Lafarge has completed a CAD20m (US$15.3m) modernisation project at its Exshaw plant in Alberta. The works focussed on improving the plant’s environmental impact but also nearly doubled output from 1.3Mta to 2.2Mta.

The retrofit was carried out on the plant’s kiln No. 5, alongside the construction of a new state-of-the-art kiln No. 6. While completing this project, which was started in 2013, one of the plant’s older kilns had to be decommissioned. 

Amongst the environmental measures put into place, Lafarge installed a baghouse connected to kiln No. 6, a storage structure referred to as the ‘EcoDome’ and a preheater tower. All the renovations work towards meeting new emissions targets are expected to reduce sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions by 60 and 40 per cent, respectively.