May 2020

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 CONTENTS
03 Comment ALTERNATIVE FUELS
05 News 53 Automating Alternative Fuels
WALTER Materials Handling presents a case study
REGIONAL REPORT: CHINA involving the commissioning of an automated alternative
10 Checking In On China fuels co-processing system for a cement plant in UAE.
Qu Jiaosheng & Fu Lijuan, CBME, and Cui Yuansheng &
Tian Guiping, ITIBMI, provide an overview of the Chinese 57 All Wrapped Up
cement market, analysing its present situation and future Panu Kantosalo, Cross Wrap, outlines how automatic
prospects. bale wrappers and bale openers could improve the
way cement manufacturers handle, transport and store
DIGITALISATION & INDUSTRY 4.0 alternative fuels.
19 On The Road To Digitalisation
Mark Yseboodt, Siemens, investigates some of the FANS
cornerstone technologies of the cement industry’s digital 62 Cement Plant Superfans
future. Dr John Irons, Halifax Fan UK, and Diane Wang,
Halifax Fan China, provide an overview of how clinker
23 Sustainability Through Data cooler and sinter fans operate in cement plants.
Martin Provencher, OSIsoft, explains the importance
of embracing digital transformation for the long-term GENERAL INTEREST
sustainability of businesses. 67 Getting Creative With Crusher Dust
P. Ponnusamy, Lelin Das, Praseeja Shankaran, &
27 Digitising Data Mukesh K. Mishra, Dalmia Cement Research Centre,
Karli Langner, Command Alkon, explains how companies consider the environmental and economic feasibility of
can utilise digital platforms to facilitate collaboration among crusher dust-based geopolymer concrete.
trading partners and an improved workflow.
71 Building A Bench Of Talent
31 Progress In Real-Time World Cement sat down with Marc Elliott and Allan Clark,
Len Eros, ABB Motion, outlines how digitalisation can Eaton, to discuss how the company is educating the next
improve safety, reduce costs and maximise production generation in order to tackle the growing skills gap in the
uptime in cement plants. cement industry.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL 75 European Equipment Manufacturers Review

35 Uncovering The True Cost 2020
Nathan Schindler, Evonik Corp. and Keith Ogilvie, World Cement Editor, David Bizley, provides a review
National Filter Media Corporation, examine the true cost of some of the leading European cement equipment
of ownership of cement plant baghouses. manufacturers.

40 The Know-How On Nuisance Filters

Giorgio Radaelli, RD42, outlines the potential issues
caused by nuisance filters and provides guidance on how
to overcome them.

49 Wild About Wildlife

May 2020

Travis J. Reed, Argos, discusses how adopting the Wildlife

Habitat Certification (WHC) voluntary programme for Argos’
cement plants and terminals is helping the company to achieve
its sustainability and environmental conservation goals.

ON THE COVER
Digitalisation is a very broad concept and its applications in the cement industry are
countless. Still, the bread and butter of cement companies remains their cement
production and here the use of digitalisation is ramping up rapidly. New technologies
such as Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Twins are mentioned in the
same breath as Raw Mill, Kiln and Cement Plant.
For more information, visit: siemens.com/cement
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 COMMENT
Managing Editor: James Little DAVID BIZLEY, EDITOR
james.little@palladianpublications.com

A
Editor: David Bizley nother month on and the COVID-19
david.bizley@palladianpublications.com
(coronavirus) pandemic continues to
Editorial Assistant: Emily Thomas dominate headlines around the world.
emily.thomas@palladianpublications.com
Here in Western Europe at least, there
Contributing Editor: Paul Maxwell-Cook appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel
– numbers of new confirmed cases are generally
Production: Gabriella Bond
gabriella.bond@palladianpublications.com stabilising (or even declining) as stringent
lockdown measures take effect.
Sales Director: Rod Hardy
rod.hardy@palladianpublications.com Indeed, lockdown measures have had such a dramatic impact on the
daily lives of so many of us that serious questions are being raised about
Sales Manager: Ian Lewis
ian.lewis@palladianpublications.com when things will eventually return to normal. In many countries, social
distancing policies are likely to remain in place (at least in part) until a
Website Manager: Tom Fullerton
tom.fullerton@palladianpublications.com cure to the virus is found. With no vaccine expected until 2021 at the
Digital Editorial Assistant: Imogen Poole
earliest, that could mean many months with continued restrictions on
imogen.poole@palladianpublications.com travel, social gatherings, and other aspects of our daily lives that were
Administration Manager: Laura White once taken for granted.
laura.white@palladianpublications.com This has to be managed carefully, however. Aside from the already
Reprints obvious economic damage that these policies have caused, continued
reprints@worldcement.com
restrictions on freedoms will inevitably breed discontent – even in
Germany, poster child for an otherwise successful response to the virus,
there have been gatherings and protests over the continued lockdown.
In the last few days, France, Italy, and Spain have all announced
tentative proposals to relax lockdown restrictions, with schools and
SUBSCRIPTIONS some businesses being gradually reopened over the course of the year.
Annual subscription (published monthly): £160 UK And then there is the question of whether things should return to
including postage/£175 ( 245) overseas (postage
airmail)/US$280 USA/Canada (postage airmail).
normal. CO2 emissions from China dropped by 25% at the peak of the
Two year subscription (published monthly): £256 UK
including postage/£280 ( 392) overseas (postage
country’s response to the pandemic and have still yet to return to normal
airmail)/US$448 USA/Canada (postage airmail). levels; Carbon Brief estimates that the pandemic will have resulted in
Claims for non receipt of issues must be made within
4 months of publication of the issue or they will not a CO2 emissions reduction of roughly 2000 million t, some 5.5% of
be honoured without charge.
2019’s total global output and the lowest ever decline in emissions,
Applicable only to USA and Canada:
WORLD CEMENT (ISSN No: 0263-6050,
including periods of conflict or other economic crises. Demand for
USPS No: 020-996) is published monthly by energy in the UK has declined by 20% compared to the same period
Palladian Publications, GBR and is distributed in
the USA by Asendia USA, 17B S Middlesex Ave, in 2019, allowing the country to run for 18 consecutive days without a
Monroe NJ 08831.
single Kilowatt produced by coal power – the longest period since the
Periodicals postage paid New Brunswick, NJ
and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER:
industrial revolution. Wildlife across many countries has also benefited
send address changes to World Cement, 701C from reduced human activity – with species no longer having to compete
Ashland Ave, Folcroft PA 19032
with traffic or people impacting their habitats.
Copyright © Palladian Publications Ltd 2019. All
rights reserved. No part of this publication may Rest assured, I’m not advocating that we throw away the benefits
be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
of industrialised civilisation and return to the wilderness to live as our
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
distant ancestors once did, but in addition to highlighting the fragility of
All views expressed in this journal are those of the modern society, the pandemic has also shone a light on the impact that
respective contributors and are not necessarily the
opinions of the publisher, neither do the publishers humanity has on the natural world. We have been presented with an
endorse any of the claims made in the articles or
the advertisements. Uncaptioned images courtesy of unexpected opportunity to think about how we want the future to be.
Adobe Stock. Printed in the UK.
If you’d like to hear from industry experts on how cement plants can
Palladian Publications Ltd
15 South Street, Farnham, Surrey reduce their environmental impact through the latest technologies and
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Tel +44 (0)1252 718999
best practices, make sure to attend EnviroTech 2020, an international
Fax +44 (0)1252 718992
Email: mail@worldcement.com
online conference taking place on 14 July. Register to attend at:
Website: www.worldcement.com www.worldcement.com/envirotech2020

May 2020 World Cement 3

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 NEWS
FLSmidth to handle Yanbu Cement
Company’s efficiency upgrades
After concluding several successful projects in
recent years, including an automation upgrade
and retrofit of the burner system in 2018 and
a service agreement in 2019, Yanbu Cement
Company (YCC) signed an agreement in early
2020 for an efficiency upgrade, focusing on
reducing heat and power consumption.
With increased attention on sustainability
in the region, Yanbu, located 400 km north of
Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, has chosen FLSmidth
to provide the equipment and conduct the
installation projected to bring a significant
reduction in heat and power consumption. The
project includes: new top cyclones, cooler
modifications and removal of old ESP filters.
“We are constantly on the lookout for more
efficient ways to run the operation. With a
project like this, we are not only reducing
emissions, we are also cutting costs by
minimising heat and power consumption. It
is a win-win situation,” explains Amr Nader,
COO of Yanbu Cement. “Over the years,
FLSmidth has proven to be a world-class
provider of sustainable solutions and was the
obvious choice to handle these upgrades.”
FLSmidth was pleased to receive the order
from Yanbu as it was a repeat order from a
valued customer. “The order reaffirms our
strong and long-lasting relationship with Yanbu,”
said Martin Paterson, Head of Upgrade Sales
at FLSmidth. “We know the site and expect
equipment to be delivered, installed and
commissioned by the end of 2020,” Paterson
concluded.
GCP Applied Technologies presents
‘2020 Vision for a Sustainable Future’
GCP Applied Technologies, a leading global
provider of construction products and
technologies, has presented its ‘2020 Vision for
a Sustainable Future.’
“All of us at GCP are committed to
environmental and social stewardship, and we
are pleased to share our vision for a sustainable
future,” said GCP Applied Technologies CEO,
Randy Dearth. “As a leading manufacturer of
construction technology products, we have
May 2020 World Cement
a responsibility to make the building process
more sustainable. This mission is driving us
to develop and deliver products that help
our customers reduce their carbon footprint,
decrease waste, and improve the durability of
the structures they create. In addition to the
societal and environmental reasons to do so,
there is profound financial value to placing
sustainability at the centre of how we work.”
From new homes to major infrastructure
projects, construction has a significant impact
on our environment. GCP’s 2020 Vision for
a Sustainable Future highlights three core
sections:
f Products: GCP product development,
using technology and chemistry to develop
solutions to reduce waste and increase
efficiency.
f People: GCP employees who are working
to build better communities across the
globe.
f Processes: GCP’s efforts to reduce the
environmental impact of its manufacturing
plants.
“To be successful, sustainability must be
infused into all that we do,” said Karen Ethier,
GCP Applied Technologies Vice President
of Environment, Health, Safety, and Quality.
“GCP’s sustainability goals are to operate
our business in a way that is conscious of
protecting the environment and to continue
to innovate in ways that support sustainable
construction. We look forward to sharing these
positive outcomes.”
CEMEX USA receives award for
long-standing commitment to
sustainability
CEMEX USA has been recognised as
2020 US EPA ENERGY STAR® Partner of
the Year – Sustained Excellence, marking the
second consecutive year the company has
been honoured for its energy management and
long-standing commitment to sustainability.
The new 2020 ENERGY STAR Partner
of the Year Award is the latest honour by
the US Environmental Protection Agency
and the US Department of Energy that
recognises CEMEX USA’s ongoing and
5
 NEWS
active participation in the ENERGY STAR programme. Last year,
DIARY CEMEX USA was named 2019 EPA ENERGY STAR Partner
of the Year for Energy Management with two CEMEX USA
cement plants earning ENERGY STAR Certification. Since
Exclusive World Cement 2007, CEMEX USA operations have earned more than
Online Conference: 50 ENERGY STAR certifications.
EnviroTech 2020 “Sustainability is embedded in our day-to-day operations at
14 July 2020 CEMEX and is an integral part of our core business strategy,” said
www.worldcement.com/ CEMEX USA President, Jaime Muguiro. “Energy conservation
envirotech2020 is part of our vision as we are building a better future and
believe it is our responsibility to vigorously practice energy
management through ongoing initiatives and the use of alternative
12th Africa Cementrade fuels. We are proud to be recognised again for our efforts
Summit as EPA ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year and applaud our
16 – 17 September 2020 operations for consistently working to make a difference.”
Abidjan, Cote D’ivoire The ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence
www.cmtevents.com Award is the highest honour among ENERGY STAR awards.
EPA presents the Sustained Excellence Award to partners
that have already received ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year
POWTECH 2020 recognition for a minimum of two consecutive years and have gone
29 September above and beyond the criteria needed to qualify for recognition.
– 01 October 2020 “I salute the 2020 ENERGY STAR award winners,” said
Nuremberg, Germany Anne Idsal, EPA Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for Air
www.powtech.de and Radiation. “These leaders demonstrate how energy efficiency
drives economic competitiveness in tandem with environmental
protection.”
ILA General Assembly
and Symposium 2020 New board members to be proposed at LafargeHolcim
14 – 16 October 2020 Annual General Meeting 2020
Paris, France Two new members will be proposed for election to the
www.internationallime.org Board of Directors of LafargeHolcim at its Annual General
Meeting of shareholders, which is scheduled to take place in May.
The Board of Directors of LafargeHolcim will request
AUCBM AICCE25 its shareholders to approve the appointment of
01 – 03 December 2020 Professor Dr. Philippe Block and Mr. Kim Fausing as new
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia members at the Annual General Meeting, adding perspectives
www.aucbm.net from academia and the building industry to the board.
Professor Dr. Philippe Block, Belgian national, born in
1980, is Professor of Architecture and Structure at the
SOLIDS & RECYCLING- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Switzerland.
TECHNIK Dortmund 2020 He is the Founder and Co-Director of the Block Research Group
17 – 18 March, 2021 at ETH where his research focuses on the analysis of
Dortmund, Germany unreinforced masonry structures, structural design, computational
www.solids-dortmund.de form finding, and new construction techniques. He is also
the Director of the Swiss National Centre of Competence
in Research (NCCR) for Digital Fabrication. Since 2014, he
has served on the Academic Committee of the LafargeHolcim
Foundation for Sustainable Construction.

6 World Cement May 2020

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 NEWS
Mr. Kim Fausing, Danish national born in
1964, began his professional career with the
Hilti Group in Denmark 1990. He went on
to run its operations, then took over country
operations in Austria and Japan before
becoming Division President at its headquarters
in Liechtenstein. In 2007 Mr. Kim Fausing
moved to the Danish Danfoss Group to
assume the role of Chief Operating Officer.
In January 2008 he became a member of its
executive committee, which he has chaired
since July 2017 as President and CEO.
Except for Paul Desmarais, Jr., all other
existing members of the board will stand for
re-election, with Mr. Beat Hess remaining
as Chairman. Beat Hess, Chairman of the
Board of Directors, said, “On behalf of the
entire Board of Directors I would like to
thank Paul Desmarais, Jr., for his generous
contributions over the past years. He will be
missed. At the same time, I am glad we can
propose these two outstanding candidates.
I’m confident they would strengthen our
board’s expertise by adding vast experience
with multinational corporations as well as the
perspective of a renowned academic who has
focused on creating sustainable solutions.”
In addition to the votes on election and
re-election of the Board of Directors,
shareholders will also be asked to vote on
compensation and to consider a dividend
proposal of CHF 2.00 per registered share
of LafargeHolcim Ltd, to be paid from foreign
capital contribution reserves and not subject to
Swiss withholding tax.
GlobalData forecasts disruption for
construction industry in Eastern and
Western Europe
Construction activity across Eastern Europe
slowed markedly in 2019 and in 2020 output
will be severely impacted by COVID-19
containment measures. GlobalData now
expects growth in the region to drop to -1.4%
in 2020.
Moustafa Ali, Economist at GlobalData,
comments: “The outlook for the
8 World Cement May 2020
Eastern European construction industry is
less severe than in Western Europe, as the
region has not suffered to the same extent as
major markets such as Italy, France and Spain.
While the impact of the virus has so far been
limited, the health situation is expected to
deteriorate in the coming months. The major
Eastern European construction markets are set
for severe disruption in the first half of 2020.”
The Polish construction sector is expected
to suffer disruption as several contractors
operating in the country have announced site
closures in response to the outbreak. Russian
construction output is expected to contract as
the virus outbreak coupled with low oil prices
will lead to project delays and cancellations in
the coming months. Turkey’s construction sector
is set to face disruption in the first half of 2020.
Ali notes: “Industrial construction has so far
been the most impacted sector with several
manufacturers including Ford and Honda
announcing site closures.”
The company also forecasts that the
Western European construction industry will
contract by 5.1% in 2020, a sharp downward
revision from the 0.7% expansion forecasted
in the Q4 2019 update. A further downward
revision of the forecast is likely if containment
measures are extended in the coming weeks.
Moustafa Ali, Economist at GlobalData,
comments: “Governments across the region
have responded to the virus outbreak
by imposing strict lockdown measures,
including the closure of construction sites
in ‘non-essential’ sectors. Several major
contractors have issued profit warnings,
suspended dividend payments to shareholders
and cut staff salaries amid the project delays
and site closures.”
“The measures imposed have led to severe
disruption in key markets. In the UK, it is
estimated that one in five construction sites
have been closed since mid-March. In France,
although the construction industry has been
exempt from the nationwide lockdown that has
been in place since mid-March, projects appear
to have been severely disrupted.”
 Checking in 
I
n recent years, China’s
cement industry has
entered a stage of relative
concentration after a
period of reorganisation and
association. The evolution of
cement output shows a general
trend of fluctuation and decline.
10
While the industry continues to
reduce capacity, the competitive
advantages of leading cement
enterprises are further
highlighted, and a competitive
pattern of ‘two super and many
strong’ has begun to emerge in
the industry.
Qu Jiaosheng & Fu Lijuan, CBME,1 and
Cui Yuansheng & Tian Guiping, ITIBMI,2
provide an overview of the Chinese
cement market, analysing its present
situation and future prospects.

11
7:-: 67-55A
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The cement industry enters a
7: 65-55A
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downtrend fluctuation stage
79-6 79 =-55A
79
;-65A From the perspective of output
78-: ;-55A
78-: :-=8A 78-7 78-8 growth, China’s overall cement output
9-55A
78 7->5A maintained stable growth momentum
7-68A 7-55A
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76-= 76-= 5-55A
77 output in 2014, supply exceeded
.7-55A
76-: demand due to excess capacity. From
.8-88A
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75-: .;-58A .;-55A
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75 .=-55A
7567 7568 7569 756: 756; 756< 756= 756> demand showed a downward trend.
 !%*  #$%
Cement output fell from a peak of
2.476 billion t in 2014 to 2.18 billion t in
Figure 1. Chinese cement output from 2012 – 2019 2018. Since then it has been fluctuating
(Unit: 100 Mt). in an overall downward
trend (Figure 1). The
Table 1. The world’s top 10 cement companies (by capacity) in 2019. process is expected to
Rank Company Capacity (100 Mt) Of capacity (%) continue until 2030 or
2035, when China’s
China National Building Materials
1 5.21 11.52 population will peak at
Group Corporation Co., Ltd
1.45 billion (1.5 billion at
2 Conch Cement Co., Ltd 3.53 7.81 most). After this point, with
zero population growth,
3 LafargeHolcim 3.05 6.75
China’s demand for cement
4 HeidelbergCement 1.96 4.34 will fall back sharply to
a stable minimum. It is
5 CEMEX 0.93 2.06
expected to produce about
6 UltraTech Cement 0.90 1.99 1 billion t, roughly half of
China Resources Cement Holdings,
current output.
7
Ltd
0.83 1.84 China’s total cement
output in 2019 was
8 Taiwan Cement Corp. 0.81 1.79 2.33 billion t (about
9 Votorantim 0.70 1.55
1.66 t per capita), and
increased 6.1% y/y. From
10 CRH 0.63 1.39 the perspective of the
Total 18.55 41.03 six regions of China’s
cement production, output
in northeast China grew
Table 2. Clinker capacity of China’s Top 10 Cement Enterprises in 2012 – 2018
the fastest year-on-year
(Unit: 104 t, %).
with a growth rate of
Rank Company
Clinker capacity
Company Clinker capacity 2018
13%. The main reason is
2012 that the north-south price
China National Building China National Building gap continues to widen,
1 27 974 39 020
Materials Group Co., Ltd Materials Group Co., Ltd leading to a large amount of
cement in northeast China
2 Conch Cement Co., Ltd 15 863 Conch Cement Co., Ltd 21 077
going south, leading to the
3 Sinoma 7200 Jidong Cement Co., Ltd 10 481
improvement of capacity
utilisation rates amongst
4 Jidong Cement Co., Ltd 6997 China Resources Cement 6495 cement enterprises in
5 China Resources Cement 5423 Huaxin Cement Co., Ltd 6231
northeast China. Second
was east China, where
6 Huaxin Cement Co., Ltd 4211 Sunnsy Cement Group 5342 growth was 9.4 % y/y,
7 Sunnsy Cement Group 4106 Red Lion Group 4952
mainly due to a strong local
economy and high demand
8 Taiwan Cement Corp. 3581 Taiwan Cement Corp. 4067 for infrastructure.
9 Jinyu Group 3216 Tianrui Group Cement 3395
Of the country’s 31
provinces, only five reported
10 Tianrui Group Cement 3023 Asia Cement Corporation 2062 negative year-on-year
growth: Beijing, Hainan,
% of total capacity 51 % of total capacity 57
Henan, Guizhou and Qinghai.

