Cement News tagged under: manufacturing technology

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The promise of carbon capture

13 August 2014, Published under Cement News

As cement companies consider ways to lower their CO2 emissions, carbon capture is expected to provide a key component of their efforts. While first-generation carbon capture technologies have been around for application in other sectors, the cement industry continues to look for an economical way to capture carbon that is also suitable for use in cement plants worldwide. By Charles Kline & John Kline, Kline Consulting LLC, USA. Figure 1: overview of broad categories of CO2 capture tec...

Intelligent design

05 August 2014, Published under Cement News

Mechanical ship unloaders with screw conveyors can provide a highly-efficient solution to discharge cement from ships. The technology offers benefits such as low energy consumption and maintenance as well as a dust-free unloading operation. Materials handling specialist IBAU Hamburg shares its experience in designing road-mobile screw-type ship unloaders. Figure 1: a mechanical ship unloader To carry out their unloading tasks efficiently, road-mobile screw-type ship unloaders ha...

Mitigating carriage risks

28 July 2014, Published under Cement News

Cement is a notoriously-difficult cargo to transport. To ensure cement is transported without any insurance claims, several precautions need to be taken. These range from product loss issues to health and safety considerations. Marine insurer Skuld shares its extensive experience in loss prevention. By Nikita Lulla, Skuld, Hong Kong. Cement cargoes present specific shipping demands due to their hydrophobic nature Cement cargoes, which account for about five per cent of dry bulk ...

Alite size

16 July 2014, Published under Cement News

The practical implications following microscopic examination discussed in the April 2013 issue of ICR showed that the interpretation of alite size is not a simple matter. We take a closer look at the relationship between burning conditions, alite crystal size and cement quality. Figure 1: alite crystals averaging 35µm Several factors come into play when considering alite size including flame length and temperature, nucleation, production and kiln conditions, chemical factors, si...

Moving the goal posts

07 July 2014, Published under Cement News

Although the cement industry increasingly uses alternative fuels such as refuse-derived fuel (RDF), biomass and sewage, the high water content of these fuels places a ceiling on their maximum share in a cement plant’s fuel mix. However, economical drying technology can extend the contribution of such fuels and move the goal posts in alternative fuel use. By Tema Process BV, The Netherlands. Fluid bed dryers can help reduce the moisture content of RDF enabling a wider use of such fuels...

Mineral resources & reserves

24 June 2014, Published under Cement News

In general, mineral resources that have a strong geological continuity such as limestone for cement manufacturing require less exploration work than deposits in the metallic and non-metallic mineral industries (MNMI). World-class cement producers and mineral processing companies estimate and classify their mineral resources and reserves with varying degrees of effort and cost. But it is clear that cement producers are lagging well behind the current standards set by the MNMI in this respect....

Problems with cement

17 June 2014, Published under Cement News

There are many causes for complaints about cement quality from customers, some more justified than others. A brief review of some common perceived issues indicates that a deeper look at the potential causes for problems may help reduce the incidence of complaints. Problems with concrete cracking Over a six-month period the complaints from customers of a single cement plant were categorised and 69 per cent of the complaints were found to relate to service matters, typically late ...

Going under cover

09 June 2014, Published under Cement News

Metal dome technology has ’covered’ an entire world of clinker, cement and raw materials facilities. During the handling of large volumes of dry bulk materials, cement companies are increasingly looking for ways to contain dust and other emissions that are both economical and environmentally-responsible. Until recently these two key benchmarks often appeared diametrically opposed, but advanced storage technology has succesfully enabled cement producers to meet these requirements. By Melanie ...

Specifying raw materials

28 May 2014, Published under Cement News

Aiming for a tighter raw material specification may not necessarily be the best option for a cement plant looking to improve the economics or quality of its final product. Drawing up such a specification is a balancing act where changes in one raw material can lead to further changes to other parts of the raw mix. Designing the right raw material specification offers valuable opportunities to the cement works At most cement plants where the author has had some responsibility for...

Home clean and dry

12 May 2014, Published under Cement News

Cement by its very nature requires safe, waterproof and dust-free storage solutions. Modern bagging techniques offer all three. Ahead of processing and packaging trade fair interpack 2014 – to be held in Düsseldorf, Germany, over 8-14 May – ICR takes a look at the latest technologies on offer. The Arodo Arovac vacuum bagging system produces fully de-aerated plastic packs without any perforations, which allows each individual pack to be stored or placed in the most arduous of wea...