magazine
Grupo Cementos Portland Valderrivas Santa

Margarida I els Monjos Plant
The Grupo Cementos Portland Valderrivas Santa Margarida I els Monjos cement plant has
operated continuously on the same site for over 111 years and is one of the largest plants in
Spain. Global Cement recently visited the plant ahead of the visit to the plant by delegates of
the Global CemFuels Conference, which will take place in Barcelona in February 2017.
GC: Can you describe the history of this plant? formally exists. Being part of the group has brought
us great synergies over the past decade or so.
Joan Izquierdo, Maintenance Manager (JI): The
Santa Margarida I els Monjos plant began making GC: Please describe the plants production process.
cement in 1905 as Cementos y Cales Friexa. At first
it had a production capacity of just 50,000t/yr from JI: The plant sources its limestone from a large
a single kiln. A further two kilns were added in the captive quarry that currently operates two active
1960s and in the 1970s our two most modern kilns, benches. Material is blasted and taken by loaders to
Below: The Grupo Cementos 4 and 5, came online. Kiln 4 was in 1972 and kiln one of the two 600t/hr mobile impact crushers that
Portland Valderrivas Santa 5 started in 1975. These are the only two that still take the material to <30mm. All limestone is taken
Margarida I els Monjos plant has operate, with capacities of 1600t/day and 3200t/day directly from the crushers to the plant by a series of
an unusual hexagonal preheater
respectively. Kiln 3 has been out of service since the belt conveyors. From one bench the total distance
on its kiln 5.
1970s and kilns 1 and 2 have been totally removed. is ~300m and from the other it is ~400m. The plant
In 1973 the com- does not use trucks. Every time the bench moves, we
pany joined forces have to change the configuration or add extra con-
with Cementos veyors, perhaps every two years.
Fradera to form Uni- When it arrives at the plant, the limestone enters
land Cementara. In a 50,000t linear storage facility. It has a stacker/re-
June 2006 Cementos claimer to homogenise the material. There are then
Portland Valderrivas three Polysius ball mills with capacities of 94t/hr,
(CPV) became the 136t/hr and 280t/hr, for raw meal preparation. The
main shareholder in smallest two are assigned to kiln 4 and the larger
Uniland Cementara, one is assigned to kiln 5. There is also the facility to
a position that it still store raw meal from one of the kiln 4 raw mills and
retains. The Uniland subsequently divert that stock to kiln 5 instead. This
Cementara brand has provides some extra flexibility if the larger mill has to
been retained in this stop for a short period.
region, although the Both preheaters are four-stage designs from
company no longer Polysius. Kiln 4 (1600t/day) has a grate cooler and
Plant profile: Santa Margarida I els Monjos

Location: Santa Margarida I els Monjos, ~70km west of Barcelona
Part of: Uniland Cementara < Cementos Portland Valderrivas
Cement production started: 1905

Kilns: Kilns 4 and 5, Both Polysius
Cement capacity: 1.6Mt/yr
Alternative fuels use started: 2011

Alternative fuel substitution rate in 2016: 15%

Left: View over the

plants extensive two
bench limestone quarry.
Former benches have been
extensively renovated over the
years. These can be seen to the
left hand side.
kiln 5 (3200t/day) has a planetary cooler. In the market. The final straw came when a roller bearing
three years between the installation of the two kilns, failed and its replacement was not economical.
planetary coolers became fashionable. They are There are four cement silos of 1000t each. They
more efficient on paper, but lose their advantages in predominantly feed the bagging house, which con-
a real life cement plant once you factor in mainte- stitutes about 10% of total sales. There are a further
nance costs and downtime. The output from the two eight silos for truck loading. The most recent are
coolers is totally different. The temperature of the from 2008 and the total capacity is 54,000t. Each
clinker coming out of the grate cooler on kiln 4 is 80- of the silos contains a different type of cement. The
100C but from the planetary cooler it is 210-220C. plant makes a range of CEM I and CEM II cements,
Its really hot. some of which are sulphate-resistant.
As an aside, when I first started working at the
plant in 2002, my main project was to convert the GC: Where does the plant source its additives
planetary cooler on kiln 5 to a grate cooler. However, from?
at the last minute the decision was changed and the
cooler has remained the same since then. JI: We use clay and sand from local sources that are
There are two clinker silos, of 100,000t and within 20km.
70,000t. The larger one is for normal CEM I clinker
and the smaller one is for low alkali CEM I clinker.
They can both be fed from either kiln.
There are three ball mills for cement grinding,
all of which are Polysius designs dating from 1966
to 1976. They have capacities of 60t/hr, 80t/hr and
170t/hr. Between 1991 and 2009 the plant also op- Being part of the group has
erated a roller press for cement grinding. This is no
longer in service because the plant no longer needs
brought us great synergies over
to grind as much cement due to changes in the the past decade...
Company profile: Cementos Portland Valderrivas
SPAIN
CATALONIA
Barcelona C ementos Portland Valderrivas (CPV) has cement production interests in
Spain, the UK, Tunisia and the US. In Spain it operates seven cement plants,
with around 11Mt/yr of capacity. It covers almost all of the country, with concen-
Madrid Uniland Cementara
PORTUGAL
trations of capacity around Madrid, Barcelona and Seville.

In the US CPVs activities are concentrated along the Eastern Seaboard, where
it has three plants and around 3Mt/yr of installed capacity. CPV additionally op-
erates Tunisias largest cement plant, with an installed capacity of 2Mt/yr and it
also imports cement into the UK via a dedicated import terminal.

Right: The plant as viewed from

the hill up to the quarry.
GC: Can you tell us about recent or forthcoming All of the alternative fuels are fed to the main
changes to the plant? What projects are there? burners, with none going to the preheaters at
present. In 2016 we used around 85% petcoke and
JI: Due to the slump in the Spanish cement market, ~8% RDF/industrial waste, with the remaining 7%
the company has allocated relatively little to capital from animal meal and sewage sludge. The split is
expenditure projects in recent years. We started to fairly even across the two kilns.
expand the quarry in July 2010 and commissioned
the new equipment in February 2013. We started the GC: From where does the plant source its fuels?
installation of an aqueous ammonia spraying
system in February 2014 and that system was
started up in March 2015. We began to use
alternative fuels in 2011. A new baghouse for
the main filter of kiln 5 entered service in 2011.
Nowadays, one of the projects that we are
studying is a new substation to allow for a
higher voltage supply, which would reduce the
cost per unit of electricity. There are also plans
to update the control system. Otherwise the
main projects are regular maintenance, rather
than larger projects to improve the process
Right: One of the plants three Fuels and the environment

cement ball mills.
GC: What types of fuels are used at the plant?
JI: The dominant fuel is petcoke, which

comprises the bulk of our thermal energy
requirements. However, since 2011 we have
used alternative fuels, the first of which was a
mixture of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and in-
dustrial waste. In 2011 this fuel supplied about
8% of thermal energy. Wood waste was also
used in the early 2010s but the price has since
increased and we are no longer able to source
this economically. Animal feed has also been
added to the mix, as well as sewage sludge, both
of which are still used today.

Chain Conveyors Silo Dischargers
Conveying up to 1,000 t/h Discharging up to 1,000 t/h
WTW Feb 2017.indd 1 23/01/2017 14:02

Above: Alternative fuels are fed

on an almost just-in-time basis
Our alternative fuels target
from two 150m3 hoppers. for 2017 is to hit 20%...
Far right: A delivery of animal
meal to the plants alternative
fuel reception building.
JI: We buy the petcoke from the US and the RDF is Kiln 5 would be able to handle alternative fuels
sourced locally at present. The animal meal and sew- in the preheater much better, but there are still prob-
age sludge are also locally sourced. We are constantly lems with the price of alternative fuels and securing
looking for new suppliers for alternative fuels, as our regular supplies. In the past couple of years petcoke
target for 2017 is to hit 20%. costs have been relatively low, which reduced the
impetus to look for alternatives. Now the price is
GC: What is the limit for alternative fuels here? increasing, which will make alternative fuels more
desirable in future. Perhaps 40% alternative fuels is a
JI: While the plant is fairly flexible, the smaller kiln good longer-term target for kiln 5.
is from the 1970s and the discharge outlets from the
cyclones are quite narrow. If you try to put alternative Markets and the future
fuels in such a system, blockages will be common. GC: Where are the plants main markets and how
This is one of the reasons that we have only used al- does it serve them?
ternative fuels on the main burners so far.

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GC: What do you think the answers to the previous
question will be in five years?
JI: Only Oficemen knows and they might be wrong

too! On the ground it feels like the construction
market is beginning to pick up in Spain and infra-
structure could be resurgent in the coming years.
Hopefully this will knock-on into the cement sector.
For sure we will not see a return to the good days of
Right: Bags are packed using a 2005. That was a crazy time!
Haver & Boecker Rotopacker.
GC: What one thing about the plant, the process or
the existing situation would you change overnight
if you could to best help this plant?
JI: Im the maintenance manager, so my answer is

going to be technical. I would get rid of the planetary
cooler and replace it with a grate cooler!
GC: Thank you very much for your time Joan.
JI: You are very welcome - Thank you!
Right: Down from the

Rotopacker towards...
Far right:...a Mllers palletiser...
JI: The plant serves the local Catalonian market with

cement and exports cement and clinker. The local
market has been severely depressed since the start of
the financial crisis. The plant is well positioned for
exports compared to many in the country, which
Right:...and Beumer helps us in the current deflated domestic situation.
Stretch hooder.
Our export markets for cement are Chile, Puerto
Rico and the US. Clinker goes to destinations all
around the Mediterranean.
In the first 11 months of 2016, 45.5% of all cement
sold was to outside of Spain. Over the same period
64.6% of all clinker sold was sent overseas. Of all sales
over the same period, 24.58% was clinker and 75.42%
was cement.

