FLSmidth signs partnership with FCT ACTech

Cement plants have a new solution for online analysis of raw materials thanks to a recent partnership signed between FLSmidth and FCT ACTech. Under the agreement, FLSmidth will incorporate FCT ACTech’s advanced XRF and XRD analysers in its new QCX® CUBE solutions. 

Quality control in the cement production process is a critical issue and one of growing complexity due to the increasing use of alternative fuels and new supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). These introduce variability into the process that can adversely impact product quality. FLSmidth has led innovation in this field for many years, developing and installing the first online elemental analyser for raw meal back in 1994. Now spanning three decades, this journey has delivered well-known products such as QCX/OnStream, OLX800 and OLX900.

The new partnership with FCT ACTech is the next step, allowing FLSmidth to integrate FCT ACTech’s state-of-the-art X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) analyser units into its QCX CUBE online analysis solutions. FCT ACTech is the advanced analytical instruments division of FCT International. It has developed and supplied a continuous on-stream analyser for more than two decades with products now covering raw mix, clinker quality, and cement blend control. 

“We are very pleased to be able to integrate FCT ACTech analyser units in our new QCX® CUBE analysis solutions for cement plants,” commented Jens Asbjørn Pedersen, global product manager for Sampling, Preparation and Analysis, FLSmidth. “We are starting with the launch of QCX CUBE X10, which primarily targets raw meal applications, but it is our ambition to utilise FCT ACTech's innovative range of analyser units to also deliver advanced online XRD analysis solutions for clinker and cement.”

The QCX CUBE X10 online elemental analyser is FLSmidth's newest analysis solution for cement raw meal. Offering plug-and-play functionality, it includes sampling components, EDXRF analyser, and a fully programmed local control system, all delivered pre-assembled in an air-conditioned container. Analysis results for calcium (Ca), silicon (Si), aluminium (Al), and iron (Fe) will be provided as standard. Sodium (Na) and magnesium (Mg) analysis can be provided with the addition of a helium purge, while other elements are available on request after a site-specific evaluation.