Cement News tagged: Environmental
Batisoke secures loan for sustainable energy generation, Turkey
Turkish cement producer Batisoke Cimento Sanayii has secured a EUR10m loan from local lender Akbank under the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's (EBRD) facility to promote energy efficiency. The 7.5 year loan will be provided by Akbank under the Euro Turkey Mid-Size Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (MidSEFF) of the EBRD, Batisoke said in a bourse filing. The EBRD ai...
USA: conservation group eyes Davenport cement plant
Los Altos-based Sempervirens Fund, one of several conservation groups to recently secure 8500 mountainous acres above the Davenport cement facility, formerly owned by Cemex, is interested in acquiring the plant site as part of an ambitious plan to permanently protect the sparsely populated, postcard-beautiful coastal mountains above Santa Cruz. The idea is in the very early stages, but Sempe...
USA: Lehigh Cement may face new challenge to quarrying rights
Lehigh Cement may face a challenge to its legal rights to mine on approximately 13 of 19 parcels of land at the cement facility and quarry located just outside Cupertino. The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District is hoping to overturn a 2011 decision by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors to allow Lehigh cement to operate on the land in dispute. Crucially the supervisors' dec...
Heidelberg updates on sustainability efforts
HeidelbergCement has released its 2011/2012 Sustainability Report, highlighting topics and challenges for the German cement major in its drive for sustainable development. The new report, entitled "Foundations" also details the company's continous efforts and achievements such as reducing specific net CO2 emissions by 21 per cent and increasing its alternative fuels rate to 21.7 per cent. S...
Cimentos de Mocambique to improve air pollution control
Cimentos de Mocambique has signed a contract for the manufacture and installation of a filter to reduce the emissions from its cement factory in the southern city of Matola. The filter will be made by American company AAF and will be installed next year. According to CM spokesperson Sergio Bandeira, "protecting the environment and the health and well-being of the residents of Matola and the ...
Andhra Pradesh orders plant closure, India
The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) has ordered the closure of India Cements Ltd factory at Yerraguntla for non-compliance of regulatory standards, resulting in the pollution of surrounding areas. It has also initiated action against four other factories in the district citing the same grounds. The closure order was issued in the interest of protecting public health and enviro...
India Cements unit is ordered to close
The Pollution Control Board (PCB) has ordered the closure of India Cements Ltd's Yerraguntla plant and initiated action against four more cement factories in Kadapa district, for non-compliance of the Board directions and standards as well as causing severe air pollution in surrounding areas. The closure order was given in the interest of protecting public health and environment. The factory...
Holcim Foundation's US$2m competition
Holcim Philippines has announced the start of its 4th International Holcim Awards on Sustainable Construction. The search is now on for the best ideas on how the construction industry can improve sustainability with a grand prize of US$2m awaiting the competition winner. A global independent panel of experts from renowned technical universities will validate the entries. Beng Prado, vice pres...
Cuba’s Siguaney produces first low-carbon cement
Siguaney saw its first low-carbon cement produced on an industrial scale. The Cuban cement plant in Sancti Spíritus delivered a pilot output of 130t of SIG-B45 cement, according to the Structures & Materials R&D Centre (CIDEM) director, Fernando Martirena. The development of the so-called Ecological Cement started in May with the firing of 120t of kaolin of the Pontezuela quarry in Camagüey...
India: industry targets 25% TSR by 2030
The Indian cement industry is failing to realise the potential for alternative fuels and raw material utilisation (AFR), but resolves to raise the thermal substitution rate (TSR) to 25 per cent by 2030, from the current level of less than one per cent. This was the conclusion of a two-day conference on co-processing in cement plants, convened by the Washington-based Institute for Industrial...
ARM Cement denies pollution claims
ARM Cement has denied claims of causing environmental pollution in the Kenyan coastal town of Kilifi, saying that its operations meet international practices and standards. CEO Pradeep Paunrana assured the residents living within the cement maker’s proximity that they are not exposed to pollution caused by cement manufacturing from its process. “Operations are pollution-free within and witho...
Cemex plants earn US Energy Star Certification
Cemex USA announced that five of its cement plants have earned the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star Certification. The recognition of CEMEX USA’s plants in Brooksville (FL), Miami (FL), Clinchfield (GA), Fairborn (OH) and Victorville (CA), ranks these facilities as performing among the top 25 per cent of similar US facilities for energy conservation. 2013 marks the seven...
Pakistan export earnings rise in FY12-13
In the fiscal year ending 30 June 2013, Pakistan exported 9.073Mt of cement on revenues of US$577.73m compared to 8.748Mt at US$498.84m in the corresponding period of last year. These latest figures from Pakistan’s Federal Bureau of Statistics show that export volumes rose by 3.71 per cent while in dollar value terms, they were 15.81 per cent higher compared to the comparative period a year ea...
Lafarge delays Ravena kiln project until 2017
Lafarge will be allowed to delay the construction of new pollution control systems at its Ravena works in New York in exchange for an agreement to cut emissions more than previously planned. Lafarge had previously reached a legal settlement with both state and federal officials to reduce emissions of NOx and SO2 emissions at its plants in Ravena and elsewhere in the state. Lafarge had agreed ...
CSI reports encouraging carbon reduction data
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)’s Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) has published the latest update to the ‘Getting the Numbers Right’ database, which shows significant CO2 emissions reductions and improved efficiency. As the cement industry’s global database of CO 2 emissions and performance, the latest ‘Getting the Numbers Right’ (GNR) data for 2011 sho...
Hima Cement completes installation of new bag filter, Uganda
Hima Cement Ltd, part of the Lafarge group, has completed the installation of new bag filter technology at its Kasese plant in Uganda to bring stack emissions in line with global environmental standards. "We invested significant resources to conduct environmental impact assessments to ensure that the plant operations met all the required environmental standards for its manufacturing processes...