Cement Manufacturers Association

11 Emissions released from cement kilns, come from physical and chemical reactions of raw materials and from combustion of fuels. Exit gases contain small quantities of chlorides, carbon monoxide, dust, fluorides, NOx, Sulphur dioxides and smaller quantities of organic compounds and heavy metals like mercury (Hg). Presently, norms exist for dust, HCL, HF, Hg, NOx, SOx, TOC, Heavy Metals and Dioxin in India which are comparable or better as compared to other blooming countries. There is a system consisting of equipment to draw, condition and analyze the flue gas sample and provide a permanent record of emissions and process parameters continuously on real time basis and is called “Continuous Emission Monitoring System (CEMS). It’s of vital importance to install CEMS system as source can be controlled after measuring emissions. However, some of the cement manufacturers in India have not installed CEMS in their cement plants. It needs to be collaborative effort of Cement manufacturers, suppliers, consultants, and Govt. to achieve the objective of emission control. KHD is trying to ensure that all the plants, equipped with KHD technology get CEMS implemented for environmental protection. An example, of equipment from KHD for reducing the emissions at source, is the Low NOx burner (Pyro-Jet® Burner). The most imperative features of burner are Low NOx emissions, low primary air and flame (stable & uniform) characteristics. The flame of PYRO-JET® burner has both an internal recirculation zone and a long external one resulting in substantial NOx reduction. Pyroclon®-R Low NOx AF is a special design calciner that attains the retention time desired for complete burnout of fuel. Another prominent solution from KHD for reducing NOx emissions is the PYROREDOX® system where NOx coming from kiln gets further reduced and formation of Fuel NOx is suppressed. Concentrating more on low clinker to cement ratio besides, focusing on steps for reduced carbon footprint, is already underway in cement industry. At present, India is one of the fastest moving cement industries towards this aspect of green cover. PSC, PPC, and composite Cements are on the rise. The Cement Industry is well versed with utilization and manufacturing of Blended Cement. KHD is one of the key suppliers for providing energy efficient technologies namely Roller Press grinding for blended cement production. It is estimated that decreasing the clinker ratio in production of cement contributes nearly 37% CO 2 reduction targeted. By promoting PPC and PSC cement in India, more than 85% of cement is produced as blended cement / composite cement (which has come into existence during last 3-5 years). PPC allows 35% fly-ash usage at present, whereas PSC allows 55-65% granulated slag in clinker. Pozzolana (fly-ash) increased usage in PPC up to 45% can reduce carbon footprint further which has a permissible limit up to 55% in some of the European countries. Modernization & Upgradation More focus is on modernization and upgradation of existing set-ups, rather than building new production lines to increase capacity. Utilization of existing kiln to its maximum potential is the talk of art, which not only enhances clinker production but significantly contributes too in improving the overall operational efficiency. Reduction in electrical and thermal energy demand will aid in reducing carbon footprint of existing plants. Digitization & Automation At present, a number of plants are operating in a traditional, non-agile manner with manual or outdated technology infrastructure, while struggling to acquire and retain skilled workers in important roles. The potency of new enterprise-resource-planning systems, process-optimization tools, and even predictive maintenance has lagged due to changed- management challenges and cultural differences between sites. It’s a considerable fact that future cement plants will operate in drastically different and green way compared to today’s plants while achieving considerably lower operating costs and higher asset value through higher energy efficiency, yield, and throughput. More targeted and effective maintenance extends the lifetime of equipment. Each plant’s environmental footprint is minimized, securing its license to operate across locations and jurisdictions. For future cement plant volume will be of key focus rather than considering the value. Ecosystem variability lies in norms for Real-time, fact-based decision making and continuous adjustments.