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– How to make your cement plant run as a
competitive and sustainable business.
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Tomorrow matters …
Societies all over the world are growing and steadily becoming more
economically developed. Millions are moving from poverty to middle class,
requiring better living standards. Furthermore, urbanisation and industrialisation
are driving the need for more housing and an ever-expanding infrastructure,
increasing the demand for cement as an indispensable building material.
Cement production is thus a solid investment.
Amidst this growth, however, raw material and energy resources are becoming
increasingly scarce. And the need to address vital issues – such as environmental
impacts, sustainability, social responsibilities and compliance with emissions
regulations – is challenging traditional production philosophies.
Given the ever-increasing demand for cement, production needs to become
more efficient, yet less energy and CO2-intensive, in order to obtain sustainable
growth.
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At FLSmidth, we aim to help cement producers to create profitable, sustainable
businesses. We don’t just focus on optimising plant efficiency and increasing
production capacity; we work alongside your business to help you achieve greater competitiveness by developing more sustainable business practices and
implementing crucial productivity improvements.
Through this handbook, we aim to share our business approach with you, based
on more than 130 years of cement production knowledge. We offer advice on
how to minimise the use of resources, optimise output and maximise the return
on assets – in essence, how to do more with less.
We are driven towards a common pursuit for good, proven and sustainable
business – because tomorrow matters.
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The three impact areas
of sustainable production
When working with cement producers around the world, we have identified
three impact areas in which sustainable production can achieve the greatest
competitive advantages.
Economic impact
Improving productivity results in important economic benefits, not only for
the cement producer itself, but also for the region in which it operates.
Social impact
Developing employees through special training and health and safety initiatives will not only attract the right minds and improve your operations; it will
also have a positive impact on the local community.
Environmental impact
A major challenge for the global cement industry is how to balance the
increasing demand for cement with the need to reduce emissions and energy
consumption associated with cement production.
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Economic impact
The economic impact of productivity
enhancement
Improving productivity results in important economic benefits, not only for the
cement producer itself, but also for the community in which it operates. A welloperated cement plant provides compelling opportunities to contribute to the
economy of the local region. Apart from the local employment and business opportunities offered, there are tangible examples of how cement plants have
generated significant national gross value through supply of domestic cement,
profitable operations and purchase of goods and services.
The quality of the cement goes a long way towards determining its market price,
with higher quality cement often equating to higher margins and increased market share. At the same time, achieving maximum profitability depends on parameters such as increasing the performance of the equipment and the availability
of installed capacity.
Cement production can be optimised in three different ways: overall equipment
efficiency, cost of production, and producing with lower risk.
Key to achieving high-quality cement and optimal performance is the right combination of high-standard core equipment technology, process knowledge and
repeatable operating excellence that preserve plant asset value. This allows the
plant to be operated at the optimum point of production – where everything is in
balance and the equipment keeps running.
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It is here the cement producer achieves sustained performance, the lowest energy
usage, lowest heat consumption, optimal production and lowest cost.
Today’s cement projects must often adhere to these principles of sustainable development and reduced environmental impact in order to gain financial backing.
Through years of helping customers plan, build and commission cement plants,
FLSmidth has gained unique expertise in helping cement plant owners meet the
funding requirements for socially responsible investments.
SOLUTIONS IN ACTION
We helped a well-established regional cement producer achieved a 10 percent higher utilisation rate than the industry average, low gaseous and dust
emissions, and 14.5 percent lower energy usage than the regional industry
average.
All have contributed significantly towards higher profits, delivering value to
its owner as well as society in general.
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Social impact
The social impact of training and safety
Cement plants have a big impact on the community, with a lot of social responsibility resting on the shoulders of cement plant owners. Increasingly, they need
to plan for the impact the plant will have, which involves planning for how plant
operations will make a positive contribution.
Employee skills and knowhow are just as important to productivity as the cement
plant equipment itself. But many regions, particularly rapidly growing economies,
face a shortage of experienced and skilled workers. That’s why cement plants
today need to focus on training and ensuring safety at work.
But there is no doubt that efforts in these areas have a broader positive impact.
There are many examples of such efforts being a vital factor in minimising the
rate of employee turnover, which ensures consistency in plant operations. For
individual employees, training provides important skills development than can
boost their professional potential and further their careers, which in turn improves their contribution to local society.
Ensuring the day-to-day safety of employees is a key requirement, and satisfactory safety performance is necessary when assessing the social impact of a cement
plant. Measures to improve safety can include implementing specific safety performance targets and procedures for hazard observation and reporting. Regular,
ongoing safety training is paramount.
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It is important plant workers have the opportunity to develop their professional
and technical skills in all aspects of operation and maintenance. This can be done
through comprehensive training programmes that help employees to develop important skills and to develop insight into the complete cement production process
that becomes the backbone of plants’ high utilisation rates. Combining theoretical and practical content, the training programmes should help cement plants
meet specific performance goals and effectively manage the social impact of their
operations.
SOLUTIONS IN ACTION
With a low employee turnover rate of only 1.5 percent, a cement plant
achieved a high level of employability and retained valuable competencies.
This was largely thanks to targeted training and safety programmes offered
to all employees. In addition to employees experiencing a knowledge jump
of 35 to 65 percent and a significant increase in job satisfaction, the losttime injury frequency rate was reduced from 3.9 to 0.9 in 2015.
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Environmental impact
The environmental impact of reducing
energy and emissions
The most serious socio-economic costs of cement production are gaseous emissions and energy consumption. The major global challenge for cement producers
is therefore balancing increasing demand for cement with reducing emissions
and energy consumption associated with cement production.
Among the most damaging gaseous emissions are CO, SO2, NOx and CO2 as well
as total suspended particulate matter (TSP). Today, cement production currently causes about five percent of anthropogenic global CO2 emissions. And with
more population growth as well as modernisation and climate change mitigation
and adaptation measures predicted, the resulting cement production is likely to
increase dramatically for the foreseeable future.
The overall goal must be to improve cement production productivity while significantly reducing the negative environmental impact. In response to this challenge,
the industry must continue to improve the cement manufacturing process as well
as adopt the use of new technologies and materials.
Important technological advancements have been made in all areas of cement
production that are mitigating negative environmental effects.For example, pyro
processing is a conventional technological procedure that consumes most of
7the energy required by the cement industry. Yet the global installed pyro process
technology has significantly less thermal efficiency in the lower thirties compared
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to best available technology (BAT) for pyro processing which offers around 58
percent thermal efficiency. So there is considerable opportunity for improvement
by deploying state-of-the-art technologies in new cement plants and retrofitting
energy efficiency equipment where economically viable.
Other advancements include fuel burning technologies that allow the efficient
combustion of waste in cement kilns, such as tyres, wood, plastics and chemicals.
Burning waste in cement plants reduces the need for waste incineration in
general, thus reducing total emissions for society.
But thermal efficiency of a cement plant is not only defined by its original engineering design. It also depends on the efficiency at which the machinery is
operated and maintained. Improving the full range of operations and
maintenance procedures is therefore key to achieving maximum plant efficiency.
SOLUTIONS IN ACTION
Reflecting significant management focus on the environmental impact, we
helped one cement plant successfully reduced its emissions of TSPs to less than
16 percent of the maximum allowable level in the region. At the same time,
modern fabric filters helped the plant to increase its production capacity and to
produce three times more cement than TSPs, which is unrivalled in the region.
Are you ready for tomorrow?
If you are ready for a dialogue with us on how to ensure a sustainable cement
production geared for the future you can e-mail us at [email protected],
so we can help you identify areas for productivity enhancements or matching
solutions for your needs.