REGIONAL REPORT: IBERIA
Peter Edwards, Global Cement Magazine
The cement industries of the Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula is located in the south west corner of mainland Europe. Around 85%
of its land is occupied by Spain, with smaller Portugal occupying around 15% in the far
south west. Andorra, France and Gibraltar (UK) also occupy very small areas. Spain has the
largest population, economy and cement sector in the region, with Portugal operating a
far smaller cement sector. Here, we discuss the main players, trends and prospects of these
two national industries ahead of the Global CemFuels Conference, which takes place in Bar-
celona, Spain on 1 - 4 February 2017.
Spain Cement consumption trends
S pain is a large and popu-

lous southern European
country. It has been a
The Spanish cement sector grew rapidly in the second
half of the 20th Century. In the 1950s the country saw
significant development as people migrated from the
Member of the EU (and its countryside to the cities. Increasing levels of prosper-
predecessor the EEC) since ity in the 1960s and 1970s, led to an acceleration in
1986. Spain has a developed economy, which has development, including Spains massive tourism in-
undergone significant transformation after the dic- frastructure, to the extent that domestic supply could
tatorship of General Francisco Franco between 1936 not keep pace with demand and the country had to
and 1975. import cement. Production hit a (then) all-time re-
Despite making massive gains in the 1980s, 1990s cord of 27.6Mt in 1991 due to construction for the
and early 2000s, the economic crisis of 2008 hit 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona. It was
Spain very hard. The economy had developed a large not until the late 1990s that this level was once again
housing bubble, which allowed unsustainable GDP exceeded.
growth. When the global economy faltered, Spain Data from the Spanish Cement Association
was forced to apply for a US$100bn bailout loan from Oficemen shows that apparent cement consumption
the Eurogroup group of EU finance ministers. more than doubled in the 10 years between 1997
Its GDP fell by 25% between 2008 (US$1.64tn) and 2007 from 26.8Mt to 56.0Mt, alongside Spains
and 2015 (US$1.19bn). The countrys unemployment rapidly growing economy (See Figure 1). Then, as the
rate rocketed from 8.2% in 2007 to 26.3% in 2013, economy turned downwards, cement consumption Below - Figure 1: Apparent
although it has since fallen slightly. followed suit. However, whereas GDP fell by 25%, cement consumption (Mt) in
Spain, 1997 - 2015.
cement consumption crashed by an incredible 81%
Source: Oficemen.
060
6 60
2007 = 56.0Mt
050
5 50
56.0Mt - 26.8Mt = 29.2Mt
Increase of 108%
040
4 40
Apparent cement onsumption (Mt)
56.0Mt - 10.7Mt = 45.3Mt

Decrease of 81%
030
3 30
1997 = 26.8Mt
020
2 20
2015 = 11.5Mt
2013 = 10.7Mt
010
1 10
00 0
19
1 18
2 17
3 16
4 15
5 14
6 13
7 12
8 11
9 0 1
10 19
1 28
1 37
1 46
1 55
1 64
1 73
1 82
1 91
1
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Year

1400
1400 0041
2006 = 1260kg/capita
1200
1200 0021
Per-capita cement consumption (kg/capita)

1000
1000 0001
Right - Figure 2: Per-capita 800

800 008
cement consumption (kg/capita)

in Spain, 1997 - 2015. Decrease of 1029kg/capita
600
600 006
Source: Oficemen. Decrease of 82%
400
400 004
2013 = 231kg/capita
200
200 002
2015 =
247kg/capita
0 0 1
91 2
81 3
71 4
61 5
51 6
41 7
31 8
21 9
11 10
01 11
9 12
8 13
7 14
6 15
5 16
4 17
3 18
2 19
1
0
1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015
Year
between 2007 and 2013, falling back to levels not Cement production trends
seen since the late 1960s. Production has skimmed Trading Economics.com has published monthly
along at this new low level and was not significantly cement production data for Spain up to November
greater in 2015, the last year for which Oficemen has 2016. Its data broadly agrees with that of Oficemen
published data. for 2015 and shows that the Spanish market has lim-
The effects of these changes on Spanish per-capita ited seasonal variation in terms of output. Production
cement consumption are similarly stark. Figure 2 for December and January are typically lower than
shows how it increased from an already high 682kg/ other months, likely due to Christmas and New Year
capita in 1997 to over 1200kg/capita in 2006 and holidays. However, generally warm weather means
2007. Per-capita comsumption then plummeted to that construction is less seasonal than in Spains
231kg/capita in 2013. It has since remained close to colder northern neighbours.
this low value. Figure 3 shows how cement production in Spain
To provide comparison, Cembureau data for actually fell year-on-year in 2016 compared to 2015.
2014 shows that the EU28 average per-capita cement A comparison of the first 11 months of each year
consumption rate was 363kg/capita, around 1.5 times shows a 5.4% decrease from 2015 to 2016. By as-
that of Spain. Even Italy, which has been similarly af- suming the same percentage decrease for December
fected by the Eurozone crisis, had a rate of 335kg/ 2016, we arrive at likely cement production of 13.8Mt
capita, around 1.4 times that of Spain. in Spain in 2016, down from 14.6Mt in 2015.
1600 1.6
1400 1.4
1200 1.2
Right - Figure 3: Monthly
Spanish cement production in 1.0
Cement production (Mt)
1000
2015 and 2016. December 2016
value estimated by extrapolating
0.8
800
year-on-year change between
first 11 months of 2015 and
first 11 months of 2016. 0.6
600
2015 0.4
400
2016
Source: Trading Economics.com. 0.2
200
0.0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Month

Cement exports Cement capacity
The decline in its domestic Year Cement Clinker TOTAL The Global Cement Directory 2017
market, coupled to Spains lo- 1997 3.81 1.76 5.57 lists 32 active integrated cement
cation next to North and West 1998 3.47 0.63 4.10 plants in Spain that share a total
African markets, has caused integrated cement capacity of
1999 3.06 0.05 3.11
exports of cement and clinker 42.0Mt/yr (See Figure 4). Indeed,
from Spain to increase signifi- 2000 2.05 0.10 2.15 solely by this measure, the country
cantly since 2007, as shown in 2001 1.43 0.01 1.44 has the largest cement industry in
Table 1. No clinker at all was 2002 1.42 0.03 1.45 the whole of the EU, larger even Right - Table 1: Cement and
exported between 2005 and than that of Germany. clinker exports from Spain (Mt),
2003 1.24 0.01 1.25 1997 - 2015. Source: Oficemen.
2007. Total cement and clinker However, having made an esti-
exports increased nearly 10- 2004 1.52 0.01 1.53 mated 13.8Mt in 2016, Spain has
fold from just 1.1Mt in 2007 to 2005 1.48 - 1.48 an effective capacity utilisation rate
9.65Mt in 2014. Both cement 2006 1.13 - 1.13 of just 33% and that is before one
and clinker export volumes adds Spains 19 grinding plants (See
2007 1.09 - 1.09
declined in 2015. Figure 5), both on the mainland
However, Spain remained 2008 1.35 0.98 2.34 and in the Balearic and Canary
the sixth-largest cement and 2009 1.48 1.36 2.84 Islands. Several plants are moth-
clinker exporting country 2010 2.53 1.36 3.89 balled, closed or are operating on a
by value in 2015, selling campaign basis.
2011 2.32 1.65 3.97
US$489.2m worth of material,
according to Worlds Top Ex- 2012 2.66 3.53 6.19 Cement producers
ports. This represented 5% of 2013 3.33 3.96 7.29 Like many countries in the EU,
all cement exported worldwide 2014 4.09 5.56 9.65 Spains cement production base
in that year. In 2014 Algeria is predominantly owned and op-
2015 3.92 2.34 6.26
was Spains largest cement erated by major multinational
export destination, accord- cement producers. Between
ing to MITs Observatory of them Cemex, LafargeHolcim,
Economic Complexity. The Producer Capacity (Mt/yr) HeidelbergCement, CRH and
country received around 18% CPV 11.1 Votorantim share 24.4Mt/yr of
of the total value (US$111m of Cemex Espaa 9.4 integrated capacity, around 58%.
US$613m) of Spanish cement The remaining 17.6Mt/yr (42%) Left - Table 2: Integrated
LafargeHolcim 6.1 cement producers in Spain.
exports, followed by France of integrated capacity is taken up
Votorantim 3.9 Source: Global Cement
(16%, US$100m) and the UK by locally-owned producers, most Directory 2017.
(10%, US$61m). Africa was the HeidelbergCement 3.7 notably Grupo Cementos Portland
largest continental consumer SA Tudela Vegun 3.5 Valderrivas (CPV), which is the
(US$286m), followed by Eu- largest producer in Spain (11.1Mt/
Cementos Balboa 1.6
rope (US$243m) and South yr). Other local producers are Ce-
America (US$49m), (mainly Cementos Molins 1.4 mentos Molins, Cementos Balboa
Brazil (5.7%, US$35m)). CRH 1.3 and SA Tudela Vegun.
Left: The Cementos Molins

San Feliu de Llobregat plant
was closed in 2013 due to
overcapacity in the market close
to Barcelona.The photograph is
taken from the preheater tower
of Cementos Molins Sant Vincen
dels Horts plant on the other
side of the Llobregat river.
Read a full review of the Sant
Vincen dels Horts plant from
Page 42 onwards.

