More than 900 delegates attended the 13th NCB International Seminar on Cement and Building Materials, which was held in New Delhi, India, between 19-22 November 2013. The conference was accompanied by a technical exhibition in which 79 equipment manufacturers participated, showcasing their latest products and technological developments.

The 13th NCB International Seminar on Cement and Building Materials, organised by India's National Council for

Cement and Building Materials, offered delegates a wide range of papers under the banner of

innovation, development and sustainability.

In his inaugural address the India’s Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, Dr EM Sudarsana Natchiappan recalled that the pro-industry reforms introduced in early 1980s by the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, have been further strengthened and taken forward by successive governments.  “As a result of these pro-active policies of government, today we have an extremely conducive industrial environment in India for foreign investments.  The vision of the government is to set up large numbers of clusters of similar industries along important industrial corridors to ensure uniform development across the country. Partnerships between the industry with research organisations and joint patenting of innovations can provide further impetus to transfer of technology from laboratory to industry,” according to the minister. 

Moving towards sustainable production

The seminar was accompanied by an exhibition in which

79 equipment suppliers highlighted the latest

technological developments.

While talking on technological status and prospects of the Indian cement industry, Ashwani Pahuja, the NCB’s director general, said that while “conserve, recycle and renew” forms the three vital components of the growth strategy for any industry, the sustainability in cement production should be evaluated within the context of triple-bottom-line (3BL) thinking, ie integrating the three Ps of profit, people and the planet into the culture, strategy and operations of the cement plants. He added that NCB has been actively associated with the global Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI), a part of the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and this has resulted in a Low Carbon Technology Roadmap for the Indian cement industry. He also stressed the continuing need for putting in R&D efforts on a more vigorous basis, not only in the areas such as resource conservation, energy and environmental management, waste utilisation but also by developing cement types with lower clinker factors and other lower-carbon cements, conducting research relating to carbon capture and storage, and the use of alternative fuels such as algal biomass.

Wide technical range of papers

The seminar featured 120 technical papers on a wide range of subjects, brought together under the cornerstones of development, innovation and sustainability, highlighting key agenda items such as energy efficiency, productivity enhancement, quality control and alternative material use. 

The global issue of climate change was discussed through a range of papers, touching upon related topics of mineral waste management in aid of alternative raw material use as well as the separation of grinding and blending to achieve lower specific energy consumption and improved blended cement quality.

Delegates were also updated on the use of alternative fuels and raw materials through a variety of papers offering the results of successful plant trials and advocating the co-processing of alternative fuels and raw materials as an environmentally-sound and sustainable solution for waste management.

The seminar also offered information on emerging trends in the development of cement types and included papers presenting the effect of up to 10 per cent fly ash addition to white Portland cement as well as relating to the impact of different types of gypsum on cement performance. In addition, Prof Karen Scrivener presented the special lecture on low-carbon cement based on clinker, calcined clay and limestone in which she highlighted the cement’s good performance and reduced carbon footprint.

The latest advances in materials handling systems and grinding systems were also discussed, focussing on the trend for increasingly larger-capacity grinding mills as well as alternative fuel handling.

Moreover, attention was given to recent developments in project engineering and system design which considered the part played by plant layout and optimised plant design in lowering capital and operational costs.

Optimisation was also the buzzword in the two technical sessions about productivity enhancement and process optimisation which saw the presentation of modern process control systems with case studies on enhancing kiln operation, the efficient running of bag houses and cement mill optimisation.

In the ‘Analytical methods and lab automation’ session, attendees listened to papers on analytical techniques such as XRF analysis and photometric titration to improve their understanding on automated quality control systems.

National award ceremony

The finest achievements in terms of energy efficiency,

environmental and quality excellence were acknowledged by

the national cement industry through the presentation of awards.

The seminar concluded with the presentation of the cement industry’s National Awards for ‘Energy Efficiency’, ‘Environmental Excellence’ and ‘Quality Excellence’ by Talleen Kumar, DIPP joint secretary of the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry. In addition, the authors of the conference's best 12 technical papers were recognised by their peers in the award ceremony.

The next NCB Seminar is expected to take place in 2015. More details will follow nearer the time.