12 World Cement May 2020

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Twenty-six provinces recorded positive
year-on-year growth, among which Jilin, Xizang,
Gansu, Shandong, Liaoning, Shanxi, Jiangsu
and Anhui all achieved double-digit growth.
In 2019, China’s cement clinker output
repeated a record high of 1.52 billion t. At
the same time, annual imports of clinker were
more than 20 million t. Therefore, China’s
actual consumption of cement clinker reached
1.54 billion t in 2019.
The formation of the ‘two super and
many strong’ pattern
In August 2019, the world’s top 10 cement
enterprises ranked by production capacity
accounted for 41.03% of global cement
production capacity (4.521 billion t). Four
of them are Chinese enterprises, including
Taiwan Cement, and have a combined capacity
of 1.038 billion t, accounting for nearly 56%
of the total capacity of the top 10 and 23%
of global capacity. Conch cement jumped to
second place ahead of LafargeHolcim, and
Taiwan Cement moved up one place from last
year, displacing Votorantim. The rest of the
cement companies were in the same position as
the previous year.
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:-85A 79-86A
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Figure 2. Capacity distribution of cement clinker in various
regions of China in 2019.
Figure 3. Changes of the proportion of investment in
infrastructure and real estate in fixed asset investment in
China from 2010 to 2019.
14
Within the scope of China, a competition
pattern of ‘two super and many strong’ has
emerged in the cement industry, and the leading
agglomeration effect is obvious. ‘Two super’
refers to China Building Materials Group and
Conch Cement, and ‘many strong’ includes
Jinyu Group, China Resources Cement,
Taiwan Cement, Red Lion Group,
Sunnsy Group, Asia Cement, Tianrun Cement,
etc. According to incomplete statistics, the
concentration of China’s top 10 cement
companies has increased from 51% in 2012
to 57% in 2018. With this improvement, the
Chinese cement industry gained its stronger
pricing power, and increased industry profits.
In terms of the distribution of cement
enterprises, there are a large number
of enterprises in east China with fierce
competition and a relatively mature market.
Those enterprises have begun the elimination
of production capacity. Regional restructuring
and supply have formed a new stable cluster.
However, in recent years, a large amount of
new production capacity went into operation in
northwest China. The price of cement is now
at a low stage, so there is still room for further
development.
With regard to the distribution of
clinker capacity, China’s cement clinker
is mainly concentrated in the east,
southwest, central-south and north of
China, accounting for 70% of the total
production capacity. Among them, east
China has the largest proportion of
capacity, accounting for 27%. Its large
enterprises have a high proportion of
market concentration. In second place
is the central-south region, accounting
for 24.31%.
Capacity reduction slowdown;
local supply continues to
increase
According to preliminary statistics
from the information research centre
of the China Cement Association,
there were 16 new clinker production
lines nationwide put into operation
in 2019, with a designed capacity
of 23.72 million tpy. By the end
of 2019, there were 1624 NSP
cement production lines in China,
with a designed clinker capacity of
1.82 billion t and an actual annual
capacity of more than 2 billion t. Total
capacity of clinker is basically the
same as the previous year; the new
clinker capacity from NSP kilns has
had little impact due to the removal
World Cement May 2020
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Figure 4. Market price of P.O 42.5 cement in China (yuan/t)
from 2005 to 2019.
Figure 5. Statistical chart of Chinese export quantity
2012 – 2018.
of old capacity. Cement capacity is roughly
3.7 billion t, with an availability of 63%.
In the implementation of the capacity
replacement policy, a large amount of ‘zombie
capacity’ and ‘invalid capacity’ was replaced
with new projects, resulting in a slow pace of
capacity reduction. Cross-region replacement
may lead to the rapid growth of local supply in
the future and bring significant instability to the
market.
On 3 January 2020, the MIIT issued
‘measures for implementation of the capacity
replacement operation in the cement and glass
industry’, which required that cement clinker
production lines that have been suspended for
2 or 3 years with a cumulative production time
of less than 1 year cannot be used for capacity
replacement, starting from 1 January, 2021.
Measures such as banning ‘zombie capacity’
and ‘invalid capacity’ as replacement indicators
are more conducive to cutting capacity, and
the effectiveness of this will be tested in the
coming year. Some areas began to increase the
ratio of reduction of replacement moderately;
the Inner Mongolia autonomous region has
issued a document requiring clinker production
capacity to follow a replacement ratio of 1:1.5.
In the future, more regions may increase the
proportion of replacement, to encourage
replacement within the province.
Overall, in the next 10 to 15 years, China’s
capacity reduction in cement industry will be a
16
relatively slow process. There are three
main reasons: the first is that per capita
construction and infrastructure in
China is still 5 – 10 times lower than
in Europe. Second, China’s civil
buildings are primarily cement concrete
structures, different from developed
countries where wood accounts for
more than 50%. Third, the poor quality
of construction, which means that the
average building life is only 30 years,
thus resulting in a demand for cement
that is several times higher than in
developed countries.
The policy of cement off-peak
production should be further
implemented and improved
The off-peak production of cement
is an important measure and a policy
innovation. The ‘Guide on promoting
steady growth, structural adjustment
and efficiency enhancement of the
building materials industry’ and the
‘Three-year action plan for winning the
blue sky’ by the state council have been
positively received by the industry.
The reason for off-peak production
is excess capacity. The excess capacity leads
to fierce competition among enterprises that
may harm industry via a price war. Through the
off-peak production method, the market supply
could be reduced, thus raising the market
price, and guaranteeing the industry benefit.
This is the basic feature of China’s cement
industry, and it will continue to follow this path
in 2020 and until 2030, otherwise the industry
will make no profit and cement enterprises will
fail.
Economic background of China’s
cement industry
Investment in real estate and other sectors
exceeded expectations, and infrastructure
investment remained stable
Real estate and infrastructure investment are
the leading drivers of cement demand and
there is still a lot of room for them in the next
5 – 10 years. As can be seen from Figure 3,
since 2013, the proportion of real estate and
infrastructure investment in fixed asset
investment has increased again. In 2016, the
growth began to accelerate, increasing from
42.7% to 47.6% in 2019. This shows that real
estate investment and infrastructure investment
is still an important pillar of economic operation;
it is also the basis for ensuring that cement
demand fluctuates at a high level in the next
10 years.
World Cement May 2020
 Relax,
In 2019, the central government ensured
it’s Venti.
the stable operation of the Chinese economy
by launching a series of measures to
stabilise growth. Infrastructure investment
continued to grow at a low and steady speed.
Despite the country’s adherence to the real
estate regulation policy, real estate development
remains resilient and investment growth
continues to grow at a rapid pace, playing a key
role and supporting the cement demand for the
whole year. On the whole, the performance of
industry-leading enterprises in the third quarter
of 2019 maintained the trend of positive growth
year-on-year, and it is expected that the industry
will continue to enjoy a good profit trend in
2020 and beyond.
According to the national bureau of
statistics, investment in fixed assets (excluding
rural households) nationwide reached
55.15 trillion yuan in 2019, increased by
5.4% y/y, decreased by 0.5% from the same
period last year. Nationwide investment in
infrastructure (excluding electricity) grew by
3.8% y/y. Nationwide investment in real estate
development reached 13.22 trillion yuan,
increased 9.9% y/y and 0.4% higher than the
same period last year. The housing construction
area of real estate development enterprises was
8.938 billion m2, and increased 8.7% y/y. New
housing starts rose 8.5% from a year earlier.

Cement price
We optimise
Starting from March 2016, under a series of
comprehensive measures of limited production your fans.
such as ‘capacity reduction’, ‘industry
restructuring’, ‘coordinated guarantee price’,
‘off-peak production’ and ‘environmental
supervision’ by the government and industry
associations, the price of cement has come With an integrated service ranging from air measurement to
back to life in the past three years, and the flow simulation we optimise your process fans. By installing
profitability of the industry has been greatly
our rotors in existing fan casings, we improve your production
improved. The industry’s profit was only
performance and, at the same time, take care of your wear
32.9 billion yuan in 2015 and 150 billion yuan in
2018. It reached 180 billion yuan in 2019. and vibration problems – even with third-party products.
In 2019, the annual average price of PO 42.5
cement in China was 434 yuan/t, continuing the Tailor-made solution
trend in 2018, standing stable on the platform
of 400 yuan/t and hitting a new record. Improvement of
Since 2005, three years have had an annual
average price of cement higher than 400 yuan/t, operational safety
1
mber t
namely 2011, 2018 and 2019. Ten years’
annual prices are between 300 – 399 yuan/t Increased cost e n u n
Th ceme
and two years were below 300 yuan/t – 2015 effectiveness i n t h e
and 2016 respectively (Figure 4). tr y
indus
Profits after industry restructuring and profits of
large enterprises have reached a record high
In 2019, the price of cement continued to run
at a high level and the benefit to enterprises
improved. This result is not only related to the

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improvement of industry concentration and
the strengthening of market control, but is
also related to the state council’s policies and
measures to cut taxes and fees and support
the development of the real economy. In order
to maintain high economic growth, the route of
relying on infrastructure investment to promote
economic growth still has room for manoeuvre.
The consequence was increased demand for
cement products, leading to record profits in
2019. From January to November, the cement
industry achieved a profit of 171.8 billion yuan,
which is expected to exceed 180 billion yuan for
the whole year.
As of 20 January 2020, according to the
operating performance of some cement
companies announced by the media and
public, most of them have achieved record
performance, and Conch Group has realised a
total profit of 45.22 billion yuan. Jidong Cement
has seen a net profit RMB 2.68 – 2.78 billion,
an increase of 41.03 – 46.29% y/y.
Shangfeng Cement has seen a net profit
of 2.25 – 2.35 billion yuan, a year-on-year
increase of 53 – 60%. Sunnsy Cement
expects a significant year-on-year increase
in profits in 2019. Gezhouba cement
profits hit a new high. The net profit of
Ningxia Building Materials Co., LTD. reached
720 million yuan, with a year-on-year increase
of 68 – 80%; Qilian Mountain has net profit of
1.21 billion yuan, with a year-on-year increase
of 56%.
Import and export
Exports of cement and clinker
Since 2004, with the continuous development
of China’s cement industry, the export of
cement clinker also began to increase rapidly,
and China gradually became a major cement
exporter, reaching an annual export peak of
36 million t in 2006, which accounted for 3%
of the cement output in that year. However, as
China is a country with insufficient per capita
resources, since 2006 when the state cancelled
the tax rebate policy encouraging cement
exports, these exports began to decline year by
year. Total exports of cement and clinker (about
12 million t) are already less than 1% of total
output (Figure 5).
Imports of cement and clinker
In recent years, with the improved
concentration of the domestic cement industry
and the limiting of production to support
value, the market price of cement in some
areas has increased, attracting regional and
seasonal exports of cement and clinker from
neighbouring countries to China. In 2019,
18
China’s imports of cement clinker reached a
record high of 19.235 million t, with Vietnam
providing 80% of that figure.
China’s cement industry outlook in
2020
The year 2020 marks the end of the
13th Five-Year Plan (2016 – 2020) and is
a crucial period for building a moderately
prosperous society in all respects. In 2020, the
stability of the economy will take the lead. It is
expected that the macro economy will strive to
continue to operate within a reasonable range.
In terms of infrastructure construction, the
state has issued special debt quotas for local
governments in advance, lowered the minimum
capital ratio for some infrastructure projects,
accelerated the construction of projects to
strengthen weak links, and promoted the
construction of major projects. As an important
measure for steady growth, infrastructure
investment growth in is expected to pick up.
In terms of real estate, the central government
clarified that real estate would not be used as
a short-term measure to stimulate the economy.
In real estate regulation, ‘stability’ is the main
objective. Infrastructure construction and
real estate will continue to play a strong role
in supporting and pulling cement demand.
Cement demand is also likely to show a slight
year-on-year decline, given the risk factors,
such as: the continued slowdown in fixed-asset
investment growth, increased pressure on local
governments to repay debt, insufficient funds
for major projects, and continued cooling of
land purchases. However, with the aggravation
and spread of the epidemic, the downward
pressure on the economy is increasing. In order
to maintain economic growth and stability, it is
expected that China will increase infrastructure
investment in 2020 to stimulate the economy.
This will have a positive impact on demand
for cement, but given the unpredictability of
epidemic, the impact is expected to fluctuate by
about 3 – 5% in 2020.
2020 is also the last year of ‘the three-year
action plan to win the battle for the protection
of the blue sky’. There will be increasingly
strict measures around pollution control and
road transport overload governance, which
helps ensure regulation of cement supply.
Accordingly, cement prices are expected to
continue rising steadily, and the industry is
expected to maintain its benefits from 2019.
References
1. China National Building Materials Exhibition &
Trade Center.
2. Institute of Technical Information for Building
Materials Industry.
World Cement May 2020
 Mark Yseboodt, Siemens, investigates some of the cornerstone
technologies of the cement industry’s digital future.

igitalisation is a very broad concept and
its applications in the cement industry are
countless. At the corporate level, intelligent
dashboards give a complete overview of
the enterprise with just a simple mouse click.
In the supply chain, extensive data exchanges
between suppliers, producers and customers
result in more efficient logistics. At a financial
level, figures become more transparent than
ever before, allowing resources to be used
more efficiently, and this is only the tip of the
iceberg. The ‘bread and butter’ of a cement
company’s business still lies in cement
production and here the use of digitalisation
is ramping up rapidly. New technologies such
as machine learning, artificial intelligence and
digital twins are mentioned in the same breath
as raw mill, kiln and cement plant.

19
It all starts with automation
The essence of digitalisation is to generate and
analyse data to contribute to the improvement
of the activities of the company by having the
relevant data available in real-time wherever
necessary. Zooming in on the cement
production itself, a lot of process data is
already available in the existing DCS and
Process Historian systems. Therefore, it is
very important that the automation system has
Profinet down to the field is the right choice to digitalise
the process control.
Artificial Intelligence sheds new light on advanced process to manage very large amounts of data.
control for the kiln.
20
an architecture that allows highly available
real-time, deterministic and transparent
transmission of this data, even at very high
communication rates. The Industrial Ethernet
standard, Profinet, can manage all data
transmission requirements when applied in a
correctly designed architecture. Depending on
the size and requirements of the plant, Siemens
has prepared several Profinet architecture
blueprints to support these new designs.
Security is an important aspect of the
automation design and the blueprints
take this into account in order to avoid
any unwanted access to the plant’s
network.
Nowadays, the design of such an
automation network is common practice
for new installations. In the cement
world however, there are many existing
plants that were constructed several
decades ago and that now need to be
modernised if they want to continue
to produce for another few decades.
Often the plants are uncertain about the
feasibility of transforming the traditional
automation architecture to a Profinet
architecture, but there is no need for
any concern. Siemens’ experience
shows that the advantages more than
justify the effort of such a conversion.
For example, when a cement producer
had to modernise two of its cement
plants of approximately the same size,
the first plant opted for the traditional
Profibus technology, while the other
plant decided on a modern Profinet
architecture. The plant using Profinet
only required 9 km of cable, whereas
the plant using Profibus installed 18 km
of cable – a significant difference.
With a properly designed automation
network, the first step to digitalisation
is completed. Plant data can now
be collected, transferred and stored
in a way that makes it available
wherever and whenever it is required.
The new architecture also supports
the integration of new additional
intelligence from the field to further
improve the production process.
Generating more data in itself is not so
difficult; often it involves simply adding
another sensor. However, it is important
to remember that most cement plants
are running plants and there is often a
limit to the amount of signals that can
be added to the existing control system,
which was not necessarily designed
In fact, much of the information from
World Cement May 2020
the sensors is not necessarily required to setpoints in very small steps. This works well
control the process itself. Some details may for certain, well-defined processes but a kiln
only be relevant for maintenance purposes or is a different animal. Unknown variables, such
for quality KPIs. In such cases, it is important as alternative fuel types, make the traditional
not to overload the CPUs with irrelevant Model Predictive Controllers (MPC) drift over
information. The trend today is to create an time. The result is that most of these APC
additional data channel. Smart switches route systems are out of service or require intensive
the signals through the CPU and/or through fine tuning. This is where AI makes a big
the additional channel. In this way, it is possible difference because it can also consider the
to add as many sensors as needed without history of the variables and recognise patterns
interfering with the existing automation system. in these trends.
The second data channel is designed to be What advantage does this bring to a kiln?
fully secure and the data relevant for each Based on historical data, the AI module
individual user is managed by access rights. compares the actual trends with the trends
from the past and predicts what will happen
Paving the way for artificial intelligence in the future if the kiln continues to run with
Having the data is one thing, using it to the same setpoints. What seems to be a kiln
analyse and improve the efficiency of the that operates flawlessly, can easily develop
process is another. Together with cement a faulty condition in the future and can result
production experts, Siemens has developed in unwanted alarms or even shutdowns. The
a methodology to improve the production AI will warn the operator in time and tell them
process, based on the analysis of real-time what can happen if no corrective actions are
and historical data. This new transparent layer taken. When the AI module is well-trained, it
of data analytics is gaining importance and in can even suggest corrective scenarios, based
combination with a high-performance
DCS, the plant performance is lifted
to a higher level.
Data analytics is paving the
way for artificial intelligence (AI),
a new technology that is finding
its way into the cement industry.
AI creates opportunities to solve
issues that could not be solved in
the past. By collecting and archiving
relevant data, it becomes possible
to recognise patterns and detect
anomalies that previously remained
invisible. With this information, plant
operators can take corrective actions
before an actual problem occurs.
Based on the first results of this
technology, cement producers can
define new, improved optimisation The digital twin shortens the commissioning time and keeps
strategies and the plant data always up to date.
new approaches
to maintenance
concepts, such
as predictive
and prescriptive
maintenance.
Artificial Intelligence
changes the view on
Advanced Process
Control (APC).
Traditional APC
solutions look at the
actual measurements
and try to find the
optimal setpoints With Simatic eaSie, communication between operator, service engineer and
by changing the assets in the plant, is significantly improved.