Spain 23. Cementos Cosmos (Votorantim), Crdoba, 0.9Mt/yr

24. Lafarge Cementos (LafargeHolcim), Montcada i Reixac, Catalonia, 0.9Mt/yr
1. Cementos Alfa (CPV), Mataporquera, Cantabria, 1.1Mt/yr 25. Cementos Cosmos (Votorantim), Niebla ,Huelva, 0.7Mt/yr
2. Cementos Cosmos (Votorantim), Oural, Lugo, 0.7Mt/yr 26. Lafarge Cementos (LafargeHolcim), Sagunto, Valencia, 1.8Mt/yr (of which 0.1Mt/yr White)
3. Cementos Cosmos (Votorantim), Toral de los Vados, Len, 1.6Mt/yr 27. Lafarge Asland (LafargeHolcim), Villaluenga de la Sagra, Toledo, 2.4Mt/yr
4. Cementos Lemona (CRH), Lemona, Vizcaya, 1.3Mt/yr 28. SA Tudela Vegun, Carreno, Asturias, 2.4Mt/yr
5. Cementos Molins, Sant Vincen dels Horts, Catalonia, 1.4Mt/yr 29. SA Tudela Vegun, La Robla, Castille y Leon, 0.9Mt/yr
6. CPV, Alcal de Guadaira, Seville, 1.6Mt/yr 30. SA Tudela Vegun, Oviedo, Asturias, 0.2Mt/yr (White)
7. CPV, Morata de Tajua, Madrid, 3.1Mt/yr (of which 0.7Mt/yr White) 31. FYM (HeidelbergCement), San Sebastian, Guipuzcoa, 1.0Mt/yr
8. CPV, Palencia, Venta de Baos, 1.2Mt/yr 32. FYM (HeidelbergCement), Arrigorriaga Viscaya, Pais Vasco, 1.1Mt/yr
9. CPV, Olazaguta, Navarra, 1.3Mt/yr 33. FYM (HeidelbergCement), Mlaga, Mlaga, 1.6Mt/yr
10. Cemex Espaa, Alcanar Plant, Tarragona, 2.2Mt/yr 34. Uniland Cementera (CPV), Santa Margarida i Els Monjos, Catalonia, 1.6Mt/yr
11. Cemex Espaa, Buol, Valencia, 1.4Mt/yr 35. Uniland Cementera (CPV), Vallcarca Sitges, 1.2Mt/yr
12. Cemex Espaa, Buol, Valencia, 0.6Mt/yr (White)
13. Cemex Espaa, Castillejo Anover, Toledo, 1.7Mt/yr
14. Cemex Espaa, Lloseta, Palma de Mallorca, 0.7Mt/yr
15. Cemex Espaa, Morata de Jalon, Zaragoza, 1.4Mt/yr Portugal
16. Cementos Molins, San Feliu de Llobregat, Catalonia, 0.9Mt/yr (Closed)
17. Cemex Espaa, San Vicente del Raspeig, Alicante, 1.4Mt/yr (of which 0.5Mt/yr White) 1. CIMPOR - Indstria de Cimentos (InterCement), Alhandra, 3.8Mt/yr
18. Cementos Balboa, Alconera, Badajoz, 1.6Mt/yr 2. CIMPOR - Indstria de Cimentos (InterCement), Loule, 0.9Mt/yr
19. Holcim Espaa (LafargeHolcim), Carboneras, Almeria, 1.5Mt/yr 3. CIMPOR - Indstria de Cimentos (InterCement), Souselas, 3.5Mt/yr
20. Cemex Espaa, Gador, Almeria, 1.0Mt/yr 4. SECIL, Pataias, Leiria, Maceira, 0.8Mt/yr (White)
21. Holcim Espaa (LafargeHolcim), Jerez, Cadiz, 1.0Mt/yr (Closed) 5. SECIL, Gndara, Leiria, 1.4Mt/yr
22. Holcim Espaa (LafargeHolcim), Lorca, Murcia, 1.0Mt/yr (Closed) 6. SECIL, Setubal, 2.0Mt/yr
Figure 4: Spanish and Portuguese integrated cement plants in 2017.

Source: Global Cement Directory 2017.
30 28 4 FRANCE
32 31
2
ANDORRA
1
9
3
29
8
SPAIN 34 5
PORTUGAL 24 16 10
15 35 Barcelona
13 7
MADRID
23 27
3
14
5 11
4
12 26
1LISBON
6 17
18
23 22
25 Seville
2 6 19
10
20
21 33
GIBRALTAR
ALGERIA
MOROCCO

FRANCE Spain
13,14,21 ANDORRA 1. Cementos Barrero, Dos Hermanas, Seville, 1.0Mt/yr
2. Cementos Cosmos (Votorantim), Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 0.8Mt/yr
3. Cementos Cosmos (Votorantim), Bobadilla-Estacin, Mlaga, 0.8Mt/yr
SPAIN 4. Cementos El Molino, Santa Eulalia, Teruel, 0.5Mt/yr
PORTUGAL 18 5. CEISA (InterCement), San Bartolom de Tirajana, Gran Canaria, 1.5Mt/yr
10 Barcelona 6. Cementos La Cruz, Abanilla, Murcia, 1.0Mt/yr
7. Cementos La Parrilla, La Parilla, Valladolid, 0.5Mt/yr
8. Cementos La Union, Ribarroja del Turia, Valencia,
MADRID
7 20 9. Cementos Occidentales, Noblejas, Toledo, 0.7Mt/yr
10. Cementos Occidentales,Narn, La Corua, 0.7Mt/yr
12 15 11. Cementos Tudela Veguin, Narn, La Corua, 0.7Mt/yr
10 12. Cementval Construction Materials, Sagunto, Valencia, 1.0Mt/yr (White)
LISBON 13. Cemex Espaa, Cartagena, Murcia, (Closed)
14. Cenves, Granadilla, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 0.6Mt/yr
22 9 15. Ciments Terra Ferma, Les Borges Blanques, Lleida, 1.0Mt/yr
20
16 16. InterCement Canarias, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 0.8Mt/yr
Seville 17. Elite Cementos, Grau de Castelln,
4 6 18. Materiales del Atlantico (InterCement), Narn, (Mothballed)
19. Cemex Espaa, Yeles, Toledo, 1.0Mt/yr (Closed)
GIBRALTAR
ALGERIA Portugal
MOROCCO
20. Cimentos de Sines (InterCement), Mossines, Setbal, 0.9Mt/yr
Fuels Above - Figure 5: Spanish and

FUEL TYPE Mass (t) % (by mass) Portuguese cement grinding
Petcoke 1,398,171 64.3 plants in 2017. Source: Global
Oficemen data shows that the Spanish cement indus- Cement Directory 2017.
trys main fuel in 2015 by mass was petcoke, which Other fossil fuels 52,446 2.4
accounted for nearly two thirds of all fuel used (See TOTAL FOSSIL 1,450,617 66.7
Table 3). It was by far the major fossil fuel used. RDF 276,633 12.7
A wide range of alternative fuels were also used
Tyres 114,855 5.3
by the industry, to the tune of 33% by mass (Note
that, due to different fuels having different calorific Waste wood 86,689 4.0
values, these percentages do not correspond directly Other non-biomass 69,894 3.2 Left - Table 3: Types of fuels
to thermal contribution). The most prevalent was re- Animal meal 61,856 2.8 used by Spanish cement industry
fuse-derived fuel (RDF), which accounted for around in 2015. Source: Oficemen.
Impregnated sawdust 26,440 1.2
38% of the alternative fuels used and around 13% of
all fuels. Other prominent alternative fuels include Sewage sludge 23,046 1.1
tyres, waste wood and animal meal. Solvents 22,349 1.0
Used oils 16,199 0.7
Future
Plastics 11,050 0.5
In its Autumn 2016 forecast the European Commis-
sion (EC) forecast that Spanish GDP would increase Hydrocarbon waste 7853 0.4
by 3.2% in 2016, by 2.3% in 2017 and by 2.1% in 2018. Other biomass 3557 0.2
This represents steady, if unspectacular growth follow- Textiles 2816 0.1
ing economic contractions in 2009 - 2013. Faster GDP
Vegetable oils 6 <<0.1
growth of 3.1% was seen in 2015, albeit from a very
low base. TOTAL ALTERNATIVE 723,243 33.3
Whether or not this forecast growth can be GRAND TOTAL 2,173,860 100
translated into improved prospects for the countrys
cement sector remains to be seen. In the short term,
exports are likely to remain important to the ongo- plants to export economically. Consolidation and
ing viability of many plants. However, increasing further contraction are therefore potential future
cement capacities in some of the regions that cur- trends for the Spanish cement sector in the event
rently receive Spanish cement, such as north and west that significantly higher domestic sales cannot be
Africa, may adversely affect the ability of Spanish obtained in the short to medium term.

Portugal
part of Brazils InterCement in 2012. Cimpor oper-
L ike its larger neighbour

Spain, Portugal is a mem-
ber of the EU and Eurozone.
ates 8.2Mt/yr of integrated cement capacity across
three plants. Cimentos de Sines, another InterCe-
ment subsidiary, operates a 0.9Mt/yr grinding plant
It too was run by a dictator, at Setbal, close to Lisbon. Cimpor also operates the
Antnio de Oliveira Salazar, between the 1930s and Cimentaor terminal in the Azores.
1970s. Salazars rule ended in the Carnation Revolu- The other player with integrated capacity in the
tion of 1974, which brought political and economic Portuguese market is SECIL, which has 4.2Mt/yr
liberalisation. across three plants. This includes 0.8Mt/yr of white
In the 43 years since, Portugal has undergone a cement capacity. It has made cement since 1930
similar transformation to that of Spain, although it when it formed from a collaboration between SECIL
has been reliant on IMF funding on occasion. Most - Companhia Geral de Cal e Cimento, FLSmidth and
recently, Portugal received a US$116bn bailout from Hojgaard & Schultz.
the IMF and EU in 2011 following the collapse of
a major bank and runaway costs relating to vari- Production, demand and export trends
ous Public Private Partnerships. GDP fell by 13.3% Figure 6 shows Portuguese cement production
from US$262bn in 2008 to US$227bn in 2012. The between 1997 and 2013, according to the USGS. It
economy has since improved marginally, although shows a significant spike in production in 2007 and
unemployment remains at around 13%. 2008, although levels have been lower since 2009,
when they fell to 7.2Mt/yr.
Cement producers In the years since, the countrys adverse eco-
Portugals eight cement plants are detailed in nomic environment has had a depressive effect on its
Figures 4 and 5. Combined they have an integrated construction and cement sectors and demand plum-
capacity of 12.4Mt/yr, with a further 0.9Mt/yr of meted. In 2015 Cimpor produced 4.4Mt of cement in
Below - Figure 6: Portuguese
cement production, 1997 - 2013. grinding capacity. Portugal, with 70% of this (3.1Mt) exported, accord-
Source: USGS. The largest by installed capacity is ing to its 2015 Annual Report. This leaves around
Cimpor - Indstria de Cimentos. The company was 1.3Mt of cement in Portugal itself. In its 2015 Annual
originally established in Lisbon in 1976 but became Report SECIL reported domestic sales of 1.05Mt in
Bottom: The SECIL Outo plant.
the same year, with 1.57Mt exported, a domestic/
export split of 40/60.
Given that these two companies produce all of the
14.014 41
cement in Portugal and the fact that imports are highly

