Most cement plants in Ukraine use natural gas to fuel the clinker burning process, but this energy source is no longer economically viable due to the downturn of the country’s cement sector and the steep increase in the price of gas. Two years ago, Buzzi Unicem approved a large investment project to convert the plants to use coal as the main fuel rather than gas, which came to fruition in mid-2010.

 A Pfeiffer MPS 200 K coal mill from the Neubeckum (Germany) plant was installed at Yug, and a Pfeiffer MPS 280 raw mill from Lengerich (Germany), which was converted to grind coal, was installed at Volyn.

These mills represent the main part of the project, which nonetheless required the installation of other large equipment. The entire plant is equipped with the latest dedusting technology, accompanied by safety devices, state-of-the-art process control technology, plus the installation of a sophisticated heating system and an unloading system for the wagons (by tipping).

The two mills were placed into operation in exactly the same manner because our technicians used the same engineering and mainly the same suppliers for the most important components of both projects. Within a few days from starting production, the Yug cement plant was able to replace 70% of the methane used by petcoke, while at Volyn petcoke replaced 75% of the methane used in a short time.