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NCB has investigated a number of waste materials for use

Published

3 years ago

October 19, 2021

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Ashwani Pahuja, Director General, NCB

The National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCB) has been pushing for the use of alternate fuels and raw materials in cement manufacture. Ashwani Pahuja, Director General, NCB, speaks on the role that the entity plays.

How have things changed over the last decade on the subject of alternate raw materials and fuels?
The cement sector has a vital role to play as India has a lot of potential for development in the infrastructure and construction segments. The Indian government is taking many steps to boost infrastructure activities such as development of Smart Cities, Housing for All, Make in India, Swachh Bharat Mission, etc.

India?s cement demand is expected to reach 550-600 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) by 2025. Under the 12th Plan period, coal requirement for the cement industry is assessed to be in the range of 63-96 million tonnes (46-70 million tonnes for cement production and 18-27 million tonnes for captive power). In view of the shrinkage in linked coal supply to cement plants, the gap in fuel supply has aggravated the shortage of coal to cement industry, necessitating the search of alternative fuels as well as raw materials.

Various potential Alternative Fuels & Raw Materials (AFR) that are being utilised in the cement industry include pre-processed industrial wastes, sorted municipal solid waste (MSW), discarded tyres and tyre chips, expired medicines and fast-moving consumer goods, waste oils and solvents, non-recyclable plastics, textiles and paper residues, biomass (such as rice husk, coconut shells, groundnut shells, etc.). Efforts are ongoing towards utilisation of Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) from MSW and effluent treatment sludge from waste water treatment plants. The use of AFR in the Indian cement industry has been increasing since 2010.

Lime sludge from paper and allied industries is being utilised as a source of raw material for manufacture of cement. The current clinker-to-cement ratio in India is estimated at 0.74, compared to a global average of 0.80.

NCB has investigated a number of waste materials for use as either raw mix component or as a mineral additive in cement manufacture. Some of the investigated materials include different types of slags such as lead-zinc slag, copper slag, steel slag, marble industry waste, barium sludge, spent pot lining waste, ETP sludge, jarosite, spent fluidised catalytic cracking equilibrium catalyst, etc. Some of these waste materials like copper and lead zinc slag, spent pot lining (SPL) waste and barium sludge were also found effective as mineralizers for improving the burning of cement raw mix. Jarosite, a waste from metallic zinc extraction through hydrometallurgical process, was found effective as partial substitute for gypsum for set control of cement. Up to 5 per cent addition of lead-zinc slag, coper slag, steel slag and spent fluidised catalytic cracking equilibrium catalyst is now allowed as performance improver in OPC.

The Indian cement industry is taking constructive steps towards effective and significant utilisation of alternate fuel and alternate raw materials over the last decade. There is a keen requirement to look into solutions towards policy guidelines, lack of waste pretreatment facilities, and commercialisation of futuristic technologies that would further increase the utilisation level of alternate fuel and raw materials.

Is there any visible change in the role played by various pollution control boards?
CPCB initiated the concept of co-processing of waste in cement kilns in 2005 and developed guidelines, including monitoring protocol for co-processing of waste as an energy resource or as an alternate raw material in the cement industry. The waste materials approved for using as an alternate fuel are used tires, meat and bone meal, animal fat, plastics, packaging waste, waste wood, paper, sludge (paper, fibre & sewage), waste oil, coal slurries, spent solvents, etc.

Detailed procedures and guidelines including emission monitoring were published to give permission to industry for quick approval for incineration of wastes in cement kilns and for trial runs. CPCB granted approval for trial runs of various categories of wastes for more than 30 cement plants for co-processing. A bilateral programme on co-processing of wastes from SINTEF, Government of Norway, was initiated to give international exposure to officers of Central and state pollution boards and the environment ministry.

Some of the initiatives taken by CPCB & SPCBs are given below:

Tamil Nadu PCB dispatched 20,000 tonnes of effluent sludge generated by textile units in SIPCOT industrial estate to cement plants in Ariyalur for use as alternate fuel.
Gujarat PCB facilitated the cement makers with an access to its waste generation data, which ensured the supply of suitable waste to cement plants.
CPCB along with Madhya Pradesh PCB took an initiative to use plastic wastes in ACC Kymore cement kiln.