12.012 21 likely to be zero or very low, the above data suggests
that Portugal consumed around 2.8Mt of cement
10.010 01
in 2015.
Cement production (Mt)
8.08 8 SECIL points to overcapacity in Spain as present-

ing a challenge to exports. However, Portugal was
6.06 6
the 13th-largest cement exporting nation in 2015,
4.04 4
according to Worlds Top Exports, despite being the
42nd-largest cement industry by capacity, according
2.02 2
to the Global Cement Directory 2017. The country
exported US$222m worth of cement in 2015.
0.00 0
71 1
1997
62 1 3
51
1999
4
41 5
31
2001
6
21 7 11
2003
8 01 9 9
2005
10 8 11 7
2007
12 6 13 5
2009
14 4 15 3 16 2 17 1
2011 2013 According to MITs Observatory of Economic
Complexity, the major importers of Portuguese ce-
Year
ment in 2014 were Algeria (US$140m, 41% of all
exports), Colombia (US$23.8m, 6.9%) and Cape
Verde (US$20.3m, 5.9%).
Future
In its Autumn 2016 forecast the European Com-
mission (EC) forecast that Portuguese GDP would
increase by 0.9% in 2016, by 1.2% in 2017 and by
1.4% in 2018. Previously the economy grew by 1.6%
in 2015. In their 2015 Annual Reports, both SECIL
and Cimpor were bullish about the Portuguese mar-
ket in the long term, pointing to increased private
consumption. However, the heady days of 7Mt/yr
are not likely to be repeated in the foreseeable future.
Slow-but-steady is the name of the game.

NEWS
South America: Two large orders

for FLSmidth

F LSmidth has received an order from OHL Indus-
trial for engineering, procurement and supply
The Vicat - King
of equipment for a complete cement production German production
line with a capacity of 3150t/day. The plant will
be located in Rio Claro in the Sonsn municipal- excellent performance
ity of Antioquia, Colombia. The end client of the
project is Empresa Colombiana de Cementos
(EcoCementos), a company jointly owned by
Cementos Molins and Grupo Corona, with whom
OHL Industrial has an engineering, construction Vicat apparatus,
and procurement (EPC) contract. different models acc. to
EN, DIN, ASTM, BS
The order includes a complete range of equip-

ment from crushing to packing and loadout. Automatic Vicat apparatus
Supply includes an ATOX 37.5 vertical mill for acc. to EN 196-3, DIN 1164,
raw grinding, an ATOX 17.5 vertical mill for coal
ASTM C187
grinding, a ROTAX-2 rotary kiln with low NOx ILC
calciner, a FLSmidth Cross-Bar cooler, a Jetflex
230 V / 50 Hz,
burner and an OK 39-4 vertical mill for cement with delay timer
grinding. The order is planned for completion in
the first quarter of 2018.
FLSmidth has also received an order from
Fbrica Nacional de Cemento SA (FANCESA) in
Bolivia for the supply of equipment to build a
complete cement production line with a capacity
of 2100t/day, including plant design, procure- Computer controlled Vicat apparatus
ment and civil engineering services. The plant will with 6 or 8 measuring places
be located in Sucre.
acc. to EN 196-3, EN 480-2,
ASTM 191, test method B
230 V / 50 Hz
The order is valued at over US$75m. It includes

a range of equipment from crushing to packing
and loadout. Equipment ordered includes an
ATOX 35.0 vertical mill for raw grinding, a ROTAX-2
rotary kiln with low NOx ILC calciner, a Cross-Bar 8
x 38 cooler and an OK 30 vertical mill for cement
grinding. The order will be completed by the first
quarter of 2018. FLSmidths supply also includes
equipment from product companies of FLSmidth,
such as planetary gear units from FLSmidth
MAAG Gear, fabric filters from FLSmidth Airtech,
a packing plant from FLSmidth Ventomatic, con-
trol system and plant automation from FLSmidth
Automation and weighing and metering systems
from FLSmidth Pfister.
TESTING Bluhm & Feuerherdt GmbH
Motzener Strae 26b 12277 Berlin / Germany
Phone: +49 30 710 96 45-0
Global Cement Magazine February 2017 61 www.testing.de info@testing.de
GLOBAL CEMENT NEWS: THE AMERICAS
Comment: The other side of the wall

companies make cement in the US using US citizens.
I n 2016 we looked at the possible implications of the

then President-elect Donald Trump upon the US ce-
ment industry. With President Trump now in office, we
This represents investment in the local industry and is
something that Trump should be in favour of. Ultimately,
if he builds his wall then Mexican producers will be heav-
wonder what this means for the cement industry in Mex- ily involved. Indeed, Enrique Escalante, the CEO of GCC
ico. The running joke has been that Trump will be good has already said that he is ready to build it.
for the construction business ever since market analysts However, the sheer uncertainty factor of an incom-
Bernsteins passed a note around in the summer of 2016 ing President with as little experience of public office
about that wall. as Donald Trump must be giving
The makeup of the domestic chief executives pause for thought.
Mexican cement industry hasnt After all, Trumps tweets before he
changed too much in the last assumed office forced car manu-
decade, even with the merger be- facturers to change policy. If he
tween Lafarge and Holcim. Most manages to disrupt the North Amer-
of its producers reported growth ican Free-Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
in 2016. Cemex reported that its in order to protect US jobs then
cement sales volumes rose by 3% the repercussions for the Mexican
for the first nine months of 2016 economy will be profound. It sends
and by 10% in the third quarter. nearly three quarters of its exports
Cemex, crucially, also took charge to the US. Local cement producers
of its debts in 2016. Grupo Cementos de Chihuahuas would surely suffer in the resulting economic disruption.
(GCC) cement sales volumes also rose in the first three So, currency devaluations aside, Mexican produc-
quarters of 2016, in its case by 4%. Its overall net sales ers are making money from their cement operations
in Mexico rose by 4.2% in Mexican Pesos for the same at home and they are increasingly hedging their bets
period but fell when calculated in US Dollars due to cur- by operating or buying units in the US. Some, like
rency variations. Meanwhile, Elementia reported that GCC, are even being ebullient about the benefits that
its cement sales skyrocketed by 30% to US$104m in might come their way. It may be a bumpy ride but the
the first nine months of the year aided by higher prices Mexican cement industry is ready. However, it may wish
and volumes. to avoid appearing in Donald Trumps tweets for the
The major Mexican cement producers all have a pres- foreseeable future.
ence in the US with the exception of Cruz Azul. These
US: CalPortland receives efficiency rebate Puerto Rico: Sales and production
continue to fall
T he CalPortland Rillito cement plant in Arizona has received
an energy efficiency rebate of US$71,213 from Tucson Elec-
tric Power (TEP) as part of a programme that provides incentive C ement production has fallen by 30% year-on-year
to 756,000 bags in the first 11 months of 2016
funds for energy efficiency projects. The cement plant installed from 1.08 million bags in the same period in 2015.
an upgrade to its clinker cooler using funding from the TEP Com- Cement sales fell by 13% in the same period, a faster
mercial Energy Solutions programme. rate of decline than 8.5% in 2015 and 9.8% in 2014, ac-
cording to local press. The decline has been attributed
to a lack of funding supporting infrastructure projects
Brazil: Ferraz appointed as Magnesita FCO and a slowdown in the residential construction sector.
E duardo Ferraz has been appointed as the chief financial

officer and Investor Relations Officer of Magnesita with im-
mediate effect. Ferraz is currently the finance director for South
Uruguay: Correction
America, a role he will continue to hold. He replaces Eduardo
Gotilla who has resigned from the roles following the on-going
merger between Magnesita and RHI with the transfer of some
T he December 2016 issue of Global Cement
Magazine included a news item Association high-
lights Turkish cement dumping on page 56, which
executive officers of the company to the UK. mentioned Turkish cement producer imsa as an
Gotilla will continue to be an officer for Magnesita Interna- importer of cement to Uruguay. imsa has since
tional and lead finance and investor relations globally for the contacted Global Cement and states that imsa has
Magnesita Group, but will no longer hold an officer position in never been involved in any commercial cooperation
the company, principally due to Brazilian legislation requiring with the mentioned company (Cementos Charrua)
statutory officers to be residents in Brazil. in Uruguay.

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GLOBAL CEMENT NEWS: THE AMERICAS
Paraguay: Industria Nacional del Cementos US: Buzzi Unicem plants receive Energy
production rises in 2016 Star certification
I ndustria Nacional del Cementos (INC) production rose by

8% year-on-year to 13.2 million bags of cement in 2016
from 12.3 million bags in 2015. It also reported an operat-
T he Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded
its Energy Star certification to four of Buzzi Unicems ce-
ment plants. Plants at Chattanooga in Tennessee, Festus in
ing profit of US$1.5m, according to La Nacin newspaper. Missouri, Maryneal in Texas and San Antonio in Texas have
Company president Jorge Mendez said that the state-run all received the certification. It is awarded to cement plants
cement producer produces 55,000bag/day of cement at its that score 75 or above on the Energy Performance Indica-
plants at Villeta and Vallemi, holding about 55% of the tor (EPI), used by the EPA to measure energy efficiency.
domestic market. In addition, the plant must have a three-year history of
INC is completing a US$3.9m dryer upgrade at its Villeta environmental compliance. The Chattanooga, Festus, and
plant with local contractor Engineering. Changes to the fuel Maryneal plants have received the certification eight con-
used at its Vallemi plant to cut energy costs are also on-going. secutive years in a row.
US: Pennsuco gets zero waste certificate

diversion from landfill use for a minimum of 12 consecu-
T itan Americas Pennsuco plant, which includes ce-

