Concrete

Increasing Use of Supplementary Cementitious Materials to Achieve Carbon Reduction Targets

Published

3 years ago

October 19, 2023

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Jens Mose and John Terembula, Product Line Management, FLSmidth A/S, discuss why Vertical Roller Mills (VRM) are the best grinding solution for SCMs, in this second part of a three-part series looking at how Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCM) can help cement manufacturers reduce carbon emissions.

Current examples of SCM adoption
India is a successful adopter of SCMs, with an average clinker factor of 0.71 in 2017. This is largely thanks to the introduction of standards for composite cements in 2015, as well as the widespread availability of fly ash from thermal power plants. Portland Pozzolanic Cement (PPC) had approximately 65 per cent market share in 2017, and the clinker factor of PPC was also improved from 0.68 in 2010 to 0.65 in 2017. Portland Slag Cement (PSC) makes up about 10 per cent of the market and also reduced clinker content in that time from 0.55 to 0.40. Meanwhile, ACC has achieved a clinker factor as low as 44 per cent through the use of fly ash from power plants and slag from steel production.
In the sub-continental India region, FLSmidth has supplied grinding systems with all types of mills. The most common grinding systems installed over the last 10 years are VRM or HRP with ball mill in semi-finish arrangement. One example is the Guinness World Record holder, the largest VRM for cement grinding at Shah Cement in Bangladesh. That mill regularly produces both PPC and PSC Cements.
Throughout Asia, a wide range of blended cements are made encompassing many different additive materials including trass, which is very hard-to-grind overburden from the quarry. Stable/reliable operation has been proven in the OK Mill even with this difficult material.
In other parts of the world, the uptake of SCMs varies. For example, in Brazil the nationwide average clinker-to-cement ratio is below 70 per cent , with blast furnace slag from steel mills the most widely used SCM . The country is targeting reductions in clinker content to 59 per cent in 2030 and 52 per cent in 2050 and will need to increase the use of limestone filler and calcined clays to meet these targets.
In Brazil, the VRM has been the standard for new cement grinding for the last 10+ years, with OK Mills accounting for 28 per cent of the country’s total cement production in 2015.
Meanwhile, in the US, the use of SCMs by cement manufacturers is on the rise , as more cement plants adopt ASTM C595 Standard (American Society for Testing and Materials), which allows up to 15 per cent limestone within Type 1L or Portland Limestone Cement (PLC). PLC is currently seeing a dramatic upward trend, thanks to widespread acceptance by end users like the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Which mills are best for SCMs?
The grinding operation is critical to the success of SCMs, to achieve the necessary particle size distribution. Some materials can be ground together with the rest of your cement mix (so-called ‘intergrinding’), while others may benefit from a separate grinding operation. Likewise, water demand (to increase workability) can present another sustainability concern.
In terms of the best mill type, the answer is almost always VRM. Over the last few decades, the industry has been gradually moving towards the use of VRM for both raw and cement grinding, due largely to the reduced energy consumption compared to ball mills: a saving of between 30 and 50 per cent. This transition will prove crucial as the adoption of SCMs increases, from a practical as well as economic and environmental perspective. VRM provides much greater flexibility to grind several different materials, to switch between different cement mixes, and to adjust to changing material characteristics – all while protecting quality.
For example, FLSmidth has a customer using the OK Mill to grind 100 per cent slag with raw feed containing more than 20 per cent moisture to produce moisture levels less than 1 per cent. This is only possible thanks to the drying capacity of the VRM. This level of flexibility is imperative to SCM adoption.
Ultimately, product quality is defined by cement strength development and setting times. To achieve the best result, you need optimal particle size distribution and dehydration of the gypsum within the cement. And for that, the precise operational controls of the VRM are a clear advantage over other mill types, enabling you to optimise the system’s temperature profile, mill airflow, separator speed and grinding pressure for optimum efficiency and productivity.

1- https://docs.wbcsd.org/2018/11/WBCSD_CSI_India_Review.pdf
2- Weston, J. ‘Brazil gives OK to VRM’, International Cement Review, 20 June 2016
3-https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/dotcom/client_service/infrastructure/pdfs/pathways_low_carbon_economy_brazil.ashx
4- http://snic.org.br/assets/pdf/roadmap/roadmap-tecnologico-do-cimento-brasil.pdf
5- https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1152/2005-1152.pdf p.10

You can find part one in the August issue of Indian Cement Review and part 3 in the upcoming October issue.

(Communication by the management of the company)

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Concrete

Lokesh Lays Stone For Rs 31 Billion Cement Unit In Kadapa

Line-2 expansion to make Kadapa a major cement hub

Published

2 days ago

July 20, 2026

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Andhra Pradesh Education and IT Minister Nara Lokesh on Wednesday laid the foundation stone for the Line-2 expansion of Dalmia Bharat Cement at Chinnakomerla village in Mylavaram Mandal in Kadapa district. The project carries an investment of Rs 31 billion (bn) and is slated for completion by the third quarter of the financial year 2028. The expansion is intended to boost industrial growth and employment generation across the Rayalaseema region.

