The 18th Arab International Cement Conference and Exhibition was held at the King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Centre, Dead Sea, Jordan, over 11-13 November 2013. Senior representatives from across the Arab cement sector convened under the patronage of Dr Hatem Al-Halawani, Minister of Industry, Trade & Supply, government of Jordan, for the three-day conference and exhibition.
Ahmad Al-Rousan, secretary general of the AUCBM, welcomes delegates to the 2013 meeting in Jordan
The Dead Sea is located at an elevation of some 400m below sea level, making it the lowest land point on earth. Nevertheless, for the 630 delegates who travelled there for the annual conference, organised by the Arab Union for Cement and Building Materials (AUCBM), the mood was surprisingly buoyant. Indeed, in spite of the significant challenges currently facing parts of the Arab region, not least the continuing instability in Egypt and conflict in Syria, other countries, such as Saudi Arabia, are enjoying something of a boom.
Opening proceedings, Dr Hatem Al-Halawani, Jordan’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply, highlighted the enormous strides made by the domestic economy following a successful long-term reform agenda, which has seen GDP double over the last decade. He also acknowledged the great contribution made by the cement industry to the kingdom’s economy but warned that industrial development should not be at the expense of the environment.
Indeed, over the course of the next three days, environmental sustainability remained a key theme through many of the conference presentations, several of which touched upon issues of efficiency, optimisation and energy conservation.
Pyroprocessing
Pyroprocessing was covered extensively, with a number of presentations addressing alternative fuels. Christian Helmreich of
A TEC Greco Combustion Systems (Austria) – the pyro specialist now majority owned by Loesche (Germany) – described the Flexiflame™ kiln burner which operates with an outer, high-momentum flow of primary air, improving combustion and designed to enable alternative fuel substitution of up to 100 per cent.
Stefan Schwarz, Refratechnik Cement GmbH (Germany), spoke on the company’s development of high- acid, highly alkali-resistant refractory products with enhanced thermochemical resistance. These materials are particularly suitable for use in preheater cyclones exposed to the effects of high levels of alternative fuels.
Anis Haider of Iteca Socadei (France) gave a compelling presentation on the benefits of its kiln seals, which employ an innovative graphite block technology to stop false-air entry in the kiln. This results in significant fuel savings and production increases due to the improved pressure stability of the pyrosystem.
Kamal Ghezelbash, Claudius Peters Projects (Germany), presented a case study describing the replacement of a satellite cooler at Holcim’s Untervaz cement plant in Switzerland with a state-of-the-art ETA cooler, while IKN (Germany) detailed the operational experiences of a large-scale pendulum cooler recently commissioned in Saudi Arabia.
Alternative fuels
Alternative fuels are of increasing importance in the MENA region and Dirk Lechtenburg (Germany) discussed the situation in Egypt, where the withdrawal of fuel subsidies has caused the price of traditional fuels (gas and HFO) to escalate, while electricity shortages have been severe enough to constrain production. Dirk argued that Egypt produces around 16Mta of crop residues (cotton stalks, rice husks and rice straw) that are ideally suited to serve as alternative fuels, with Assiut Cement (Egypt) already well advanced in this area. Refuse-derived fuels (RDF) from municipal waste are another important available source of high-calorific materials that should certainly be considered for co-processing in the kiln, he stressed.
Wilfred Zieri, A TEC Production and Services (Austria) provided an excellent overview of the steps needed to turn waste into fuel, while Sebastian Frie of ThyssenKrupp Resource Technologies (Germany) introduced the Prepol-SC combustion system for alternative fuels. This new system features a combustor with a step grate that is designed with a material retention time of around 15 minutes, compared to 3-6 seconds in an ordinary precalciner. It is therefore able to burn coarser fuels (with lengths of up to 300mm) simplifying the preparation process and eliminating the need for the cost intensive final shredder. The first reference has been installed at a Holcim plant in northern Germany.
Grinding
Thomas Fahrland, Loesche (Germany), described the attributes of the vertical roller mill (VRM), including its distinctive comminution process, which allows a wide range of cement types and product finesesses to be produced from a single mill unit. It is this flexibility, in addition to low specific energy consumption, that makes VRMs such an attractive option for cement producers. There are currently around 190 Loesche cement/slag mills in operation worldwide.
Erich Pichlmaier, Christian Pfeiffer (Germany), argued the case for ball mills – still the predominant technology in use for cement grinding. When used in closed circuit, ball mills should always be considered due to their low investment and operation costs, high availability and wide cement quality acceptance.
Davide Padovani, Mapei (Italy), discussed how cement additives are used to improve the aesthetics of Portland limestone cements by dispersing dark particles in mortars and concrete. By visually matching the darker grey shades of OPC they can increase the chances of market acceptance of limestone cements in more conservative markets.
Turnkey specialists FLSmidth (Denmark) presented a range of papers, including one by Steen Pedersen who unveiled the ‘Centaurus’ automatic sample preparation machine. This new generation of an older product can be used to provide at-line X-ray analysis and best-in-class raw mix control.
Pollution control
Various papers engaged with emissions control and one highlight was the detailed case study of the new bag filter installation at Southern Province Cement’s Jazan plant in Saudi Arabia by CTP Team (Italy). The new filter replaced an existing ESP unit and used much of the existing support structure to minimise costs. The unit employs a low-pressure bag cleaning system with advanced filter components and 9m bag length.
Exhibition
The gala dinner hosted by the AUCBM provided
a cultural feast for over 600 delegates
attending the meeting
All the major turnkey suppliers were present, including Sinoma and CNBM representing China, ThyssenKrupp Resource Technologies from Germany and FLSmidth of Denmark. FLSmidth’s hospitality tent and large stand made a bold statement of intent, but it was the announcement of a new global collaboration with China’s CNBM that raised particular interest. FLSmidth will supply plant equipment and process design, while CNBM will provide the construction and erection services. In this way an EPC package offering will be available to investors and cement producers building new plants.
Discussions on the event sidelines revealed a high level of project activity in the region, and notably in Saudi Arabia, where Yamama Cement is actively looking to establish an entirely new site equipped with three 10,000tpd lines. Meanwhile, other producers in Saudi Arabia are seeking to explore alternative fuels, with one CEO informing ICR of its intention to operate a single 7000tpd clinker line entirely with alternative fuels. For this to be under consideration even in oil-rich Saudi Arabia is an indication of the pressure on cement producers to diversify their energy sources.
News from Egypt, on the other hand, was concerned with competition and the emergence of new entrants, which have caused some incumbents to lose market share, and the removal of fuel subsidies, which is driving producers to explore alternative fuels. Security is still an issue for some plants, with one producer based in the Sinai region admitting that lack of safety was hindering investment and new project activity.
Conclusion
Once again, the AUCBM brought together representatives from across the industry for a productive and enjoyable three days in a tranquil setting on the shores of the Dead Sea. A sumptuous gala dinner with traditional Jordanian music and culinary delights rounded off the event in style. ICR looks forward to the 19th Arab International Cement Conference and Exhibition, to be held in Marrakech, Morocco, in 2014.
Article first published in International Cement Review, January 2014.