ment manufacturing, aggregates, quarrying, block
manufacturing and ready-mix
tive months. This includes reducing, reusing, recycling or
composting discarded materials or recovering the materi-
als for productive use in nature
concrete operations, has been or the economy at biological
officially recognised as a Gold temperatures and pressures. It
Level Zero Waste facility, making requires implementing sustain-
it the only facility of its kind in the able strategies for resource
US to achieve Zero Waste Status. and waste management. The
The Zero Waste Certification process for certification also
is a remarkable accomplishment included an extensive on-site
and is consistent with Titan audit, which was performed by
Americas commitment to striv- Zero Waste Council members.
ing for best-in-class sustainability Zero Waste recertification
practices. Congratulations to our occurs every three years. The
Environmental Department and Above: The Titan Pennsuco plant. Source: Muhammad Khan, Entrant to Pennsuco site is now aiming for
thanks to everyone at Pennsuco the Global Cement Photography Competition. Platinum Certification. Titans
for their help and support. We Pennsuco Plant has also been
should all feel very proud of this, recognised for other sustain-
said Randy Dunlap, president of Titan Americas Florida ability initiatives, including Wildlife Habitat Certification
business. and EnergyStar Certification. Titans two cement plants
To qualify for Zero Waste Certification, the Pennsuco at Pennsuco and Roanoke have been EnergyStar certified
Complex was required to demonstrate greater than 90% for 10 consecutive years.
Canada: McInnis signs deal with Gaspesian Rail Trinidad & Tobago: Cemex raises
offer for Trinidad Cement
M cInnis Cement has signed an agreement with the Gasp railway cor-
poration (SCFG) to distribute cement from New Richmond, Quebec
to various Canadian and US markets. The agreement covers the transpor- C emex has increased its offer to buy a
controlling stake in Trinidad Cement. The
tation of 140,000t of cement over a five-year period. cement producer has instructed its subsidi-
The use of rail combined with the efficiency of maritime transport ary Sierra Trading to make a higher offer and
provides McInnis with the flexibility and competitiveness needed for the take-over bid with a value of US$101m with a
distribution of cement that will be produced by the company commenc- deadline of 24 January 2017.
ing in the Spring of 2017, said McInnis Cement chief executive officer, Previously, in early December 2016 it offered
Herv Mallet. He added that the company might increase its volumes US$89m. The amended offer is dependent on
when conditions permit. Cemex acquiring control of Trinidad Cement,
The cement will be loaded onto trucks at the plant site in Port-Daniel among other conditions. In late December
Gascons, transported to New Richmond, and then trans-shipped onto 2016 the directors of Trinidad Cement advised
tenders through a weight bin to be installed by SCFG. The first shipments shareholders to reject Cemexs offer because it
are expected to start a few weeks after the plant becomes operational. was seen as poor value.

GLOBAL CEMENT NEWS: ASIA
India: Demonetisation to hit cement in 2017
T he India Ratings and Research credit ratings agency

has said that demonetisation of the economy is likely
to reduce growth in the cement industry by 2% to 4%
The Go Cashless campaign is yet another endeav-
our empowering the construction community through
knowledge transfer. We are successfully seeding in-
in the 2016 2017 financial year that ends on 31 March novative thinking at the grass-roots level and bringing
2017. Previously it had predicted growth of up to 6% in information and technology to the forefront of all our
this period. The agency reported that cement production esteemed business partners, said Ambuja Cements
grew by 0.5% in November 2016 following rates of 5.5% managing director and Chief Executive.
and 6.2% in September and November The campaign has in-
2016 respectively. It added that all India cluded sending out over
volumes fell by up to 25% in November 1,000,000 text messages,
and December 2016. The agency expects 200,000 Whatsapp mes-
demand for cement from the housing sages and an educational
sector will decline further from its current radio campaign across 17
contribution of 65% of all demand. different stations in New
Delhi, Himachal Pradesh,
India: Ambuja launches Punjab, Rajasthan, Gu-
jarat, Maharashtra and West Bengal. Ambuja Cement
Go Cashless campaign
estimates that it has contacted 42,000 business partners
A mbuja Cement has launched a Go Cashless cam-

paign encouraging its business partners retailers,
contractors and masons - to adapt to cashless business
via media channels and over 4.5 million via radio.
India: Burnpur blames late loan

transactions. The campaign follows the countrys deci-
sion to remove circulation of certain high denomination
payment on demonetisation
bank notes in November 2016. The campaign went live
on 7 December 2016 and it is aimed to create aware-
ness on various available cashless options amongst the
B urnpur Cement has blamed an irregular non-payment
to its lenders on demonetisation and a depressed
market. It added that it was discussing the matter with its
cement producers business partners. Ambuja Cement lenders, including the option of restructuring the debt.
is also working with ICICI Bank to launch a helpline to The cement producer operates two plants in the east of
assist stakeholders open current accounts for regular the country.
business transactions.
India: Competition body rejects Binani Pakistan: APCMA says that cement sales
Cements appeal to relax fine will grow by 28Mt by 2020
T he Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) has re-

jected an appeal by Binani Cement to waive paying
a 10% deposit of a US$25m fine that was given to it by
T he All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association
(APCMA) expects local cement sales to grow by 26-28Mt
by 2020. It made the forecast as part of a six- month review
the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for cartel-like of the industry. Chairman Sayeed Saigol said that local sales
behaviour. COMPAT said that the cement producer had grew by 8.6% year-on-year to 19.8Mt in the first half of the
failed to add any further information to the situation or countrys financial year to 30 June 2017, from 18.2Mt in the
pointed out any errors in the procedure, according to the same period in the previous year. Based on current growth
Press Trust of India. In August 2016 the CCI imposed fines of trends he added that the industry would need to increase
nearly US$1bn on cement producers including ACC, ACL, its production capacity. To this end it is increasing capacity
Binani, Century, India Cements, JK Cement, Lafarge, Ramco, to 72.3Mt/yr from the current capacity of 46Mt/yr.
UltraTech, Jaiprakash Associates and the Cement Manufac- Despite the anticipated growth in cement sales Saigol
turers Association for alleged cartelisation activity. defended import duties to the countries on the grounds
In November 2016, the COMPAT delayed the CCI con- that the government benefits from taxation of the local
dition that the cement producers deposit 10% of the fine. industry. He has also urged the government to support the
However, Binani Cement requested to waive the deposit on industry by placing an anti-dumping duty on Iranian ce-
grounds of severe financial hardship. Binani Cement now ment. Exports of cement fell by 3.5% year-on-year to 2.91Mt
potentially faces interest charges on top of the deposit as from 3.02Mt, with a particular fall in exports to Afghanistan.
its appeal was dismissed.

Vietnam: 50Mt oversupply by 2020 Vietnam: Ha Tien to close plant
N guyen Quang Cung, the chairman of the Vietnam

Cement Association, has predicted that the country
will face a cement oversupply of nearly 50Mt in 2020. The
M eanwhile, Ha Tien Cement is to close its cement
grinding plant in the Thu Duc district of Ho Chi Minh
City following failed attempts to move the plant. The ce-
local industrys cement production capacity was nearly ment producer was ordered to cease all operations at the
88Mt/yr in 2016. It is expected to reach 108Mt/yr in 2018 plant by 31 December 2016, according to Vietnam News.
and up to 130Mt/yr in 2020. Domestic demand is esti- The plant had earlier reduced its production capacity to
mated to be 82Mt in 2020 thereby creating the excess. 1.0Mt/yr from 1.7Mt/yr in 2015, following accusations
The association is also lobbying for a two-year delay in of air pollution. Ha Tien attempted to move the plant to
regulation changes made in 2016 that are expected to District 9 in 2016 but the proposal was turned down by
make exporting cement more expensive for producers. city planners.
India: Government to sell CCI Pakistan: Lucky says all of its plants are operational
T he Indian Ministry of Heavy Industries is

planning to sell seven non-operational
plants of the Cement Corporation of India
L ucky Cement says that all of its cement plants in Pakistan are operating
as normal. The plants are not facing any unscheduled shutdown and
sales and cement dispatches are progressing as per usual.
(CCI) as part of the first phase of a scheme The cement producer made its comments in response to a news
to sell the state-owned cement producer. story in the Nation newspaper that alleged that a district authority had
However, due to on-going legal issues at shut down Lucky Cements Pezu plant near Darru Pezu in the Khyber
some of the units the ministry wants to sell Pakhtunkhwa province in early January 2017 due to breaches of environ-
them in a piecemeal fashion or even individ- mental regulations.
ually, according to the Press Trust of India.
The CCI operates 10 units, of which seven
are non-operational. The federal cabinet of China: Sinoma subsidiary ordered to pay
India granted in-principle approval for the tax rebate back
sale of certain state-owned companies in
October 2016.
S inoma Hanjiang Cement, a subsidiary of China National Materials Com-
pany (Sinoma), has been ordered to pay back a US$8.3m tax rebate by
the Tax Office of Hantai District, Hanzhong City in Shaanxi. A notice issued
India: Anjani commissions by the office said that the cement producer failed to meet the require-
ments for the rebate, according to ET Net News agency. The office decided
captive power plant to disqualify Sinoma Hanjiang from the entitlement due to its policies re-
A njani Portland Cement has commis-

sioned a 16MW coal powered captive
power plant at its cement plant in Anjani
garding rebate and exemption of value-added tax for products and labour
services involving comprehensive utilisation of resources. Sinoma said
that the extra cost is expected to decrease its profit for 2016.
Puram. The cement producer operates
a 1.3Mt/yr plant and is a subsidiary of
Chettinad Cement. Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement revenue falls in 2016
Bangladesh: Sena cement

S teppe Cements revenue fell by 8% year-on-year to US$54m in 2016
from US$59m in the same period of 2015. Sales volumes of cement fell
by 4% to 1.57Mt from 1.64Mt. The drop in revenue and sales volumes was
brand launched blamed on increased competition and the start-up of two cement kilns in
T he Sena Kalyan Sangstha (SKS), a trust

run by the Bangladesh Army, has
launched Sena Cement and Sena LPG brand
the country.
The cement producer
reported that the countrys ce-
of cement at its Mongla Cement plant in ment consumption fell by 8% to
Dhaka. Military and government officials 8.9Mt in 2016. It imported 0.5Mt
also attended the event. The new cement and exported 0.4Mt, with imports
brands are intended to grow the welfare falling and exports rising respectively. The
activities of the SKS. cement producer said that its market share was 17%
in 2016. It will publish its full financial results for the year in
April 2017.