Not much is seen to have been done on the use of low grade limestone….
As per Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), low grade limestone reserves in India are about 32,632 million tonne, 33.5 per cent of the total limestone reserves of 97430 million tonne. In addition, due to the poor and variable quality of coal with high ash content, even a part of the cement grade limestone is turning to be low grade for cement manufacture. Utilisation of low grade limestone must be given immediate attention and priority through development of new type of cement. Low grade limestone can be utilised for cement manufacture through any of the following techniques:

Selective mine planning through computer aided deposit evaluation;
Use of sweetener, which could be high grade limestone or industrial wastes like lime sludge;
Change of raw mix design, process parameters and use of mineralisers;
Use of low ash fuels, such as petcoke;
Manufacture of belite cement and other special cements;
Upgradation of limestone quality through dry beneficiation techniques.

Plants like Ramco Cements and India Cement have limestone beneficiation units at their plants to upgrade the cement raw material and extend the life of mines. NCB is currently investigating the use of low grade limestone as a performance improver in blended cements. Studies are also being taken up to investigate the feasibility of using low grade limestone as a blending component in manufacture of Portland limestone cement and also in newer types of composite cement.

What has been the progress on the use of industrial waste as fuel? Can you also give us more details on co-processing?
The cement industry across the globe is focused on reducing its carbon footprint through utilisation of waste as a social commitment, and also to reduce cost of production. Cement kiln is considered to be the best incinerator for a wide range of wastes with the additional benefit of zero ash generation.

The present thermal substitution rate in the cement industry in Europe is around 40 per cent, as compared to around 1 per cent in India. However, the bigger players, like UltraTech and Holcim, have much higher substitution rates of up to 10 – 15 per cent in some of their plants, due to better planning in capturing the waste market, along with adequate investment for the installation of state-of-the-art technology for sustainable co-processing of industrial waste. The smaller cement manufactures are also working their way ahead to capture a share of the waste market to become more cost competitive.

With the utilisation of latest technologies like gasification and pre-processing of Municipal Solid Waste, oxygen enrichment along with more unified policies from Central Pollution Control Board such as ?polluter to pay? and taxation for using waste for land filling, similar regulation across the states for waste identification & transport permits and better pre-processing facilities to improve the quality and consistency of industrial waste will increase the overall waste utilisation in the cement industry.

Co-processing is the use of waste as raw material or as a source of energy (or both), to replace natural mineral resources (material recycling) and fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum and gas in industrial processes, in energy intensive industries, such as cement, lime, steel, glass, and power generation. Waste materials used for co-processing are referred to as AFR. To be useable for co-processing they need to be qualified by analysis, selection, pre-processing etc.

Give us some idea on the use of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) as fuel. Which municipal corporations have been moving towards use of MSW?
MSW is the residential and commercial solid, or semi-solid wastes, generated in a municipal area, including treated bio-medical wastes but excluding industrial hazardous wastes. The composition of municipal waste varies greatly from country to country and region to region and changes significantly with time. In India the biodegradable portion, which mainly includes food and yard waste, dominates the bulk of MSW by making up approximately 50 per cent of the total MSW. Some facts about Indian MSW:

Solid waste generation in India is about 115,000 tonnes per day with a yearly increase of about 5 per cent (according to CPCB);
The per capita waste generation in Indian cities ranges from 200 grams to 600 grams per day. The estimated annual increase in per capita waste quantity is about 1.33 per cent annually.

This large amount of MSW can be used to generate energy. Several technologies have been developed that make the processing of MSW for energy generation cleaner and more economical than ever before.

The various technologies for conversion of MSW to fuel are as follows:

Physical waste-to-energy technology;
Mass combustion;
Pyrolysis and thermal gasification;
Methane capture;
Biogas plants.

