Cement Energy and Environment

ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION MEASURES IN INDIA AND SOME SOUTH EAST ASIAN COUNTRIES R. Partha Sarathy, Secretary General &. S.P. Ghosh, Advisor (TechnJCdl) Cement Manufacturers' Association SUMMARY S urveys of energy conservation and management practices in select modern cement plants in India and in some South and Southeast Asian countries (Taiwan, South Korea and Thailand) provide a very interesting picture. The trends and efforts for energy conservation reveal a major commonality in all the plants surveyed. However, the area of major thrust for energy conservation varies significantly from country to country, depending upon the availability of energy its cost and logistics. Even within a country there are significant differences among plants in their approach to energy conservation measures, which are dictated essentially by the plant's vintage, its degree of modernisation and the growth potential of its market, both internal and export. The state-of- art Indian plants compare well with similar plants in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan; however, our cement industry 's national average of fuel and power consumption points to a lot more ground to be covered . 1. Preamble Observations from a study of six modern cement plants in India, and six modern and larger capacity cement plants in Taiwan, South Korea and Thailand are presented here. These plants were studied under the CMA USAID joint pilot project (now completed) on "Productivity and E.nergy Efficiency Enhancement through Benchmarking and Rating in Indian Cement Industry". The objective of this project was to develop a benchmarking model for use by individual cement plants to improve their performance in the areas mentioned. For development of the pilot model, six Indian plants were selected. These plants had been studied by data collection through a detailed and formatted questionnaire, followed by plant visits by a team of experts. For unbiassed assessment, the team of experts comprised a senior executive from the plant. two representatives from a reputed consultancy organisation and one CMA representative/ expert. E.ach plant visit culminated in a free and frank discussion with the plant management on its technology level, control and management practices. opportunities and constraints as also the future plan. For comparing the prevailing practices in our modern plants w ith the " best 3 practices" abroad, the USAID had sponsored visits to plants in the afore- mentioned three countries by a team comprising a senior technical executive from each plant. The collected operational and performance data and the information compiled from national and international sources served as the basis for formulating the benchmark model. This article presents a brief comparati ve review of the observed energy consumption and managent practices in the background of the country perspective. 2. Basis of Study The energy conservation level and the initiative for its · improvement by any plant or company may be considered as a function of two major variables : technological and economic. Under technological variables the most significant are level of technology adoption , control and management practices , productivity, and opportunities and constraints. The economic variables comprise: cost of each form of energy, i.e. , fuel, power, and their possible substitutes, comparative availability and cost of fuel and power. and their possible substitutes, and techno-economic