The 15th International Congress on the Chemistry of Cement (ICCC) will take place in Prague, the Czech Republic, on 16-20 September 2019. ICR speaks with Jan Gemrich of the Czech Cement Association and Lukas Perka of VUMO about the conference and the latest developments in the Czech cement sector.
ICCC 2015, which took place in Beijing, China, provided a forum for cement scientists and producers alike
Carbon capture and reuse as well as the reduction of all GHG are becoming major themes worldwide for the cement industry. Therefore, the development of sustainable cements is a key topic at the 15th International Congress on the Chemistry of Cement, which takes place in Prague, Czechia, on 16-20 September 2019. Scientists, cement producers and end-users will gather to exchange scientific and technical knowledge on a range of cement and concrete topics (see box story).
The conference will discuss, among other areas, new types of binders based on clinkers of the future, of which the production is expected to have lower environmental impacts, and highlight the latest advances in research. “To date, the Czech cement sector has carried out research focussed mainly on the use of secondary raw materials such as industrial wastes. Blastfurnace slag and various types of industrial fly ash can also be taken into account. Their treatment into new hydraulic binders is important in terms of quantity and availability,” says Jan Gemrich, executive director of the Czech Cement Association and chairman of the ICCC 2019 scientific committee.
The Czech cement market
Since the slowdown of the domestic construction market in 2008, Czech cement consumption has seen modest YoY increases. “However, we have not yet reached the demand for cement of 10 years ago and we will probably not reach it this year,” says Mr Gemrich.
Jan Gemrich, executive director of the
Czech Cement Association and chairman of the
ICCC 2019 scientific committee
“It is much more important to teach the related concrete and construction markets to differentiate between different cement types and use blended cements for certain construction applications,” he adds. “Large cement companies are making significant steps in this direction and we believe that the ICCC 2019 congress will provide further impetus. However, it is important that the concrete and construction industries are prepared for this change,” he adds.
Toward a greener industry
At present the Czech cement industry includes global cement producers such as HeidelbergCement, Cemex, LafargeHolcim and Buzzi Unicem. Together they have a combined domestic cement capacity of up to 6Mta.
Increasing environmental legislation has been a challenge for the industry and the sector is changing its use of raw materials and fuels.
In terms of raw material reserves for the cement sector, the country is well-endowed. “Historically, Bohemia and Moravia have rich reserves of low-percentage limestone suitable for clinker and cement production, with the life of deposits estimated at more than half a millennium,” Mr Gemrich says.
The drive for sustainable cement production is particularly visible in the cement plant’s quarries. “After use the industry invests significant sums into the rehabilitation and renaturalisation of the mined parts of the quarries. Plans for the return of quarries to nature are long-term and the renaturalised share can currently be estimated at approximately 15 per cent,” he adds.
In terms of alternative fuel (AF) use, the Czech cement sector has made considerable progress. “Cement plants in the Czech Republic use a high level of AFs. This is due to the rapid availability and adoption of such fuels more than 20 years ago, supported by efficient technical management. Key AFs are waste plastics, rubber, textile and agricultural wastes. As a result, thermal substitution is now at 75 per cent and continues to grow,” says Mr Gemrich.
ICCC 2019 Congress – main themes and topics |
| 1. Process technology and clinker chemistry • natural and alternative raw materials and meal composition • alternative fuels • preheater and kiln reactions and bypass operations • clinker formation chemistry and cooling processes • grinding and grinding aids • capture and reuse of greenhouse gases, control of other emissions 2. Hydration, structure and thermodynamics of Portland cements • hydration kinetics and hydration reactions modeling • C-S-H and other hydration phases • thermodynamics processes • new techniques for micro and nano structure characterisation 3. Supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) • processing and reactivity and influences on hydration • new SCMs and its combination • control of workability • wastes and solid industrial residues as SCMs 4. Other binders and their application • alkali-activated materials • calcium sulfoaluminate cements • belite-based cements and other low carbon binders • tailor-made binders as rapid hardening, polymer modified etc. 5. Fresh and hardened concrete • chemical admixtures • rheology and workability of fresh concrete • shrinkage, creep and thermal crack • recycled concrete 6. Concrete durability • alkali-aggregate reaction • sulphate attack • resistance to freeze and freeze/thaw attack • carbonation and chloride penetration resistance • resistance to marine exposure • leaching of hydrated products • methods to assess durability, service life modeling and evaluation - quality of concrete on site 7. Testing methods – standardisation and new approach |
VUMO
To support the cement industry in its drive to become a more sustainable producer, the Research Institute of Building Materials Prague (VUMO) provides several services.
“Our core business is the research, development and testing of a wide range of building materials: cement, lime and limestone, mortars and plasters, gypsum and gypsum plasters, fly ash and slag, as well as other hydraulic and non-hydraulic binders and building materials,” explains Lukas Perka, VUMO’s director and executive head, and chair of ICCC 2019’s organising committee.
Lukas Perka, VUMO’s director and executive
head and chair of the ICCC 2019 organising committee
The institute carries out a diverse range of activities, including:
• the design of technological solutions to meet environmental, legislation and standards requirements
• specialised comprehensive testing of building materials
• participation in the development of European and Czech technical standards
• informing and educating on legislative issues, participation in the preparation of environmental legislation in the Czech Republic and the EU, representing interests of the production of building materials industry
• organising training courses, seminars and conferences providing marketing surveys.
In its laboratory, VUMO carries out accredited testing to determine:
• metals in water and aqueous extracts by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), including the preparation of test specimens, crushes and extracts from them – procedures according to Czech legislation (for contact with drinking water and for wastewater)
• the biomass and biomass carbon content in solid recovered fuels according to EN 15440 by method of selective dissolution
• water-soluble chromium (Cr6+) in cement and cement-containing preparations according to EN 196 -1.
In terms of key environmental issues, such as the reduction of energy demand, greenhouse gases and the conservation of water resources, VUMO cooperates with producers on a number of projects to save energy consumption and lower GHG emissions.
“We help to implement the use of fuels with higher biomass content to reduce fossil-based CO2 emissions. We support producers in the selection of secondary raw materials for clinker burning, thus ensuring greater energy efficiency of the raw material mixture. We also systematically conduct water and ecological evaluations of raw materials and produced materials. VUMO continually monitors the latest trends in this field and works to ensure sustainable development in the cement and lime industry.
This article was first published in International Cement Review in September 2019.