Nepal: Certification
delayed India: JSW expands Bellary grinding plant
G overnment plans to grade domes-

tic brands of cement have been
delayed due to administrative issues
J SW Cement has increased the capacity of its Bellary cement grinding
plant in Vijay Nagar to 3.4Mt/yr from 1Mt/yr. The cement producer said
that the additional capacity would help it strengthen its distribution net-
at the Nepal Bureau of Standards and work throughout the south of the country. The chairman and managing
Metrology (NBSM). The NBSM pre- director of JSW Group, Shri Sajjan Jindal, and other dignitaries inaugu-
pared a draft for the certification in rated the new unit.
the autumn of 2016 but it has failed to
approve it internally before forward-
ing it to the Nepal Standard Council, Indonesia: Semen Indonesia sets US$449m aside for
according to the Himalayan Times. The
expansion in 2017
delay has been blamed on the busy
schedule of NBSM employees. Under
the plan, cement produced by local
companies will be certified
S emen Indonesia has prepared US$449m to be spent on capital expan-
sion upgrades in 2017 to support government infrastructure targets.
The plan includes four cement plants with a total production capacity of
under three quality cat- 10.5Mt/yr, according to the Jakarta Post. The Rembang plant in Central Java
egories: 33-grade, and the Indarung VI plant in Padang, West Sumatra are in the final stages
43-grade and of construction. New plants in Aceh and Kupang are also being planned for
53-grade completion in 2019 and 2020 respectively, although these projects will require
cement. additional funding. The cement producer is also planning to build two pack-
aging plants in Bengkulu and Maluku and a 30MW waste heat power plant at
its plant in Tuban, East Java.
Company corporate secretary Agung Wiharto added that Semen Indonesia
has forecast a 5% rise in demand for cement in 2017 to 70Mt. This is mainly due
to government plans to boost infrastructure development across the country.
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GLOBAL CEMENT NEWS: MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA
Contents
Egypt: Aumund wins order for six production lines
Subscribe
Ad Index
A umund has won a contract to supply clinker convey-
ing equipment for six production lines.
The tender is part of a project by Chengdu
ery package also includes four 170t/hr BWG-L belt bucket
elevators, one 80t/hr BWZ-L chain bucket
elevator and six 375t/hr pan conveyors for
Design & Research Institute of Building each of the six lines. Altogether the order
Materials Industry (CDI), a subsidiary of comprises 108 machines.
Sinoma International Engineering, to build The new project in Beni Suef is to be
the 6000t/day lines for the government. No completed by the end of 2020. The pilot
value has been released for the order. phase of the new production lines is due to
The lines will each be equipped by Au- start as early as December 2017. Aumund
mund with four 650t/hr BWG belt bucket elevators and will supply the machines to Egypt in three deliveries, be-
three 550t/hr BWZ chain bucket elevators. The machin- tween April and June 2017.
Qatar: Qatar Primary Materials Saudi Arabia: Producers to cut

Company to inaugurate cement silos production by 10% in 2017
in early 2017
Q atar Primary Materials Company (QPMC) plans

to inaugurate its new cement silo project in
C ement producers in Saudi Arabia are planning to cut their pro-
duction by 5 10% in 2017 due to a fall in demand. The decision
follows declines in profits of around 17% by local companies in
the first quarter of 2017. The project is located at 2016, according to the Al Sharq Al Awsat newspaper. The decrease
the Port of Mesaieed and includes two cranes, in demand for cement has been blamed on competition, high pro-
two conveyor belts, 12 silos each with a storage duction costs and high energy costs. Cement sales in the country
capacity of 5000t and a total of 60,000t, according started to decline in 2015, following the low price of oil.
to the Gulf Times newspaper. The silos will have a
discharge rate of 250t/hr with a total of 1000t/hr.
QPMCs chief executive Eisa al-Hammadi said that Kenya: Exports drop in 2016
the silos were to ensure a sustainable supply of ce-
ment in the country. The site is intended to store
and discharge over 2Mt/yr of cement.
D ata from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics report that
cement exports dropped in value to US$7.6m in 2016 from
US$25.6m in 2015. Producers have blamed declining volumes on
QPMC completed its Bulk Materials Handling cheap imports, according to the East African newspaper. The open-
System in late 2016, a 4.8km conveyor belt system ing of a cement plant by Dangote Cement in Tanzania has also
connecting the Port of Mesaieed to storage areas. contributed to the decline, forcing companies to cut their prices.
The conveyor operates at a speed of 3m/s allowing Meanwhile, growth in the consumption of cement slowed to
material to be transported to the destination in 5.3% in the third quarter of 2016 from a rate of 11% in the same
under 30 minutes. The building materials distribu- period of 2015. The slowdown in growth mirrors a fall in growth in
tor says that the conveyor is the first in the Middle the construction sector, which grew by 9.3% in the third quarter
East and one of the longest in the world. of 2016 compared to 15.6% in the same period of 2015, according
to data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. It attributed
the fall in growth in part to a considerable reduction in civil work
Zimbabwe: Redcliff grinding plant on the Standard Gauge Railway from Mombasa to Nairobi as it
nears completion.
to open in February 2017
P roduction at the Redcliff grinding plant is set

to start during February 2017. Chinas Mortal
Investments Manufacturing has built the plant
for a cost of US$20m, according to the Zimbabwe
Daily. The plant will operate as Livetouch Cement
and it will have a production capacity of 0.4Mt/yr.
Oman: Raysut revenue falls 2% in 2016
The project is currently waiting for clearance from
the International Organisation for Standardisation
(ISO) and an Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA) from the Environmental Management Agency.
R aysut Cements revenue has fallen by 2% year-on-year to
US$240m in 2016 from US$246m in 2015. Its profit after tax rose
by 1% to US$55m from US$54m. Previously the cement producer
Once operational the plant will produce 22.5 grade reported that it had faced severe price competition and volatility
cement using locally sourced slag. in the export market.

GLOBAL CEMENT NEWS: MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA
Algeria: Minister inaugurates Ain El Morocco: Consumption falls in 2016

Kebira cement plant
A bdesslam Bouchouareb, the Algerian Minister of

Industry and Mining, has inaugurated the second
C ement consumption in Morocco fell by 0.7% year-
on-year to 14.1Mt in 2016 from 14.3Mt in 2015.
Data from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Policy
production unit at the Ain El Kebira (SCAEK) cement plant shows that particular falls in consumption of nearly
near Setif. The new unit will have a cement production ca- 10% were recorded in the Bni Mellal Khnifra and
pacity of 2Mt/yr, according to the Algerian Press Service. Dra Tafilalet regions. However, the countrys Dakhla
The plant is controlled by the government backed Groupe - Oued Ed-Dahab region in the south-west reported a
Industriel des Ciments dAlgrie (GICA). 64.3% rise in sales to 63,771t.
Bouchouare announced that the 1.5Mt/yr Adrar ce-
ment plant is due to be commissioned by April 2017 and
that the 2Mt/yr Chlef plant will be online by October 2017. Nigeria: Cross River state secures
He added that national cement production is expected to
increase by 5.5Mt/yr in 2017, allowing Algeria to export its
licences to set up cement plant
surplus by early 2018.
T he government of Cross River state has se-
cured operational licenses from the Federal
Government to build its own cement plant and
Senegal: New cement tax limestone quarry in the Akamkpa region of the
T he government of Senegal has introduced a tax

of US$4.84/t of cement with effect from 2 January
2017. The tariff will apply to cement from the countrys
state. George OBen-Etchi, Commissioner for Solid
Minerals Development, made the announcement
following a meeting with the Solid Minerals De-
three cement plants run by Ciments du Sahel, Sococim velopment Board, according to the Daily Trust
and Dangote, according to the Quotidien newspaper. newspaper. The plant and quarry are intended to
Vendors are expected to pass the cost on to consumers complement the states Superhighway project.
with higher prices.
Cement production rose by 10% year-on-year to
5.15Mt in the first 10 months of 2016 from 4.68Mt in the
same period in 2015 at the Ciments du Sahel and Sococim Cameroon: CBMI wins LafargeHolcim
plants, according to data from the Directorate of Forecast- grinding contract
ing and Economic Studies (DPEE), reported upon by the
African Press Agency. The increase has been attributed
to a 25% surge in exports, although local sales have also
risen slightly.
C BMI has signed a contract with LafargeHolcim
to build a 0.5Mt/yr cement grinding plant in
Yaound. The project will be built for Cimencam,
LafargeHolcims joint venture in the country. No value
UAE: Union Cement WHR project for the deal was disclosed.
recognised by Dubai Carbon The scope of the project covers clinker feeding to
cement packing and shipping. The contract will come
U nion Cements waste heat recovery project has been

recognised by the Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence
(DCCE) for reducing CO2 emissions in Dubai in 2016. Local
into force after being signed, receiving of guarantees
and CBMI receiving advance payments. Contract pe-
riods are 18 months after contracts coming into force
projects under the Emirates Carbon Abatement Strategy to complete industrial tests, and 19 months to com-
achieved an emissions reduction of 419,500t of CO2 in missioning.
2016 saving nearly US$1.4m, according to comments It follows the announcement in mid-December
made by DCCE to the Gulf Today newspaper. Other pro- 2016 of grinding plant projects in Uganda and Kenya.
jects that contributed to the saving included the Dubai
13MW Photovoltaic Plant and Dewa Energy Efficient Chill-
ers. The DCCE promotes Dubais transition to a low-CO2 Mali: CIMAF plant inaugurated
green economy and is responsible for monitoring the
levels of CO2 emissions in the Emirate.
C iments de lAfrique (CIMAF) has inaugurated
a 0.5Mt/yr grinding plant at Diago in the Kou-
Rwanda: Mthembu appointed chief of likoro Region. The project has an investment of over
US$32m, according to the MaliJet news website. It was
Cimerwa
built following an agreement signed in 2014 between
B heki Mthembu has been appointed the chief execu-

tive officer of Cimerwa, PPCs subsidiary in the country.
Mthembu has been in post since December 2016, accord-
the Addoha Group, the owner of CIMAF, and the gov-
ernment. President Ibrahim Boubacar Kita presided
over the event with members of the government and
ing to the Business Day newspaper. Mthembu holds a Anas Sefrioui, chief executive officer of Ciments de
degree in chemistry from the University of KwaZulu-Nata lAtlas (CIMAT) and head of CIMAF. The plant has cre-
and he has worked for PPC since 1995. ated over 200 jobs.

