More than 800 participants found their way to New Delhi on the occasion of the 12th NCB Seminar, held at the Ashok Hotel Chanakyapuri (Fig. 1). The good participation by Indian cement producers and a representative spectrum of Indian and international exhibitors ensured targeted and efficient networking. After the inaugu-ration ceremony by Dr. S. C. Sharma, Ashwani Pahuja, Talleen Kumar, Vinita Singhania and A. V. Subramanian (Fig. 2), a comprehensive 4‑day conference program awaited the delegates. In twelve technical and special sessions all topics relating to the cement industry were...
More than 800 participants found their way to New Delhi on the occasion of the 12th NCB Seminar, held at the Ashok Hotel Chanakyapuri (Fig. 1). The good participation by Indian cement producers and a representative spectrum of Indian and international exhibitors ensured targeted and efficient networking. After the inaugu-ration ceremony by Dr. S. C. Sharma, Ashwani Pahuja, Talleen Kumar, Vinita Singhania and A. V. Subramanian (Fig. 2), a comprehensive 4‑day conference program awaited the delegates. In twelve technical and special sessions all topics relating to the cement industry were covered, such as for example:
- Raw materials, waste-derived fuels and combustion systems
- Advances in plant machinery
- Modern trends in project engineering and system design
- Productivity enhancement and process optimization
- Portland, blended and special cements
- Total quality management
- Performance, durability and sustainability of concrete systems
- Emerging trends in building materials
- Energy conservation
- Environmental management and mitigation of global warming
The main focus was on sustainable development. To a large extent, the Indian Cement industry is already manufacturing with highly-modern and high-capacity plants. New plants have been built and older ones modernized with state-of-the-art technology. Smaller cement plants have also found the way to keep in contact with technological developments, by doing a great amount of modernization work in-house. Energy and economic efficiency is the key to the sustainable development and future growth of the Indian cement industry.
In a number of keynote lectures, experts from all over the world covered topics relevant for the present and future demands of the Indian cement industry. They were given by:
Prof. Donald E. Macphee (Department of Chemistry, University of Aberdeen, Scotland/U.K.):
Alkali activation as a supplementary activator for aluminosilicates – a chemical perspective
Dr. Wolfgang Dienemann (Managing Director Global R&D, HeidelbergCement, Germany)
Portland cements containing different additives including dolomite
Prof. Harald Justnes (SINTEF, Building and Infrastructure/Norway)
Concrete durability – Where do we stand in service life predictions?
Almost all the lectures were well attended. The lively interest in the presentations was shown by the large number of questions at the end of the sessions and the enthusiastic discussions during the breaks (Fig. 3). The presentations ranged from experiences gained from everyday work to highly theoretical papers, from overviews on plant technology to individual and detailed solutions for specific problems.
The National Awards for Excellence in Energy, Environment and Quality were presented to the winners from the Indian cement plants during the concluding session. The authors of ten papers from the normal conference programme which were evaluated by a panel of judges appointed by the NCB, also received awards and certificates.
A special publication entitled the “Indian Cement and Construction Industry Outlook and Vision 2020” was released on the occasion of the seminar. This publication contains up-to-date technical articles on specific themes by eminent experts and was published at the Inaugural Session.
Four exhibition areas were reserved for the technical exhibition. More than 50 machinery suppliers, cement producers and other companies active in the cement industry made extensive use of this opportunity for business activities and networking.
The NCB seminar 2011 offered all the participants a splendid opportunity for technical-scientific and economic exchange. The next seminar is scheduled for 2013.
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