Saudi Arabia is improving its environmental record by enforcing stricter emissions targets for cement producers. Many of the older plants are modernising their dust control technology. Eastern Cement recently invited FLSmidth to reduce its particle emissions and increase its filter efficiency by installing two new fabric filters on two of its kiln lines and by converting two ESP units into bag filters for the alkali bypass system. Dr Ahsen Hussain, FLSmidth A/S Airtech – Air Pollution Control, Denmark, takes us through the project.
Eastern Province Cement Company (Eastern Cement) in Saudi Arabia clearly needed to adhere to the government’s pollution regulations, but the plant’s existing ESP solution simply was not doing the job. Eastern Cement’s goal was ambitious: a reduction of particle emissions below 15mg/Nm3 dry gas for two of the plant’s older kiln lines and alkali bypass filters.
Located in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia, Eastern Cement has its headquarters in Dammam, while the plant is located roughly 165km further north, in Al Khursaniya. Until FLSmidth entered the scene, each kiln dedusting at Eastern Cement was handled by three electrostatic precipitators (ESPs), while each alkali bypass dedusting was processed by a smaller ESP. All the ESPs were yielding substantially-high emission levels, making intervention necessary.
