Cement News tagged under: Tech Forum
The last iceman in west Africa28 September 2020, Published under Cement NewsDr Michael Clark takes a look at the history of the cement industries in Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Togo, which have each seen an influx of new capacity surplus to demand. Regarding the strategy behind the companies investing in new facilities, it could be a case of defending market share in a hugely competitive environment. HeidelbergCement’s clinker plant in Tabligbo, Togo The inspiration for this month’s Technical Forum came from the CemNet webinar held on Wednesday, 3 ... |
The dangers of debt13 July 2020, Published under Cement NewsIn this month’s Technical Forum, Dr Michael Clark considers how the history of the Kenyan cement industry can serve as a case study for some of the dos and don’ts of the sector. Going forward, impaired sales performances may increase company debt levels but this is far from the only reason why debt can be easily accrued. ARM Cement fell into bankruptcy after building up debt through an ambitious expansion programme and then being hit by both a demand contraction and price war in 20... |
Preparing for a financial crisis30 June 2020, Published under Cement NewsDr Michael Clark looks at how the global health emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic is expected develop into a financial crisis, and the potential impacts of this for the cement industry. By looking back over the past 30 years, we can see the effects the Asian financial crisis and the global financial crisis had on the sector. With this in mind, what can we expect in the near future? The Asian financial crisis originated in Thailand and was fuelled by credit extensions made to suppo... |
Cement plant and company readiness for the COVID-19 pandemic24 March 2020, Published under Cement NewsThe cement industry must now prepare for the global COVID-19 pandemic As this extraordinary Technical Forum is being written, the world is reeling from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Italy, Spain and France are in complete lock-down with citizens required to remain in their homes. The UK and the United States are not far behind needing to impose such drastic restrictions. In the UK sweeping restrictions were introduced on Monday, 23 March. All social gatherings in restauran... |
Magnesia in clinker18 November 2019, Published under Cement NewsMagnesia is often present in clinker as periclase, which is formed of free MgO. However, periclase does not always provide a welcome part of the clinker’s composition and can lead to significant volume expansion of the concrete that is made with cement manufactured from such clinkers. Figure 1: periclase inclusions in belite. The belite crystal with two inclusions is 12µm across In cement clinker magnesia (MgO) can be present as a substituent in each of the primary clinker miner... |
Progress in quantification of clinker phases21 October 2019, Published under Cement NewsThe quantification of clinker phases is not always straightforward and often raises a number of questions. However, there has recently been significant progress in this area, as outlined below. Figure 1: share of M3 alite determined by XRD related to MGO/SO 3 The National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce which, amongst other activities, provides reference samples of cement that have been characterised in terms o... |
New opportunities for Europe07 October 2019, Published under Cement NewsDr Michael Clark looks at how the EU ETS is expected to change the face of European clinker manufacture. With the price of carbon credits rising, it could become more economically viable to import clinker and grind it upon arrival in Europe through the use of smaller grinding facilities. By Dr Michael Clark, UK. Cem’In’EU’s new facility in Tonneins, southwest France, is an example of the new wave of clinker-importing grinding units expected to arrive The summer of 2019 has se... |
Construction and demolition waste as clinker raw material09 September 2019, Published under Cement NewsThe concept of the circular economy encourages the reuse of waste products as raw materials in the production of cement. Arthur Harrisson looks at the use of construction and demolition waste as a raw material for clinker. Initial crushing of concrete produces aggregate containing a significant proportion of mortar Carbon dioxide is produced during cement clinker manufacture from two sources. Firstly, the primary raw material for clinker is limestone, which is predominantly calc... |
New supplementary cementitious materials19 August 2019, Published under Cement NewsThe search for new supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) is ongoing. A recent review of existing SCMs and the potential for new ones caught the eye of Arthur Harrisson and provided further potential for investigation. A disused slate quarry: a potential SCM? A recent review 1 of the availability of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) and the possibility for expanding the choice of those available examined the range of emerging SCM sources and also the means of tes... |
Belite in Portland clinker22 July 2019, Published under Cement NewsWhile belite is often represented as a pure dicalcium silicate, in practice the phase contains a range of impurities. Arthur Harrisson highlights the differences in belite composition and examines the causes of such impurities. Type I belite crystals with dark laminations containing exsolved matter The belite phase in Portland cement clinker is often characterised as dicalcium silicate or C 2 S, implying a lime-to-silica ratio of 2:1. The ratio refers to the number of CaO units ... |