May 2020 World Cement 21

on past experiences. The more data that
becomes available, the better the suggested
scenarios will be. For example, if the plant
decides to use new types of alternative
fuels, the AI module will learn about this
automatically. Initial tests have shown that with
this solution, kiln stoppages will be significantly
reduced, if not completely eliminated. The final
results of these tests and the solutions linked
to these will be available in the coming months.
Every plant can then profit from such solutions.
The financial impact will be significant.
Digital Twins: only the operator can tell
them apart
The majority of the cement plants have very
limited up-to-date documentation. Most of
the available documentation dates back to
the construction of the plant and most of the
changes that were done in the last years are
only stored in the employee’s memory.
When it comes to modernising a cement
plant’s out-dated process control system,
Siemens has been successfully using
various tools for many years. The latest
development in tool-based modernisations
is a tool based on the Siemens engineering
platform, Comos, a software solution for the
integrated management of plant projects – from
engineering and operations to modernisation
and even dismantling.
All necessary information about the plant’s
automation system – such as signal lists,
functional descriptions and interlocks – is
collected from the existing system and
used to populate the tool. The tool has a
comprehensive product database as well as
a customer specific database with individual
templates and standards. This allows the digital
twin of the cement plant to be automatically
generated in the Comos engineering platform.
From there, the Simatic PCS 7 – Cemat
code is generated to create an automation
project according to the customer’s standards
and without human errors. Every project is
customer specific and always has the same
structure, which is a big step forward towards
standardisation.
As an option, a simulation project can
be created in Simit, Siemens’ simulation
software. During commissioning, Simit allows
the operator to perform most of the testing
in simulation mode, significantly reducing the
commissioning time of the project. Once the
plant is in operation, Simit can be further used
for operator training and for testing new ideas.
Comos is a powerful platform and the
foundation for the digital twin, but a cement
plant does not necessarily have to buy
Comos to benefit from the many advantages
22
of tool-based modernisations. However, in
order to take digitalisation to the next level,
it pays off to consider the investment. With
Comos installed in the plant, the digital twin
becomes accessible on site and, since all
communication is bidirectional, every change
that is made will be updated automatically in
the digital twin. In this way, the database and
documentation are always fully synchronised
and up-to-date.
Introducing the digital assistant
There are fewer maintenance people and
operators in the control room today. This
is one of the challenges cement plants are
facing these days and when resources are
not available, technology has to step in. This
is where Simatic eaSie, the Siemens Digital
Assistant, can play a role.
Simatic eaSie is an on-site support tool that
informs plant staff about important events and
alarms, provides real-time data and status
information on demand, and supports simple
procedural workflows.
The tool is integrated in the existing Simatic
PCS7/Cemat project and has an app running
on a smartphone or tablet. The user interface
is designed similarly to popular messenger
apps for mobile devices. Using the app,
operators can easily access data from the
system, such as process values (temperature,
pressure, etc.), object status (in service, fault,
etc.) and diagnostics. The user can interact
with Simatic eaSie by using natural language
(chat or speech) or simply by scanning QR
codes, without requiring deep system-specific
knowledge.
Service and maintenance people can now
walk around the plant and get the information
of the assets on site without talking to the
control room. It is also possible to open a
faceplate on the Operator Station in the control
room from the app. In this case, the operator in
the control room and the maintenance engineer
on site are looking at the same asset.
Simatic eaSie contributes to more efficient
communication between plant staff and
supports a unified workflow for notification
services, querying basic data and guided
operational sequences.
Summary
The scenarios described above are just some
of the applications, ideas and concepts that
fall under the digitalisation umbrella. There are
many more possibilities today and there will be
even more in the future.
Digitalisation is a very broad concept and
its applications in the cement industry are
countless. The journey continues.
World Cement May 2020
 Martin Provencher, OSIsoft, explains the importance
of embracing digital transformation for the long-term
sustainability of businesses.
igital transformation – the process on only during times of relative security
of creating an intelligent strategy and wide margins. On the contrary –
for collecting and analysing in diverse industries, companies are
data, and using it to drive finding that when business challenges
organisational change – is an ambitious are so intense that every sliver of OPEX
endeavour. It might be tempting to think matters, embracing digital transformation
of taking an enterprise-wide approach to is more critical than ever to the long-term
data as a luxury for businesses to take sustainability of a business.
23
 This is as true for materials and mining as it is
for the most precision-controlled, technologically
advanced manufacturing processes. As a
technology, cement is about as old as it gets. But
like any industrial process, cement production
can be optimised, and any process that can be
optimised is ripe for digital transformation.
The value of digital transformation
Many industry professionals see the value of digital
transformation. In a recent survey, more than
70% of mining industry professionals said they
planned to deploy IoT. But mining and materials
companies face unique conditions that can make
it especially challenging to deploy enterprise-wide
IoT strategies, leading to slower adoption in these
industries than in those with more predictable,
controllable environments.
Digital transformation can and does improve
returns on investment, but good a operational data
strategy is critical for more than just the bottom
line. Companies that are embracing a holistic
approach to data are making strides on other
important goals as well: environmental compliance,
health and safety, emissions reductions,
conservation of resources, and more.
The Cement Sustainability Initiative
In 2002, a group of leading cement
producers came together to form the
Cement Sustainability Initiative, and identified
six major issues that the industry needed to focus
on to guide the path towards a more sustainable
future. The CSI’s ‘Agenda for Action’ charges
the industry with making documented progress
on climate protection, fuel and raw materials use,
employee health and safety, emissions reduction,
local and landscape impacts, and reporting and
communications.
Since then, the work of the CSI has been
adopted by the Global Cement and Concrete
Association, which represents almost
half of global cement production capacity. The
urgency in getting it right in all of these arenas has
only increased. Health and safety, in particular,
has emerged as a critical issue for the broader
industry of mining and materials. In an OSIsoft
survey of 192 mining executives in 56 countries,
81% said that health and safety was one of the
most important challenges faced in the industry;
94% said that technology is the key enabler for
improving health and safety.
Data management and sustainability
A holistic, enterprise-wide strategy for collecting
and organising data can drive smart action at
every level of a business, down to the smallest
processes. For that reason, data management is
critical to making any sustainability effort work,
whether the goal is to decrease environmental
24
pollution, make better use of resources, increase
worker safety, or pursue any other outcome.
“Cement operators need to balance safety,
on-time performance, compliance, and capacity
in an ever-changing landscape, with ever more
effectiveness. To do this, knowledge workers
need better tools to gain the insights they need
to take action,” said OSIsoft’s Jonathan Silvestre,
Industry Champion for Mining, Metals, and
Materials. “You need technology that can get data
to people at the right time and in the right format,
so they can make better decisions.”
CEMEX Operations’ Digital Technologies
Manager, Rodrigo Javier Quintero, puts it
succinctly. “Data is the new gold,” he said. Large
enterprises are wealthy in data, but it must be
mined and processed to yield value. Collected and
organised data generates insight, and ultimately,
action that can transform an industry.
Critical to any successful digital transformation
effort is having a central data repository that
can serve as a single source of truth across the
enterprise and can interface with a diverse array
of incoming data sources and analytical solutions.
Advances in IoT technology have made it possible
to collect large volumes of real-time data, but the
increasing ubiquity of sensors and data streams
has created a new challenge – how to make
intelligent sense of a firehose of raw information.
With the right approach to data, advanced
analytics can help companies to not only make
more efficient use of processes and resources,
but also to take a more predictive approach,
identifying the warning signs of potential problems
before they occur, and putting information into the
hands of people who can take swift action.
In working closely with large enterprises
in cement, as well as other mining and
materials-related industries, OSIsoft has developed
expertise in how to harness data to drive progress
toward key sustainability goals. Listed here are
a few real-world examples of how companies
are using real-time operational data to meet
environmental and compliance goals, make wiser
use of resources, develop better reporting, and
make workplaces safer and healthier for employees.
Climate and emissions
As the second largest building materials company
in the world, and a business with more than a
decade of expertise in digital transformation,
Mexico-based CEMEX is an example of how
having a single data strategy can yield a wide array
of benefits across an enterprise.
CEMEX saw the value of operational intelligence
– the practice of making better business decisions
based on real-time data. But in order to realise that
promise, the company needed a central software
architecture to collect data and make it accessible
across the enterprise. CEMEX contacted
World Cement May 2020
 OSIsoft, whose PI System has supported digital
transformation projects in a range of industries.
CEMEX operates more than 70 different
cement plants around the world. Before adopting
OSIsoft’s PI System and rolling out real-time
equipment sensors across the enterprise, each
plant was a silo of information. One of the earliest
projects in the company’s digital transformation
journey was a 2009 effort using the PI System to
create a continuous emissions monitoring system
across 83 kilns. With shared access to the data,
managers at all of CEMEX’s plants could benefit
from each other’s process improvements, track
key performance indicators, and see the impact
of process control on emissions across the
enterprise. The project was a success, and since
2010, CEMEX has been using the PI System as a
central system of record for real-time data.
More recently, CEMEX has moved further into
AI and advanced analytics, integrating third-party
tools from Petuum into the PI System to enable
the optimisation of equipment processes with
machine learning solutions. The company chose a
complex process – the clinker cooling process in a
rotary kiln – to test-drive the use of AI for process
optimisation. The project started out with CEMEX
engineers interacting with and fine-tuning the AI
autopilot that gained expertise with operational
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scenarios and became more competent. Running
kiln processes on autopilot is now saving energy
usage, decreasing process variability, and
increasing yield.
“For the first time, operators were able to see
how their process was behaving and how the
artificial intelligence model was telling them the
system was going to behave up to 25 minutes
ahead of time,” said Quintero, speaking at
OSIsoft’s user conference in 2019.
Resource use
Peruvian cement manufacturer, UNACEM,
began investing in data for a simple reason – the
company needed to trim costs. Competition was
forcing the company to wring more profit out of
existing processes.
UNACEM took a broad approach to the
problem, creating a roadmap for standardising
data across the company. With the help of the
PI System, company engineers created KPIs for
every machine, product, shift, hour, and operator.
By tracking actual performance and comparing
it to projections, the company has been able to
make significant inroads into reducing bottlenecks
and equipment downtime.
Critical to UNACEM’s successful
digital transformation effort is the use of
BLENDSCAN Advantages
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real-time notifications. By creating push alerts for
operators that go out when conditions deviate
from projections, the system ensures that swift
corrective action can be taken whenever a
process goes awry.
The path to digital transformation for UNACEM
involved significant effort, but the payoff has
been worth it. In the first year of the project,
the company has seen a profit increase of
US$6 million, and improved cement milling run
time by between 11% and 17%.
Reporting and communication
Tasked with creating complex air quality
reports under Title V of the US Clean Air Act,
Barrick Gold Metallurgist, Marsh Flint, used to
spend weeks poring over spreadsheets and paper
logbooks to extract environmental data; this is no
longer necessary, as OSIsoft’s data infrastructure
automates much of the task of creating reports,
making environmental and process data available
in real time.
Barrick Gold began digitising its environmental
compliance data at the Goldstrike mine in Nevada,
and has since expanded the effort to other sites.
The company had a problem at Goldstrike – as
the mine went deeper, the composition of the ore
was changing, requiring new chemical processes
for extracting gold. The company’s system for
monitoring processes and tracking environmental
compliance needed to adapt too. Operator
expertise was no longer enough to predict when
a process deviation would result in a permit
violation.
Centralising data with the PI System and
creating dashboard visualisations for operators
to track processes in real time has given Barrick
better situational awareness, and cut down on
violations. It has also freed engineers from the
laborious task of manually compiling environmental
reports.
“Now I can devote more time to improving
environmental processes,” Flint said.
Like all heavy industry, cement manufacturing is
an inherently hazardous process. The noisy, dusty
environment of a cement plant takes a toll on both
human workers and electronic components, and in
a difficult environment, distraction can quickly lead
to dangerous incidents. The challenges faced in a
cement plant and an underground mine might be
different, but in every situation involving safety, the
ability to react in real time is critical. This is where
having a good data strategy comes in.
“With all the new regulations that are
coming into the cement industry, environment,
health, and safety become quite critical,” said
OSIsoft’s Metals and Mining Industry Principal,
Martin Provencher. “Having access to real-time
operational data allows operators to take actions
rapidly and avoid noncompliance events.”
26
Making digital transformation work
Taking action to make digital transformation work
can sometimes require a culture shift, and that
may not be easy. According to global management
consultants at McKinsey & Company, companies
that are successful at getting data to drive better
business practices tend to have three things in
common:
f Buy-in from management: When the lessons
learned from new technologies are embraced
at the highest level of the organisation, they
can be put into practice.
f Single source of truth: In order to be
actionable, data needs to be reliable and
consistent. A single data infrastructure allows
users across the whole organisation to share,
compare, and communicate insights.
f Democratic access: For change to happen
across the enterprise, users at every level
need to be able to work directly with data and
see the results. Digital transformation efforts
should put tools in the hands of operators and
engineers as well as top-level managers.
Conclusions
Cement producers are not alone in facing
unprecedented business challenges. The
COVID-19 pandemic is forcing all sorts of
industries to rethink their business models and
strategies for enabling remote work. In the face of
both demand and supply shocks, many companies
are worried about weathering the economic storm.
But with any crisis comes new possibilities.
Companies that can move beyond business as
usual, and adopt digital tools that will ultimately
make them more flexible and cost efficient, may
well find that the present crisis is an opportunity to
transform their organisation and come out stronger
than ever from this disruption.
About the author
Martin Provencher has been OSIsoft’s
Industry Principal for Mining, Metals and
Materials since March 2018. He has more than
25 years of experience in information technology,
operations and maintenance management. His
knowledge of the industry was acquired through
a position he held at Aluminerie Alouette, a large
aluminium smelter located in Quebec, Canada,
as the Operations and Maintenance Manager
for Casthouse and Production Services, and
before that, as the Information Technology &
Automation Manager. He has also been an
active Industry 4.0 speaker and influencer for
IBM as the Quebec Metals and Mining Leader,
and lately with Norda Stelo as Director for
manufacturing and processing plants. Martin
holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science
with Artificial Intelligence focus from University of
Quebec in Montreal.
World Cement May 2020
Karli Langner, Command Alkon, explains how companies can
utilise digital platforms to facilitate collaboration among
trading partners and an improved workflow.

I
t has been said that data is the new
oil. IDC predicts that the digital data
we create, capture, replicate, and
consume will grow from approximately
40 zettabytes of data in 2019 to 175 zettabytes
in 2025 (with one zettabyte equaling
1 trillion gigabytes). 60% of this data will be
generated by enterprises – from transactions,
IoT sensors, communications, streaming data
and more. In fact, many enterprises will turn to
selling their information to generate revenue as
a data-as-a-service offering.
IDC also predicts that by 2025:
f More than 150 billion devices will be
globally connected.
f IoT devices will generate greater
than 90 zettabytes of data.
f 30% of all data will be created in real
time.
f The average person will interact
with a connected device once every
18 seconds.
f 49% of the world’s stored data will
reside in public cloud environments.
27
What can be done with the data from
construction processes?
First of all, it has to be collected. Instead
of using paper to write down information,
this data can be collected electronically by
automating the ticketing process, connecting
and transacting with partners, capturing IoT
sensor data, collecting GPS signals and more.
Once data is collected, it needs to be
analysed and organised in order for it to
provide insights. The construction industry can
use this information to:
f Predict risks in construction projects
through the analysis of past projects, such
as reviewing projects with cost overruns
and analysing why this issue happened.
f Capture bids and award contracts more
quickly.
f Create automated workflows between
stakeholders on a project and keep all
relevant personnel informed with real-time
updates.
f Eliminate time wasted at job sites by
tracking how things move around the site,
then creating a plan for optimal movement.
f Create more accurate budgets for jobs by
analysing previous work.
f Determine which projects will be more
profitable.
f Analyse safety records to create
predictions of future accidents while
uncovering weak links in safety
programmes.
f Determine better, less congested traffic
patterns within a job site, saving time and
increasing productivity.
Data can be used within the heavy work
industry to make more informed and better
business decisions that can lead to productivity
increases, efficiency gains, and profitability
boosts. Digitising this data is a prerequisite
to ensuring a smooth digital transformation,
equalling greater processing efficiency and
fewer risks for losses. It is also an opportunity
to digitise established business processes
and define the roles each one will play in a
collaborative context.
The heavy building materials (HBM) and
construction industry is behind the move to
digitally transform their supply chains compared
to other industries. The industry can benefit
greatly by digitally connecting, collaborating
and conducting business with supply chain
trading partners. A digitised supply chain leads
to greater efficiencies, increased revenues, and
better customer service.
In the construction space, the most common
method used to exchange data with trading
partners is email and one of the biggest issues
28
businesses face when it comes to the quality
of data they receive from their trading partners
is that the data is not timely, accurate, or
complete.
Getting more accurate, timely, and
complete data
Automation may be considered the key
to success. Paper-based tools lead to
inefficiencies, errors, and increased costs.
By automating business processes, from
accounting to logistics, businesses can serve
customers better, streamline operations and
improve working capital.
With automation, workers can easily alert
customers if there will be a delay in their
shipment, issue invoices faster leading to
quicker payment, and make decisions more
quickly as the data is more reliable.
The platform approach
Companies must connect with all of their
trading partners to conduct business and
bring value to the entire network. All of those
connected to the network can communicate
and collaborate with each other. The more
connections, the more users, and the more
value that is likely to be gained.
Digitalisation is being used in many different
industries. As supply chains become more
digital, they benefit from the ‘platform’ business
model. Platforms are sets of common digital
technology-powered processes, tools, and
approaches that allow users to create value
by adding products and services that work
together in synergistic ways.
Platforms provide users with a set of
standardised tools and processes and allow
them to create and harness mutually beneficial
collaborations amongst each other.
Two types of platforms are emerging in future
supply chains – informational supply chain
platforms and physical supply chain platforms.
Informational supply chain platforms are
foundational sets of processes and technologies
that promote supply chain sharing and
coordination. This platform unlocks visibility in
the supply chain by sharing information about
material availability, order fulfilment, and delivery.
A physical supply chain platform is a
foundational set of digital-enabled physical
assets and technologies that companies
leverage to enable breakthrough physical
product handling and flow performance.
The supply chain has stepped in to the
collaborative platform era – an era that connects
different stakeholders, these different platforms,
and applications mobilised throughout the
distribution chain to create smooth-running
operations, and physical and information flows.
World Cement May 2020
 Today, collaboration is an essential step in
the digital transformation of a company and has
become vital to compete with increasingly more
dynamic and connected competitors. Through
this transformation, it is no longer possible to
work separately from collaborators. Instead, a
real convergence must be created by merging
the processes with increased productivity,
agility, efficiency and a new customer
experience in mind.
As digital technologies embed themselves
across supply chains, they will likely rewire
existing business models into industry platforms.
The question is not ‘if’ or ‘when’, but how best
to anticipate and get ahead of supply chain
platform disruptions.
How to leverage data
Terms like big data, analytics, and the
Internet of Things (IoT) have become buzzwords
in the heavy building material markets in recent
years, and industry members are beginning to
consider abandoning many manual processes
and embracing this technology-driven era.
However, there is the misconception that these
solutions are only suited for large firms that
have booked large projects. More so, some of
the smaller players in the construction sector
think that these innovative solutions may be
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out of their price range. Fortunately, even
smaller projects and moderately sized firms
can leverage data analytics to improve their
operations.
Despite the hurdles that may seem too high to
overcome, digitising operations is not as difficult
as many may think. In fact, there is one way a
team may already be ahead of the game – they
likely all use smart phones. Project Managers
are especially likely to be using these on the
job site. These devices are applications that
can capture data, thus eliminating the need for
tedious pen-and-paper tasks.
Excitingly, once a company starts to digitally
collect data, more analytics opportunities arise
to optimise daily operations, increase efficiency,
and improve ROI. Some benefits of embracing
analytics software include:
f Seeing project status in real time.
f Long-term cost savings.
f Improved materials management.
f Increase in job safety and reduction of
accidents.
f More work bids.
With rising tariffs on raw materials, scarce
labour resources, and an uncertain economic
situation, the time for the industry to implement
new technology and automate business
Tailored
T il d solutions
l ti ffor Competent
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t
each customer service
processes is now. The lack of connected
information – which has plagued the industry
for years – has led to projects coming in over
budget and behind schedule.
Delivering optimal customer
experiences
Consumers expect fast deliveries and visibility
into how an order is proceeding – from entry,
into the order management system, to final
delivery.
The construction world runs on strict
timelines. These timelines must be met to
bring the job in on time and within budget. If
bottlenecks in the supply chain delay a delivery
from a supplier, the entire schedule can be
thrown off. Much like the pain that is felt when
an Amazon order fails to arrive when promised,
late materials on a job site create a ripple effect
that impacts every operation and significantly
adds to project costs.
To become more like Amazon, companies
need end-to-end supply chain visibility into what
their suppliers, haulers, producers, and logistics
partners are doing in real time.
This can be achieved through technology that
connects all businesses involved in the heavy
building materials ecosystem.
Connecting with suppliers provides visibility
into operations, like inventory management,
so companies can keep track of how much of
a product they can order from that supplier.
Inbound movement of supplies can be monitored
so that they avoid stacking up at the gate and
instead can flow easily in and out of the job site.
Due to the ‘Amazon Effect’, customers want
shorter cycle times and quicker deliveries.
Having a transparent, more efficient supply
chain and a better flow of information through
connecting with other businesses in an
ecosphere is imperative to meeting these
demands. A system that provides a single view
of the supply chain will help enforce timelines.
Having clear visibility into traceability of
material properties and orders ensures that
products arrive in the best possible quality.
Heightened visibility throughout a supply
chain can empower a business to demand that
suppliers can prove compliance by proving
safety requirements, quality management, and
social responsibility.
Perhaps more inconvenient than not having
an item delivered when promised, is having a
damaged item delivered. That means a trip to
the post office or shipping centre, and then
having to wait for its replacement to arrive a
few days later. On the job site, damaged goods
mean more disruption and time wasted for a
tightly coordinated game plan.
30
Being able to track a package from order
point to front door is one of the hallmarks of
Amazon’s technology.
Fleet Management solutions can improve
customer experiences by providing visibility
from dispatch to delivery so that customers can
receive information on where their orders are in
real time.
Turning data into action
Jesse DeVitte, a Managing Partner of the
venture capital firm, Borealis Ventures, stated
at a recent industry conference that increasing
demand requires design, construction, and
operation of the built environment to become
more efficient, adding that technology
is hoped to achieve this through the entire
design-build-operate continuum.
In other words, by using technology, firms
can collect data from across the supply
chain with the goal of sharing that data with
building partners for increased efficiency and
productivity.
However, the problem is that the data is often
unstructured and siloed in different departments.
Project Managers often do not wish to share the
data as they feel an ownership over it and are
reluctant to permit others access to it.
Project data needs to be liberated from
disparate systems and shared with all
stakeholders, encouraging everyone from
suppliers to haulers to contractors to improve
decision-making and bring projects in on time
and within budget.
With visibility across the project spectrum,
stakeholders know what is happening all across
the project. Data related to bids, quotes,
schedules, purchasing, logistics, and more can
be shared with project stakeholders, keeping
them on the same page and giving them the
information they need to make important project
decisions.
Conclusions
A digital collaborative platform can orchestrate
all connections, workflow, and collaboration
among trading partners so that everyone works
faster, more smartly and safely. Collaborative
digital technologies must be embedded into
processes to transform the way business
partners work together to turn knowledge into
action and create new ways to succeed.
About the author
Karli Langner is the Marketing Content
Specialist at Command Alkon. She graduated
from Jacksonville State University with a
Bachelor’s degree in Communications and a
concentration in Public Relations.
World Cement May 2020
Len Eros, ABB Motion,
outlines how digitalisation can
improve safety, reduce costs
and maximise production
uptime in cement plants.

he escalating importance of reliability,

availability and efficiency is driving
operators in the cement industry to seek
new developments that will help improve
productivity. In fact, there are few industries where
the pressure to achieve maximum operating
efficiency is so intense. One approach that offers
a real opportunity to meet this challenge is the
implementation of advanced condition monitoring.
Producing consistent, high-quality cement, as
well as being able to manage information effectively
to maintain reliable operation is high on the agenda
for cement operators. Advanced measuring,
information and optimisation systems now make it
possible to capture any deviations in standards and
ensure reliable quality control. Digitalisation based
on the integration of data and real-time optimisation
of processes across the value chain is the critical
next step.
For cement producers, the impact of plant
and equipment failures can be enormous. Many
operations in a cement plant occur in series,
not in parallel. Unlike other industries that may
have several production lines, such as food and
beverages, a cement plant usually only has one.

