WHITE CEMENT REPORT

The white cement production process is slightly different from that of grey cement and involves

higher production costs. Impurities such as iron, manganese, titanium and chromium have to be physically removed from limestone (involving higher mining costs) as against mechanised mining, which is not viable. Typically, China clay is then mixed with limestone and ground before being fed to the kiln. Coal-based fuels cannot be used to heat kilns as ash residue would affect the ‘whiteness’ of clinker. Hence, costlier petroleum-based fuels, are used in kilns. Clinker cooling needs an absence of oxygen to prevent colour addition to the clinker due to oxidisation.

Jürgen Oecknick, Holcim’s head of technical marketing and sales Europe, says: “In the production of white cement, the greatest care must be taken to ensure that the white colour of the binding

agent is not distorted by any ‘foreign colours’, ie input materials and clinkering must be scrupulously monitored.”

For the same reason, the combustible for the kiln has to be carefully selected. The greatest attention must, however, be paid to cooling – or quenching. Cement clinker is actually handled like a boiled egg and cooled down very quickly, of course, following all the common and special knowledge needed. The more intensively this is done and the better the process is monitored, the better will the essential minerals be ‘frozen’ and the brighter the white colour of the cement will be, once it has been milled. New white cement plants and expansion projects China Italian cement company Cementir SpA will invest about €60m (US$95.66m) to build a new cement plant in China,

chairman Francesco Caltagirone Jr said.Speaking at the AGM in Rome, he

said the plant will have a capacity of 600,000tpa of white cement and will start operating by 2009. Caltagirone also said this year Cementir aims to keep profitability at the same level of 2007 and that business plan target are fully achievable. From 2009 the company will benefit from an increased production capacity thanks to the expansion of its Sinai and Edirne plants, he said. Egypt Sales from Sinai White Cement have developed very positively, and the optimised capacity of 450,000tpa has been fully sold out. The existing kiln is expected to be upgraded to a capacity of 550-580,000tpa. The investment of some US$90m in the new, additional white line will be financed by a share capital increase and by bank loans.

Recent years have seen a rapid escalation in demand for white cement capacity with producers establishing factories in many new locations. This article investigates how white cement is made and looks at Holcim’s ‘greener’ white cement as well as reporting on new facililties worldwide.

by ICR Research

IWhite cement prospects

Sinai White Cement is increasing its capacity to 1.2Mta

DECEMBER 2008 ICR 83

“We expect to start up the new line at the end of 2008 or at the beginning of 2009,” Søren Vinther, president and CEO, states. “It is a big and strategically important investment, which should bring us closer to our target of 20 per cent of the world market of white cement in 2009. The total annual capacity of Sinai White Cement of 1.2Mt will, at the same time, make this plant one of the largest plants for white cement in the Mediterranean area.”

The scope of FLSmidth’s supplies includes:• ATOX 25 raw mill, including MAAG gear unit• two UM 29 x 16 sand mills• ILC pyro system including four-stage preheater, calciner, 3.75 x 57m three-support kiln• rotary cooler• UMS 42 x 14.5 cement mill• electrostatic precipitators from FLSmidth Airtech • feeding equipment from Pfister. Libya Italcementi confirmed the news released by the Libyan authorities about the construction of a new cement plant in the country. The Italian company, in joint venture with the Libyan Economic and Social Development Fund, will build a new cement plant some 50km west of Tobruk

in Eastern Libya. The new joint venture already finalised a mining concession agreement with the National Mining Company of Libya, the government body regulating the use of mineral resources in the country. Italcementi Group will control 50 per cent of the capital of the joint venture.

The plant is planned to have a total capacity of 4Mta of Portland cement. A new white cement line with a capacity of 500,000tpa is also being considered. According to preliminary estimates, the investment is expected to be between US$550-750m, depending in particular on the construction of the white cement line and on the typology of the logistics infrastructures required by the plant.

The new factory will answer to the growing needs of the Libyan market, sustaining the significant infrastructure and housing development plans of the country. It will also be ideally located to serve the export market with a particular focus on the Mediterranean basin, strengthening Italcementi’s leadership in the area. Tunisia Since late 2007, Cementos Molins SA has owned 65 per cent of Sotacib, a Tunisian cement producer. Sotacib has a production capacity of 350,000tpa of white cement at its factory in Feriana. It exports part

of its production to Algeria, Libya and France.

