Connect with us

Economy & Market

Designing Green Cement Plants

Published

on

Shares

SP Deolakar explains the concept of greenhouse gases, talks of sustainable development and how all these issues should be handled with respect to the manufacture of cement, in his new book Designing Green Cement Plants.Pradeep Kapoor reviews the book.

In recent years, a lot of attention is being focused on manufacturing cement in an even more environment friendly manner. Efforts are being made for reducing the adverse effects of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide, and for ensuring development in a sustainable manner. In the years to come, this issue is likely to attract a lot more attention from the policy makers and the general populace, too. It will become practically impossible to construct new cement plants or to operate existing plants unless they meet the civil society’s requirements of sustainable development and low generation of greenhouse gases. Designers, manufacturers and operators of cement plants will have to understand this subject and its implications, and equip themselves to fulfill the requirements of the emerging statutory regulations and the requirements of civil society.

Keeping this requirement in mind, SP Deolalkar’s Designing Green Cement Plants is a timely and welcome publication, which brings under one cover, all the relevant issues associated with this very important and very sensitive subject.

The author has explained the concept of greenhouse gases, of sustainable development and how all these issues should be handled with respect to the manufacture of cement, in a most coherent manner…

The book is divided into eleven sections, with each section having a number of chapters. Each section deals with a particular aspect of a green cement plant and the various chapters of each section go into sufficient details to enable the reader to fully understand the subject. ASII- relevant issues like blended cements, raw materials, alternate fuels, waste heat recovery systems, cement substitutes, etc, have all been covered. The book also contains chapters on capital costs and costs of production associated with green cement plants. An interesting chapter is on Carbon Capture and Storage System in which the author discusses future possibilities anchored in technologies already developed or under development. It is evident that with the passage of time, regulatory requirements would become increasingly stiff and such futuristic technologies would become integral part of cement plants.

The author, SP Deolalkar, has spent his entire professional life designing, manufacturing, installing and operating cement plants. The wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise that he has garnered in a lifetime has been distilled into this brilliantly produced and eminently readable book. Actually, this is a must read book for anybody connected with designing, manufacturing, operating modern cement plants anywhere in the world. It is a worthy successor to the author’s first book, Handbook for Designing Cement Plants.

Book reviewed by: Pradeep Kapoor, Former Managing Director & CEO, FL Smidth. Former Vice Chairman/Managing Director/CEO, ABG Cement.

About the author

Deolalkar is a first class graduate in Mech. and Elect. Engineering. He is also a Graduate of the British Institute of Management. He joined the Associated Cement Companies, in 1956 and has been associated with the cement industry ever since, a long innings of over 50 years. He has had firsthand working experience in cement plants, in the operation, erection and commissioning of new plants. He later worked with ACC-Vickers-Babcock, a subsidiary of ACC engaged in manufacture of Babcock boilers and cement machinery. Since 1986, Deolalkar has been working as a consultant, first as a Chief Executive of Bhagwati Priya Consulting Engineers , and later for Deolalkar Consultants, a proprietary consultancy company in Hyderabad. Deolalkar was associated with a number of institutions related to the cement industry at the national level like the Bureau of Indian Standards (earlier known as ISI), National Committee for Science and Technology and National Council for Cement and Building Materials. He was a member of the Research Advisory Committee of the NCCBM. In 2008, he wrote his first book Handbook for Designing Cement Plants. It was well received by the cement industry. His second book, Nomograms for Design and Operation of Cement Plants was a sequel to his first book and is complementary to it.

Economy & Market

Hindalco Buys US Speciality Alumina Firm for $125 Million

Published

on

By

Shares

This strategic acquisition marks a significant investment in speciality alumina, a key step by Aditya Birla Group’s metals flagship towards becoming future-ready by scaling its high-value, technology-led materials portfolio.

Hindalco Industries, the world’s largest aluminium company by revenue and the metals flagship of the $28 billion Aditya Birla Group, has announced the acquisition of a 100 per cent equity stake in US-based AluChem Companies—a prominent manufacturer of speciality alumina—for an enterprise value of $125 million. The transaction will be executed through Aditya Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary.