31
If that line goes down, it brings production to a
complete halt. Therefore, a single breakdown often
has a domino effect that may result in production
stoppages in multiple areas, which can significantly
impact productivity. Downtime, and more specifically,
unplanned downtime, is the single largest source of
lost production. Most crucially, it has a direct impact on
the company’s bottom line.
The cement industry has a long history of regularly
monitoring what has been regarded as critical
equipment. This is not a complete solution however,
as experience has shown that the failure of apparently
non-critical or smaller pieces of equipment can be
just as problematic and cause an equal amount of
downtime. The challenge has always been that it
was not economically viable to extend monitoring to
a much greater scope of equipment across a plant.
That has now changed with the introduction of a new
generation of wireless smart sensors.
The availability of cloud computing, data analytics,
and mobile data transmission, has paved the way for
the arrival of low-cost, IoT-based wireless sensors.
With no hard wiring requirements, they allow for
permanent monitoring at a fraction of the cost of
traditional condition monitoring systems. In an industry
Digital solutions that integrate data and
real-time optimisation of processes throughout
a cement plant can help boost productivity and
reduce unplanned downtime.
Smart sensors (shown here as the white
cylinder on the bearing) allow equipment to be
monitored in locations which may be difficult or
dangerous to reach.
32
particularly sensitive to unplanned downtime, smart
sensors can help improve plant reliability.
The next step in the digitalisation story is the digital
powertrain, a customisable, scalable approach that
connects drives, motors, mounted bearings, gearing
and applications such as pumps. The aim is to improve
uptime, safety, and productivity of critical process
equipment such as kilns, conveyors, crushers, dust
collectors, and mills. Another key element is variable
speed drives (VSDs) that are equipped to control
high-efficiency motors. They are connected via the
cloud gateway, while traditional, fixed-speed motors,
mounted bearings, and pumps connect wirelessly with
the smart sensor.
Digital powertrain and condition
monitoring
The ABB Ability™ Digital Powertrain combines a
range of products and services including smart
sensors, monitoring tools and an interactive portal. The
sensors, together with the data collected by the drives,
measure key parameters which enables users to ‘see’
operational variables and health indicators. At the
system level, these include availability, environmental
conditions, load levels, run times, energy consumption
and other parameters. At the component level, it
includes health and performance data such as drive
faults, temperature and vibration information on
mounted bearings, motors and gear reducers as well
as pump performance data.
This data is made visible to operators and
maintenance teams on a simple dashboard accessible
by a laptop, tablet or smartphone. Powertrain assets
that show up green on the dashboard are functioning
correctly; yellow indicates that something needs to
be checked, and red shows up a malfunction. The
operator could also decide to integrate the data into a
standalone system for deeper analysis, or move it to
the cloud. This approach offers flexibility to the users
as it gives them the option to start simply and progress
into more advanced usage as they develop confidence
in the process.
Wireless smart sensors also enable remote,
continuous monitoring from a safe distance of
equipment that is either dangerous to be around or
hard to access. This is a significant improvement
on traditional methods of data collection, such as
handheld vibration monitoring probes, that can expose
employees to safety hazards.
Condition-based monitoring as a key
business benefit of digitalisation
The traditional approach to maintenance in the
cement industry runs on a preventative basis. This
is like changing the oil in a motor vehicle every
six months – whether the change is needed or not.
This fixed schedule does not account for actual
operating conditions, which means some lightly used
equipment is being serviced more often than needed,
and while this is a conservative approach, it may
World Cement May 2020
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increase maintenance costs. Furthermore, other more
heavily loaded equipment may require servicing more
frequently, leading to a potential risk of an unplanned
shutdown.
Instead of working to a fixed schedule, real-time
health information ensures that maintenance is
only carried out when needed. In many cases this
will extend service intervals, saving on labour and
component costs. It will also reduce the risk of an
unplanned shutdown by providing an early warning
of an imminent failure. This information can be used
by the maintenance team to make a fully informed
decision on the best course of action to maintain
business continuity. This could be a shutdown and
replacement at the first opportunity, or the team might
decide to manage the situation by adjusting load and
speed to keep the equipment in a safe operating range
until the next scheduled shutdown.
In the past, failure prediction was not all that
dependable – it was known that bearings
overheated before failure, but there was not enough
statistical data to be very accurate. Condition-based
maintenance, however, provides highly targeted
predictive maintenance reporting, which presents
new opportunities to analyse big data and track trends
more accurately.
With visibility and optimisation across
operations now possible, the digital powertrain
allows data to be turned into actions, preventing
downtime and extending equipment lifetime.
Smart sensors monitor key parameters to
provide detailed insights into the performance
and health of motors. As a result, maintenance
can become predictive rather than reactive.
34
Customisation and scalability
The customisable approach of the digital powertrain
allows operators to monitor a single powertrain or
multiple powertrains, offering a low-cost introduction
to digital monitoring. This comprehensive overview
enables plant operators to identify any performance
abnormalities quickly. It allows them to act before
the problems escalate, improving the performance,
reliability and efficiency of their powertrain
components.
The data collected from each powertrain can be
used at a basic level, or it can be combined with
other data and analysed with powerful analytics tools
to improve overall system performance. This makes
it possible to analyse the situation rapidly and make
immediate recommendations to solve the issue. The
bottom-line benefits are highly focused maintenance
activities that ensure the highest possible asset
reliability and life. The detailed analytics also help
OEMs to gain useful insight about specific support
their customers may require as their operations
become more digitalised.
Most importantly, scalable digital services for
powertrains allow plant operators to assess, manage
and optimise powertrains without having to be
physically present. The key advantages are improved
safety, production uptime, use of manpower, and a
reduction in unplanned downtime.
The future of digitalisation
As smart sensors provide information in real-time
about production assets and the process itself,
stakeholders can use it for immediate decision-making,
and for learning and modelling. Production plans are
also updated in real-time, including maintenance and
production schedules.
Highly skilled outside experts can help minimise
fault-tracing time remotely, and guide on-site teams
through the repair process. Plant managers can have
peace of mind that production time is maximised
and focus on meeting delivery schedules instead.
Digitalisation is here to stay, and its use is set to
proliferate as the success in predictive maintenance
and preventing downtime becomes more and more
evident.
Conclusions
Thorough cement plant maintenance today includes
proper planning, the utilisation of expert skills, and
digital monitoring. These elements will increase the
lifespan and efficiency of the cement plant refractory,
leading to less downtime, fewer costs, increased plant
profitability, and optimised energy consumption.
About the author
Len Eros is the Global Cement and Mining Manager
for ABB Motion. With a Master’s degree from
the Colorado School of Mines, Len spent the first
15 years of his career as an engineer for numerous
mining projects before joining ABB in 1993.
World Cement May 2020
 Nathan Schindler, Evonik Corp. and Keith Ogilvie,
National Filter Media Corporation, examine the true cost of
ownership of cement plant baghouses.
ver the past decade, the importance
of filtration in the overall cost of
cement production in the US
has increased substantially. The
Cement MACT regulations have increased the
importance of filtration by reducing dust emissions
requirements ten-fold. These low requirements
must be monitored and maintained on a continuous
basis. At the same time, demand on existing
plants has increased significantly. Older plants
that could not be economically upgraded to meet
the new regulations were shuttered while demand
for clinker in the US increased steadily. Today,
a poorly operating filter significantly impacts a
cement plant’s production reliability, maintenance
costs, operating costs, and energy use. Evonik’s
P84® fibre has been used by cement plants around
the world for over 20 years to cost-effectively
improve the performance of cement plant filter
units and reduce the total cost of ownership of
pulse-jet fabric filters.
Filtration – essential to cement plants
Operational principal of a pulse-jet
Pulse-jet fabric filters have been adopted at
cement plants due to their low overall operating
costs, small footprint, and low emissions compared
to electro-static precipitators and reverse air
baghouses. Pulse-jet units have two sides: a dirty
side and a clean side separated by a tube sheet.
From the tube sheet, filter bags supported by
cages prevent dust from flowing to the clean side
of the filter, protecting the environment.
35
As the dust accumulates on the dirty side of
the bag, the pressure drop across the bag
increases. Upon reaching a predetermined
pressure setpoint, a blast of compressed air
Typical pulse-jet fabric filter.
Glass-membrane fabric.
P84 fibre and felt.
36
cleans the dust from the bags. When the unit
is operating properly, pressure drop is low
and consistent, pulsing frequency is low and
steady, and bag life is long.
Maintaining and operating filtration
units properly is critical to the success of
cement plants. Poor performing filter units
impact plant operation, maintenance costs
and energy use. During the life of a filter
unit, cement plants make many changes to
increase production, switch fuels, improve
product quality, and meet new and
evolving environmental requirements. Too
often, the original filter was not designed
to meet these new conditions, generating
extra maintenance and production costs
due to inadequate performance of the
original filter media. Fortunately, a smarter
filter media can frequently be used to
significantly reduce the cost of ownership
of an existing unit. A cement plant will
typically operate two categories of pulse-jet
fabric filters: process filters (kiln-raw mill,
clinker cooler, coal and clinker mill) and
dedusting filters. The continuous and
efficient operation of process filters is
paramount to the overall cement plant
production as shutting down for unplanned
maintenance will have a negative impact on
the entire plant’s profitability.
Standard filter media
The most common membrane-coated
filtration material for cement plants is
ePTFE membrane laminated on a woven
fibreglass base, typically known as
‘glass-membrane’. When first installed, due
to the small pore sizes, glass-membrane
filter media captures more particulate
matter, particularly PM2.5, and prevents
dust penetration.1 When applied under
ideal conditions, glass-membrane filter
bags can last for 5 years in a pulse-jet
fabric filter. Unfortunately, many cement
plants do not operate under ideal
conditions over the long-term. After
installation, plants will
change fuels, increase
production rates,
change raw materials,
change product mix, or
enhance environmental
controls. Plants
around the world are
switching to lower cost
energy sources like
refuse derived fuels,
while also reducing the
environmental impact
of the cement plant.
World Cement May 2020
Unburned hydrocarbons from refuse derived to a revenue loss of US$1.4 million. Even a
fuels can blind glass-membrane bags. These small reduction in the productivity of a clinker
changes in plant operation lead to damaged grinding mill can be significant. When pressure
bags causing increased pressure drop, drop across the bags exceeds the capacity
increased pulsing frequency, and increased of the fan, production rates can be reduced.
emissions. Ultimately, reduced bag-life is Over the course of a year, a 10% reduction
observed, requiring unplanned maintenance or in production for a 15 tph ball mill would be
even unplanned shutdowns. 12 000 tpy, equalling an annual loss of revenue
of US$1.4 million.
Advantages of specialist filter media
P84 filter media allows cement plants to Maintenance costs
experience the benefits of a robust non-woven Cement plants are operating lean and
felt and superior filtration efficiency. Due to maintenance time for bag replacement can
their unique, irregular multi-lobal shape,
P84 fibres have the capacity to retain a
permanent dust cake on the surface of Table 1. In cement plants, a variety of constructions
the filter media, thereby meeting the same can be used depending on the application.
emissions criteria as a glass-membrane
filter, but with a more robust and porous Filter Unit Construction
media that can withstand harsher operating Kiln/Raw mill P84 felt
conditions, such as increased air-to-cloth
ratio, finer particles, and increased dust Clinker cooler P84 cap on m-aramid
loading. After 12 months of service life, Cement mill P84 cap on polyester
P84 filter media prevents emissions
of fine (PM2.5) particles better then Coal mill P84 cap on homopolymer acrylic
glass-membrane filter media.1
Alkali bypass P84 + PTFE fibre
P84 filter media can be constructed
in a variety of ways to cost-effectively
take advantage of its unique qualities.
P84 fibre can withstand operating and
surge temperatures typical of cement kiln
baghouses, up to 500˚F for short-term
temperature excursions. For cement THE ENCLOSED BELT CONVEYOR
kiln/raw mill baghouses, P84 dirty and ANOTHER SWEET® SOLUTION
clean side batts with PTFE scrim is
commonly used. Our quality solutions move materials that feed the
In lower temperature applications, world and build the world’s infrastructure.
cement plants can take advantage of
P84’s unique surface-oriented dust Designed for high-capacity Industrial and Agricultural commercial facilities
capture by applying a cap layer of P84 Minimizes dust emissions for increased safety
to a standard non-woven fabric. This
stratification of fibres creates an effective
filter media.

Assessing the total cost of

ownership of filter units Patent Pending

Made in USA
Production reliability
Cement plants in the US must
continuously meet strict emissions
limits imposed by the US EPA. A single
failed bag can require corrective action,
including a kiln shutdown if the kiln
baghouse or clinker cooler baghouse
compartments cannot be isolated for
on-line bag replacement. During a 4-day
unplanned outage, the shutdown of a
kiln producing 125 tph would experience
production losses of 12 000 t. At
US$115/t of clinker, this would equate
Website: www.sweetmfg.com
E-mail: sales@sweetmfg.com
Telephone: +1 937-325-1511
be considerable. Maintenance staff required
to conduct bag changes are taken away
from other necessary projects around the
plant. Labour costs associated with frequent
bag replacement can add up over time. For
example, labour costs for bag replacement in a
clinker cooler can be equal to bag costs over
a 2 year bag replacement cycle. A typical cost
for a 3 man team dye testing a clinker cooler
every other week at 8 hours per test would
cost US$31 000, approximately the same as a
complete set of standard m-aramid filter bags.
Operating costs
Increased pressure drop across the filter
requires a significant increase in electrical
power. The power costs can be significantly
more than the cost of filter bags. For example,
5000 glass-membrane filter bags a for
kiln/raw mill pulse-jet fabric filter cost around
US$200 000. With a design pressure drop
value of 6 in wc and US$0.065/KWh electric
cost, fan hp would cost US$200 000/year.
Over a 5 year bag life, if the pressure drop
gradually increases from 6 in wc to 10 in wc at

Table 2. Case studies showing reductions in ownership costs.

United States – kiln/raw mill

Original P84 upgrade

Filter media 22 osy fibreglass/membrane 16 osy P84 with PTFE scrim

Corrective actions 200 bags replaced in 18 months; bag life 24 months 1 bag replaced in 4 years; bag life 48 months

Production reliability Production output reduced by regular bag changes Production output not impacted by baghouse

Labour costs incurred for frequent bag changes;

Minimal labour for corrective actions; full bag
Maintenance costs labour costs incurred for full bag replacement after
replacement reduced to 4 years; bag costs reduced.
2 years

ID fan horsepower costs and compressed air energy

Operating costs Energy costs reduced by US$200 000/year
costs increased

Electrical energy use increased causing increased Energy use reduced by 2000 MWh/year; CO2
Energy use
CO2 emissions from electrical generation unit reduced by 800 tpy

Europe – cement grinding mill

Original P84 upgrade

Filter media Fine fibre polyester cap on polyester P84 & fine fibre polyester cap on polyester

Corrective actions Bag life 7 months Bag life 48 months

Production reliability Production output reduced by outages Production output not impacted by baghouse

Labour costs incurred for frequent full bag Labour costs minimised with full bag replacement
Maintenance costs
replacement after 7 months after 4 years

ID fan horsepower costs and compressed air energy

Operating costs Energy costs reduced
costs increased

Energy use Electrical energy use increased Electrical energy use reduced

Latin America – coal mill

Original P84 upgrade

Filter media Homopolymer acrylic/membrane P84 cap on homopolymer acrylic

No issues after 8 months with 2+ year bag life

Corrective actions Filter bags life limited to 6 – 8 months
anticipated

Lost production due to fan limitations and shut

Production reliability Production output not impacted by baghouse
downs for bag replacement

Labour costs incurred for full bag replacement every Full bag replacement reduced to 2+ years; bag costs
Maintenance costs
6 – 8 months. Bag costs increased. reduced by US$30 000 over 2 years

ID fan horsepower costs and compressed air energy

Operating costs Energy costs reduced by US$50 000/year
costs increased

Electrical energy use increased causing increased Energy use reduced by 400 MWh/year; CO2 reduced
Energy use
CO2 emissions from electrical generation unit by 200 tpy

38 World Cement May 2020

the end of life, the cumulative increased
electrical operating cost is US$330 000; more
than 150% of the bag costs.
Energy use
Finally, energy use is a significant issue for the
cement industry. Cement production requires
significant energy inputs including fuel,
electricity for fan horsepower, and electricity
for compressed air. With so much of the
cost of cement production based on energy,
cement plant operators are always seeking
ways to reduce energy usage and implement
lower cost fuels. Energy Star™ awards USA
cement plants with recognition based on
energy use. The electrical energy use of a kiln
baghouse can be significant. When pressure
drop through the baghouse increases, more
horsepower is required to drive the fan. A
4 in wc increase in pressure drop over 5
years on a 125 tph kiln increases energy
use by approximately 5000 MWh.
About the authors
Nathan Schindler is Technical Sales Manager
for Evonik Corporation. Nathan has over
20 years of experience in all aspects of the
combustion and air pollution emission control
technologies. Nathan is responsible for sales
and technical support of Evonik’s P84 fibres in
the US and Canada.
Keith Ogilvie is Director of Technical Sales
for National Filter Media. Keith has more than
34 years of experience in the operation and
maintenance of air pollution control systems
(a.k.a. fabric filter baghouses, electrostatic
precipitators and cartridge collectors). Keith
has industry expertise in the application of
textiles, ePTFE membrane laminates and
fibres for use in the collection and control of
industrial dry and wet particulates.

Solutions
As described above, the total costs of
operating a filter unit can be significant,
warranting an evaluation of potential
upgrades. In many cases, a cement plant
will be left with two choices: expanding
the size of the filter unit or implementing
a smarter filter media. Adopting a
smarter, P84 filter media can typically be
P84 fibre with PTFE scrim.
accomplished during the annual outage.
Existing cages can often be reused, and
no significant changes to the unit design
or operation are required. Alternatively,
expanding a filter unit is very expensive,
takes significant planning, frequently
requires changes to plant layout, and in
many cases is not feasible due to plant
layout. Table 2 breaks down three case
studies showing the reduction in ownership
costs attained by cement plants that
adopted a smarter P84 filter media.

Conclusion P84 cap.

For over 20 years, P84 fibres have been
used by cement plants around the world to
reduce the total cost of ownership of their
pulse-jet fabric filters. The authors would
be glad to review the details of these case
studies with cement plant operators. For
cement plants located in the US or Canada,
services are available to evaluate the true
cost of ownership of pulse-jet fabric filters.

References
1. HARFMANN, P. and RUOFF, G., ‘Filter media
today and future requirements’, Technical Textiles,
vol. 51, no. 2, (2008), pp. 86 – 89. Capital expansion or adopt a smarter filter media.

May 2020 World Cement 39

 Giorgio Radaelli, RD42, outlines the potential issues caused by
nuisance filters and provides guidance on how to overcome them.
o-called ‘nuisance filters’ are a wide attention in plants or in the literature, in
category of dust collectors that have contrast to bigger process devices.
in common their relatively small size The purpose of this paper is to discuss
and the fact that most people care the role of this class of filter within a
little about them. They are not a direct part cement plant and its visible and non-visible
of any processes, nor do they produce any implications, the technical and cultural
added value – they may largely be seen as barriers that prevent the improvement of its
annoyances and costly sources of dusty performance, and proposals to overcome
emissions. Nuisance filters receive little these barriers.

40
41
Outlining the problem f Mill filters: Dedicated to the main equipment
In a cement plant, a functional characterisation grinding cement, coal, slag.
of the types of filter can be set in the following f Nuisance filters: For all the rest, mainly
terms: concerning dust storage and transfer
f Process filters: Preheater/raw mill, clinker (raw materials – omo – clinker –
cooler, by-pass. cement – additives), elevators, air lifts,
silos loading/unloading, air slides, weight
feeders, apron conveyors, palletisers,
truck/train loaders and unloaders.

Process filters
Process filters consist of 2 ÷ 4 units of
the largest size, with air flows varying
between 200 k and 1 M Nm 3/h or more, as
a function of the kiln capacity. These filters
use the best available technologies applied
in state-of-the-art bag filters (same for
precipitators), including CFD engineering,
modern pneumatic and electronic cleaning
systems, high value bags, gauges of every
type, on-line detectors for common failures,
frequency converters etc. Continuous
emission monitors are installed for each
single stack and for pollutants other than
dust (acids, NO x, metals, volatiles, organic,
etc.), with transparent data for authorities
and communities. For these reasons, real
emissions from process filters tend to be
much lower than is allowed; in RD42’s
analysis, the company will consider an
average expected emission of 2 mg/Nm3.

Mill filters
Mill filters are medium size, 4 – 6 units,
between 50 k to 500 k Nm 3/h. The filter
Typical nuisance filters over silos. media are less impressive, with the gas
being just air at low
Table 1. Dust emissions for process filters. temperature. The
Air flow Use rate Dust emission (mg/Nm3) Total dust (kg/d) Stack
n units cleaning systems
3
(Nm /hr) (hpd) Allowed Expected Allowed Expected height (m)
are simpler, roughly
Process
calibrated at the
Clinker cooler
1 150 000 24 10 2 36.0 7.2 95 commissioning, and
exhaust
are seldom checked.
Kiln & mill 1 400 000 24 10 2 96.0 19.2 95 Many such filters can
be dated; very often,
By-pass chlorine 1 65 000 24 10 2 15.6 3.12 95 when revamping the
3 615 000 147.6 29.5 95 grinding process,
the annexed filters
remain unchanged or
Table 2. Dust emissions for mill filters.
refurbished. The result
Air flow Use rate Dust emission (mg/Nm3) Total dust (kg/d) Stack height
n units
3 Allowed Expected Allowed Expected (m)
is, in many cases, a low
(Nm /hr) (hpd)
Grinding
general efficiency and
Coal mill 1 38 000 10 10 5 3.8 1.9 13
reliability. Emissions are
frequently monitored
Main crusher 1 20 000 3 10 10 0.6 0.6 4 on a time basis and the
target is to stay safely
Cement mill 2 160 000 15 10 5 48.0 24.0 58 below the allowed limits
Cement mill 1 28 000 22 10 5 6.16 3.08 17 (RD42 considers an
expected value to be
5 246 000 58.6 29.6 23
5 mg/Nm 3).

42 World Cement May 2020

 Nuisance filters
Nuisance filters are small in size, with around
50 units installed, and a capacity between
1000 and 50000 Nm3/h. The performance
of these filters becomes worse, as the size
reduces; the causes of this may originate
from technical matters as well as from a list
of quite common bad practices, which will be
discussed. Emissions are monitored only when
required and, sometimes, it becomes hard
to meet the allowed limits (both allowed and
expected to be at 10 mg/Nm3).
Quantitative comparison
RD42 has analysed the complete set of filters
installed in a cement plant, comparing their
values of air flow, use-time rate, emissions
and stack height, as they are shown in public
documents available online.
Dust emissions
Tables 1 to 3 refer to the differing classes of
filter. Dust emissions are detailed in several
columns as follows:
f Allowed from authorisation process with
local authorities (10 mg/Nm3).
f Expected from the above-mentioned values
(2/5/10 mg/Nm3).
f Total dust allowed and expected, resulting
from the product of the two above columns
FLUE GAS CLEANING
FLUE GAS CLEANING
Process & Equipment
Process & Equipmentg
issionin
1 9 : R e m ote comm
C V
ilable
e now ava
and servic
Started March 2020
www.rd42.com
times the air flow and the use rate (hours
per day).
In the bottom row, the company has indicated
in red:
f The sum of the air flows.
f The sum of the total dust at the stack.
f The average stack height.
For the process filters, for which the calculated
total dust allowed is 150 kg/h, the expected
dust at the stack is just 30 kg/h.
For smaller systems, expected dust at the
stack comes closer and closer to the allowed
value.
Comparison of the bottom row of each table
raises some important points:
f The total emissions from nuisance filters
are comparable with the ones from process
and mill if not higher (in this case, 75 kg/h
for nuisance compared to less than 30 kg/h
for process filters).
f The average stack height is much smaller
for nuisance filters, than for process
filters: if the units installed on top silos or
elevators are excluded, the height reduces
significantly.
Nuisance filters, compared to process filters,
normally have higher emissions at a much
shorter height (quarter); the impact on
Bag Filters
Bag Filters
Electrostatic Precipitators
Electrostatic Precipitators
Conversions/Revamping
Conversions/Revamping
Nuisance Filters
Nuisance Filters
DeNOx,DesOx/General
DeNOx, DeSOx/GeneralDePollution
DePollution
Heat
Heat exchangers/energy
Exchangers/Energyrecovery
recovery
Turn key projects
Turn key projects
www.rd42.com
 air quality for local communities and
employees is evident.