Status of MSW as fuel/energy in India
The objective of treating MSW is to reduce its volume and generate energy and electricity during this process. In India, various installations have been established in the recent past for generation of power as well as pre-processing of MSW to RDF. In India, 32 plants have been proposed, four are under construction and 11 are in operation.

What has been the effect on refractory lining where industrial waste is used as fuel? To what extent are the gases coming out of the kiln affected? Does it call for additional precautions?
The different types of industrial wastes used as fuel in cement plants are biomass, RDF from MSW, used tyres and rubber residues, hazardous waste and industrial plastic waste, etc. Besides containing calorific value, these industrial wastes contain various volatile matters like alkalis, sulphur and chlorides.

Plants using AF have an increased risk of refractory failure due to higher input of chloride and sulphur. Fluctuating feed rate of AF due to its inhomogeneity and inconsistent calorific value causes temperature and CO peaks in kilns. These reduce refractory life due to thermal shocks and erosion due to reactions in reducing condition. To compensate variable burnout behaviour and different reaction kinetics, frequency of lengthening and shortening of the flame length increases. This reduces coating stability, resulting in more high temperature exposure to refractory bricks. Increased frequency in ring formation causes refractory spalling. To compensate for fluctuations in heat input by AF and to maintain low sulphur volatility, kiln draft is increased, which increases higher kiln backend temperature and high temperature exposure to refractory bricks. Delayed ignition and longer flame shifts the burning zone towards kiln inlet and reduces coating formation on refractory, causing premature spalling and shorter refractory life.

Contamination of kiln gas with dioxin and furans is very limited as they get destroyed above 1,000 0C and the temperature in the burning zone is at 1,400 to 1,500 0C. Hence dioxin and furans are not an issue in case they are fired in the main burner. Again with lower flame temperature, generation of thermal NOx gets reduced. Hence, the effect on kiln gas due to waste utilisation remains within the environmental limits. However, presence of higher moisture percentage and requirement of more air results in increased exit gas volume, thereby limiting the production.

Additional precautions for reducing the effect of sulphur and chloride volatility are considered in raw mix preparation to maintain the desired alkali to sulphur ratio. High momentum multichannel burners and modern pre-calciners with hot meal staging facility and sufficient residence time are installed along with modifications carried out in clinker cooler for higher secondary air temperature, for increased percentage utilisation of alternate fuel. Enhanced process control as well as monitoring and controlling of key process parameters have reduced the chances of uncontrolled emission at increased percentage of industrial combustible waste utilisation.

The use of specially designed spalling resistant and coating repellent refractory bricks and modifying the mix design of the raw materials are recommended as precautionary measures while using industrial wastes as fuels in cement plants.

What is the target set for industry in terms of Thermal Substitution Rate (TSR)? Will the industry reach the target?
The Indian cement industry is failing to realise the potential for alternative fuels and raw material utilisation, but has resolved to raise TSR to 25 per cent by 2030, from the current level of less than 1 per cent. This was the conclusion of a two-day conference on co-processing in cement plants, convened by the Washington-based Institute for Industrial Productivity (IIP) and the Cement Manufacturers? Association of India.

At present the TSR is 0.5-1 per cent in the Indian cement industry. The target of 25 per cent TSR appears to be critical for the cement industry due to some policy barriers like absence of ?polluter pays? policy besides no landfill tax, measures which are significant for enhancing availability of waste to be utilised as alternative fuel.

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Price hikes, drop in input costs help cement industry to post positive margins: Care Ratings

Published

3 years ago

October 21, 2021

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Region-wise,the southern region comprises 35% of the total cement capacity, followed by thenorthern, eastern, western and central region comprising 20%, 18%, 14% and 13%of the capacity, respectively.

The cement industry is expected to post positive margins on decent price hikes over the months, falling raw material prices and marked drop in overall production costs, said an analysis of Care Ratings.

Wholesale and retail prices of cement have increased 11.9% and 12.4%, respectively, in the current financial year. As whole prices have remained elevated in most of the markets in the months of FY20, against the corresponding period of the previous year.

