The 24th AFCM Technical Symposium and Exhibition was held between 21-24 April 2015 at the JW Marriott Hanoi Hotel in Vietnam and attracted a throng of international delegates under the conference theme of ‘Upgrading technology for a sustainable development’.
AFCM president, Dr Nguyen Quang Cung, opens the 24th AFCM Technical Symposium in Hanoi, Vietnam
The conference presented delegates to take in the latest information about technological advances to increase their plants’ ability to produce cement in a sustainable manner. Papers presented were varied and ranged from milling to dispatch.
Sustainable grinding
Bo Bentsen of FLSmidth started the technical symposium reporting on the installation of an OK vertical roller mill (VRM) at PT Cement Gresik’s Tuban plant in Indonesia. Experiences of VRM mills were further reported by Dr Ing Caroline Woywadt of Gebr Pfeiffer, in light of the company’s MVR grinding system. Australian innovations in roller press and large grinding mill and kiln gear manufacture were showcased by Jarrod Hofmann of Hofmann Engineering.
Alternative fuel use
VICEM's Nguyen Quoc Thang shares his company's
experiences of burning cashew nut shells
as alternative fuel at the Binh Phuoc plant
Alternative fuels were a further key topic of the technical symposium. Nguyen Quoc Thang, plant manager at Vicem’s Binh Phouc works, explained the cement works’ experience in burning cashew nut shells as a part-substitute for anthracite coal. Huima Kaneko and Yasushi Yamamoto of Taiheiyo Engineering approached the subject in a more general way as they discussed alternative fuel combustion in the cement industry. Dr Uwe Maas of ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions shared information on his company’s solutions for the use of a wide range of alternative fuels and raw materials in cement kilns. Schenck Process’ Karsten Grünewald talked about flexible solutions for refuse-derived fuel plants. Roland Krischanitz of RHI focussed on the impact of alternative fuels on refractories.
Packaging and dispatch
The symposium also hosted a 44-stand exhibition
with equipment suppliers from around the world
Visitors running packing and dispatch departments found useful information in the papers of by Martin Roelfing and Wolfgang Schlüpmann of Haver & Boecker OHG and Beumer Group’s Andre Tissen. Modern packaging solutions for the Vietnamese cement market was the subject of a paper by Till Martens by Windmoeller and Holscher Asia Pacific. Loh Han Sen of Claudius Peters reported on the challenges of silo blockages. Further down the production process, Leo Carnevale of FLSmidth Ventomatic offered new options for automatic truck loading.
Further papers
Other topics included a new drive concept by Loesche, explained by Daniel Strohmeyer, and DuCleanTM technology, a paper about advanced fabric filter design presented by Henrik Vittrup Pedersen of FLSmidth. Evonik Fibres sent Dr Georg Rathwallner to talk about filter media as a key component in optimising energy use at reduced emissions. Delegates interested in refractories were served up Magnesita’s take on refractory optimisation by Eduardo M Reis and. Tim Burden of Aumund Asia dwelled on the benefits of rebuild versus newbuild conveying technologies.
Following the official closing of proceedings, the technical symposium concluded with a farewell dinner, enabling delegates to enjoy the last of the gathering’s Vietnamese hospitality.
A farewell dinner with a flavour of local culture concluded the proceedings