Power consumption
Table 4 shows the results of a calculation,
limited to process and nuisance filters, in
which air flows are multiplied by an average
static head of 20 mbar and the different
efficiency of fans, typical filter sizing and
fixed compressed air generation rates.
The process filters remain the main
An example of spares not being properly installed: source for power consumption, while the
curtains that are too light leave room for inefficient air compressed air required, between process
suction. and nuisance filters are
Table 3. Dust emissions from nuisance filters. quite similar.
3
The hypothesis
Dust emission (mg/Nm ) Total dust (kg/d) Stack
Air flow Use rate considered can greatly
n units height
3
(Nm /hr) (hpd) Allowed Expected Allowed Expected change the results,
(m)
however the magnitude
Nuisance
of the figures is quite
Coal transport 1 5 000 2 10 10 0.1 0.1 38
clear. RD42’s first
RM silos - feeding Belt 1 5 000 16 10 10 0.8 0.8 38
conclusion is that
RM silos - unloaders 1 11 000 24 10 10 2.6 2.6 15 nuisance filters deserve a
Homo silos 1 19 000 24 10 10 4.6 4.6 62 level of attention and care
Raw meal dosers 1 4 000 24 10 10 1.0 1.0 18 comparable with process
Raw meal air lift 1 2 500 24 10 10 0.6 0.6 15 and mill filters.
Clinker apron conveyor 1 11 000 24 10 10 2.6 2.6 15

Clinker elevators 1 13 000 24 10 10 3.1 3.1 50 What to do

Clinker silo 2 17 000 12 10 10 4.1 4.1 55
Soft approach
Clinker silo x trucks 1 8 000 13 10 10 1.0 1.0 30
The first step consists
Clinker elevator x trucks 1 6 000 13 10 10 0.8 0.8 30
of a cultural change; the
Clinker loader x trucks 3 4 000 9 10 10 1.1 1.1 11
list of potential issues
Coal (fine) silo 2 1 200 6 10 10 0.1 0.1 28
and possible ‘bad
Coal (fine) silo extractor 1 10400 24 10 10 2.5 2.5 11
practices’ to be avoided
Clinker extractor 1 13 000 13 10 10 1.7 1.7 12 for nuisance filters is
Cement mill hopper
1 10 000 15 10 10 1.5 1.5 30
long and includes the
feeder following:
Cement mill weighter 2 20 000 13 10 10 5.2 5.2 15

Fly ash silo 1 10 000 15 10 10 1.5 1.5 37 Definition and procurement

Cement silos (concrete) 4 28 000 12 10 10 13.4 13.4 35 f The process is
Cement silos (steel) 1 12 000 2 10 10 0.2 0.2 34 owned by second
Cement silos - bagging 1 15 000 11 10 10 1.7 1.7 33 row offices; technical
Kiln sealing air 1 15 000 24 10 10 3.6 3.6 10 specifications and
Cem. transport to tender documents
2 10 000 11 10 10 2.2 2.2 38
bagging are issued and offers
Cement bagging are compared by
2 30 000 11 10 10 6.6 6.6 25
machine people who have a
Additives extraction 1 5 000 16 10 10 0.8 0.8 10 relatively low level of
Alt. fuel truck discharger 1 20 000 16 10 10 3.2 3.2 10 experience.
Alternative fuel feeder 1 10 000 24 10 10 2.4 2.4 15 f The design
Cem. additives transport 1 5 000 13 10 10 0.7 0.7 8
conditions (e.g.
Palletiser 1 15 000 11 10 10 1.7 1.7 10
air flow, pressure,
filtering surface) are
RM belts 2 3 500 16 10 10 1.1 1.1 16
not always properly
Cement silos (steel) 2 3 500 11 10 10 0.8 0.8 16
defined, and are
Cement mill - elevator 1 3 500 13 10 10 0.5 0.5 30
sometimes requested
By-pass chlorine dust
1 3 500 24 10 10 0.8 0.8 16 from suppliers with
silo
weak guarantee
45 349 100 74.5 74.5 25
terms.

44 World Cement May 2020

f The criteria for purchasing (order winners) is often limited by
size and price constraints.
f The vendor list is open to second-rate suppliers, with a lot of
space for unspecialised newcomers, often coming from the
local market.
f In case of renewal or replacement of old equipment, the
existing filters are often re-used, refurbished, and displaced,
without the necessary care when checking their capacity and
arrangement.

Ordinary maintenance
f In many cases, the locations of the units are, by necessity,
out of the inspection paths, not systematically followed by the
maintenance staff, due to insufficient survey procedures.
f Some of them are confined in hot and dusty places, which
are very uncomfortable and unsafe for both humans and
mechanical/electric equipment. Improving local environmental
conditions is essential for good maintenance (e.g. clinker apron
dedusting or extraction from domes).
f The setup of the filters and their calibration must be carried out
with consideration and should be frequently checked.
f With the aim of enhancing bag durability and reducing energy
consumption, dust leakages and undesired air intakes must be
avoided and promptly stopped, even if small.
f Emissions should be checked each year; attention should still
be paid in case of a visible plume from the stack or fugitive dust
at the main devices.
f The lifetime of nuisance filters can exceed the durability of
some components; essential replacement parts for filtering and
cleaning can become unavailable, resulting in low efficiency or
the whole system becoming unreliable. Very often high quality
filters are removed from service due to a lack of solenoids,
pneumatic valves, blowing pipes, electronics, etc.
f The efficiency of dedusting is also compromised by components
other than the filters, requiring proper maintenance, for which
integrity and spares are critical (typical examples are curtains
for suction hoods on belts, isolation of valves, bends of

INDUSTRIAL
ductworks, textile joints, dust discharge devices).

It is important to take care during every phase of a filter’s lifespan,

always using reliable resources and involving the best suppliers FANS FOR THE
as partners.
HARSHEST
Hard approach
There is potential for significant improvements to come from
CONDITIONS
state-of-the-art technologies and practices, which can be
implemented in all phases of the lifetime of the equipment: Tailor-made products
f CFD support is seldom considered when designing these (QHUJ\HIƓFLHQWDQG
filters, despite the fact that many annoyances are caused by high-performance fans
poor gas distribution. For these reasons, RD42 is convinced
that an additional few kilograms of steel are essential to Heavy duty industrial
perform the function. It is important to keep in mind that standards
ex-post corrections made by experts can be a solution.
f Improving bag quality – new specialised felts, and new Fast and reliable 24/7 service
materials such as microfibres or membranes must be seriously
Expert
considered, even in the case of small units, as they can cut
emissions significantly. knowledge
f The proper arrangement of the suction points and hoods, since 1906
the selection of shape and diameters of ductwork, calibrated
flanges, and regulating (automatic or manual) valves are all
MOVING AIR. SAVING ENERGY.

WWW.POLLRICH.COM
 Table 4. Power consumption. critical for the efficiency of the system.
These activities require experience and
competence, mostly for cases where
Energy consumption Process Nuisance
multiple lines are connected to a single
filter.
210.7 182.0 Nm³/hr f Connecting new suction ducts
Compressed air
42 36 kW
to existing filters is very easy,
but this has the potential to
Fan suction 633 210 kW cause catastrophic results as
a consequence of a failure to
evaluate the effects of the new
flows, pressures, and geometry of
connections.
f Frequency converters for the
fans dedicated to small filters are
infrequent and their implementation
should be increased not only for
optimising consumptions; in case
of high variability of the conditions,
they are essential for the smooth
operation of the system, (e.g. the
air temperature on a clinker apron
conveyor is suddenly variable
between 0˚C to 150˚C or more).
f For the same occurrence, instruments
and control automation should be
properly provided, possibly with a
minimum set of data exchange with
the DCS.
f Emissions are almost never monitored
on a continuous basis, mainly due to
the cost of installing and maintaining
so many instruments; leakage
detectors/dust monitors can be
found at reasonable prices with good
reliability, to supply good support and
prompt detection of failures.
f Suction efficiency around the filters
must be constantly monitored, and
Multiple suction network connected to a single filter, in leakages promptly fixed, to avoid the
a very crowded sorting department. generation of ‘fugitive dust’, which is
much more difficult to control.

Process matters
This is an issue which is normally
neglected; in some cases, relatively
small units are involved in some delicate
processes, for which careful attention
must be paid. A recent example
encountered by RD42 concerns the
dedusting of a clinker silo, for which a
study of the transient related to the filling
level and the temperature of the clinker
has eliminated a very visible plume.

Re-engineering and new frontiers

This is a very interesting area, due to
its great potential coming from relatively
Extemporary connection of ducts at a filter inlet leaves new technologies, coupled with field
plenty of room for imagination. experience.

46 World Cement May 2020

 Multiple suction
The idea of ‘one filter per piece of equipment’,
with single units installed onboard the
equipment, even if the best from an efficiency
and CAPEX point of view, should be
reconsidered due to the following:
f Reducing the emission points is the better
way to properly control them.
f Bigger filters, reduced in number, are
better for maintenance, for installing more
efficient equipment, such as fans,
cleaning and monitoring systems and
to avoid sources of fugitive dust.
step, not only to bring them back to life, but
also to get consumption and emissions under
control, at the same time as improving the
unit’s reliability. A lot of the time, the economic
balance with everything considered, is positive.
Recent but proven systems, based on both
PLCs or modern processors, thanks to their
flexible and efficient new algorithms, are
capable of interfacing with point-to-point, matrix
or serial cabling on the filter side and with

This kind of design is not for everybody;

sophisticated engineering is required,
requiring the ability to balance suction
and ductwork drawing; 3D CAD
mastered with laser scanning on existing
plants can result in precise construction
of parts for easy on-site assembly.
Taking care when selecting shapes and
materials is essential for durability and
reliability of all the parts.

Automation renewal and centralisation

Replacing electric/electronic/pneumatic
components on old units is the first No elevator means a lot of stairs to climb for inspections.

The reliable brand!

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common protocols to the plant DCS, at quite a
reasonable price.
For all the efforts and technology to be
effective, it should be mandatory to overcome
the problem of implementing efficient
centralised monitoring, for which physical
distance and cabling costs are, at the moment,
the real hurdle. In this regard, RD42, in
partnership with its suppliers is approaching
a solution that could be tested in the next few
months and proposed to the market.
Converging ducts, each provided with a regulating flap.
Conclusions
From the quantitative analysis, it is evident that
nuisance filters must be seriously considered
for environmental evaluation. A process for
overcoming a number of barriers, based on
soft and hard approaches has been described,
based on both human and technical issues,
enlarging the focus from the dust collector
itself to the whole number of parts connected.
Methods for implementing currently available,
or future, technologies have been described.
RD42 believes that effective
solutions are on hand, so that one
day, ‘nuisance filters’ will be replaced
by the cleaner and more intelligent
process of ‘secondary dedusting’.
About the author
Founder and CEO of
RD42 Engineering, and formerly in
the management of Redecam group,
Giorgio has worked as a Consultant
and Process Integrator for major
international clients across multiple
technical sectors for over 25 years.
He remains strongly committed to
client satisfaction, fair business, and
innovation for the environment.
Travis J. Reed, Argos,
discusses how adopting the
Wildlife Habitat Certification
(WHC) voluntary programme
for Argos’ cement plants
and terminals is helping
the company to achieve
its sustainability and
environmental conservation
goals.
rgos, a subsidiary of the
Grupo Argos Business Group,
believes in its ability to thrive in a
global, competitive and changing
business environment, due to the proper
management of its economic, environmental
and social risks and opportunities. The
company’s actions are aimed at creating
value for society and the company, in
order to boost development and improve
livelihoods through its products and services.

49
To achieve this objective, the company operates
under a sustainability strategy that leads
the organisation through four lines of work:
relationships of trust, responsible production,
business profitability, and shared values.
f Relationships of trust: Relationships with
the company’s stakeholders are based upon
transparency and mutual support, achieved
through dialogue and collective strengthening,
which allows common goals to be reached.
f Shared values: The company looks to the
future by also focusing on the present,
starting with individual actions. Argos aims
to contribute to the empowerment of its
stakeholders, who are instrumental in creating
change.
f Responsible production: The company uses
resources responsibly, and works to prevent,
mitigate, correct and compensate for the
environmental impacts of its value chain.
f Business profitability: Argos’ decisions are
aimed at the generation of effective solutions,
with the purpose of maximising the value
created for its customers and the business.
In the construction industry, being sustainable
requires commitment, resources, and a corporate
culture committed to doing the right thing. Argos
has developed three policies derived from the
sustainability strategy, that seek to materialise
the value it hopes to create from environmental
stewardship, community engagement, and
occupational health and safety.
Argos’ Martinsburg cement plant.
50
When it comes to environmental stewardship
and reducing its environmental impact, Argos aims
to use and protect the environment responsibly,
ensuring that its operations are aligned with this
commitment. For this reason, the company has an
environmental management system that allows it to
prevent, mitigate, correct and compensate for its
impacts, with special emphasis on five pillars:
f Sustainable construction: Argos is dedicated
to contributing to sustainable construction
certification systems, like LEED, with its
sustainable product portfolio expertise.
f Circular economy: The company plays a part
in the transition to a circular economy by
using various by-products and waste that,
due to their characteristics, can partly replace
the fossil fuels or conventional raw materials
used in production processes. In this way,
they minimise the impacts associated with the
disposal of waste, as well as those related to
the exploitation, production and transportation
of natural resources.
f Climate change: The company is undertaking
actions with its stakeholders to promote
sustainability and adaptation to the impacts
that climate change brings.
f Emissions: Monitoring, controlling and
reducing emissions is important to the
company, to reduce impacts derived from its
operations.
f Water and biodiversity: The company also
directs its efforts towards the identification and
management of risks and significant impacts
on water and the biodiversity in the places
where Argos operates.
In addition to the environmental policy,
Argos views biodiversity as natural capital,
hence, the company has committed to
delivering actions aimed at the responsible
management of ecosystems and its
associated services such as water, minerals,
food and other biological resources.
The company recognises its responsibility
in the management of a shared resource
and in the assurance of the access and
availability of this resource in the long term.
Therefore, Argos USA participates in the
Wildlife Habitat Council’s Conservation
Certification programme for its cement plants
and terminals.
The Wildlife Habitat Certification
(WHC)
The Wildlife Habitat Council’s
Conservation Certification programme is
the only voluntary sustainability standard
designed for broad-based biodiversity
enhancement and conservation education
activities on corporate landholdings.
World Cement May 2020
The Conservation Certification recognises garden and bird box is therefore a step towards
wide-ranging projects that include native replenishing resources for wildlife such as bees,
landscaping, mangrove restoration, butterfly butterflies, birds, and amphibians, both locally and
monitoring, sustainable hunting to control deer along migratory corridors.
populations, PhD projects and community Additionally, Argos’ Newberry cement plant
Earth Day events. Argos USA specifically focuses currently has a bat roost project to provide safe
on native landscaping, butterfly or pollinator places for bats to settle, and Argos’ Martinsburg
monitoring, mammalia and avian species habitat cement plant has a unique black vulture tracking
management, and invasive species management. programme.
The certification process starts with the design
and planning phase in which the operation Newberry cement plant bat roost
defines the conservation objective, evaluates project
the resources and gets to understand the The Newberry plant started its conservation
habitats. The planning phase is followed by the project when it constructed and installed a bat
implementation phase and the documentation roost in 2014, and applied for certification in
phase, in which, after the project is in place,
the operation has to monitor the evolution
of the project. After the project has been in
place for some time and after knowing that
the project is successful, it is time to apply
for the WHC certification. The certification
is a two-year process in which monitoring
and meeting objectives must be continued to
obtain it.
This certification is a valuable achievement
as it recognises important wildlife habitat
management programmes and education
for preservation and community outreach
initiatives. The programmes are aimed at
protecting mammals and creating spaces
for different pollinators, such as insects,
birds and bats – an ecological service that
guarantees food security, among other
things.
To be certified by the WHC, the
company’s operations had to demonstrate
that they had a meaningful wildlife habitat
management and conservation education
programme, that the habitat to be certified
was locally appropriate, and that the project
exceeded any regulatory requirements
already established. The company also had
to prove that the programme was verified
by a third-party, produced an aggregated
metric for reporting and demonstrated a
long-term commitment to managing quality
habitat for wildlife, conservation education
and community outreach initiatives.
Argos in the United States pursued the
certifications granted by the WHC for
around 18 plants including cement plants
and terminals.
Most of the certified Argos sites are
focusing on small size projects, such as
pollinator gardens and bird nesting boxes
to best suit the location. Gardens and bird
boxes are of great importance, because due
to rapid and large-scale changes to their
lands and waters, many species are losing
their traditional habitats. Each pollinator Argos’ Atlanta cement plant.

May 2020 World Cement 51

June 2015. The certification was granted to the
plant at the end of 2015.
With the intention of continuing the conservation
project, making it successful and regaining the
certification, the company’s Newberry plant has
partnered with the Lubee Bat Conservancy, which
is a nonprofit organisation that is dedicated to
saving bats and their habitats through research,
conservation and education with focus on
community engagement.
The Lubee Bat Conservancy helped the
plant and its teams through the construction
and installation of a new bat roost. This new
particular design of bat roost was tested with
successful results at other locations in the
Gainesville, Florida, area. To select the ideal
location for its installation, some sonic monitors
were placed overnight in three locations to
determine where the highest concentration and
widest variety of bats might be found.
By the end of 2017 the WHC, again, granted
a certification to the Newberry plant. The project
was a success; in 2018 bats did occupy the
house, and by early 2019 it appeared to be near
capacity (approximately 400 bats), therefore the
next project will be to construct another roost to
continue increasing the bat population.
Martinsburg cement plant black vulture
tracking programme
The Martinsburg Plant established management
measures for the control of the black vulture. The
project originated after the plant noted an unusual
increase in the number of black vultures on the
property (more than 100 birds), and the initial
approach was to remove them from the property,
with the help of the proper authorities (USDA).
Argos’ Newberry cement plant.
52
The birds’ natural behaviours make them a risk
for the activities that take place in the area of
influence around the facility.
After contracting with the USDA, the
team trapped and removed approximately
100 black vultures from the Martinsburg plant
location. However, in the spring and summer of
2018, more of these vultures began to roost in the
quarry areas and appeared to take up residence
on the pre-heater tower at the plant.
Black vultures are a social species
of avian scavengers, most commonly
found in Central America and the
southeastern United States. However, they have
extended their range beyond the mid-Atlantic
region in the last few decades.
To successfully remove these birds and to
better understand their migratory patterns and
behaviours, Argos proposed a black vulture
tag-study. For this, Argos partnered with USDA,
the Conservation Science Global (CSG) and the
WHC. Approximately 51 birds were tagged. This
project will provide the data needed to estimate
the rates at which vultures leave and return to
Argos, and how they move and interact within the
local environment. The company’s Martinsburg
plant applied for the WHC in 2019.
Atlanta cement plant and pollinator
gardens project
Recently, Argos’ Atlanta Cement Plant
built pollinator gardens geared towards bees and
butterflies, as well as bluebird boxes that provide
shelter for them.
Conclusions
The WHC programme at Argos continues to
expand; the company’s Harleyville cement
plant is now also working towards gaining the
certification. This certification demonstrates
that the company is committed to
sustainability and environmental conservation.
In addition to being focused on being the best
option for its clients with its products and
services, Argos also aims to create value to
society and the environment.
About the author
As Argos USA’s Senior Director –
Sustainability, Travis J. Reed provides
guidance for the cement and ready mix
operations, as it relates to achieving
the sustainability goals set forth by the
organisation. Having been with Argos since
2004, Travis leverages his background in
environmental management, community
relations, and occupational health and safety
to foster a corporate culture that places value
on sustainable economic, environmental, and
social transformation.
World Cement May 2020
WALTER Materials Handling
presents a case study involving the
commissioning of an automated
alternative fuels co-processing
system for a cement plant in the
UAE.
he use of alternative solid fuels in the
cement industry is becoming more common,
including in Middle-Eastern cement plants.
Globally, fossil fuel prices are rising, which
is pushing energy consumers to look for alternatives
to reduce the cost of manufacturing. In this article,
WALTER Material Handling solutions, a division of
ATS-Group, will present a case study of a recently
commissioned, fully automated co-processing system
for a large cement plant in the UAE, situated roughly
45 km from Dubai.