GLOBAL CEMENT: CSI FOCUS
The Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) embarks on a new challenge...
Philippe Fonta Managing Director of the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI)
O n 13 - 14 December 2016 in Madrid, the CSI

held its Annual Forum on the theme of Climate
Change (mitigation and adaptation) to openly discuss,
Technology Partnership initiative (LCTPi)3 developed
for the cement sector and presented at COP21 in Paris;
both internally and with key external experts from 2. Initiate, develop and accelerate the work on additional
the regulatory and financial domains, the challenges crucial subjects for the CSI, such as the development of
and opportunities created by the implementation of a social impact framework as well as a methodology for
the Paris agreement for the sector. This was discussed net impact assessment of cement and concrete activities
in this column in the November 2016 issue of Global and products;
Cement Magazine.
Hosted by Cemex and CRH, two of the founding 3. Broaden membership of the CSI, especially in regions
members of the CSI, this Forum was the 10th of its kind and countries where the CSI is under-represented in
and it also coincided with the 10th annual reporting terms of companies headquartered in these locations;
exercise of CO2 emissions for the Getting the Num-
bers Right (GNR) database,1 the most comprehensive 4. Engage the whole sector across the entire value chain
database on energy and CO2 emissions produced by by achieving in 2017 the first certifications for respon-
any industrial sector. CSI members identified that these sibly sourced concrete in agreement with the recently
two anniversaries provided an ideal opportunity to un- launched Concrete Sustainability Council (CSC)4
dertake a strategic reflection of the CSI achievements, and contribute to better promotion of the benefits of
structures, commitments and future direction. concrete as a sustainable product, together with the
relevant stakeholders.
More than ever, the CSI is a CEO-led approach
As a curtain raiser for the Forum, the CSI held its an- Scaling-up the CSIs influence and impact
nual CEO meeting, the highest governance structure One of the challenges for the CSI in the coming years
of the initiative. On this occasion, the 15 CEOs at the is to reconcile two objectives: firstly to enhance and
meeting reaffirmed that one of the key elements of the strengthen the actions and ambitions of the existing
success of the CSI was its CEO-led structure. They reaf- CSI members and; secondly, to attract more members
firmed their commitment to the initiative, its structure of all sizes and origins, for which the commitments to
and mission to keep building its role as the recognised achieve might constitute an increasingly high first step.
international voice of the global cement industry for Being aware that the challenging commitments that
sustainable development issues. a CSI member must fulfil by signing the CSI Charter5
The elected Chairman of the CSI for 2017, Eric are more difficult to achieve in the first three years of
Olsen, CEO of LafargeHolcim stated, I will focus on membership (as per the CSI governance), CSI CEOs
ensuring that the CSI continues to play an important decided to create a new tier of affiliation at a lower level
role in building collaboration within our industry and of engagement, called CSI Affiliates. Only new mem-
encouraging joint action across the entire value chain. ber candidates can apply for this Affiliate level, as an
As one of the largest global sustainability programs ever intermediate step before becoming a CSI member.
undertaken by a single industry sector, the CSI has a With a reduced level of commitment and specific
real opportunity to drive change. focus on only the two key issues: climate change and
Driving change implies that the initiative to scale-up safety, plus a lower admission fee, this Affiliate level will
its influence towards the whole building and infrastruc- provide the companies who are interested in joining
ture construction value chain, based on an ambitious the CSI with access to useful information sharing, net-
work program. This global strategy will be built upon working opportunities, participation to CSI meetings
four key pillars: by invitation and preferential access to CSI tools, for a
maximum of three years. At the end of the period, it is
1. Maintain a clear focus on key strategic issues (climate very likely that the progress made by the company will
change and safety), that have again emerged on the make its accession to full membership of the CSI more
top of the agenda as a result of a streamlined materi- attractive and easier and will enable the broadening of
ality study performed by the CSI in 2016. On climate the CSI membership base, to scale-up its numbers, its
change, for instance, three overall objectives have been influence and impact.
identified as a priority: enhancing the coverage of the
reported CO2 emissions in the GNR database; revisit 1. www.wbcsdcement.org/GNR
and update the low-carbon technology roadmap2 2. www.wbcsdcement.org/technology
developed in cooperation with the International Energy 3. lctpi.wbcsd.org/portfolio-item/cement
Agency (IEA) in 2009; and implement the Low Carbon 4. www.concretesustainabilitycouncil.org
5. www.wbcsdcement.org/index.php/about-csi/csi-charter

GLOBAL CEMENT: PRICES
Here Global Cement Magazine presents its monthly review of global

cement prices, in US$ for easy comparison. Much more price informa-
tion (including the latest information on prices and market trends Do you have your finger on the cement
throughout the global cement industry from our price correspondents) price pulse where you are?
is only available to subscribers of Global Cement Magazine. If so, Global Cement Magazine needs you!
To get additional prices, you should subscribe - See page 72. In this
issue subscribers receive more information from Egypt, Kazakhstan, Send cement prices to
Nigeria and Tanzania. peter.edwards@propubs.com.
Regular contributors receive a free

subscription to Global Cement Magazine!
Indonesia: An increase in capacity and sluggish May 2016 (US$54/t)
domestic demand means that Indonesian cement and January 2017
prices will remain under pressure throughout (US$105/t). It added
2017, according to Indonesia Investments. At the that, even with higher
same time, higher coal and electricity prices will taxes and input costs, the
give rise to higher production costs, squeezing cement rates in the country are
producers margins further. cheaper than neighbouring India
and Sri Lanka.
UAE: Average cement prices fell by 3% year-on- The factors contributing to the decline in
year in 2016 compared to 2015. exports include increases in fuel prices and other
input cost, and the most damaging was the bar-
China: Sunsirs Commodity Data Group reports riers erected by the countries we export to, such
All-Chinese cement prices: 23 January 2017 = as anti-dumping duty imposed by South Africa to
US$42.91/t; 18-19 January 2017 = US$42.89/t; protect its local industry, said an industry stake-
20-22 January 2017 = US$42.86/t. holder to Pakistans The Nation newspaper.
Chinas spot cement price was around
US$39.61/t in mid-January 2017, compared with India: Equity Bulls reports that, although the all-
an average regional price of as low as US$30.05/t India average cement price was down by 2.2%
in the first quarter of 2016, according to data from month-on-month in December 2016 due to the
Credit Suisse. governments demonetisation policy, the average
According to Mo Ji, chief economist for Asia (ex- price was up by 4.3% year-on-year, mainly on ac-
Japan) at Amundi, the year-on-year rise is a clear count of sharp rises in the north (15.8%)and west
signal that Chinas economic growth will remain (8.9%) of the country.
stable in the year ahead. Economic Times India reports that ce-
ment prices appeared to have survived the
Pakistan: Cement prices increased by impact of demonetisation, although they fell by
US$0.11-0.19/bag (50kg) to US$4.77-5.34/bag in US$0.10/bag month-on-month to US$4.66/bag in
the north of Pakistan in the early part of January January 2017. This continued the trend that began
2017. This has led some to point out that produc- in November 2016. The trend was most stark in the
ers like Lucky Cement enjoy margins of 36-51%, west, where prices fell by US$0.34/bag.
with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation
and amortisation 2.5 times of those in neighbour-
ing India or Iran. Business Recorder reports
that export prices from Pakistan can
be up to US$1.91/bag cheaper than
the cement that remains in the
domestic market. Prices are for cement in metric tonnes, unless stated otherwise. Where a source has given a range,
For its part, the All Pakistan the published price is the minimum value.
Cement Manufacturers As- FOB {+ the named port of origin} = Free On Board: The delivery of goods on board the vessel at the
sociation (APCMA) has, once named port of origin (loading), at sellers expense. Buyer is responsible for the main carriage/freight,
again stressed the need for cargo insurance and other costs and risks.
reductions in duties and taxes CIF {+ the named port of destination} = Cost, Insurance and Freight: The cargo insurance and delivery
to bring cement prices down. of goods to the named port of destination (discharge) at the sellers expense. Buyer is responsible for
It says that the industry has not the import customs clearance and other costs and risks.
only absorbed an 11.7% duty ASWP = Any safe world port.
on coal imports but also that coal Conversions to US$ from local currencies are as at the time of original publication.
prices more than doubled between

GLOBAL CEMENT: SUBSCRIBER-ONLY PRICES
Egypt: Ordinary Portland Cement Steppes average price for delivered