As of January 2008, a second line has been under construction, which will allow the company to double production from 1Q09.

For this project Sotacib contracted Polysius to construct a turnkey 1000tpd white cement production line. This new line is an extension of the Feriana works in west Tunisia.

The main components being supplied by Polysius are: • 12tph wet-process sand grinding plant with ball mill and Sepol® separator • raw grinding plant with roller mill for limestone and kaolin with a throughput rate of 83tph (+12tph preground sand) • blending silo and kiln line consisting of Dopol®’90 with Prepol®-AS precalciner • rotary kiln and twin cooler • cement grinding plant with ball mill and Sepol high-efficiency separator for a white cement output of 55tph at a fineness of 3900 cm²/g according to Blaine.

Furthermore, Sotacib has the necessary authorisation to build a greenfield grey cement factory with a production capacity of 1Mta in Kairouan, Tunisia with a commitment for start-up by mid-2010. UAE The company’s board at Ras Al Khaimah for White Cement and Construction

WHITE CEMENT REPORT

A number of steps have been taken by Holcim to be able to better meet the increasing demand for white cement in Central and Eastern Europe.

These include increasing production capacity at the Rohožník cement plant in Slovakia, an extension of capacity and service at the Cheb Terminal in the Czech Republic, and use of the Holcim Germany terminal in Rostock. As well as the increase in demand for white cement, customers can now also be offered a broader product portfolio. For example, in addition to the two cement types originally available (known by the names -quick- and -slow-), the two premium products CEM II/B-M 42 R and CEM II/A-LL 52.5 R have already been successfully placed on the market. The Polish white cement market has, since 2007, been

supplied not only with cement from Rohožník, but also from Rostock. The service for the optimisation of the mix design has also been enhanced and this has already led to improvements for many customers. In 2007 a complex rebuilding of white cement dispatch took place at Shurovo cement plant, Russia. The installation of new high-capacity packing equipment, expansion of the storage area and the building of a new ramp for railroad cars guarantee a secure supply even during the high sales season in summer.

This year’s plans have included the installation of a new aerating and filtering systems in the silos as well as the installation of new dosing and weighting equipment for bulk cement, which will allow Holcim to considerably reduce the loading time for truck and railroad transport.

Meanwhile, during 2008, Holcim’s laboratory at Shurovo cement works has been making production inspections in compliance with CEM I 52.5 N and standards EN 196 and EN 197, on a permanent basis.

Holcim develops its white cement markets

84 ICR DECEMBER 2008

Materials Co decided to increase the production capacity by 17 per cent to 550,000tpa. This new white cement capacity is expected to come online in 2009.

In addition, the company will establish a new cement brick works in the location of ‘lime brick factory’ owned by the company in Ras Al-Khaimah, UAE. It is expected to start production in the new

brick plant during the first quarter 2009. The company hopes that it will be able to achieve a production capacity of 20m bricks annually. _________________________________ I

WHITE CEMENT REPORT

86 ICR DECEMBER 2008

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Green clinker spoils a bright white colour, but Holcim has been working on green issues for quite some time. So what needs to be done to ensure the performance of white cement and still produce it in a way that is sustainable for our environment?

The magic formula is: • reducing CO2 emissions drastically by optimising the clinker, • creating an even more eco-friendly white cement with improved application and technology features by selecting input materials very carefully and employing all process engineering expertise.

These efforts can, of course, not be ranked in the ‘perpetuum mobile’ category. Just like all other things in the world,

environmental protection comes at a high price. The consequence for Holcim is comprehensive investment in raw materials, logistics and process engineering. And yet, it pays off – because the new white cement is, after all, ‘greener’. It was designed as a CEM II/A-S 42.5 R. The white blast furnace slag meal needed was not easy to procure, but in addition to its colour advantages it offers a number of outstanding, premium grade features. As far as ready-mix concrete is concerned, extended transport times are now possible, there is improved dispersibility of the cement when plastifying admixtures are used, while CEM II/A-S 42.5 R also achieves EN 206-1 sustainability criteria. Furthermore, the white blast furnace slag meal gives the cement high permanent durability and Holcim expects the improved compactability of semi-dry mixtures from the optimised granulometry of CEM II/A-S 42.5 R.

A ‘greener’ white cement