Similarly, electricity and fuel cost have declined 11.9% during 9M FY20 due to drop in crude oil prices. Logistics costs, the biggest cost for cement industry, has also dropped 7.7% (selling and distribution) as the Railways extended the benefit of exemption from busy season surcharge. Moreover, the cost of raw materials, too, declined 5.1% given the price of limestone had fallen 11.3% in the same aforementioned period, the analysis said.

According to Care Ratings, though the overall sales revenue has increased only 1.3%, against 16% growth in the year-ago period, the overall expenditure has declined 3.2% which has benefited the industry largely given the moderation in sales.

Even though FY20 has been subdued in terms of production and demand, the fall in cost of production has still supported the cement industry by clocking in positive margins, the rating agency said.

Cement demand is closely linked to the overall economic growth, particularly the housing and infrastructure sector. The cement sector will be seeing a sharp growth in volumes mainly due to increasing demand from affordable housing and other government infrastructure projects like roads, metros, airports, irrigation.

The government’s newly introduced National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), with its target of becoming a $5-trillion economy by 2025, is a detailed road map focused on economic revival through infrastructure development.

The NIP covers a gamut of sectors; rural and urban infrastructure and entails investments of Rs.102 lakh crore to be undertaken by the central government, state governments and the private sector. Of the total projects of the NIP, 42% are under implementation while 19% are under development, 31% are at the conceptual stage and 8% are yet to be classified.

The sectors that will be of focus will be roads, railways, power (renewable and conventional), irrigation and urban infrastructure. These sectors together account for 79% of the proposed investments in six years to 2025. Given the government’s thrust on infrastructure creation, it is likely to benefit the cement industry going forward.

Similarly, the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana, aimed at providing affordable housing, will be a strong driver to lift cement demand. Prices have started correcting Q4 FY20 onwards due to revival in demand of the commodity, the agency said in its analysis.

Industry’s sales revenue has grown at a CAGR of 7.3% during FY15-19 but has grown only 1.3% in the current financial year. Tepid demand throughout the country in the first half of the year has led to the contraction of sales revenue. Fall in the total expenditure of cement firms had aided in improving the operating profit and net profit margins of the industry (OPM was 15.2 during 9M FY19 and NPM was 3.1 during 9M FY19). Interest coverage ratio, too, has improved on an overall basis (ICR was 3.3 during 9M FY19).

According to Cement Manufacturers Association, India accounts for over 8% of the overall global installed capacity. Region-wise, the southern region comprises 35% of the total cement capacity, followed by the northern, eastern, western and central region comprising 20%, 18%, 14% and 13% of the capacity, respectively.

Installed capacity of domestic cement makers has increased at a CAGR of 4.9% during FY16-20. Manufacturers have been able to maintain a capacity utilisation rate above 65% in the past quinquennium. In the current financial year due to the prolonged rains in many parts of the country, the capacity utilisation rate has fallen from 70% during FY19 to 66% currently (YTD).

Source:moneycontrol.com

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Wonder Cement shows journey of cement with new campaign

Published

3 years ago

October 21, 2021

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The campaign also marks Wonder Cement being the first ever cement brand to enter the world of IGTV…

ETBrandEquity

Cement manufacturing company Wonder Cement, has announced the launch of a digital campaign ‘Har Raah Mein Wonder Hai’. The campaign has been designed specifically to run on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

#HarRaahMeinWonderHai is a one-minute video, designed and conceptualised by its digital media partner Triature Digital Marketing and Technologies Pvt Ltd. The entire journey of the cement brand from leaving the factory, going through various weather conditions and witnessing the beauty of nature and wonders through the way until it reaches the destination i.e., to the consumer is very intriguing and the brand has tried to showcase the same with the film.

Sanjay Joshi, executive director, Wonder Cement, said, "Cement as a product poses a unique marketing challenge. Most consumers will build their homes once and therefore buy cement once in a lifetime. It is critical for a cement company to connect with their consumers emotionally. As a part of our communication strategy, it is our endeavor to reach out to a large audience of this country through digital. Wonder Cement always a pioneer in digital, with the launch of our IGTV campaign #HarRahMeinWonderHai, is the first brand in the cement category to venture into this space. Through this campaign, we have captured the emotional journey of a cement bag through its own perspective and depicted what it takes to lay the foundation of one’s dreams and turn them into reality."