53
 This plant has been the market
leader in the production of Portland
cement since the company began
production.
In 2017, plant management decided
to use alternative solid fuels (ASF), as
construction wood waste increased
in UAE; various wood waste can
be accessed easily for the plant.
Management was also clear that in
the future, alternative solid fuels will
extend to refuse derived fuel (RDF)
and tyre derived fuel (TDF); it was
therefore looking for a turnkey solution
to use all ASF in its cement kiln.
Initially, the plant team started to
investigate various process aspects
of the kiln (pyro-process). Based
on the process study and market
investigation, the plant team made a
decision to start with a 5 tph feeding
system with low investment, but with
a fully automated pre-processing and
The metered ASF is fed to the side walls conveyor. This
co-processing system for one of the
equipment conveys 21.9 m horizontally crossing the road
pyro-process lines, for which clinker
below and lifts ASF by 33.9 m.
production capacity is 2000 tpd. The
pre-processing plant was installed
to prepare wood chips as per the
desired size for complete burning in
the calciner.
The team produced a market survey
on various systems and visited several
plants during 2017. The team also
visited the WALTER (ATS-Group)
installation in India and found
WALTER equipment to be flexible in
handling a range of alternative solid
fuels.
After detailed analysis, the
team decided to work with
WALTER Material Handling solutions
for its alternative fuels co-processing
system (feeding system).
For a cost-effective, fully automated
system, WALTER provided a
solution with a top loader. After
a comprehensive evaluation and
discussion with the cement plant team,
a turnkey handling solution suitable for
the plant layout was proposed:

f Top loader scrapper with bunker

storage capacity.
f Chain belt conveyor with hopper
and calibrator.
f Dosing belt.
f Side wall conveyor for conveying
and lifting.
The double valve airlock unit consists of two electrical valves f Small vibrating conveyor for
and a pneumatic sliding gate. isolation of the belt.

54 World Cement May 2020

f Double valve airlock with safety shut off gate.
Storage management with top loader
This is a concrete wall bunker, where unloading
is done directly by the front loader on the truck
into the bunker storage. The total volumetric
capacity of the bunker storage is 600 m3.
The top loader bucket remains in a
maintenance zone while the truck unloads.
Red and green signals are provided along
with an entry barrier to control truck entry inside
the bunker. The PLC-managed red-green signal
determines when the truck unloader can unload
material inside the bunker.
The top loader has various cycles for feeding
to the hopper by bucket, such as a feeding
cycle, back filling cycle, find fuel cycle, etc. This
solution allows customers to unload directly
by truck and provides an automated extraction
system. Based on hopper level, the top loader
feeds to hopper from bunker.
Extraction and dosing with chain belt
conveyor and dosing belt
The top loader bucket feeds to the hopper of
the chain belt conveyor. The hopper capacity is
20 m3, which provides storage for almost 1 hr for
wood chips. Hopper level indicators are used in
the PLC to provide feedback to the top loader.
Calibration is provided on the bed of the chain
belt to push back extra material into the hopper,
providing constant thickness of the product after
calibration. With a 40˚ inclination, the product
is lifted to 16.7 m height from the ground. This
immediate lifting provides more than 8 m of
ground clearance for further equipment, and
keeping the road clear for traffic.
This uniform flow of ASF is then transferred to
the dosing belt. Based on weight feedback, the
PLC automatically manages the speed for the
dosing belt as well as for the chain belt conveyor,
to regulate the flow as per set point received from
SCF control system DCS. The system is capable
of extraction and dosing at 5 tph for all kinds of
alternative fuels ranging from 0.2 to 0.6 t/m3 and
grain size.
Various trials were taken during commissioning
for wood chips feeding and shredded tyre
feeding. Dosing capability of 5 tph was tested
and found to be suitable for all fuels. Various
tests were done for dosing accuracy for ±1%
and found to be suitable.
Conveying and lifting by side wall
conveyor
The metered ASF is then fed to the side wall
conveyor. This equipment conveys 21.9 m
horizontally, crossing the road below and lifts the
ASF by 33.9 m. Below are the advantages of the
side wall conveyor:
f Close to preheater tower.
f Vertical transfer application, and compact
design.
f Less maintenance with one step conveyor.
f Capable of providing vertical lifting up to 60 m.
f Material carried between special corrugated
side walls.
f Twisted belt possible for 90˚ angles.
f Can be driven at speed of 2 m/sec.
f Lightweight structure for side walls – can be
manufactured at the site.
f Roller drums provided with runner pocket
cleaning system.
f Hot vulcanising on only one joint carried out at
site.
This is a concrete bunker, where unloading is carried out
directly by the front loader on the truck into the bunker
storage. The total volumetric capacity of the bunker
storage is 600 m3.
56
The double valve airlock unit consists of
two electrical valves and a pneumatic sliding
gate. The opening and closing of valves is
realised by the pendulum of a single flap. An
electrical motor ensures a very short cycle time,
for example, around 6 sec., with efficient closing
and opening. VFD regulates the acceleration and
deceleration of the valves, so that flaps open and
close smoothly and rapidly. Sensors are used to
indicate the position of each flap.
The technical advantage of electrical drives
over pneumatic valves is a more than 50%
reduction in cycle time. A double valve system
enables the safe introduction of ASFs of a
varied nature (grain size 1 to 400 mm) into the
calciner with a short cycle time and a minimised
introduction of false air.
Regarding security, the double valve airlock
offers three safety levels. Level 1 and 2 are
used in case of a power shut down, and the
mechanical flap closing is ensured with an
integrated counterweight. Level 3 is used in case
of a pressure drop from the plant air tank
placed on the electro pneumatic cabinet,
which ensures that the safety gate is
closed. Excessively high temperatures
or pressure will be detected by sensors
located between the top and bottom
valves.
Mechanical performance of a double
valve airlock is also dependant upon
the right choice of material. This type
of airlock is very compact and can be
mounted easily on the calciner. It has
generated a great deal of interest from
cement producers.
Several cement plants, in India and
worldwide, have already been equipped
with these new electrical double valve
airlocks. Since their commissioning, the
installations have been running to the full
satisfaction of the client.
About the authors
WALTER Materials handling is a member
of ATS Group and has been providing
alternative fuels solutions to the cement
industry for more than 30 years. The
company proposes complete solutions
and equipment from storage management
to introduction, including the extraction,
dosing, conveying and introduction of
burning alternative fuels (AF) such as
RDF, SRF, TDF (shredded tyres), whole
tyres, rice husk and wood pieces, for the
calciner and main burner.
Today, WALTER Materials handling
has worldwide coverage with its
three-operation centres and workshops
located in France, Turkey and India.
World Cement May 2020
 Panu Kantosalo, Cross Wrap,
outlines how automatic bale
wrappers and bale openers
could improve the way cement
manufacturers handle, transport
and store alternative fuels.
he cement industry has consistently been
investing in the use of alternative fuels to
be more sustainable and to cut back on the
use of virgin fuel materials. These alternative
fuels such as RDF and SRF are being manufactured
and delivered to end-users in the cement industry
from many internationally operating companies.

57
Some of the larger cement companies
have their own means of alternative fuel
manufacturing. These alternative fuels consist
of high calorific value shredded materials that
LafargeHolcim Spain invested in an automatic
Cross Wrap Bale Opener to improve its waste fuel
infeed-operation capacity and process automation.
are often transported and stored in baled form
to keep the logistical costs down. Wrapping
the baled fuel material is the most efficient way
to enable transporting across roads, rails, and
seas.
Finland-based Cross Wrap Oy has over
25 years of experience in manufacturing
automatic bale wrappers and bale
openers for different industries. There, the
Cross Wrap bale wrapping method has
become the industry standard in wrapping
the waste- and waste-fuel material bales.
The waste-to-energy sector is now the
biggest customer sector for the company
including MRFs, waste-fuel manufacturers
and traders, waste-to-energy plants and
cement kilns.
The majority of 500 delivered Cross Wrap
machines are used in the waste-to-energy
industry and the patented cross wrapping
method has gained status in the industry
as a leading method of wrapping baled
waste materials. The method offers gentle
and effective bale movement during the

Table 1. LafargeHolcim’s Villaluenga cement plant project.

Company background
Global operator and one of the world’s largest building materials manufacturers, LafargeHolcim, operates in four different business
areas: Cement manufacturing, Aggregates, Ready-Mix Concrete and Solutions & Products. The company has operations all around
the world in 80 different countries and has over 75 000 workers. The company’s growth is based on global population growth,
urbanisation and improving living standards and sustainable constructions.
The company was founded in 2015 when companies Lafarge and Holcim merged and created LafargeHolcim. With its
headquarters based in Switzerland, the company reached a combined net sale of CHF26 billion in 2017.

Villaluenga cement plant

LafargeHolcim’s Villaluenga, Spain, cement manufacturing plant updated its alternative fuel (WtE) infeed system by purchasing a
fully automatic Cross Wrap BO 3600 Bale Opener machine. The purchase was made in 2018 and the machinery was installed
in April of 2019. The investment prework was conducted by LafargeHolcim company, Geocycle, which is responsible for all the
waste management activities at LafargeHolcim.
By shifting to the Cross Wrap Bale Opener, the customer wanted to automate its alternative fuel infeed, where baled and wrapped
SRF is used as alternative fuel in the cement manufacturing process. The CW Bale Opener opens the bales automatically,
separates the wrapping film and bale wires. This helps to steady the infeed process and maintain a higher quality fuel stream.
The cement kiln alternative fuel infeed system is dependent on steady fuel handling. The CW Bale Opener removes the wrapping
film from the bale content and moves the baled material forward to the process. With the help of CW bale opener, no bale tying
material will be mixed in among the fuel.

Benefits of the CW Bale Opener

One of the biggest benefits of the CW Bale Opener is its operation, which opens both the square and round bales. For this, it was
a good choice for LafargeHolcim, as it allowed the company to receive all types and shapes of alternative fuel bales, and store
them wrapped on their premises for use depending on process needs.
As the CW Bale Opener operates automatically, the loader only needs to place the bales at the feeding conveyor and the machine
does the rest. The bale opening cycle speed is automatically adjusted according to the fuel infeed line speed or the bale loading
speed, if material is continuing on to a bunker.
The option to choose feeding conveyor length helps to set a comfortable and safe pace for bale loading. A longer feeding conveyor
helps to buffer the feeding, slow down loading speed and helps the operator to work without hurry, which increases safety and
operational precision.

58 World Cement May 2020

wrapping cycle. This keeps the bale structure feature as the process efficiency and product
unstressed during wrapping and helps to quality are dependent on the quality of the raw
maintain a clean operation. The method also materials used in the process, including the
keeps the machinery layouts, bale tracks and alternative fuel.
conveying lines simple and adaptable, as well
as flexible for different needs. The WTE concept
By using baled and wrapped alternative fuel The alternative fuel wrapping and the whole
materials, cement manufacturers can improve alternative fuel lifecycle in baled form has been
their fuel handling, transportation, and storage. conceptualised by Cross Wrap. This WTE
The use of wrapped material enables
more flexible operation as the wrapped
waste fuel bales are easy to transport
and they can be stored outdoors with
no littering, fire hazard or problems with
odours and leakages.

Getting more from RDF and SRF

Bale wrapping helps to maintain the
alternative fuel calorific value. The airtight
wrapped package does not allow the
baled material to be composted with air.
This keeps the fuel’s calorific value as
high as it was when baled. The plastic
wrap keeps any moisture away from the
baled RDF and SRF. It also prevents
combustion when transporting or storing
and reduces the risk of fire.
These benefits keep the stored fuel
in good condition. This is an important CW Bale Opener.

B a g fi l t ers
H e a t ex ch an ge rs
P n eum a ti c conv e yin g GORCO S.A.
Com pl e t e d e dus t ing pl an ts
LEIOA (Bizkaia)
Spain
+34 944635244
gorco@gorco.es
concept is developed to simplify and generate
operational benefits for alternative-fuel users
and manufacturers.
The concept focuses on maintaining good
material and operational quality throughout fuel
wrapping, transport and storage operations. As
the fuel bales are wrapped, the material quality
remains unchanged, but the concept reveals
other beneficial factors deriving from wrapping.
CW 2200 Bale Wrapper.
The Cross Wrap Bale Opener can open both cubical
and round bales. The machine’s feeding conveyor
gives the loader more time.
Cross Wrap waste-to-energy concept.
60
One of the biggest benefits of wrapping is
that the baled and wrapped material can be
easily transported and stored. The cubical
bale form is the most efficient shape to be
transported, and the balers that produce
cubical bales are the most common industrial
balers around the world. Also, the bale
densities and weights are the best when
using industrial channel- or two-ram balers.
By crosswrapping, the bale structure and
content are secured, and the bale handling
is safer and cleaner.
Wrapped bales can be stored outside
safely, which helps to minimise storage
expenses and the storage footprint. This
enables the possibility of efficient and
safe buffer storages with minimal costs
or effects on the material. These storage
benefits apply to all positions on the fuel
materials’ logistical journey.
Offering both wrapping and bale
opening machines for the job
Cross Wrap’s bale wrappers represent the
company’s long line of industrial wrapping
machines. These machines use the latest
automation programmes and sophisticated
user interfaces that are easy to use and
to learn. The machines offer an efficiency
boost with high automation, accurate
programmability and tailored wrapping
programmes to suit the needs of a variety of
customers.
There are two of the company’s
bale wrapper models that both
use the same wrapping method.
The most used bale wrapper is the
CW 2200, which can be paired with
any baler. Another wrapper model, the
CW Direct wrapper, wraps the bale directly
from the two-ram-balers chamber. This direct
World Cement May 2020
wrapping method only needs the wrapping
film to wrap the bale, with no additional bale
ties needed. The bale wrapper customers are
most commonly MRFs and alternative fuel
producers.
To handle the wrapped bales at their end
location, the CW Bale Opening machine has
been developed. This machine automatically
opens the bales and removes the wrapping film
together with possible bale ties from the bale.
These CW Bale Opener machines are used
by Waste-to-Energy plants and cement kilns.
The CW Bale Opener machine offers high
automation and optimal fuel flow for processes Wrapped RDF bales stored outside.
and it helps to keep the material quality high.

Worldwide projects
Cross Wrap has delivered machines to
over 55 countries during its history, and the
company is constantly working to develop
the machine’s capabilities, finding new
solutions and options for customers. The
company’s approach to gentle bale conveying
and single-stage wrapping with adjustable
programming and modular line design has
proven to be successful in industries such
as waste handling, recycling, and board
manufacturing.
Nowadays there are hundreds of Cross Wrap
bale wrappers around the globe and numerous LafargeHolcim cement mill in Villaluenga,
Cross Wrap Bale Openers operating in cement Spain, uses a Cross Wrap Bale Opener.
manufacturing facilities and in Waste-to-energy
plants. The latest of the Bale opener deliveries
has introduced the automatic CW bale opening
machine to major cement manufacturers in
Spain and in Turkey (Table 1).

Investments to enhance the operation

Cross Wrap’s CW Bale Opener has become
the choice for many cement kilns and
waste-to-energy plants. The company works
to offer solutions that become the industry
standard and provide more operational
efficiency and competitive advantages to their
users.

About the author

Panu Kantosalo (M.A. & B.A.) has been
Cross Wrap Oy’s Marketing Manager for
the last two years and is a 37 years old
M.A. of Organisational Communications
from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland,
and a Bachelor of Media Design from JAMK
University of Applied Sciences, Jyväskylä,
Finland.
Today, the author’s work consists of
gathering the latest information regarding
waste-to-energy, circular economy, packaging,
and logistical solutions and compiling them to
an understandable form. CW Bale Opener machine automatic operation.

May 2020 World Cement 61

62
Dr John Irons, Halifax Fan UK, and
Diane Wang, Halifax Fan China,
provide an overview of how
clinker cooler and sinter fans
operate in cement plants.
linker/sinter cooling is one of the main
operations in a cement plant and in a
steel works sinter strand. Whereas other
processes may involve two to four large
fans, cooling involves a greater number of fans with
each fan blowing air through the sinter as it passes by.
In a steel works sinter strand, the hot air generated
by cooling the sinter is not used, so the bed is typically
open to the atmosphere. The only pressure drop that
needs to be overcome is the sinter bed. This means
that for steel works, large axial fans are generally
used. These fans are typically variable pitch fans to
allow the load to be changed. However, the pitch is
often adjusted by manually loosening the blades and
turning them.
63
 Cement clinker is much hotter than steel sinter when
it exits the kiln, being up to 1450˚C. This is cooled
down to about 150˚C. In addition, the clinker must be
cooled rapidly to retain its quality. These aspects mean
that air must be rapidly forced through the clinker. In
addition to this, there has been a trend towards using
high pressure grates to make the cooling flow relatively
independent of the clinker bed. This also helps to
keep the grate cool. The high temperature additionally
means that heat recovery is required, its principal uses
being pre-heated air in the kiln and in the pre-calciners.
The result is that cement clinker cooling fans are
typically centrifugal fans. The fans at the start of the
process are higher pressure/lower flow and those at
the end of the process are higher flow/lower pressure.
A pair of cooler fans ready to ship in the factory.
Clinker fan installed close to clinker cooler wall.
64
When obtaining new cooler fans, aspects such
as higher efficiency, duct layout, bearing selection,
noise and flow measurement should be considered to
ensure that the new solution is better than the current
solution.
A more efficient fan
Traditionally, fans were made by platers drawing out
patterns on plates, cutting out the patterns and then
welding the plates together. Blade angles would be
measured and marked with the quality of the impeller,
which was highly dependent on the skills of the plater.
Today, fans are laser cut. The backplate has slots
and tabs, ensuring that the blade angle is correct. A
parallel topcone can also have slots and tabs, ensuring
an accurate impeller construction.
The inlet eye of a centrifugal fan has a gap with the
inlet cone. If this gap is incorrect, the leakage air can
blow across the impeller, preventing the inlet air from
filling the impeller. If the leakage air is in the optimum
range and is guided up the topcone, it can help the
air to fill the impeller. Optimum leakage air gives better
performance than both too little and too much leakage
air. Wider impellers can be more efficient because
they have less of a leakage air effect. However they
present two problems for cement production:
f They have a wider stall region and stronger stall,
so do not have a large flow turndown.
f The pressure/volume characteristics of the fans
are only suitable for the low-pressure end of the
coolers.
Halifax Fan has focused its development of fans for the
cement industry on medium width fans with a parallel
topcone to ensure that the geometry is controlled
during production, with slots and tabs on both the
backplate and topcone. In order to ensure that the
impeller is filled with air, the inlet eye is machined.
These fans are the CSTC, MeSTC and MeNSTC.
Using a combination of two pole, four pole and six pole
selections, it is possible to cover the entire range with
these designs.
Some cement plants avoid two pole fans for clinker
coolers. This ignores the modern trend towards high
pressure grate beds, which give a more stable load
to the fans. Since narrower fans tend to be even less
efficient, the concern is more correctly addressed
by ensuring that the fan operates well below its peak
pressure.
The benefits of improved fan manufacturing
techniques and designs can be seen in Table 1,
which gives selections obtained for a clinker cooler
application. The average efficiency is 86.2%, much
higher than the average efficiency of 75% or less
typically measured with old fans.
Think about the ducting
The angle of the walls are important when it comes
to duct expansion. Studies have shown that if the
angle is close to 15° then the flow will separate from
World Cement May 2020
the wall. Once the flow has separated, there will be The risk of skidding is higher with taperlock bearing
recirculating flow between the flow stream and the fittings as these make the bearings at least one size
duct wall. This recirculating flow prevents the flow larger. For overhung fans, the bearing most at risk of
re-joining the wall, which results in flow maldistribution being too lightly loaded is the fan drive-end bearing.
in the duct and, just as importantly, results in a large For bearing cartridges, the space in the middle can
loss at the expansion. act as an oil reservoir. These are available with both
Ducting is usually sized for flow, with 20 m/s oil and grease lubrication. Plummer blocks require
being a typical maximum. There is also a desire to a housing with an oil reservoir, so are not as readily
have ducting with an aspect ratio of two or less. The available with oil lubrication. Although oil lubrication
traditional approach to clinker cooler fans was to use allows lighter bearing loading, with simple seals, oil has
narrower width fans, especially for the fans at the start a tendency to leak. This means that specialist seals are
of the clinker cooler. Often little consideration was now usually used with oil lubricated bearings. The oil
given to expansion losses, which would result in a leakage issue is an environmental issue. This means
rapid expansion from the narrow fan to the main duct. that even for larger fans, companies are moving away
More efficient fans can have wider casings. If no from oil lubrication, especially in the environments in
consideration is given to the ducting, this can result in which cooler fans are used. Halifax Fan is currently
the new fan having a contraction fitted to the discharge working with a customer to change sinter cooling
followed by the original rapid expansion. Table 2 axial fans from oil lubrication to grease lubrication. In
gives losses calculated for a fan installation that was addition to this, having reviewed the bearing loads, the
problematic. bearing size has been reduced to improve the bearing
Losses of 10% and 34% are very high. The load and extend the bearing life.
higher loss was from a simple duct with a very rapid
expansion, so could be easily fixed with a quick The right sound
payback. Legislation in most countries has 85 dBA as the
target level. In Europe it is 80 dBA. Many older plants
Getting the bearings right have had fans installed with limited consideration to
The simplest fan design has the impeller mounted off the noise. When fans are being replaced, there is an
the motor and, in many applications, this is possible opportunity to survey the current installation and to
even for relatively large fans – up to 1.5 m impeller assess what is required from new fans. This survey
diameter. However, cooler fans tend to have a would be able to account for local and global effects:
separate bearing/shaft unit. The two types of bearing f Local effects: Against a wall, the noise has 50%
units used are bearing cartridges and separate bearing less propagation area, giving a 3 dB increase in
housings, and plummer block bearings.
With bearing cartridges, both bearings are in the
Table 1. Table showing the benefits of
same housing. With modern CMM measurement and
improved fan manufacturing techniques and
CNC machining, it is relatively easy to ensure that
design.
both bearing recesses in the housing are concentric
with each other, ensuring a long operational life. If the Fan Pole speed Total efficiency (%)
bearings are grease lubricated, the cavity between the K11 2 86.2
bearings acts as a store for used grease. Halifax Fan
has experience of fans running for 20 years with the K12 2 83.7
original bearing unit and the cavity still being nowhere K21 4 87.2
near full. The bearing types used for bearing cartridges K31 4 87.2
are typically deep groove ball bearings (DGBB) and
roller bearings (RB). K41 4 86.2
With plummer block bearings, and even with a K51 6 86.6
machined pedestal, the concentricity between the
K61 6 86.3
bearings is not as good as with a bearing cartridge.
This means that self-aligning bearings must be used. K71 6 85.9
The self-aligning bearings used are spherical roller K81 6 86.5
bearings (SRB) and self-aligning ball bearings (SABB).
K91 6 86.5
These are double roller and double ball bearings,
so typically have a higher load-carrying
capacity than deep groove ball bearings Table 2. Losses calculated for a problematic fan installation.
and roller bearings. However, a higher
Fan pressure rise (Pa) Expansion (Pa) Losses (%)
load-carrying capacity is not always
good. If the bearing is too lightly loaded 10 104 259 2.6
it can cause excessive skidding. The 6970 781 11.2
main problems with excessive skidding
are vibration and reduced bearing life. 8783 2954 33.6

