India’s cement market on fast-track expansion

India is among the world’s fastest-growing economies and was one of the first to recover from the economic and financial crisis that hit the world in 2008. The country is the world’s second largest cement consumer, and its cement industry continues to expand with new plants and production lines being built. With a large and growing engineering centre located in Chennai in south-eastern India, FLSmidth is well-placed to play an active part in this expansion. This is demonstrated by the following sample of contracts, big and small, awarded over the last few months.

Heidelberg Cement increases Indian production capacity
FLSmidth has received an order from Heidelberg Cement India Limited for supplies of equipment that include a new 5,000 tonnes per day (tpd) pyro process-ing line at Narsingarh (Damoh), Madhya Pradesh, a new clinker grinding system at Imlai (Damoh), Madhya Pradesh, and a material handling system for a grinding unit in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh.

The equipment to be supplied includes coal and additive crushers; limestone, additive and coal stores; an ATOX raw mill and ATOX coal mill; a complete pyro line including an SF Cross-Bar cooler; a UMS cement mill and a CF silo; air pollution control equipment; mill gear units; and electrical and control equipment. In addition, civil/structural engineering for this project is also included in the FLSmidth scope of supply.
Commissioning is expected to take place around late 2011.

Alternative fuel – a growing market
Several Indian cement producers are investing in alternative fuel handling systems. One such system has been ordered by ACC Cements for their New Wadi plant. Handling a variety of alternative fuels, including high-moisture materials, the system will have a capacity of 20 tonnes per hour and yield a ~50% calciner fuel substitution rate.

Meanwhile, Grasim South, which is a unit of the Aditya Birla Group, has invested in a mechanical system for feeding alternative fuels. A mixture of paint sludge, rice husks and shredded tyres will be fed into the calciner, replacing about 42% of the tra­ditional calciner fuel.

Air pollution control for Madras
For its 4,200 tpd cement plant, Madras Cements has ordered a complete package of air pollution control equipment. This includes a reverse air baghouse, a coal mill filter, an electrostatic precipitator for the cooler, and a hot electrostatic precipitator.

Civil consultancy services
Vicat Sagar Cements have entrusted FLSmidth with civil design and structural engineering services for a 2 million tonnes per year (tpy) clinker facility and a 2.75 million tpy cement grinding facility. Vicat Sagar Cements Ltd. is a joint venture between the Andhra Pradesh-based cement producer and the leading French Vicat Group. Their new plant is located in the Gulbarga District in the state of Karnataka, South India.

For more new orders visit www.flsmidth.com/announcements