International Cement Review articles tagged under : Tech Forum
Profit margins under pressure
In 2022 cement company profit margins came under pressure, particularly when compared with the previous year. Dr Michael Clark takes a closer look at cement company profit margins in 2022 and 2023, the factors that affect them and how to protect profits in a changing world. By Dr Michael Clark, UK. Figure 1: comparison of gross margins in 2021 vs 2022 (©Dr Michael Clark) When ...
An easy way to reduce thermal carbon emissions
To reach its net zero target the cement industry will have to accelerate the roll-out of its decarbonisation initiatives, including the thermal efficiency of kilns. The replacement of long wet dry kilns with m...
The oxycombustion way forward
Despite an array of carbon reducing technologies currently applied in cement plants around the world, it is becoming increasingly clear in the industry that there is a need for further-reaching approaches such as car...
Dangote: powerhouse of Africa and Nigeria
Through the use of financial ratio analysis, this month’s Technical Forum examines how Dangote Cement – the powerhouse of Africa and Nigeria – has managed to achieve a strong and sustained financial performance. ...
CO2 utilisation in concrete
Recent ICR articles have given plenty of attention to the theme of decarbonisation of cement manufacture. One way of using this CO 2 is to “lock” it into concrete as the world requires increasing amounts of this bui...
Reducing methane emissions
As the cement industry prepares to meet its sustainability objectives, this month’s Technical Forum focusses on the potential of methane as an alternative to coal in firing kilns. More than 70 per cent of kilns are s...
Limestone specifications
When asked to review the suitability of limestone deposits for cement manufacture, Dr Michael Clark makes a range of important assessments such as what other materials would need to be added to produce a clinker with...
Effects of recirculation cells in cement kilns
As the raw material passes through the cement production process, recirculation cells are created. Due to the heterogenous nature of the fine materials, the composition in each cell is not uniform and as such, recirc...
Advanced grinding technology to reduce CO2
Dr Michael Clark considers the role of grinding technology in reducing clinker content but retaining the cement strength class. The first industrial installation of a polysius® booster mill was at Bursa Ciment...
The industry’s response to the decarbonisation challenge
Dr Michael Clark discusses the cement sector’s response and strategies in terms of the large-scale challenges involved with decarbonisation. LafargeHolcim’s Richmond plant in Canada, where it launched Project ...
Belite size distribution
Belite size is affected by several factors ranging from raw materials, the length of the burning zone, the fuels used in the production process as well as the conditions in the cooling zone. Figure 1: example...
Alkali-activated materials
While blastfurnace slag and metakaolin are known to produce a binder phase following alkali activation, the range of alkali-activated materials is wider than these two materials. This month Arthur Harrisson provides ...
Financial ratio analysis
Cement producers should use financial ratio analysis to compare their performance with others around the world. However, this must be combined with peer group analysis to account for differing operational circumstanc...
Fly ash and pozzolanas
The drive for alternative raw materials has put the spotlight on fly ash and pozzolanas. However, their use in cement has been around for some time. This month Arthur Harrisson looks at their origin and performance i...
Process, mineralogy and cement quality
This month Arthur Harrisson looks at the relationship between temperature differences in the clinker manufacturing process, the composition of clinker produced and the quality of the final cement. Figure 1: va...
Determining the cost
In this month’s Technical Forum, Dr Michael Clark considers how to reduce electricity costs by looking at how much is consumed and ways to lower the price of energy. While this is less of an issue in countries with l...