Cement News tagged under: Environmental

RSS feed

Cemex investing US$25m in cleaner development projects, Puerto Rica

26 October 2006, Published under Cement News

The Puerto Rican unit of Mexican cement firm Cemex  plans to invest more than US$25m in works to mitigate the environmental impact and further the sustainable development of its operations on the island, local paper El Vocero reported.    By the beginning of 2007, Cemex expects to have wrapped up the installation of dust control filters and other equipment worth a total US$20mn to cut down on airborne particles.    The firm will also implement a system to incinerate used tires in furnaces ...

Judge sides with cement plant in mercury dispute

25 October 2006, Published under Cement News

A judge has ruled the state of Michigan has no authority to regulate mercury output from a cement plant in Alpena, but the company Tuesday pledged a voluntary effort to limit emissions. Lafarge North America sued the Department of Environmental Quality earlier this year after the two sides failed to agree on a mercury reduction strategy as the plant expands its cement production by 20 percent. They reached a tentative settlement in August that allowed the plant to pump 567 pounds of mercu...

People rejects Cemex’s sand and gravel mine in US

20 October 2006, Published under Cement News

The neighbouring inhabitants of Santa Clarita Valley, the site in the United States where Mexican Cemex plans to begin operating a 69Mt sand and gravel mine in 2008, are campaigning to stop the cement maker’s mega-mining project in Soledad Canyon, alleging that it could adversely impact protected species in the Santa Clara River.    Also the city has consistently said the cement maker’s mining water demands will frequently draw water from the Santa Clara River at the project site and negati...

Green cement: new option for energy saving, China

20 October 2006, Published under Cement News

As shown by data provided by Lei Qianzhi, President of China Cement Association, "During the first five months of this year, the cement industry had realised an output of 429Mt, up 20.4 per cent YoY, while the total profits of the industry had increased by 290.4 percent year on year. Although the prices of both coal and electricity power had surged by a small margin, the growth rate of sales costs for cement is one percentage point lower than that of sales incomes; and the unit energy cons...

Hope works’ new fuel trial, UK

18 October 2006, Published under Cement News

A Peak District cement works has begun a trial using Meat and Bone Meal (MBM) to reduce its consumption of fossil fuels. The six-month experiment at Lafarge Cement UK’s Hope Works involves adding "carbon neutral" MBM to the fuel mix, in place of some of the established fuels, ground coal and petcoke, that feed the 2000°C flame in one of the site’s two kilns. "The MBM trial is part of an exciting, three-year development programme for Hope which involves investment of some £30 million," said...

Cement factory promises to reduce pollution, Mozambique

17 October 2006, Published under Cement News

The cement factory in the southern Mozambican city of Matola is to halt production of clinker for the next 45 days, in order to install filters and replace equipment in a bid to reduce pollution.    The factory is notorious for its pollution, and environmentalists have been campaigning against it for years.    Frequently the factory belches out clouds that are visible for kilometres around, and carpets everything in the vicinity on a fine white dust.    This was certainly not what the Moz...

Holcim Espana invests EUR120m in sustainability, Spain

16 October 2006, Published under Cement News

Holcim Espana, the Spanish division of Holcim has submitted a report on the sustainability of the company’s operations for the period 2004-05. During this period, Holcim Espana has invested 120m euros in sustainability, while 2.5m euros was spent on innovation and environmental improvements.    Separately, Holcim Espana plans to build a plant in Gador, in the Spanish autonomous region of Andalucia, before the end of the year. 

More oil spill debris shipped to Mindanao cement plant

16 October 2006, Published under Cement News

Two barges and a ship left Guimaras over the weekend with 2050t of oil-soaked debris to be delivered to a factory in Mindanao which will use the waste as fuel and raw material for cement production, officials said Monday. The shipment brings to 3600t the amount of sludge gathered off the coast and beaches of the island province, which has been struck hard by the oil spill triggered by the August 11 sinking of the M/T Solar I, which was transporting 2.19 million liters of bunker fuel owned b...

UK plant trials fuel source

13 October 2006, Published under Cement News

A controversial scheme to power a cement works using meat and bone meal has begun - under the scrutiny of environment watchdogs. Bosses at the Lafarge plant in Hope have started a six-month trial to use meat and bone meal (MBM) as an alternative fuel source for operations at the site. The pilot scheme was given the go-ahead by Environment Agency chiefs last year, despite residents’ concerns over smells and extra lorry traffic travelling through the village. But agency bosses say they...

Cemex to appeal against UK£400,000 dust leak fine

13 October 2006, Published under Cement News

Cemex is considering an appeal after it was hit with a massive fine after cement dust escaped from a silo at its Rugby production plant. Judges at Warwick Crown Court fined the company UK£400,000 after it admitted pollution charges following an incident in October 2005. The firm was also ordered to pay almost UK£12,500 in costs by the court. Cemex had pleaded guilty to the leak at the Magistrates’ Court in Rugby but magistrates referred the case to the Warwick Crown Court for sen...