prices as of 20 January 2017: Ara- cement fell to US$34.52/t in 2016
bian Cement (Al Mosalah) = from US$35.92/t in 2015. The av-
US$39.70/t; Arabian Cement erage ex-factory price in 2016
(Al Nasr) = US$38.64/t; Build- was US$28.99/t, down by 6%
ing Materials Industries = from US$30.84/t in 2015.
US$38.64/t; ASEC Cement
= US$38.75-39.70/t; Wadi El Nigeria: The Benue House
Nile Cement = US$39.17/t; of Assembly has summoned
Medcom Aswan Cement the Managing Director of the
= US$37.95/t; Elnahda Ce- Dangote Cement Plant at Gboko,
ment = US$38.11/t; Arish over an outrageous hike in the
Cement = US$38.38/t; Sinai Ce- price of cement in the state. Speaker
ment = US$38.38/t; El Menya Cement Terkimbi Ikyange issued the summons on
= US$37.95/t; Suez Cement = US$39.44/t; Friday 13 January 2017.
Tourah Portland Cement = US$37.69- The resolution followed a motion
39.44/t; Helwan Cement = moved by Benjamin Nungwa, who
US$39.44/t; Shora Cement = called on the Assembly to inves-
US$37.95/t; El Sewedy Cement tigate the rise to US$9.81/bag
= US$38.91/t; South Valley (50kg) in Benue, while, in other
Cement = US$38.64/t; Misr states, prices remained at
Cement Qena = US$37.95/t. US$4.91-5.56/bag. He warned
White cement prices as that if not curtailed it may
of 20 January 2017: Sinai ground the states economy.
White Cement (Alabid Elada) = The motion also noted that
US$83.33/t; Sinai White Cement heavily loaded trucks of limestone
(Super Sinai) = US$80.15/t; El had been seen leaving the plant on
Menya Cement - Royal = US$81.84- a daily basis to unknown destinations,
82.84/t; Menya Helwan Cement = something he interpreted as an indication
US$83.60/t. that the plant processed its raw material
Blended cement prices as of elsewhere.
20 January 2017: Sinai Cement Earlier, in December 2016, Guru
- Alnakheel = US$36.63/t; Na- Maharaj Ji, the founder of One
tional Cement - Altawfir = Love Family sect, had called
US$36.63/t; Helwan Cement on President Muhammadu
- Alwaha = US$36.78/t. Buhari to instigate a com-
Sulphate-resistant cement pulsory (and somewhat
prices as of 20 January 2017: unrealistic) US$0.98/bag price
ASEC Cement (Asic Sea Water) for cement, just a tenth of the
= US$41.16/t; Suez Cement current price in Benue State.
(Alsuez Sea Water) = US$41.40/t;
El Sewedy Cement = US$40.87/t. Tanzania: Following a dispute
between Dangote Cement and the
Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement Ltd has re- Tanzanian government, Tanzania has begun
ported drops in the price and production setting indicative prices for natural gas
of cement, leading to lower rev- to guide potential investors. Prior
enue, as it warned that demand in to this, the prices of natural gas
Kazakhstan is decreasing, just as were negotiated between the
capacity is increasing. buyer and the government-
The company said it pro- owned Tanzania Petroleum
duced 4.0% less cement in Development Corporation
2016 (1.57Mt) versus 2015 (TPDC) as the seller.
(1.64Mt) and that, combined
with a 4% year-on-year decline
in average prices, this pushed
revenue for the year down by 8%
to US$54.1m from US$58.9m.
Prices 2 Global Cement Magazine February 2017 www.GlobalCement.com

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GLOBAL CEMENT: THE LAST WORD
Stealing from the future/Being kind to your future self
Robert McCaffrey Editorial Director, Global Cement Magazine (rob@propubs.com)
H ow much debt is the right amount? My guess is that

everyone reading this column will have a slightly
different answer. Some might say, Neither a borrower
by reducing the effective interest rate paid on the debt.
Such actions will hopefully allow its debt repayments to
be reduced to an affordable level.
nor a lender be, or words to that effect, suggesting that Governments, however, are different. They essentially
their level of debt is zero. Some will no doubt have too hold us to ransom. They can levy taxes upon us citizens,
much debt - where the repayments are not affordable. and if we dont pay them, then they can send us to jail.
Most readers will have some level of debt (on a mort- A government is in a very difficult position if it cannot
gage, car payments, credit cards etc) and will find that raise taxes to cover its debt repayments (at which point
the level of repayments is currently affordable. Hopefully it will default). Of course, raising taxes is not popular
no readers are subject to the depradations of usury: the with the voters and so governments will play all sorts of
practice of making unethical or immoral monetary loans tricks to kick the can down the road. Foremost among
that unfairly enrich the lender1. the tricks is to steal from the future.
As individuals, we each need to balance our own For example, in any country with a pension sys-
personal economy of income, borrowing, interest and tem, the workers pay into the state pension system on
expenditure, at least in the longer term. If we dont, well the basis that they will be paid the money back out in
end up like daredevil Evel Knievel: I had a good life: I a weekly pension payment when they retire. However,
made fifty million dollars. Only problem was, I spent fifty governments are increasingly using todays pension in-
one. When borrowing becomes unaffordable, then were come to pay todays pensioners: Future pensioners will
in trouble. For example, at the moment, economists are have to rely on future tax payers to fund their pensions
worried that house prices are once again becoming dan- - these future pension liabilities are unfunded. When
gerously overheated in a number of countries2 - and this not enough money is left in the future pot, either taxes
coupled with likely future interest rates could bring trou- will have to increase or benefits will have to decrease (or
ble to borrowers who are in too deep. Home owners in both). Individual US states face this problem to a greater
the UK were mentally scarred for life after interest rates or lesser extent3 as do various countries around the world
surged beyond 15% in the 1980s - meaning that debt re- - a recent report4 suggests that un- or underfunded pen-
payments rose to levels that were above take-home pay. sion liabilities in 20 OECD countries amounts to around
Cement companies, meanwhile, have their own econ- US$78trillion.
omies that they need to balance. They can control the Beer, pies and smoking might be some peoples idea
output costs to a certain degree - by slashing their costs of a great night out, but there will be a hard payback in
to as low as is practical and sustainable (and below this the future for our indulgence today. Living beyond our
level, for some, by stinting on maintenance). They can means in the past means present expense: Interest on
control the input revenue to a small degree by trying to the US governments US$20trillion debt currently runs
put their prices up: Depending on the market conditions at around US233bn/year5 - money that could be better
and the level of competition they may be more or less put to use elsewhere. Living beyond our means today
successful in increasing their income. Cement compa- means future expense - for us or our children. We are
nies can also borrow money on the markets, through the truly stealing from the future.
issuance of bonds or through creating and selling shares. Its the same for all of us: for governments, companies
The larger the company, in general, then the lower will and families. Perhaps we should all try to be kinder to
be its borrowing costs. However, if a company is not seen our future selves.
as a good financial risk (for example because it already 1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usury
has a very high level of borrowing, or if its business is in
2 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/01/02/fears-massive-global-
negative- or low-growth countries) then its finance cost
property-price-crash-amid-dangerous-conditions/
will be that much higher. In these cases, it makes sense
for a company to reduce its borrowing level (for example 3 http://www.forbes.com/sites/adammillsap/2016/06/01/public-pensions-are-
states-biggest-problem/#438c28c630ba
by decreasing dividends, by cutting costs further, and/or
by paying off debts using funds raised through a divest- 4 https://ir.citi.com/A9PruMxsx32cucD9nPyz6VOD1aXLcqQ1bFnuNFZcDqWVvkop
5NYU6Q%3D%3D
ment programme), or to re-negotiate its financing - for
example to allow debt repayment over a longer period or 5 http://www.fixthedebt.org/everything-about-the-debt

Contents Subscribe
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Yara Environmental Technology AB 53 achim.rott@Yara.com www.yara.com
Next issue: March 2017 Following issue: April 2017

Advertising deadline: 20 February 2017 Advertising deadline: 20 March 2017
Country reports: Brazil & Iran Country reports: East & West Africa, Middle East
Slag, Alternative fuels, Lime projects Environmental protection, Process control, Loading,
Conveying, Chains Optimisation, Packaging, Palletising
Special burners report - Part 2
Event preview: IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference
Event review: Global CemFuels, Barcelona, Spain
Distribution: Interpack, Hannover Fair,
Distribution: 1st Global CemProcess Conference, London, UK 1st Global CemProcess Conference, London, UK
To advertise: Paul Brown - paul.brown@propubs.com +44 (0) 776 74 75 998

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Editorial contributions: editorial@propubs.com +44 (0) 1372 743 837

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February 2017

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Global Cement news Alternative fuels Burners Dosing Filters Cementos Molins Cementos Portland Valderrivas Spain &

s Spain & Portugal

Contents Subscribe Ad Index

FEBRUARY 2017 MAGAZINE

55% MARKET SHARE IN

For more info see: www.loesche.com

DALOG IFC,3 Feb 2017.indd 1 23/01/2017 13:59

DALOG IFC,3 Feb 2017.indd 2 23/01/2017 13:59

EasyFairs SOLIDS SCHTTGUT

Experts for the bulk material

For over 90 years, KettenWulf, as an expanding global company, has stood

Reclaimer Chains for Chains for Sprockets for the

KettenWulf Betriebs GmbH T + 49.(0)2973.801-0 service@kettenwulf.com

This issues front cover... FEBRUARY 2017 MAGAZINE

Loesche GmbH Hansaallee 243 D-40549 Duesseldorf

www.GlobalCement.com Global Cement Magazine February 2017 5

Weima DPS Feb 2017.indd 2 23/01/2017 14:01

Global Cement articles

12 sive rundown of different burner types, tracing major design

23 Lean gases for cement production

24 26 Maximising dust filtration efficiency

30 A framework for the classification of bulk

34 New technology improvements in kiln

36 Product and Contract News

Euro29m upgrade for Ribblesdale; New Russian plant for

42 Cementos Molins - Sant Vicen dels Horts plant:

48 Grupo Cementos Portland Valderrivas Santa

55 The cement industries of the Iberian Peninsula

Cement in the Americas

Middle East and African cement

Regulars and comment

71 Global Cement prices

72 Subscription form for Global Cement Magazine

73 The Last Word

74 Advertiser Index & Forthcoming issue features

2nd Global SynGyp Conference

1st Global CemProcess Conference

robecco dust control RDC 12th Global Slag Conference

IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference

12th Global Insulation Conference

25-26 September 2017, Krakw, Poland

26-28 September 2017, Nrnberg, Germany

17th Global Gypsum Conference

www.robecco.de More information on all events at...

robecco GmbH Download 2017 Media Infomation from

Theres no such thing as a perfect burner...

T he purpose of this article is to help kiln engineers

Right: FCT TurboJet.

Far right: Dynamis D-Flame

12 Global CementMagazine February 2017 www.GlobalCement.com

A users perspective Using 100% of solid AF;

E ric Bourdon, Vicats Director of Performance

www.GlobalCement.com Global Cement Magazine February 2017 13

Right: FLSmidth Duoflex.

Far right: Pillard Novaflam.

Case-study: Increasing AF substitution at CBRs Antoing plant in Belgium

T he following example was given by Jean-Luc

14 Global CementMagazine February 2017 www.GlobalCement.com

WHY CHOOSE THE FLSMIDTH JETFLEX BURNER?

16293 JETFLEX HELSIDES ANNONCE_RENTEGNET.indd 1 13/09/16 11:15

16 Global CementMagazine February 2017 www.GlobalCement.com

Towards 100% solid alternative fuels

Global Cement Magazine February 2017 17

Overlooked and practical issues

2nd Global SynGyp Conference

1st Global CemProcess Conference

robecco dust control RDC 12th Global Slag Conference

12th Global Insulation Conference

17th Global Gypsum Conference

A users perspective Using 100% of solid AF;