The story begins with a family performing the bhoomi poojan of their new plot. It is the place where they are investing their life-long earnings; and planning to build a dream house for the family and children. The family believes in the tradition of having a ‘perfect shuruaat’ (perfect beginning) for their future dream house. The video later highlights the process of construction and in sequence it is emphasising the value of ‘Perfect Shuruaat’ through the eyes of a cement bag.

Tarun Singh Chauhan, management advisor and brand consultant, Wonder Cement, said, "Our objective with this campaign was to show that the cement produced at the Wonder Cement plant speaks for itself, its quality, trust and most of all perfection. The only way this was possible was to take the perspective of a cement bag and showing its journey of perfection from beginning till the end."

According to the company, the campaign also marks Wonder Cement being the first ever cement brand to enter the world of IGTV. No other brand in this category has created content specific to the platform.

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In spite of company’s optimism, demand weakness in cement is seen in the 4% y-o-y drop in sales volume. (Reuters)

Published

3 years ago

October 21, 2021

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Cost cuts and better realizations save? the ?day ?for ?UltraTech Cement, Updated: 27 Jan 2020, Vatsala Kamat from Live Mint

Lower cost of energy and logistics helped Ebitda per tonne rise by about 29% in Q3
Premiumization of acquired brands, synergistic?operations hold promise for future profit growth Topics

UltraTech Cement
India’s largest cement producer UltraTech Cement Ltd turned out a bittersweet show in the December quarter. A sharp drop in fuel costs and higher realizations helped drive profit growth. But the inherent demand weakness was evident in the sales volumes drop during the quarter.

Better realizations during the December quarter, in spite of the 4% year-on-year volume decline, minimized the pain. Net stand-alone revenue fell by 2.6% to ?9,981.8 crore.

But as pointed out earlier, lower costs on most fronts helped profitability. The chart alongside shows the sharp drop in energy costs led by lower petcoke prices, lower fuel consumption and higher use of green power. Logistics costs, too, fell due to lower railway freight charges and synergies from the acquired assets. These savings helped offset the increase in raw material costs.

The upshot: Q3 Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) of about ?990 per tonne was 29% higher from a year ago. The jump in profit on a per tonne basis was more or less along expected lines, given the increase in realizations. "Besides, the reduction in net debt by about ?2,000 crore is a key positive," said Binod Modi, analyst at Reliance Securities Ltd.

Graphic by Santosh Sharma/Mint
What also impressed analysts is the nimble-footed integration of the recently merged cement assets of Nathdwara and Century, which was a concern on the Street.

Kunal Shah, analyst (institutional equities) at Yes Securities (India) Ltd, said: "The company has proved its ability of asset integration. Century’s cement assets were ramped up to 79% capacity utilization in December, even as they operated Nathdwara generating an Ebitda of ?1,500 per tonne."

Looks like the demand weakness mirrored in weak sales during the quarter was masked by the deft integration and synergies derived from these acquired assets. This drove UltraTech’s stock up by 2.6% to ?4,643 after the Q3 results were declared on Friday.

Brand transition from Century to UltraTech, which is 55% complete, is likely to touch 80% by September 2020. A report by Jefferies India Pvt. Ltd highlights that the Ebitda per tonne for premium brands is about ?5-10 higher per bag than the average (A cement bag weighs 50kg). Of course, with competition increasing in the arena, it remains to be seen how brand premiumization in the cement industry will pan out. UltraTech Cement scores well among peers here.

However, there are road bumps ahead for the cement sector and for UltraTech. Falling gross domestic product growth, fiscal slippages and lower budgetary allocation to infrastructure sector are making industry houses jittery on growth. Although UltraTech’s management is confident that cement demand is looking up, sustainability and pricing power remains a worry for the near term.