Guatemala, Central America, was the host city for FICEM’s 34th Technical Congress which saw 316 participants gather from across Latin America and the Caribbean for this informative three-day conference and exhibition. At the top of the agenda was the new FICEM technology roadmap for a low carbon industry, while 32 presentations covered a variety of topics from new plant construction to optimisation and alternative fuels.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Luis Alvarez, director general of the Instituto del Cemento y del Concreto

de Guatemala; José Rene González Campo, president of the Camara Guatemalteca de la Construccion;

Alejandro Ramirez Cantú, president of FICEM, and María José Garcia, executive director of FICEM

Alejandro Ramirez Cantú, president of Cemex Dominican Republic and FICEM’s newly elected president, presided over the inauguration ceremony in which he stressed the main objectives of the association’s agenda, which is to facilitate the exchange of best practice in cement manufacture and, specifically, to accelerate the industry’s carbon mitigation practices in line with the cement industry’s ambitious CO2 reduction targets.

José Rene González Campo, president of the Camara Guatemalteca de la Construccion, emphasised the valuable role played by cement in the development of Latin American economies such as Guatemala: “Cement can turn dreams into reality!” he exclaimed, adding, “Cement is more than a material – it is an instrument to bring well-being to our country. It allows people to improve their lives.”

Low carbon technology roadmap

FICEM is now overseeing the development of a low-carbon technology roadmap for Latin America and the Caribbean with the support of the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI). CSI Managing Director, Philippe Fonta, spoke of the crucial role of cement in creating a resilient global infrastructure capable of withstanding the increasingly extreme climate impacts, including hurricanes. He also emphasised the efforts made by the cement industry to reduce CO2 emissions, including most recently extensive research into technologies for carbon mitigation published this year in the ECRA Technology Papers. This research has identified the future CO2 reduction potential in cement manufacture based on expected development of technologies for the cement industry. The findings will be used by the International Energy Agency (IEA) to create a new cement industry technology roadmap, which will be released in early 2018.

Table 1: opportunity for CO2 abatement and energy efficiency in the cement sector

Technology / innovation

CO2 reduction potential (kg CO2/t cement)

New cement

250

Alternative primary materials

599

Thermal energy efficiency

248

Electrical energy efficiency

36

Co-processing

166

Carbon capture and storage

3293

Source : CSI/ECRA Technology Papers 2017

In Latin America, FICEM has now launched the development of its own technology roadmap, known as “Hoja de Ruta CO2”, which draws upon the methodology and experiences of other regional initiatives, including India, Egypt and Brazil. FICEM’s Ricardo Pareja, who is leading the project, explained the vital importance of the roadmap as a means of driving the industry towards better technical practices. The roadmap will provide regional producers with a mechanism to calculate their CO2 emissions according to the CSI methodology. Producers will also be able to review their technical performance against global benchmarks with respect to energy efficiency, alternative fuels and clinker replacement, and receive technological guidance to achieve the maximum CO2 reduction potential. The challenge for FICEM is to offer a roadmap that reflects the very diverse industries across the continent. Instead of a ‘one size fits all’ approach, FICEM will now develop eight country studies to represent the region. The long-term objective of the industry is to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050, with the goal of carbon neutrality by 2100.

As an industry with a high carbon footprint operating in a world committed to carbon reduction, it is imperative that the cement sector is seen to be taking practical action. The FICEM roadmap will support efforts to promote the ongoing achievements of the industry as well as highlight areas where the Latin American cement sector is already performing at a very high level, such as clinker reduction.

Thomas Armstrong, International Cement Review,

presents the latest findings from The Global Cement Report,

12th Edition, at FICEM

Thomas Armstrong, managing editor of International Cement Review (ICR), provided an overview of worldwide cement trends alongside demand forecasts for 2017-18. He explained that while global growth (excluding China) grew by only one per cent in 2016, worldwide demand growth is expected to accelerate to 2-3 per cent per annum over the 2017-18 period.

