Cement News tagged: Environmental
Latin America: Cemex launches Crecimientos platform
Cemex has established its Crecimientos (“Growth”) platform which is designed to create new business models with high social and environmental impact in Latin American and Asian countries where the company is present. The main goal of this initiative is to support more than one million low-income people during the next two years by encouraging innovation, development, and promotion of social ...
Egypt: Italcementi to build wind park
Italcementi SpA has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Egypt for the construction of a 120MW wind park in the coastal town of El-Zaafarana, where the government has agreed to allocate land. The company will invest some US$200m (EUR160.6m) in the plant, starting construction in the 2Q15, said Omar Mehanna, chairman of Italcementi’s Suez Cement Co, as cited by Ahr...
PPC signs waste tyre agreement
PPC has signed an agreement to source waste tyres from the Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (Redisa) for use at its De Hoek cement factory, South Africa. The country’s largest cement producer is also investigating the possibility of using waste tyres in some of its other plants, Azola Lowan, the executive for investor relations and strategy, told the Cape Times. ...
EU ETS: cement sector included on EU carbon leakage risk list
On 27 October, the European Commission adopted the list of sectors expected to be at risk of carbon leakage, which will be applicable for the period 2015-19. The list includes the cement industry, a fact welcomed by Cembureau, the European cement producers’ association. “The risk of carbon leakage has increased since 2009 as a direct result of the reduction in the competitiveness of the Europe...
Terra Cement signs joint venture agreement with Ore Mines International
Terra Cement Inc has signed joint venture agreement with Ore Mines International Pty Ltd in South Australia (OMI) to form a new company, under the name of Terra Cement Australia Pty Ltd (TCA). TCA will engage in the marketing of Terra’s proprietary process (patent pending) for producing sustainable cement using ash in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. The joint venture will begin op...
Rembang project temporarily halted, Indonesia
Central Java Governor, Ganjar Pranowo, has said that Semen Gresik's cement plant project in Watuputih, Rembang, has been halted to respect the process of a citizen lawsuit at the Commercial Court in Semarang, Central Java. The lawsuit, filed by residents who rejected the exploration plan, wants to overturn the governor’s decision of 7 June 2012 reading the plant’s environmental permit. An i...
Michigan DEQ grants Lafarge new fuel approval, USA
State officials have approved a request from Lafarge to burn asphalt shingles and plastics at its plant near Alpena, Michigan, USA. The state’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has approved the permit saying emissions shouldn't have health effects on residents, Alpena News reported yesterday. State environmental engineer Melissa Byrnes says tests at Lafarge showed burning the materia...
Semen Indonesia starts Tuban WHR plant construction
Semen Indonesia has commenced the construction of a 30.6MW power plant at its Tuban cement works to reduce the company’s electricity costs. Using heat from the cement production process, the waste heat recovery plant represents an investment of IDR638bn (US53m). The project is expected to be completed in 26 months’ time with the plant due to come online in 2H16. In 2013 Semen Indonesia s...
Taiwan: ITRI to receive award for its HECLOT carbon capture technology
Taiwan-based Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has introduced High Efficiency Calcium Looping Technology (HECLOT), a calcium looping technology developed to reduce carbon emissions from fossil power plants. HECLOT claims to be the first affordable and energy-efficient CO 2 capture solution, capable of achieving a capture rate of up to 90 per cent. ITRI will receive a 2014 R&D 10...
Concerns raised by South Korean imports of Japanese coal
Lee In-young, an opposition spokesman for the New Politics Alliance for Democracy party and member of the National Assembly's Environment Labour Committee, has raised concerns over radioactive-contaminated coal bought by South Korean cement firms. The Environment Ministry received data that between 2011 to 2013 Sangyong Cement Industrial, Tongyang Cement and Energy, Lafarge Halla Cement ...
Cembureau voices concern over EU GHG targets
On 23-24 October the European Council will decide on the 2030 climate and energy framework, including targets for GHG emissions reduction, renewables and energy efficiency. The targets are expected to impose a 43 per cent cut for ETS sectors, placing a significant additional burden on these sectors when compared with non-ETS sectors, which have a 30 per cent reduction target, according to C...
Ras Al Khaimah-based cement company sees temporary environmental shutdown
The UAE Ministry of Water and Environment has closed a Ras Al Khaimah cement factory in Khor Khuweir for a month. The plant has not complied with rules under Cabinet Resolution No 24 of 2011, relating to the protection and development of the environment. Ministry spokesmen Ghanem Al Shamsi said the decision came after specialists from the external audit department visited the facility and re...
Cemex launches Dominican Republic solar power plant
Cemex announced the launch of a 1.5MW power plant to supply renewable energy to its cement plant in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic. Cemex said the initiative is part of its commitment to sustainability, to contribute to reduce its carbon footprint and mitigate the impact on climate change. "The contribution represents 1.5MW that will allow us to produce 2.2MkW per year, which equ...
Suez Cement plant to switch to coal
Italcementi Group is looking to find a long-term solution to the fuel shortage problems it faces in Egypt with its subsidiary Suez Cement. Suez Cement needs to find a reliable fuel source for its cement plants to keep its 18 per cent of local cement sales. The Suez plant will use coal next November, while two of the group’s its other factories in Tora and Helwan will start in two years' time, ...
Four Holcim (US) Inc plants awarded Energy Star®
Holcim (US) Inc. announced that four of its plants earned the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) ENERGY STAR®. "Holcim is grateful to, once again, be awarded for our commitment to sustainability," said Filiberto Ruiz, president and CEO of Holcim (US) and Aggregate Industries US. "We understand how important it is for our facilities to have corporate values in place that help protect t...
New species of snail discovered in Lafarge Malaysia limestone quarry
A new, presumed narrowly endemic species of snail has been discovered in a limestone quarry in Malaysia run by Lafarge. The new species of snail, discovered by Fendie Marzuki and Thor Seng Liew at the northern end of Gunung Kanthan, Malaysia, has been named 'Charopa lafargei', recognising that most of the hill is within a concession run by Lafarge Malaysia. The hill is reportedly schedule...