Star Cement in Ras Al Khaimah makes a fine start

Since the discovery of oil in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) more than 30 years ago, the UAE has undergone a profound transformation from an impoverished region of small desert principalities to a modern state with a high standard of living.

The UAE government has increased spending on job creation and infrastructure expansion and is opening up utilities to greater private sector involvement. Cement is one of the oldest and most important industries of UAE and Ras Al Khaimah is the main producer.

Star Cement chooses FLSmidth
In 2007, one of the region’s leading cement manufacturers, Star Cement, began working with FLSmidth to build its own clinker plant. This 6,500 tpd plant supplied by FLSmidth was put into operation successfully during July 2009.

When Star Cement signed the contract with FLSmidth to build a greenfield clinker plant in Ras al-Khaimah, outstanding environmental performance and low operational costs were top priorities. Says T.V.S. Chidambaram, General Manager at Star Cement, “Our whole team was familiar with FLSmidth’s commitment to client needs, sustainability, and product quality and reliability – and that is exactly why we chose to work with them.”

A future-proof plant
Star Cement chose the Ras al-Khaimah region because it’s close to important raw materials, especially shale – a key com­ponent in clinker. FLSmidth designed an energy-efficient plant that could deliver an annual capacity of 2.2 million tonnes. The core equipment includes:

• Limestone & additive stacker reclaimers
• CF silo
• 5 x 80 kiln with 6 stage two string ILC and 10% alkali bypass system
• 4 x 6 SF Cross-Bar cooler
• Clinker transport, storage and bulk loading system
• Online bulk analyzer
• High-efficiency process bag filters.

Now fully operational, the plant has state-of-the-art process bag filters, kiln filters and clinker cooler filters that combine to keep dust emissions well below 15 mg/Nm3, exceeding international environmental standards.

Exceeding expectations
Construction began in June 2007 and was completed in July 2009. The plant went into operation soon after with a problem-free start-up. “Even though the guarantee is for 6,500 tonnes per day (tpd), we have reached up to 7,150 tonnes per day, so we’re getting very good performance,” explains Mr Chidambaram. “Also, the bag filters are keeping emission levels at least 5 mg below the legal level and we’re regularly exceeding production guarantees – so we’re very pleased.”

“One of our main operational hurdles was our unreliable power supply. This impacted production, but there have been no problems as far as the plant equipment is concerned.” Mr Chidambaram adds, “Fortunately, we were able to overcome these power problems by overhauling the existing engines and adding rental power sets. We now expect to see more reliable operation with better than expected production levels.”

Successful cooperation
From July to December 2009, the plant produced 700,000 tonnes of clinker. Star Cement transports this clinker directly to its grinding plants in Abu Dhabi and Ajman – an efficient process that boosts the region’s construction.

And Star Cement is very happy with its new plant. “We believe this plant is one of the most cost-effective and reliable plants ever commissioned in the region,” says Mr Chidambaram.

The next collaboration between the two companies is already in motion. FLSmidth is now working with Star International, Star Cement’s sister company, to build a 4,200 tpd plant in Sumbe, Angola.

Contact Michael Johnson.