May 2020 World Cement 65

 sound pressure. Against a corner the increase is The sound survey should aim at deriving free-field
6 dB. sound pressure requirements or breakout sound
f Global effects: The relative size of the fan power requirements. This is because a fan
compared to the area and the sound absorption of manufacturer will have only limited knowledge of the
the area affects noise levels. Ducting, other fans installation, so will quote one or both of these values
and walls prevent noise propagation. only. Free-field is the sound pressure that would be
measured if the machine was run in a large open field.
Sinter fans are normally installed outside, surrounded With cooler fans, there is not only casing break-out
by other sinter fans, ducting and sheet metal noise to consider. There can be significant inlet sound
walls. There may also be a roof. This can result in and duct breakout noise. The cooler chamber can
significantly higher sound levels than the free-field also radiate noise from the fans. Reducing breakout
predictions, with increases of 10 dB being possible. noise usually means increasing the thickness and/or
For example, a predicted free field sound pressure lagging. Unfortunately, situations do arise where the
level of 85 dBA can give over 95 dBA on site. duct treatment does not match the fan treatment and
the ducting becomes the major noise source. The end
user can note what is being done with the fan and
design the ducting accordingly.
A recent enquiry was made regarding two exhaust
fans on a process. The fans were supplied unlagged
with unlagged ducting. The question was asked as to
what could be done to reduce the fan noise that was
at 100 dBA. In order to assess the benefits of sound
treatment, a near field sound survey was carried out
to rank the sound sources. The results are given in
Table 3.
From the source ranking it can be seen that the
biggest sound contributor is the discharge duct, but
that both ducts, the fan casing and the motor need
Fan duties for clinker cooling. treating to meet 85 dBA. This survey highlights the
importance of considering more than just the fan when
Table 3. Table showing the benefits of sound assessing noise levels in an area.
survey carried out to rank sound sources. Cooler fans are often fitted with an inlet silencer
Sound power (dBA)
and lagging/cladding to reduce the noise. Smaller
fans usually have a round inlet silencer. Larger
37 Hz 50 Hz fans would have a baffle type silencer. The baffle
Inlet duct 102.2 108.8 type silencers can be quite large and it may not be
possible to fit one in the available space. Therefore,
Fan case 103.7 110.1 the design of the silencer and other options need to
Motor 106.1 110.4 be considered. In addition to a silencer, treatment of
reflecting surfaces whether inside or outside the fan
Discharge duct 107.5 113.1
can be used to reduce the silencer requirements.
By carrying out a detailed review of a cooler fan
application, Halifax Fan was able to reduce the inlet
silencer height substantially to fit within the available
headroom.

About the author

Dr John Irons has had over 25 years of fan design
and development experience, having joined Halifax
Fan in 2015 as the Chief Engineer from Howden
Group Technology. He has extensive experience of fan
design, including noise, vibration and fluid dynamics.

Diane Wang joined Halifax Fan China in 2007 and

Group of cooler fans installed and anti-vibration
mounts with new foundations.
has worked closely with customers to drive product
development through providing solutions to customer
needs. She is now the Manager of the Shanghai
office, with a key focus on serving the cement industry.
Last year Diane received her MBA from the University
of Liège, Belgium.

66 World Cement May 2020

GEING CREATIVE
WITH CRUSHER
DUST
P. Ponnusamy, Lelin Das, Praseeja Shankaran, & Mukesh K. Mishra,
Dalmia Cement Research Centre, consider the environmental and
economic feasibility of crusher dust-based geopolymer concrete.

T he generation of fly ash (FA) in

powerplants is a by-product of the
burning of conventional fuels (i.e.,
lignite and coal), which contribute
towards CO2 emissions.1 The usage of fly ash
(FA) in construction activities increases its
demand, cost and raises environmental
concerns. Hence, the replacement of FA with
other substitute materials in a green way is
very important. The use of crusher dust (CD)
in the preparation of geopolymer (GP) could
provide a solution to this issue. The production
of GP with CD involves zero carbon footprint.
CD is a waste product produced during the
manufacturing of crusher sand and is a major
source of silica (SiO2) and alumina (Al2O3).
Its properties include being environmentally
friendly, readily available and cost-effective.

67
The durability and strength of the set mass of
CD-based GP is found to be as good as that of
FA-based GP due to improved mechanical and
micro structural properties. These are also known
as ‘inorganic polymers’ and they play a vital role in
the context of sustainability.
Materials and methods
Fly ash: Collected from the Rayala Seema
thermal, which uses sub-bituminous coal as a fuel.
The properties of the fly ash used are given in
Tables 1 and 2.
GGBS: Granulated slag was procured from
Jindal Steel works. Its properties are given in
Tables 1 and 2.
Crusher dust: Collected from quarries near
Trichy, India. It is used for land filling and causes
environmental issues if disposed of on open
ground as it is very fine material. The physical
and chemical properties of CD are given in
Tables 1 and 2.
Figure 1. FTIR Spectra of FA and CD-based GP.
Table 1. GP raw material particle size distribution.
Materials CD FA
Alkali activators: A 1:1 mixture of 4 m sodium
silicate and sodium hydroxide is used as an alkali
activator.
GGBS, CD, FA are ground separately to attain
the desired residue range in a 5 kg capacity lab
ball mill. R-45 & R-90 micron sieve residue are the
parameters taken into consideration. PSD data is
given in Table 1.
Elemental analysis of all raw materials was
conducted in a Panalytical AxiosmAX sequential
wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence analyser.
Elemental analysis of GGBS, FA and CD was
carried out to confirm the chemical composition
in the respective materials. Analysis shows CD
is sufficiently rich in silica and alumina to form
aluminosilicate with GGBS and alkali activators in
geopolymer. Hence, the material can be tried as
raw material in the production of GP. Chemical
compositions of all the raw materials are given in
Table 2.
Coarse aggregate: Coarse aggregate from
locally available crushed stones confirming to
graded aggregate of nominal size 20 mm as per
IS: 383 – 1970 was used in this experimental
work. Its specific gravity and water absorption
are 2.76 and 2.1% respectively.
Fine aggregate: Locally available M sand
confirming to grading Zone II of IS: 383 – 1970
was used in this experimental work. The specific
gravity, water absorption and fineness modulus
of this fine aggregate is 2.65, 0.8% and 2.9
respectively. The silt content in the M sand is
3.7% and the sand confirms to zone II as per
IS 383 – 1970.
Water: Potable water with PH value of 7.0
confirming to IS 456 – 2000 was used for
making concrete and curing the specimen as
well.
Casting and testing: For the determination of
compressive strength of concrete and mortar,
both 150 x 150 mm and 70.6 x 70.6 mm sizes
are used. All the specimens were moist cured
under water until testing.
GGBS

Residue on 45
26.0 22.0 25.0
Experimental work
micron (%) A 1:1 mixture of sodium hydroxide and 4 m
Residue on 90
sodium silicate solution is used as an alkali
micron (%)
4.0 2.8 2.8 activator. The molality solution is considered
instead of the molarity as the solute and solvent

Table 2. GP raw materials chemical composition.

Oxides
SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO SO3 K2O Na2O P2O5 TiO2 Mn2O3
(%)

CD Values 56.10 18.11 5.35 7.03 3.97 0.08 0.84 5.03 0.36 0.56 0.08

FA Values 64.14 25.84 3.76 1.81 1.10 0.06 1.56 0.10 0.18 1.36 0.04

GGBS Values 32.28 18.03 0.68 36.71 9.10 0.33 0.52 0.38 0.02 0.60 1.10

68 World Cement May 2020

considered in terms of mass. This alkali activator’s GP mortar strength
quality and quantity is kept constant in the present From the results of the compressive strength test
study. Mix details are presented in Table 3. (Table 4), CD-based GP mortar is comparable
GP mortars considered for the study: to the conventional GP mortar mix, which is made
f GGBS and CD up of FA. A combination of GGBS and CD along
f GGBS and FA with alkali activators helps to form a more compact
micro-structure of the binder and improves the
Mortar constituents are dry mixed in a 1:1 ratio CST of the GP. The compressive strength (CS)
separately. The alkali activator solution was tested at 1, 3, 7 and 28 days using CSTM of
added and mixed thoroughly in planetary mixer capacity 500 KN and a loading force of 2.8 KN/s.
for 90 sec. 70.6 mm cube moulds were prepared
for all mixes via 2 minutes of vibration at 12 000±
400 RPM for the compaction and removal of
air voids. The moulds were kept in a humidity Table 3. GP mix details.
chamber at 27±2˚C and +90% relative humidity.
Materials GP-CD GP-FA
After 24 hours, the mortar cubes were removed
from the moulds and submerged in water at GGBS (%) 50 50
27±2˚C for curing. Compressive strength was
CD (%) 50 -
tested at intervals of 1, 3, 7 and 28 days.
The results for the above-mentioned FA (%) - 50
combinations of GP mortar mixes are presented Alkali Activators NaOH :Na2SiO3 (1:1)
in Table 5. The study is extended to concrete
to understand the behaviour of the geopolymer Alkali activators/Cementitious
0.25
concrete with CD in comparison with FA-based material ratio
GP. For this, an M20 mix without any admixtures
is considered. The combinations used for the
concrete trials are given on Table 4. Table 4. Proportions for the control mix.
GP concrete cubes are cast for the above mixes Sl.No Material GC, kg/m3 GF, kg/m3
and compressive strength, workability is tested
1 Sodium silicate 36 36
and presented in Table 6.
2 Sodium hydroxide 12 12
Results and discussion 3 Slag 174 174

Functional group study (Fourier-transform 4 Crusher dust 174 -

infrared spectroscopy) 5 Fly ash - 174
In FA based GP mortar the peak observed nearly
at 3500 cm-1 corresponds to O-Hstr which is 6 Water 147 147
due to the addition of water to the aluminosilicate 7 Fine aggregate 746 746
(FA, CD and GGBS) along with alkali activators.
The peak observed at nearly 1000 – 1100 cm-1 8 Coarse aggregate 1166 1166
corresponds to Si-Ostr and this may be due to the Yield 2455 2455
formation of (-Si-O-Al-O-) linkage by a
polycondensation reaction between the
aluminosilicate-rich materials and the Table 5. Compressive strength comparison of various GPs.
alkaline solution. Similar types of peaks
Mortar cube strength in M.Pa.
are observed in CD-based GP mortar Mix type
too, but with a slight change in peak 1 day 3 days 7 days 28 days
position as shown in Figure 1.
GP – FA F 27.2 40.1 45.9 59.6

Surface morphology analysis by GP – CD 27.8 35.9 41.5 52.3

optical microscopy
The surface morphology of GP mortar
was tested with a ZEISS optical Table 6. Compressive strength comparison of various GPs.
microscope. From Figure 2(a) it is
Concrete cube strength in M.Pa.
evident that GP with FA contains Mix type Slump (mm)
spherical as well as non-spherical 1 day 3 days 7 days 28 days
particles/grains whereas Figure 2(b)
shows all angular grains in GP-CD. GP FA 70 13.8 19.2 24.5 27.6
The microscopic image also shows GP CD 65 13.9 16.8 23.0 26.0
well packed texture as that of GP-FA.

May 2020 World Cement 69

GP concrete strength and workability
Compressive strength is one of the major
parameters used to describe the mechanical
properties of concrete. From Table 6, it can
be seen that the GP concrete strength results
suggest that the replacement of CD with FA is a
good option as the strength achieved is the same
as that of the FA-based GP concrete.
Economics of geopolymer concrete with FA and
CD: confection
The cost of all the ingredients used in the
experimental work are listed in Table 7 for
comparison.
Considering the above market rates prevailing
in Chennai, TN, the cost for a M20 grade
geopolymer concrete with FA is Rs. 2837/m3
and CD is Rs. 2794/m3 respectively. This shows
that there is a saving of Rs.43.5/m3 with the
replacement of FA by CD without affecting the
quality of the concrete.

Conclusion
XRF elemental analysis shows that CD is
sufficiently rich in silica and alumina to form
aluminosilicate with GGBS in the presence of
alkali activators as that of FA. The FTIR functional
group study shows the presence of Si-Ostr and
(-Si-O-Al-O-) linkage due to a polycondensation
reaction in GP-CD, similar to that seen in
GP-FA. Additionally, microscopy results show a
well-packed texture in both GP-CD and GP-FA.
Figure 2(a). GP-FA. From the experimental study, therefore, it is
confirmed that CD can be used as an alternate
to FA in making GP. It is also observed that
CD performs better even with higher residue
compared to FA. The use of CD in GP instead of
FA results in cost savings and is a better substitute
for FA in the present scenario.

References
1. LAWRENCE, C.D., ‘The Production of Low-Energy
Cements’, Lea’s. Chemistry of Cement and Concrete,
Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, (1998), p. 421.
2. HARDJITO, D., WALLAH, S.E., SUMAJOUW, D.M.,
RANGAN, B.V., ACI Mater, 101, (2004), p. 467.
3. DAVIS, R.E., CARLSON, R.W., KELLY, J.W.,
Figure 2(b). GP-CD. ‘Properties of cements and concretes containing fly ash’,
American Concrete Institute,
Table 7. Costing of GF and GC based concrete. 33, pp. 577 – 612.
4. DUXSON, P., JIMENEZ,
Total cost Total cost
Quantity A.F., PROVIS, J.L, LUKEY,
Sl. No Materials Unit Rs./kg (Rs.) for (Rs.) for Remarks
kg/m3
GP FA GP CD
G.C., PALOMO, A., VAN
DEVENTER, J.S.J, Mater. Sci.,
1 Slag kg 174 0.8 139.2 139.2
42 (2007), p. 2917.
2 FA kg 174 0.3 52.2 0 5. VAN JAARSVELD,
J.G., VAN DEVENER,
3 CD kg 174 0.05 0 8.7
J.S.J, and LUKEY, G.C.,
Sodium ‘The Effect of Composition
4 kg 36 20 720 720
Silicate
and Temperature on the
Use of CD in GP
5
Sodium
kg 12 30 360 360 concrete resulted in a Properties of Fly Ash and
Hydroxide 3 Kaolinite-Based Geopolymer,’
saving of Rs. 43.5/m
Coarse of concrete Chemical Engineering Journal,
6 kg 1166 0.8 932.8 932.8
Aggregate 89, No. 1 – 3, (2002),
Fine pp. 63 – 73.
7 kg 746 0.8 596.8 596.8
Aggregate 6. DAVIDOVITS, J., ‘Global
6 Water kg 147 0.25 36.75 36.75 warming impact on the cement
and aggregate industry’, 6, No.
Total 2837.75 2794.25
2, (1994), pp. 263 – 278.

70 World Cement May 2020

World Cement sat down with Marc Elliott and
Allan Clark, Eaton, to discuss how the company is
educating the next generation in order to tackle the
growing skills gap in the cement industry.

F
ueled by rising urbanisation and increasing
infrastructure investments, the global cement
industry must respond proactively to continue
meeting production demands around the
globe.
A strong talent pipeline can create a platform
for future success, but the industry is in the midst
of a skilled labour shortage that spans nearly all
industrial applications. In fact, analysts estimate
the current skills gap, created by a steadily retiring
workforce, may leave an estimated 2.4 million
industrial positions unfilled through 2028.
71
 In an effort to address this growing skills gap,
power management company, Eaton, is making
long-term investments in educational programmes
designed to prepare current and next generation
professionals for success across industrial
electrical applications. World Cement sat down
with Eaton experts, Marc Elliott and Allan Clark,
to learn more. Marc Elliott is the Global Segment
Manager for mining, minerals and metals at
Eaton, and Allan Clark is Manager of Eaton’s
Experience Centre in Houston, US.
World Cement (WC): Could you give a
brief overview of Eaton’s involvement in
the cement industry?
Marc Elliott (ME): Electrical power is at the
heart of what makes our homes, businesses
and infrastructure work. Eaton is a global power
management company helping our customers
power continuous process operations for
critical industries, including cement and mining
operations.
Eaton’s electrical products and service
solutions are designed to drive energy-efficiency,
maximise uptime and increase productivity.
Allan Clark (AC): For example, we offer
hazardous area LED lighting solutions that
can improve energy savings up to 20%,
while minimising downtime by US$1 million
annually. We also offer a wide range of efficient
power management, distribution and control
technologies specifically designed for critical
applications where downtime isn’t an option.
Eaton’s equipment life extension solutions
help cement industry customers modernise
low-voltage motor control centres, for example,
upgrading motor starter technology and adding
network connectivity to MCC buckets, without
the time and cost associated with purchasing and
installing new equipment structures. Additionally,
our arc flash safety solutions help support
operations during maintenance, aiming to protect
people and equipment.
Training programmes for early and mid-career career professionals like Eaton’s
‘Power Up’ curriculum help advance on-the-job education, to keep pace with
evolving codes and technologies. Image courtesy of Eaton.
72
WC: What is the skills gap and why are
you targeting the industry for ongoing
education and training programmes?
ME: There are so many people retiring on the
horizon that the next generation of workers
projected to replace them won’t be sufficient.
In addition, many skilled labourers left the
industry during the recession in 2008 and have
not returned. The skills gap is significant. For
example, the US Chamber of Commerce found
that 40% of contractors are rejecting new
projects because of the lack of skilled labour
available.
Further, there is an opportunity for the
industry to continue growing; non-residential
building construction jobs are expected to
increase 11.5% by 2026 according to the US
Bureau of Labour, which will help spur demand
for materials.
In short, experienced professionals are
critical for maintaining safe, secure and
efficient processes. But if there is a shortage
of experience, you need to get out in the field
to train existing personnel and newcomers,
to ensure your company is ready to meet the
demands of tomorrow.
Our long-term investments in education
include starting our own Eaton Experience
Centres in Pittsburgh and Houston, US. We
provide training, certification programmes
and industry tech days in a hands-on lab
environment, designed specifically for the
cement and mining, metals and minerals
industry. Eaton also has partners with industry
organisations and higher education institutions
to support workforce-entrant programmes,
continued learning courses, and training, to
address the skills gap.
WC: What industry organisations are
you collaborating with to advance these
efforts?
AC: The technology landscape in the cement
industry is changing. Rapid technology adoption
and digital
technologies have
altered the way
companies explore
and process
raw material, as
well as safely
transport it. Yet,
legacy equipment
remains in
operation, with
many companies
relying on
equipment that’s
been in use for
decades.
World Cement May 2020
 The reality for both the current and next
generation workforce is that they need to
negotiate technologies, both old and new. Our
education investments are designed to address
challenges and prepare the industry workforce
for successful careers. We’re partnering with
a variety of industry associations to advance
capabilities for every level, including:
f ‘Train the trainer’ programmes, supporting
advanced skill development for contractors.
f A network of field training delivered across
the country for Eaton’s distribution teams.
f Partnerships and support for industry
organisations, like IEEE, that help support
young engineers.
f Higher and specialised education institutions
that help propel industry training for
engineers, contractors, consultants and
other industry professionals.
ME: We engage in a wide array of environments.
We set up and/or actively participate in local
trades training programmes and tradeshows
to share product and services advancements,
industry success stories and transferrable
practices, and education programmes at
all levels. Some of these are on the local
level, and some are on the industry forum
level. We are actively involved in developing
codes and standards through IEEE, NEMA
and other organisations to drive the cement
industry in order to lead safety and productivity
improvements. In many of our locations, we are
engaged with trades programmes and STEM
opportunities in local school systems and
curriculum support at the university level.
WC: Do you provide training
programmes? If so, what kind of
training?
ME: Across the cement industry, electrical
engineering, procurement and construction
contractors (EPCs) and consultants are relied
on heavily to help drive the success of new
projects, and to optimise existing operations.
We’ve put together a portfolio of training
programmes to help these professionals
minimise complexity, mitigate risk and shrink
construction schedules.
Eaton provides training courses, including:
f Hands-on training and information sessions
at our regional manufacturing facilities and
Eaton Experience Centres in the US and
around the world.
f Regular industry Tech Days and training
courses at our manufacturing sites and
Eaton Experience Centres, where our
experts provide critical training sessions
on a range of technologies for CEUs and
PDHs.
May 2020 World Cement
f Online training courses on arc flash safety,
electrical maintenance programmes and
more.
f Customised training on a range of topics,
from safety to maintenance to new
technologies, that can help incumbent
workers get up to speed on the latest codes
and standards.
AC: We also provide a two-day Power Up
Consultant Training seminar that guides
early-career consultants through a variety of
electrical design characteristics, including
power system design, system protection and
coordination, and power quality. Under the
supervision of Eaton engineers, attendees learn
about the tools and technologies used in the
field, as well as codes and standards designed
to keep themselves and customers safe.
Additionally, most processing equipment must
run 24/7, making it critical for maintenance
and repair to be onsite. The need for
quick-response service and expertise brings
a heightened sense of urgency to industry
operations, where downtime means no profit.
To make troubleshooting and recovery a faster
process, it’s our goal to take the mystery
out of electrical power systems. For cement
industry workforces, we offer onsite equipment
training where industry professionals can
interact directly with equipment before it is
energised. These fully controlled environments
enable visitors to observe product testing and
participate in live demonstrations.
WC: How would you advise students
and young professionals to prepare
themselves for future career
opportunities in the industry?
ME: I think it’s an exciting time to be an electrical
professional, helping fuel critical operations and
directly making an impact on the construction
projects that our communities rely upon.
Analysts are estimating a shortage of
qualified professionals, so you know that if
you’re studying to be part of this industry, that
there will be career opportunities for you. It’s
important to recognise that today’s cement
industry is under a microscope when it comes
to safety and environmental practices; more
regulation and more stewardship requirements
add to the pressure facing both owners and
operators. For professionals new to the industry,
hands-on training in real-world environments and
equipment is essential to supporting safety and
uptime.
Additionally, changing recovery environments
are fuelling further growth opportunities.
This landscape is rapidly changing due to
advanced technology adoption by the industry.
73
Tomorrow’s technicians will need to operate,
diagnose, repair and maintain equipment
installed over 40 years ago, as well as integrate
modern technologies. Education and training
programmes like the ones offered at Eaton’s
locations are preparing professionals for
success, providing the right facility, curriculum
and equipment to train a workforce with
advanced skills and competitiveness.
WC: How about the current workforce?
What actions can they take to prepare
themselves for career growth and
advancement?
AC: I encourage electrical professionals across
all levels of the cement business to be in the
‘know’. Technology, codes and standards,
and safety best practices constantly evolve
and are improved upon. Having advanced
technical resources, access to diverse and
experienced people, and the ability to access or
join technical presentations that you can trust is
paramount. Education and training programmes
are critical to integrating new technology, while
creating or operating in a safe environment that
meets the evolving codes and standards.
We understand that training programmes
need to be flexible to meet industry
requirements. That’s why we offer mobile
training experiences for field personnel. This
programme gives attendees interaction with
real-world technologies, in a safe and controlled
environment. Additionally, accessibility to
information or industry expertise remains critical
for the field teams. Knowing where to self
educate or request technical information can
be challenging. Eaton has launched a technical
resource dedicated to solving this barrier. ‘For
Safety Sake’ blog series, leverages hundreds
of years of technical know-how, reduction of
complexity for current and upcoming codes and
standards, and features answers to problems
faced by the teams, today. The platform is
updating constantly, enabling an additional and
trusted resource available anywhere, anytime.
ME: Our greatest assets are the people that
make these facilities operate. Technologies
advance the effort to make our lives and work
more productive, but these need people to create
and operate them. Just as technology for process
industries is evolving, so are learning tools. There
are appropriate tools that best resonate with
your learning style, whether that be hands on,
discussion or classroom, or reading literature
and manuals. Seek them out, share them with
coworkers, and give feedback. Items, such as
those mentioned by Allan, represent just a few.
74
WC: Would you like to add any
comments?
AC: There’s a critical need to build a bench
of talent to address an ageing workforce
and skilled labour shortages. Eaton plays a
vital role in educating the current and next
generation of power industry professionals
through wide-ranging, hands-on training
programmes.
We’re working together with leaders across
the cement industry to build a prepared and
certified talent pipeline. The most important
aspect of our efforts is the powerful advantage
it provides the companies across the cement
industry. By investing in hands-on learning
and technical training, they’ll know there is a
bench of talent waiting to be tapped to support
successful operations now and into the future.
ME: Leverage the resources around you. Not
only within your own company or peer group,
but with those affiliated with the cement industry.
Get engaged with your trusted manufacturers
and manufacturer’s reps, get involved with
industry events and activities whether through
IEEE, CIC or other professional cement
organisations, and participate in the many
learning and sharing opportunities out there.
We share in the common goal to make the
cement industry a safer, more productive, more
sustainable environment for now and future
generations.
About the authors
Marc Elliott is the Global Segment Manager for
Mining, Minerals and Metals at Eaton. Elliott
has over 20 years of experience in the electrical
manufacturing industry within marketing, sales,
product management and operations. He has
played a major role in leading Eaton’s Portland
Power Centre located in Wilsonville, Oregon,
which manufactures low and medium voltage
electrical power distribution and control
equipment. Elliott holds a Bachelor of Science
in Mechanical Engineering from the University
of Michigan and a Master of Business
Administration in Business from Seattle
University.
Allan Clark is the manager of Eaton’s
Experience Centre in Houston, Texas. Clark has
over 15 years of experience driving strategic
growth and product visibility for leading global
computer and electrical manufacturers with
a strong emphasis on digital media, project
management, training development and
technical sales. He holds a Master of Business
Administration from Syracuse University.
World Cement May 2020
2020
World Cement Editor,
David Bizley, provides a
review of some of the
leading European cement
equipment manufacturers.

