Loesche Symposium 2017 – Evolve the future

Dr. Thomas Loesche, Managing Shareholder at Loesche GmbH, was delighted to welcome so many guests from so many different parts of the world to Düsseldorf. Besides the presentations, this time a modern form of interaction was on the agenda. Goal of the BarCamp concluding the event was for the attendees to exchange knowledge and discuss different topics.

Under the head-line “111 years of Loesche – evolve the future”, Rüdiger Zerbe, Managing Director at Loesche GmbH, outlined the further requirements for the cement industry: cement quality, performance and sustainability. One trend in product development are specialized applications, with high strength, a perfect chemical resistance and good workability. Pre-cast manufacturing is becoming more important. For the production of these cements, Loesche offers dedicated mills, for example, for very fine grinding. Intelligent plant engineering and maintenance concepts contribute to reducing energy consumption and enhancing availability and flexibility. Sustainability also involves the utilization of alternative fuels, for this purpose the Loesche subsidiary A TEC offers the Rocket Mill, a new, innovative comminution machine for producing high-quality alternative fuels.

For Jacques Glemarec, Senior Vice-President at Lafarge Holcim, digitalization is the key to predictive maintenance. In his presentation “Global economy and financial markets – an outlook”, he reported on a project focusing on a digital performance management system at LafargeHolcim. The goal is to reduce costs and environmental influences and increase productivity. With this system, there will be a database open to everyone as well as databases specially tailored to the individual plants. In the database for the final users, plant data is to be stored in such a way that maintenance is more effective. LafargeHolcim is starting this new project in plants in France and India.

Dr. Jörg Krämer, Chief Economist, Commerzbank, gave an outlook on “Global economy and financial markets”. For China, he sees moderate but stable growth. In the USA, there was nearly full employment and house prices were higher than 2006. For the Eurozone, Krämer pointed to strong growth. The unemployment rate was falling and house prices rising in almost every country.

In his comprehensive “Outlook for global cement markets – HSBC perspective”, Asif Boda, Managing Director, HSBC Bank London, mentioned a number of factors that should make cement producers optimistic: “1. Capacity additions have slowed and will continue to slow. 2. Urbanization is continuing apace in many markets and will cement in the coming decade. 3. Infrastructure investment is set to resume. 4. Increasing calls for fiscal stimulus/reduced fiscal drag.”

Shen Jun, Chairman at Sinoma NDI, closed the opening papers with a presentation of his company, which is working closely with Loesche in a strategic cooperation, Together the companies had already realized several projects, e.g. in Vietnam.

1 Production of high-quality cements

Prof. Dr. Horst-Michael Ludwig, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, spoke about “Products and trends in the worldwide cement market”. He explained the key trends in the industry: special products for special applications and sustainability/lower CO₂ emissions. One possibility to reduce CO₂ emissions is reduction of the clinker content, e.g. with the use of LD slag. Loesche supplies two technologies for this purpose: recovery of any metal content in the slag and production of a reactive clinker-like material. Research is currently underway on alternative binders by utilizing ultra-fine materials which can be produced with the Loesche ultra-fine process.

Production parameters influencing the cement quality were presented by Dr. Daniel Strohmeyer, Loesche. Besides mechanical aspects (particle size distribution/fineness and particle shape), chemical aspects (gypsum dehydration and clinker prehydration) as well as operational aspects (process stability) have to be taken into consideration. It was important to find right balance between the different influencing parameters. With the portfolio of Loesche mills, all types of cement can be produced. Benefits are: low energy consumption, high flexibility and drying capacity.

2 Achieving high production rates

Dr. Mathis Reichert, Loesche, spoke on “How to master the market demand for ever larger grinding capacities”. VRMs are becoming bigger and bigger, maximum drive power and average diameter are increasing steadily, the reason for this is, among other things, increasing kiln sizes. Economic aspects also play a part, one larger mill, for example, require less space than two smaller ones. He explained that the modular design applied at Loesche saved not only on weight, but also capital costs. The new cope drive, its active redundancy and its compact design, efficiency could be further improved.

The “Most modern grinding plants with world largest COPE” were presented by Dr. Arif Bashir, D.G. Khan Cement Co. Ltd. The cement industry is a big player in Pakistan, 46.28 million t cement is currently produced each year. For 2020, 76.28 million t/a are expected. DG Khan Cement is regarded as the biggest cement producer in Pakistan. The new DG Khan plant at Hub (9000 t/d clinker) is equipped with a six-stage pyro-process. Three Loesche mills (raw LM 72.5, coal LM 28.3 and cement LM 72.4+4) are used for comminution. For clinker grinding, a cement mill LM 72.4+4 with COPE drive is used, currently the largest Loesche mill worldwide. With a total installed power of 10 000 kW, 450 t/h, at a Blaine value of 3200 cm²/g, is to be produced. Commissioning is scheduled for December 2017. Bashir explained with reference to so far unpublished data the advantages of one large compared to two smaller mills:

production capacity: 28 % more

total concrete volume: 32 % less

total installed weight: 19 % less

completion period: 28 % less

total man-hours consumed: 17 % less

manpower for O&M: 20 % less

3 Cement grinding – more value for you

Ibnaan H. Shamir Pasha, Director Shun Shing Group, spoke following on from an introduction by Thomas Fahrland, Loesche, about the international Shun Shing Group (SSG) founded in 1988 and headquartered in Hong Kong. On the agenda, up to 2021 are an expansion in Bangladesh (increasing annual capacity from 3.5 million t to 7 million t by 2019, installation of a 400 t/h VRM LM 70.4+4 CS V with COPE drive in the Dhaka plant, a new site in Chittagong with a 180 t/h VRM), expansion in Dubai (slag grinding mill) and a basic plant in Vietnam and Cambodia as well as grinding projects in Philippines and India.

