Sustainable concepts in cement manufacturing

ZKG talked with Phil Gaynor, TXI Riverside Cement and Chair of the conference, about this year’s conference:
 
ZKG: Phil, what are the specials of this year’s conference?
Phil Gaynor: Like all previous conferences, we’ll have a solid technical program but this year’s is specifically geared for today’s tough economic times. We’ve made it a point to provide intensive training opportunities that highlight every aspect of cement manufacturing and we’ve also focused on sustainability in cement manufacturing. Right now we have twenty-four papers, four tutorials, two panel sessions, a plant tour of Oro Grande, an Environmental Workshop, and hundreds of exhibitors.
 
ZKG: How many delegates do you expect to attend?
Phil Gaynor: It’ll be hard to beat last year’s record attendance at the 50th conference but producers and vendors know that this event is still the best value for their dollar. With the current downturn we’ve gone all out to make sure that we’ve added even more value so things like the Environmental Workshop and the special presentation on economic conditions by Ed Sullivan, Chief Economist for the Portland Cement Association will help attendees deal with critical issues. PCA, one of the conference co-sponsors, is also hosting concurrent meetings for their Environment and Energy Committee, Occupational Health and Safety Committee and Manufacturing Technical Committee.
 
ZKG: This year’s plant visit goes to TXI Oro Grande. What are the specials of this plant?
Phil Gaynor: Raw materials are crushed with a gyratory crusher and two sets of hammer mills. Because of the unusually dry climate, we use a high pressure grinding roller mill for raw materials. The kiln system is a five-stage twin-string preheater/precalciner with a 17‘ x 236‘ two-pier kiln on a self-adjusting support roll base (Fig. 3). The plant also has two clinker storage domes. On the environmental side, our use of the CemStar process means that we can get an increase in clinker production with no net increases in emissions.
 
ZKG: What can you tell us about the Special Environmental Workshop?
Phil Gaynor: This is probably the most exciting news of the conference. The workshop addresses critical sustainability concerns about green house gas emissions, mercury, and NOx. I think the great thing is that participants will get updated not just on the current research and regulatory environment but also on what they can do at the plant level to address each one of these issues.
 
ZKG: On which topics will the presentation program focus?
Phil Gaynor: There will be presentations from each of one of the Cement Industry Committee’s working groups. That means we’ll hear world-class papers on General Practices, Power Generation and Distribution, Environmental Maintenance and Safety, Automation, and Drives and Related Products. That’s a pretty wide range of interests but that also means there will be something for every single participant.
 
ZKG: Are there other important events or parts of conference that must be visited?
Phil Gaynor: We’ve got four tutorials on Monday. They include: Bulk Material Handling and Pneumatic Conveying Technology, Alternative Fuels, Wireless Technologies, and Bucket Elevator Maintenance. There’s also the Keynote Address by TXI Chairman Mel Brekhus  on Monday, the annual PCA Safety Awards Luncheon on Tuesday and of course the Awards Banquet Wednesday evening. The plant tour of the TXI Oro Grande facility caps off the conference on Thursday. I think people are going to be hard pressed to keep up with all of the training opportunities that this conference has to offer!
ZKG: Any last minute thoughts?
Phil Gaynor: This year’s conference is by far the best opportunity for training that the cement industry has and it’s still the best value (Tab. 1; Fig. 4). We know the economy will come back and the participants at this year’s conference will be ahead of the curve and ready to respond when it does.
 
ZKG: Thank you very much for the interview.