Once commissioned, the Kadapa facility will become Dalmia Bharat’s largest integrated cement manufacturing ecosystem in southern India, creating over 1,000 direct and indirect jobs and opening new business avenues for regional micro, small and medium enterprises and transport operators. Lokesh said the expansion signalled growing corporate confidence in the state and reflected the practical ease of doing business that secured repeat investment.

He placed the project within the government’s wider economic targets and recalled the Yuvagalam padayatra commitment to generate two million (mn) jobs within five years, noting that the state would cultivate talent while industry created opportunities. Lokesh highlighted Andhra Pradesh’s competitive pursuit of major manufacturing accounts, mentioning past successes and a personal initiative to engage global investors when persuading them to anchor expansion in the state.

The plant will leverage Kadapa’s abundant limestone reserves to scale production and sustainability. Clinker capacity is planned to rise from two point five million tonnes per annum (mn tpa) to six point one mn tpa, while overall cement output will increase from three point six mn tpa to nine point six mn tpa. The unit is designed to operate on over eighty per cent renewable energy and deploy waste heat recovery, zero liquid discharge, water recycling and advanced AI systems to optimise efficiency. Industries Minister TG Bharat, BC Welfare Minister S. Savitha and Jammalamadugu MLA C. Adinarayana Reddy attended the ceremony.

Concrete

Cement Prices to Stay Flat in Q2 FY27 as Costs Squeeze Margins

HDFC Securities warns monsoon slowdown and higher fuel costs

Published

5 days ago

July 17, 2026

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HDFC Securities has said the cement industry is unlikely to register a sequential increase in prices in Q2 FY27 as monsoon-related demand moderation coincides with rising fuel and packaging costs that will squeeze margins. The brokerage observed that price gains remained modest, with increases of two to three per cent quarter-on-quarter across regions, and noted subdued offtake in May with improvement in June as a delayed monsoon supported construction activity. The brokerage added that modest pricing gains so far have been insufficient to offset the input cost escalation.

The report stated that input cost pressures intensified in Q1 FY27 owing to the West Asia conflict, which pushed up coal and pet coke prices and is expected to keep fuel costs elevated, with a likely peak in Q2 FY27. It assessed that total variable costs, including packing, could rise by around Rs 150 per t quarter-on-quarter and that lower offtake and seasonal operating deleverage could further raise operating expenditure by about Rs 50 per t quarter-on-quarter.

Overall, cement prices were estimated to remain flat in Q2 FY27 as monsoon-led demand weakness offsets limited upside in realisation, and rising fuel costs alongside seasonal deleverage were expected to compress industry margins by over Rs 100 per t quarter-on-quarter to below Rs 880 per t. The brokerage indicated that the combined impact of energy inflation and higher packing expenditure would be the principal drivers of margin contraction in the near term. HDFC Securities projected a recovery in margins in H2 FY27 should the West Asia turmoil subside and energy and packing costs cool off.

The brokerage expressed optimism on long-term demand fundamentals and said improving realisation together with an anticipated cost cool-off should support a margin rebound from H2 FY27 onward, underpinning favourable industry prospects over the medium term. Its outlook rests on monsoon normalisation and a decline in imported fuel prices in the second half of the fiscal year.

Concrete

Dalmia Bharat Begins Rs 31 Bn Green Cement Unit in Kadapa

New Andhra Pradesh plant to add 9.6 MTPA cement capacity by FY28

Published

6 days ago

July 16, 2026

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Dalmia Bharat Limited recently laid the foundation stone for its second manufacturing unit at Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh. The company will invest Rs 31 billion in developing the next-generation integrated cement manufacturing facility.

The foundation-laying ceremony was attended by Nara Lokesh, Andhra Pradesh Minister for Information Technology, Electronics and Communications, Real-Time Governance and Human Resources Development, along with Puneet Dalmia, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dalmia Bharat, senior government officials and company representatives.

Scheduled to be commissioned by the third quarter of FY28, the Kadapa unit will become Dalmia Bharat’s largest integrated manufacturing facility in southern India. It will have a clinker production capacity of 6.1 million tonnes per annum and a cement manufacturing capacity of 9.6 million tonnes per annum.

The facility is designed to produce what the company describes as one of the world’s greenest cements. It is also expected to generate approximately 1,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities while supporting local MSMEs, transporters, contractors and service providers.

Lokesh said the investment reflected Dalmia Bharat’s confidence in Andhra Pradesh and aligned with the state’s objective of promoting sustainable industrialisation, job creation and technology-led economic growth.

Puneet Dalmia said the project represented the company’s long-term vision of developing low-carbon cement manufacturing assets. He added that the facility would establish new benchmarks in operational efficiency and sustainability while supporting India’s infrastructure and environmental goals.

Dalmia Bharat will also expand its regional community development programmes in education, healthcare, skill development and welfare through its DIKSHa and Gram Parivartan initiatives.

The company currently has an installed cement manufacturing capacity of 54.7 million tonnes across 19 manufacturing units in 12 states. It is also the first cement company globally to commit to the RE100, EP100 and EV100 initiatives.