Latin America’s cement demand fell by over five per cent in 2016, dragged down by the poor performance of major markets such as Brazil and Colombia. Construction activity in much of the region has been impacted by lower commodity prices as well as political tension. Oversupply has resulted in weak capacity utilisation rates, currently assessed at around 60 per cent, and significant pricing pressures, which have undermined profitability.

Looking ahead, 2017 will be a year of stabilisation for Latin America with an overall return to modest one per cent growth by 2018, with Argentina one of the brightest prospects.

FICEM appoints new president

Alejandro Ramirez Cantú was elected as the new president of La Federación Interamericana del Cemento (FICEM) for the period 2017-20 at the FICEM’s 27th General Assembly which took place on 3 September 2017, in the city of Antigua, Guatemala. Mr Ramirez Cantú is currently president of Cemex in the Dominican Republic.

Mr Ramirez Cantú succeeds Gabriel Restrepo, director of institutional affairs for Cementos Argos, under whose leadership FICEM has greatly strengthened its mandate to represent the regional cement sector.

Mr Ramirez Cantú is an industrial engineer and graduate from Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico, with an MBA from the The Wharton School from The University of Pennsylvania in the United States. He joined Cemex in 2000 and has held diverse managerial positions heading up operations for Cemex in Thailand, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica and, currently, the Dominican Republic.

Technical programme

The technical programme saw 30 presentations given by a variety of equipment suppliers and cement producers. Among the three highly- commended presentations was a case study on the evolution of the use of liquid alternative fuels at the La Calera plant by Roberto Leiva, Cementos Melon, Chile. He described how the plant was able to overcome typical issues associated with the burning of liquid alternative fuels, including flame stability, impact on refractory, high chloride levels and production loss.

Yvan Estuardo Pecorelli, Cementos Progreso, Guatemala, gave a presentation on the optimisation of the temperature profile of the preheater tower to reduce the variability of the decarbonation at the entrance of the kiln. The presentation described how the 2945tpd kiln with five-stage preheater and in-line calciner was suffering from high temperature variability (+/- 50˚C) causing fluctuation in the decarbonation of the hot meal entering the kiln, resulting in low energy efficiency and unstable production. By modifying the discharge of cyclone three in the five-stage preheater, a more- efficient heat exchange was achieved by lowering and stabilising the temperature in the calciner from 940 to 890°C. Thermal efficiency of the kiln was improved and the share of non-conforming clinker reduced to just one per cent.

Martin Alberto Monsalve Correa of Cementos Argos presented a case study describing the sustainable mine closure and rehabilitation of the Mina Pavas quarry near Barranquilla. Rehabilitation included geotechnical and hydrological studies, landscaping and drainage, revegetation and irrigation, all of which prepared the site for ecological recovery and transformation into a community resource.

Exhibition

Refractories manufacturer Morgan Advanced

Materials attended FICEM with its full regional team

The exhibition included equipment supplierswho showcased a number of important product innovations. BWF Envirotec presented its new Pyrotex KE filters for low NOx dust filtration. Capable of withstanding hot temperatures of up to 1000°C and made from rigid filter elements, there is no need to cool gas temperatures prior to filtration, reducing costs and allowing the hot, clean exhaust gas from the dust collector to be reused elsewhere in the process.

Industrial Kiln & Dryer Group (USA), kiln maintenance and repair specialists, were promoting a new ‘measuring wheel’ tool designed to detect deviations and deformations in a rotary kiln so that corrective roller adjustment can be carried out more easily.

Dome Technology has developed a new Drive-Thru DomeSilo for cement and flyash storage, allowing for rapid truck and rail loading. Capacities start from 1500t for this low-capex silo design, which allows the possibility of 99 per cent live reclaim due to the fluidised floor.

Plant tour

Cemento Progreso, which recently joined the CSI as an affiliate member, hosted a tour for FICEM delegates of its new 2.5Mta San Gabriel plant. Construction of the facility, which is located 40km northwest of Guatemala City, will be completed in 1Q18. Surprisingly, the plant’s main equipment was first supplied by ThyssenKrupp back in 2008, but the project was postponed as a result of the financial crisis. Work resumed in November 2013 and completion is now set for the 1Q18. 

This article was first published in International Cement Review in November 2017.