International Cement Review articles tagged under : Tech Forum

15 January 2024 Dr Michael Clark

Electrical heating technologies

As the electrification of the cement kiln process generates an increasing amount of interest, this month’s Technical Forum looks at the potential technology options that could be deployed in the push towards decarbonisation. Dr Clark asks which electrification technologies could be deployed to electrify the cement kiln process based on Cementa and Vattenfall of Sweden’s “CemZero” pre...

04 December 2023

Net-zero business models

Cemtech Europe 2023, held earlier this year in Istanbul, Turkey, provided a wealth of interesting presentations on a range of topics, including net-zero business models for cement companies. This month Dr Clark takes...

20 November 2023 Dr Michael Clark

Profit margins under pressure

In 2022 cement company profit margins came under pressure, particularly when compared with the previous year. Dr Michael Clark takes a closer look at cement company profit margins in 2022 and 2023, the factors that a...

03 October 2022 Dr Michael Clark

An easy way to reduce thermal carbon emissions

To reach its net zero target the cement industry will have to accelerate the roll-out of its decarbonisation initiatives, including the thermal efficiency of kilns. The replacement of long wet dry kilns with m...

The oxycombustion way forward 17 May 2022 Dr Michael Clark

The oxycombustion way forward

Despite an array of carbon reducing technologies currently applied in cement plants around the world, it is becoming increasingly clear in the industry that there is a need for further-reaching approaches such as car...

08 March 2022 Dr Michael Clark

Dangote: powerhouse of Africa and Nigeria

Through the use of financial ratio analysis, this month’s Technical Forum examines how Dangote Cement – the powerhouse of Africa and Nigeria – has managed to achieve a strong and sustained financial performance. ...

CO2 utilisation in concrete 15 February 2022 Dr Michael Clark

CO2 utilisation in concrete

Recent ICR articles have given plenty of attention to the theme of decarbonisation of cement manufacture. One way of using this CO 2 is to “lock” it into concrete as the world requires increasing amounts of this bui...

24 January 2022 Dr Michael Clark

Reducing methane emissions

As the cement industry prepares to meet its sustainability objectives, this month’s Technical Forum focusses on the potential of methane as an alternative to coal in firing kilns. More than 70 per cent of kilns are s...

23 November 2021 Dr Michael Clark

Limestone specifications

When asked to review the suitability of limestone deposits for cement manufacture, Dr Michael Clark makes a range of important assessments such as what other materials would need to be added to produce a clinker with...

31 August 2021 Arthur Harrisson

Effects of recirculation cells in cement kilns

As the raw material passes through the cement production process, recirculation cells are created. Due to the heterogenous nature of the fine materials, the composition in each cell is not uniform and as such, recirc...

08 June 2021 Dr Michael Clark

Advanced grinding technology to reduce CO2

Dr Michael Clark considers the role of grinding technology in reducing clinker content but retaining the cement strength class. The first industrial installation of a polysius® booster mill was at Bursa Ciment...

05 May 2021 Dr Michael Clark

The industry’s response to the decarbonisation challenge

Dr Michael Clark discusses the cement sector’s response and strategies in terms of the large-scale challenges involved with decarbonisation. LafargeHolcim’s Richmond plant in Canada, where it launched Project ...

13 April 2021 Arthur Harrisson

Belite size distribution

Belite size is affected by several factors ranging from raw materials, the length of the burning zone, the fuels used in the production process as well as the conditions in the cooling zone.  Figure 1: example...

16 March 2021 Arthur Harrisson

Alkali-activated materials

While blastfurnace slag and metakaolin are known to produce a binder phase following alkali activation, the range of alkali-activated materials is wider than these two materials. This month Arthur Harrisson provides ...

08 March 2021 Dr Michael Clark

Financial ratio analysis

Cement producers should use financial ratio analysis to compare their performance with others around the world. However, this must be combined with peer group analysis to account for differing operational circumstanc...

08 March 2021 Arthur Harrisson

Fly ash and pozzolanas

The drive for alternative raw materials has put the spotlight on fly ash and pozzolanas. However, their use in cement has been around for some time. This month Arthur Harrisson looks at their origin and performance i...