A
ccording to figures from
Cembureau, the European
cement association, Europe
accounts for 6.3% of global
cement production, making it the third
largest production hub behind China
and India. Many of the technologies
and processes that make up modern
cement production were developed in
Europe, starting with the invention of
Portland cement in Victorian England.

75
It is hardly surprising then to note that
Europe is home to a multitude of equipment
companies, offering equipment and expertise
in every field of cement production.
This is the first in a two-part series of articles
that will provide an overview of the leading
European cement equipment manufacturers.
This article will focus on equipment
manufacturers based outside of Germany.
FLSmidth
When he founded the company in 1882,
Frederik Læssøe Smidth likely had no
idea that his company would grow into a
multinational conglomerate covering both the
cement and mining industries. 138 years later
and FLSmidth is a turnkey supplier to the
cement industry, providing complete plants
and technologies for each stage of cement
production.
The company noted in its 2019 Annual
Report that overall revenue had grown by 10%
over the year, marking the second consecutive
year of growth. Whilst most of this growth was
attributable to the mining sector, the company
was still able to improve the profitability of
its cement business via internal efficiency
measures and the adoption of a more selective
approach to large projects. These measures,
coupled with a record high service order
intake, saw cement sector revenues increase
by 6%.
In their joint letter to shareholders,
Vagn Sørensen (Chairman) and
Thomas Schulz (CEO) said that
“Energy-intensive industries, such as mining
and cement, are indispensable to the global
economy and that’s why it is essential to
decarbonise and modernise these sectors.
As a leader in the mining and cement
industries, we recognise our role and shared
responsibility to bring these industries into
a sustainable future.” It is with this focus
on sustainability in mind that the company
recently launched its MissionZero initiative,
which is aimed at developing solutions to allow
cement plants to operate with zero emissions
by 2030.
Several of FLSmidth’s recent cement
projects have had a strong focus on
sustainable operations. The company was
asked by Dalmia Cement to provide the full
flow-sheet of equipment and machinery for
a new plant in Rajgangpur, India. As part of
Dalmia Cement’s own drive towards ambitious
sustainability goals, the plant was designed
to operate with increased energy efficiency,
enhanced alternative fuels usage and reduced
76
heat losses. Technologies deployed included:
a Counter Current Cyclone (CCX) preheater
system and a JETFLEX® burner.
Continuing on the topic of sustainability,
earlier this year FLSmidth announced a major
cooperation agreement with the Vietnam
National Cement Corporation (VICEM).
The deal will see FLSmidth implement new
solutions to improve the sustainability of the
Vietnamese cement sector as the country
looks to double its production over the next
10 years. One of the key objectives of the
project is to utilise municipal and other waste
streams as alternative fuel sources. This,
combined with other technologies, is hoped to
reduce related CO 2 emissions by 33%.
The company has also been involved in
the deployment of new digital technologies:
Asia Cement called on FLSmidth to upgrade
the control system of its Pukrang Plant,
Thailand. The plant’s ageing control system
was replaced with a state-of-the-art system,
based on ECS/ControlCenter™ version 8
and modern ControlLogix PLC hardware from
Rockwell.
Fives
Fives is an industrial engineering group with
multi-sector expertise, specialised in the
design and supply of machines, process
equipment and production lines for the
world’s largest industrial players. Fives
has a global footprint with operations in
more than 30 countries. Within Fives, the
Cement & Minerals business line including
FCB and Pillard technologies, designs,
supplies and implements core process
equipment and complete plants. Its expertise
includes technologies in crushing, grinding,
pyroprocessing and gas treatment, as well as
complete project management and customer
services.
In a difficult period, with geopolitical and
economic uncertainties, environmental
challenges and sector overcapacity hindering
investments, the company has worked
to create new business opportunities. In
March 2019, Fives and CNBM signed
a strategic agreement towards climate
change and cooperation in third countries
to explore projects in plant upgrade and
new plants together, in China and abroad.
In 2019, Fives was also selected for the
supply and implementation of two cement
grinding plants for Cem’In’Eu in France,
on an EPC basis. Additionally, orders
were awarded by Ramco in India, Axens in
France and Vesuvius in South Africa for the
World Cement May 2020
supply of grinding equipment. In Mexico,
the construction of two raw meal grinding
plants delivered for Cooperativa La Cruz Azul
started in August and July 2019 in Hidalgo and
Oaxaca Lagunas plants, respectively. These
grinding workshops are scheduled to be
operational by Q2 2020.
Fives also invested in R&D programmes
aimed at the development of efficient and
innovative technologies to support industrial
performance of cement producers. In
particular, in 2019, Fives developed the
FCB Preca-Max®, a new combustion chamber
to maximise the use of all kinds of alternative
fuels in cement plants. Integrated in the
burning line, for new projects or revamping,
the FCB Preca-Max provides a large flexibility
and an optimised combustion of coarse fuels
with high moisture content.
Within the cement industry, Fives promoted
the FCB Flag™ Station, a modular grinding
station featuring the FCB Horomill® circuit to
capture emerging markets, with a fast delivery,
and flexible and performing technology to
produce all kind of cement. Regarding digital
solutions, Fives’ Opti range of products
supports operation with a higher level of
automation and regulation. From raw mix, up
to cement mill operation, through automatic
kiln start up and control, or operator training
with the FCB Simulator, Fives’ digital solutions
enable O&M teams to optimise and ease their
plant operations.
Within the minerals industry, the FCB
Rhodax® 4D crusher was tested on aggregates,
in concrete recycling, due to its selective
grinding capability. This technology turns
concrete into a 100% recyclable resource
to produce reusable aggregates, and raw
materials/additives for new cement production.
Processing concrete waste in this manner can
significantly reduce CO2 emissions.
Finally, Fives widened its range of services
and assistance with a comprehensive kiln
inspection method that delivers enhanced
kiln axis accuracy. Coupled with solutions
such as the FCB Nova-Gear® for on-site girth
gear machining, as well as other tailor-made
solutions, Fives’ services portfolio addresses
all kinds of kiln revamping projects.
Fives’ technologies and expertise are
designed and delivered to help cement and
minerals producers get the best performances
from their plants.
Grinding & milling
Europe plays host to a range of companies
providing equipment for grinding and
May 2020 World Cement
milling operations. Many of these are based in
Germany, and will therefore be covered in a
later issue, but this article includes examples
from across the rest of the continent.
The Austria-based CEMTEC Cement and
Mining Technology is a specialist in dry and
wet grinding technologies for raw meal, or
fuels such as coal, or even clinker, limestone,
pozzolans, granulated blast furnace slag, or
flue ash. The company produces ball mills, rod
mills, autogenous and semi-autogenous mills,
vertical roller mills, laboratory mills and even
entire grinding plants.
Magotteaux, headquartered in Belgium,
provides a range of products for cement
grinding and milling, including grinding media,
tube mills, crushers and vertical mills. The
company also offers mill audits, grinding plant
optimisation services, laboratory tests and
training courses.
Spain is home to a number of companies
with expertise in the field of grinding and
milling. Cemengal, for example, is an EPC
contractor focused on the development of
clinker, slag, coal and raw material grinding
stations. The company has expertise in both
installing new grinding plants and upgrading
existing facilities in milling circuits and is
known for its PLUG&GRIND modular, portable
grinding stations.
Another Spanish player, Anivi, offers the
installation of complete cement grinding
plants via its READY-MILL system, including
raw material reception & dosing, the mill
system, product classification & storage,
product packing & delivery, and control
rooms, automation & electrical rooms. The
system can provide plants capable of up to
300 000 tpy of CEM I production.
Also based in Spain, Estanda provides
services and steel products for the
comminution of minerals and cement. The
company provides a range of milling-related
products, including linings and diaphragms.
It also offers a KINETIC pre-grinding system,
designed to reduce energy consumption whilst
improving production capacity.
Italy’s Fonderia Gelli, founded in 1926,
provides a range of parts for crushers, VRMs
and ball mills, with ball mill internals making up
the core of its business.
Dal Teknik Makina (a company of
Dal Engineering Group) is a Turkish company
that produces a range of cement plant
equipment, including universal Drive Ball Mills.
Another Turkish company, Sintek, is involved
in the manufacture and assembly of raw
77
crushing units, raw mill units, coal mill units,
ball mills and VRMs.
Grinding aids are provided by Sika AG
(Switzerland) and Mapei (Italy).
Pyroprocessing
The field of pyroprocessing covers a broad
range of equipment, including complete
systems such as preheaters/precacliners,
kilns and coolers, and individual components,
such as burners, refractories and even thermal
imaging systems.
Austria’s Unitherm Cemcon produces kiln
and calciner burners for cement production.
The company’s M.A.S.DT kiln burners
are designed to optimise efficiency over
conventional designs by placing the adjustable
primary air openings directly at the burner tip,
thus leading to unobstructed injection of the
air jets into the kiln. With minimum losses at
the air nozzles, the entrainment of secondary
air is improved by approximately 15%. The
design has also seen refractory lifetime
extended by approximately 20%.
Another Austrian producer of burners is
A TEC Group, a member of the LOESCHE
family of companies. This company’s burner
offering comes in the form of its A TEC
GRECO FLEXIFLAME rotary kiln burner,
which uses four airflows, instead of the
standard three. The design of the burners
with two tangential airflows to enfold the solid
fuel injection flow allows, through simple
procedures, the optimisation of complex
fuel firing and increased control over NOx
emissions. The company also provides
FLEXICAL calciner burners, HURRICLON
cyclones, and optimisation services for
pyroprocessing systems.
Another form of pyroprocessing optimisation
is hot kiln alignment, which ensures that
rotary kilns are able to continue operating
without succumbing to a range of problems,
such as cracks or deformations in the kiln
shell. One provider of this service is Poland’s
Geoservex, which has gained a global set
of references over the last 40 years. In in
certain circumstances, such as a customer
looking to become independent from external
suppliers, the company provides a technology
transfer service, including the supply of
hardware, software, staff training and effective
implementation of production technology.
This process takes time and requires close
cooperation with the recipient to be effectively
implemented.
Turkey’s Özek Makina also provides hot and
cold kiln alignment.
78
Regular kiln monitoring, through thermal
imaging or temperature monitoring is a
key aspect of successful pyroprocessing.
There are a number of European companies
that provide these services: France’s
HGH-Infrared Systems, and Mirion along
with the UK’s Thermoteknix all provide
thermal imaging solutions for cement kilns.
Ametek Land (UK), and VisionTIR (Spain)
both provide temperature monitoring.
Europe is also host to an array of
refractory manufacturers. These include:
RHI Magnestia and Seven Refractories
(Austria), E.C.T.P. Refractories
(Belgium), Hasle Refractories A/S
(Denmark), Group EML (France),
Silicon (The Netherlands), ThorLinings
(Poland) Krosaki AMR Refractarios,
Refractarios Alfran, and Reyma Materials
Refractarios S.A. (Spain), Höganäs
Borgestad (Sweden), and Vesuvius (UK).
With regard to clinker cooling, Estanda,
already mentioned above for their offerings in
the grinding process, provides both planetary
and grate coolers for clinker cooling. Then
there is FONS Technology of Turkey with its
Delta Cooler.
Materials handling
No cement plant could function without the
ability to move products from one process
area to another. Thus, whilst they may not be
directly involved in the creation of cement,
materials handling systems perform vital work,
whether that be in the form of conveying,
dosing, weighing, loading/unloading, bagging
or palletising.
Europe is home to a large number of
companies providing materials handling
equipment and services. Italy’s Bedeschi is
one such company. Bedeschi offers equipment
and solutions for stackers, reclaimers,
storage, conveying systems (belt, pipe
and box conveyors), bucket elevators, and
hoppers. The company was recently involved
in the construction of a 4.3 km belt conveyor
for Lafarge Holcim Maroc; the conveyor, with
trusses of up to 5 t, was erected on mountain
using a suspended cableway.
Italy is also home to
Gambarotta Gschwendt, which provides
bucket elevators, conveyors, extractors/apron
feeders, screw conveyors, valves and
loading bellows. The company announced
in March this year that it would begin to
operate jointly with MDG Handling Solutions,
with Davide Gambarotta taking over as
the new Chief Executive Officer and
World Cement May 2020
Sole Owner Designate for Gambarotta
Gschwendt. MDG Handling Solutions also
provides a broad range of materials handling
equipment, including silos, bucket elevators,
conveyors, and apron feeders.
Other Italian companies in the field of
materials handling include: B.S.P. Engineering
(silos), Euromecc (silos), Magaldi Industrie
(clinker conveyors, belt feeders), Motridal
(conveyors, stackers, reclaimers), Rulmeca
(conveyor belt rollers/idlers, pulleys),
Societa Italiana Gomma (rubber conveyor
belts), SCUTTI (silos), TECNORULLI (rollers
for conveyor belts), and WAMGROUP (screw
conveyors).
Outside of Italy, France is another hub
of materials handling equipment providers.
SAUTELMA-ROTOLOK provides systems
for weighing, feeding and packaging.
Standard Industrie provides industrial cleaning
vacuum cleaning services, silo-cleaning and
air cannons, and conveyor belt optimisation.
Morillon SAS provides silo unloading systems,
and atmos offers steel apron feeders, helmet
gates, and pan & bucket conveyors.
Other European companies offering
bulk materials handling expertise include:
Doppelmayr Transport (Austria), which
offers high-performance belt rope and belt
conveyors; Technicgum International
Polymeres (Belgium), which provides belt
cleaners, belt trackers, Sirocco air cannons
and drum lagging; Muller Beltex (The
Netherlands), which provides equipment for
bucket elevators and conveyors; Dunlop
Conveyor Belting (The Netherlands), which
produces a range of conveyor belts for various
cement-related applications; Cintasa (Spain),
which provides equipment for conveyors,
feeders, elevators, and silos; Vidmar (Spain),
which provides equipment for weighing and
dosing, conveying, and storage; DISAB
Vacuum Technology (Sweden), which offers a
range of industrial vacuum cleaning solutions;
Kellve (Sweden), which provides conveyors
and belt feeders; and Mactenn Systems (UK),
which provides systems for dense phase
pneumatic conveying.
There are also several European companies
providing shiploading/unloading services
and equipment, including Van Aalst Bulk
Handling (The Netherlands), Telestack
(Northern Ireland), TAIM WESER (Spain), and
Bruks Siwertell (Sweden).
And finally, in terms of bagging and
packaging, equipment and expertise is on
offer from: Austria’s Starlinger and Mondi
Packaging, Belgium’s Arodo, Spain’s
May 2020 World Cement
Metral S.A., TMIPAL, and Payper S.A.,
Sweden’s BillerudKorsnäs, and the UK’s
RM Group.
Environmental systems
As governments continue to place ever more
stringent emissions targets on industries,
technologies that reduce emissions and
increase the efficiency of processes are going
to see ever greater demand.
Once again, Italy is something of a hub for
companies involved in this field. CTP Team
provides air pollution control systems in the
form of bag filters and its proprietary SWAP
bag filter cleaning technology. The company
also provides Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC)
waste heat recovery systems. Last year, the
company signed a turnkey EPC contract for an
ORC waste heat recovery system with Sonmez
Cimento Yapi ve Madencilik. The installation
will reduce the plant’s CO2 output by
23 500 tpy and provide net power generation
of 51 million kWh/year – equivalent to roughly
30% of the plant’s current electricity needs.
Turboden and Exergy also both offer
ORC-based waste heat recovery systems.
Milan-based RD42 Engineering offers
bag filters, filter boxes, ESPs, gas cooling
systems, DeNox, DeSOx, and process
equipment including conditioning towers.
Redecam provides air filtration products
(filters, electrostatic precipitators (ESPs),
dual action filters and cyclones), and flue gas
treatments (DeSOx, DeNOx, mercury & metal
adsorption). Boldrocchi, founded in 1909,
also offers: systems for dust removal, DeNOx,
DeSOx, HCl, heavy metals reduction, flue gas
conditioning, fans, heat exchangers, and noise
protection/silencers. TRIMEC develops and
produces valves and other accessories for
dedusting plants.
Elsewhere in Europe, we find Air Jet S.A.
(bag filters, cyclones, gas conditioning
towers, heat exchangers), Defisa (ESPs,
bag filters, gas conditioning towers) and
GORCO S.A. (bag filters) in Spain. Switzerland
is home to Elex AG (ESPs, bag houses, bag
filters), and CemCat (SCR systems), and
Alfer Muhendislik Taah Tic (industrial fans,
dedusting systems, bag filters, cyclones, heat
exchangers, ESPs) is located in Turkey.
Conclusion
Despite growth in other markets, and
challenges posed by the regulatory
environment, Europe’s cement equipment
manufacturers remain at the forefront of
expertise and innovation.
79
 AD INDE X
ABC 48 Howden Group 33
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Aliapur 09, OBC OSIsoft IFC

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B.S.P. Engineering 55 Parker 07

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Cemtec Cement & Mining Technology 29 Pollrich GmbH 45

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Energy Global 80 RD42 Engineering 43

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EnviroTech 2020 IBC SCANTECH 25

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Fives FCB 15 Siemens AG OFC, 13

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Gebr. Pfeiffer GmbH 04 Sweet Manufacturing Company 37

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Gorco S.A. 59 UNTHA Shredding Technology 47

www.gorco.es www.untha.com

HEKO Ketten GmbH 02 Venti Oelde 17

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