A “Business model for a fast market entry” was presented by Pierre Wlodarzyk, Loesche. Cement is not always produced where it is needed. Particularly in developing markets, the use of a Compact Cement Grinding (CCG) plants is a good alternative to a stationary plant. Wlodarzyk explained the advantages of a CCG, with which potential markets can be tested, especially in emerging regions. All types of cement are produced with the CCG plant (45 t/h high-quality mixed cements and 30 t/h ultrafine cements).

In the last paper given on the first day of the event “A compact grinding plant – from idea to execution”, Dr. Omar Bekri, General Director Cemos C­iment S.A., informed the attendees about the Cemos Group PLC founded in 2011. The group focuses on the efficient use of bitumen shale raw material in cement, power and liquid fuels production. In 2018, Cemos Ciment S.A., a newcomer and 100 % subsidiary of Cemos Group PLC, is launching cement grinding operations for the production of 270 000 t/a cement in Tarfaya (Southern Morocco). This is the first phase of a more ambitious project aiming at producing clinker out of Tarfaya oil shale.

In a parallel exhibition, 25 supplier companies for the cement industry showcased their range of products and services for cement. In addition, the opportunity was available to look around a virtual reality cement plant.

In the evening, Dr. Thomas Loesche and with his family greeted the entire community at the celebration dinner and reviewed Loesche’s 111 years.

4 Services – closer to the customer

Oliver Thomas, Primetec, kicked off the second day of the symposium with his presentation “O&M Services: Profitable and reliable production for our clients”. O&M services are defined as taking over a client’s process for better results. There are various models, from operational support to full O&M. It is important to understand the customer’s needs, competitive advantages and markets.

In the paper “The new benchmark for modern grinding parts”, Dr. Dorival Tecco, Loesche, presented among other things problems with cracks that can arise when the surface treatment of wear parts is not properly executed by external companies. Loesche offers a wear part service tuned to its products.

“Digital interaction – the next service level” was the subject addressed by Ralph Viebrock, Loesche. He presented features of “MySpares”, a browser-based platform. These include easy part identification, spare part packages, OPEX reduction, quick reaction time amongst others. Goal of the digital interaction is always to be closer to the customer through the service.

5 Maximizing alternative fuel utilization

The last session of presentations was devoted to alternative fuels. Matthias Mersmann, Aixergee, showed the advantages of using alternative fuels and presented the equipment necessary for this. Increasing quantities of fuels added have an influence on the technology used and the fuel addition points. He presented various options for adding the fuels, in the calciner and/or the kiln. The Rocket Mill developed by A TEC is suitable for processing of low-quality into high-quality fluff. A mixing chamber and a combustion chamber are other options for managing the use of large quantities of alternative fuels. In collaboration with A TEC, Aixergee offers process modelling to enable better analysis of the processes taking place.

“New ways for processing of alternative fuels” were then shown by Dr. Stefan Kern, A TEC. For complete combustion, time, temperature and turbulence are important factors. For the Lafarge Cement Plant in Mannersdorf, A TEC has built a calciner with a post-combustion chamber to enable the use of 100 % SAF. The plant takes high-quality RDF from a Rocket Mill RM 2.5 Double, which features an increased specific surface (50 % < 5mm).

Bernd Schaflechner, Plant Manager Wietersdorfer & Peggauer Zementwerke GmbH, then briefly reported on his practical experience with a prototype of the Rocket Mill. This was, he said, simple and rugged and saved waste treatment costs. He testified that the clinker fired with the alternative fuels used was of high quality.

In her presentation “Waste to profit”, Tais Mazza, Loesche, gave an overview of global waste volumes. What type of waste is produced depends on many regional factors, as does its utilization. In this connection, she explained how the cement industry was competing with other industries for high quality RDF.

6 BarCamp

The afternoon programme included a first for the cement industry: interactive workshops as part of a BarCamp. Under the main headings: human resources, alternative fuels, maintenance & wear parts, design & process, competition and finance, various topics were discussed in small groups. To round off, the results were then presented to the entire auditorium.

7 Plant tour to Austria

On Friday morning, around 200 attendees set off to Austria to view the new calciner in the cement plant in Mannersdorf and the Rocket Mill at the FCC Group in Vienna Neustadt.

A TEC has built a new calciner for the LafargeHolcim plant in Mannersdorf. The new calciner is erected in an 80-m-high tower next to the existing pre-heater tower. The calciner is operated with 100 % coarse alternative fuels (80 mm/> 15 GJ/t). The pyroprocess was modified so that instead of a separate line, an in-line calciner is used with a post-combustion chamber on top of the calciner.

In the afternoon, the group viewed the A TEC double chamber Rocket Mill. The Rocket Mill combines drying and grinding of alternative fuel in one step. The machine is equipped with two grinding chambers. The input material usually only requires one pre-shredding step followed by a sieving step and magnetic separation.

8 Conclusion

After three days of informative papers, results-oriented discussions, technical talks and insightful tours, the 2017 Loesche Symposion came to an end. The high number of international attendees and a good support programme ensured everyone had the opportunity to discuss the worldwide cement industry with each other.

//www.loesche.com" target="_blank" >www.loesche.com:www.loesche.com