This acquisition represents a pivotal investment in speciality alumina and advances Hindalco’s strategy to expand its high-value, technology-led materials portfolio.

Hindalco’s speciality alumina business, a key pillar of its value-added strategy, has delivered consistent double-digit growth in recent years. It has emerged as a high-growth, high-margin vertical within the company’s portfolio. As speciality alumina finds expanding applications across electric mobility, semiconductors, and precision ceramics, the deal positions Hindalco further up the innovation curve, enabling next-generation alumina solutions and value-accretive growth.

Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of Aditya Birla Group, called the acquisition an important step in their global strategy to build a leadership position in value-added, high-tech materials.

“Our strategic foray into the speciality alumina space will not only accelerate the development of future-ready, sustainable solutions but also open new pathways to pursue high-impact growth opportunities. By integrating advanced technologies into our value chain, we are reinforcing our commitment to self-reliance, import substitution, and building scale in innovation-led businesses.”

Ronald P Zapletal, Founder, AluChem Companies, said the partnership with Hindalco would provide AluChem the ability and capital to scale up faster and build scale in North America.

“AluChem will benefit from their world-class sustainability and safety standards and practices, access to integrated operations and a consistent, reliable raw material supply chain. Their ability to leverage R&D capabilities and a talented workforce adds tremendous value to our innovation pipeline, helping drive market expansion beyond North America.”

An Eye on the Future

The global speciality alumina market is projected to grow significantly, with rising demand for tailored solutions in sectors such as ceramics, electronics, aerospace, and medical applications. Hindalco currently operates 500,000 tonnes of speciality alumina capacity and aims to scale this up to 1 million tonnes by FY2030.

Commenting on the development, Satish Pai, Managing Director, Hindalco Industries, said the deal reinforced their commitment to innovation and global expansion.

“As alumina gains increasing relevance in critical and clean-tech sectors, AluChem’s advanced chemistry capabilities will significantly enhance our ability to serve these fast-evolving markets. Importantly, it deepens our high-value-added portfolio with differentiated products that drive profitability and strengthen our global competitiveness.”

AluChem adds a strong North American presence to Hindalco’s portfolio, with an annual capacity of 60,000 tonnes across three advanced manufacturing facilities in Ohio and Arkansas. The company is a long-standing supplier of ultra-low soda calcined and tabular alumina, materials prized for their thermal and mechanical stability and widely used in precision engineering and high-performance refractories.

Saurabh Khedekar, CEO of the Alumina Business at Hindalco Industries, said the acquisition unlocked immediate synergies, including market access and portfolio diversification.

“Hindalco plans to work with AluChem’s high performance technology solutions and scale up production of ultra-low soda alumina products to drive a larger global market share.”

The transaction is expected to close in the upcoming quarter, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

 

Continue Reading

Concrete

Shree Cement reports 2025 financial year results

Published

on

By

Shares

Shree Cement posted revenue of US$2.38 billion for FY2025, marking a 5.5 per cent decline year-on-year. Operating costs rose 2.9 per cent to US$2.17 billion, resulting in an EBITDA of US$528 million—down 12 per cent from the previous year. Net profit fell 50 per cent to US$141 million. The company reported cement sales of 9.84Mt in Q4 FY2025, a 3.3 per cent increase from 9.53Mt in Q4 FY2024, with premium products making up 16 per cent of total sales.

Image source:https://newsmantra.in/

Continue Reading

Concrete

Rekha Onteddu to become director at Sagar Cements

Published

on

By

Shares

Sagar Cements has announced the appointment of Rekha Onteddu as a non-executive independent director, effective 30 June 2025. According to People in Business News, Rekha Onteddu is currently serving in a similar capacity at Andhra Cements, the parent company of Sagar Cements.

Image source:https://sagarcements.in/

Continue Reading

Trending News

SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER

 

Don't miss out on valuable insights and opportunities to connect with like minded professionals.

 


    This will close in 0 seconds

    This will close in 0 seconds