september 2014 - · pdf fileseptember 2014 ... the mill is equipped with three driven...

ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions

The QUADROPOL® RDwith driven rollers is the energy-efficient grinding system for the production of ultra-fine cement.

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PAUL MAXWELL-COOK EXPLORES SOME OF THE MARKETS IN SUB-SAHARAN

AFRICA THAT ARE GAINING SIGNIFICANT CEMENT INDUSTRY ATTENTION.

IntroductionThe World Bank predicts that economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) will accelerate to 5.2% this year, driven by increasing investment to exploit the region’s natural resources and develop infrastructure. The region attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) of US$43 billion last year, up from US$37 billion in 2012. This was not only fuelled by oil and gas discoveries in Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania, but

also by non-resource-rich countries such as Ethiopia and Rwanda.

SSA countries are among the fastest growing in the world. Growth was strong in resource-rich countries, including Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo, due to higher production in the mining sector. Non-resource countries, particularly Ethiopia and Tanzania, also experienced solid economic growth in 2013.

Makhtar Diop, the World Bank’s Vice President for Africa, says that ‘Poor infrastructure will continue to limit Sub-Saharan Africa’s growth potential. Significantly more infrastructure spending is needed in most countries in the region if they are to achieve a lasting transformation of their economies.’

The construction and building sectors, as part of a country’s infrastructure development, present many challenges for the building materials market, especially where cement is involved.

Domestic investment is often insufficient in many countries, which means we are seeing a number of foreign investors entering the local markets, often as joint investment partners.

As an example of external interest, look at the Dubai-based company Osho Ventures. With offices in South Africa and Namibia, it regards SSA as one of the most attractive regions from a growth perspective. It aspires to become a significant force in the

/11\

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Tel +44 (0)1252 718999 Fax +44 (0)1252 718992 Email: [email protected] Website: www.worldcement.com

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26FEATURED ARTICLES

HIGH EFFICIENCY

Introduction Dust removal is a very important topic in the cement industry, from both a production and environmental standpoint. Legislation is becoming stricter in a number of countries and emission levels are increasingly limited, especially for fine dust (PM10), which is responsible for very serious atmospheric pollution problems. For this reason, demand for high performance

Daniela De Angelis and Lorenzo Ivan

Balzaretti, Testori S.p.A., Italy, outline

the benefits of high performance filter

media for reducing dust emissions

during the cement production process.

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The QUADROPOL® RDwith driven rollers is the energy-efficient grinding system for the production of ultra-fine cement.

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Volume 45: Number 9September 2014 ISSN 0263 6050

ABOUT THISCOVER

The commissioning of the QUADROPOL RD in La Rochelle, France, started in April 2014. The mill is equipped with three driven roller units and was designed for throughput rates of 74 – 107 tph. Different cements and blastfurnace slag with finenesses between 4400 and 5200 cm²/g according to Blaine will be ground.

September 2014

CONTENTSWORLD CEMENT REGULARS05/ Comment09/ News19/ Keynote: Keeping Humans in the Automation LoopRick Bohan, Portland Cement Association, USA, explains how making the most of human control operators can help to optimise modern plant automation systems.

104/ Regional Report Fact Sheet

REGIONAL REPORT: SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA26/ Sub-Saharan SelectionPaul Maxwell-Cook explores some of the markets in Sub-Saharan Africa that are gaining significant cement industry attention.

32/ A Growth StoryD.V.G. Edwin, Group Managing Director & CEO, Dangote Cement P.L.C., provides an insight into the Sub-Saharan cement industry and outlines the company’s expansion plans.

41/ From Subcontinent to Sub-Saharan AfricaFaheem Ahmed, Lucky Cement Limited, Pakistan, outlines the cement industry in both regions and provides insight into the trade between the two.

GEARS, DRIVES & LUBRICATION47/ Bearing Lubricants in MindTim Cains, NSK UK Ltd, discusses the importance of bearing performance in improving the efficiency of plant equipment and reducing maintenance costs.

FILTERS, DEDUSTING & GAS ANALYSIS53/ The Sum of its PartsAnthony Johnson, CLARCOR Industrial Air, USA, describes dust collection principles and the importance of interlocking operating systems.

/1September 2014World Cement

CONTACTDETAILS

EditorialManaging Editor: James Little [email protected]

Editor: Katherine Guenioui [email protected]

Assistant Editor: Louise Fordham [email protected]

Editorial Assistant: Rosalie Starling [email protected]

Contributing Editor: Paul Maxwell-Cook

DesignProduction: Sophie Awcock [email protected]

SalesAdvertisement Director: Rod Hardy [email protected]

Advertisement Manager: Ian Lewis [email protected]

Advertisement Executive: Paul Heyworth [email protected]

WebsiteWebsite Editor: Callum O’Reilly [email protected]

Website Manager: Tom Fullerton [email protected]

Digital Editorial Assistant: Katie Woodward [email protected]

MarketingCirculation Manager: Victoria McConnell [email protected]

Subscriptions Manager: Laura Cowell [email protected]

Office Administrator: Jo Repton [email protected]

Reprints:[email protected]

PublisherNigel Hardy

41

47SUBSCRIPTION

RATESAnnual subscription (published monthly): £160 UK including postage/£175 (E260) overseas (postage airmail)/US$260 USA/Canada (postage airmail). Two year subscription (published monthly): £256 UK including postage/£280 (E416) overseas (postage airmail)/US$416 USA/Canada (postage airmail). Claims for non receipt of issues must be made within 4 months of publication of the issue or they will not be honoured without charge. Applicable only to USA and CanadaWORLD CEMENT (ISSN No: 0263-6050, USPS No: 020-996) is published monthly by Palladian Publications, GBR and is distributed in the USA by Asendia USA, 17B S Middlesex Ave, Monroe NJ 08831. Periodicals postage paid New Brunswick, NJ and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to World Cement, 701C Ashland Ave, Folcroft PA 19032Copyright© Palladian Publications Ltd 2014. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. All views expressed in this journal are those of the respective contributors and are not necessarily the opinions of the publisher, neither do the publishers endorse any of the claims made in the articles or the advertisements.Uncaptioned images courtesy of www.bigstockphoto.com Printed in the UK.

“...Africa has been labelled as the new frontier market by renowned equity analysts and is the new attraction for foreign investment...”

September 2014

CONTENTS

71


59/ Pleated PotentialAndré Radley Grundahl, Managing Director, and Preben Jacobsen, Business Development Manager – Cement, Nordic Air Filtration, Denmark, explain how pleated bags increased cement mill production output and reduced emission levels at a Portuguese cement plant.

63/ High Efficiency FiltrationDaniela De Angelis and Lorenzo Ivan Balzaretti, Testori S.p.A., Italy, outline the benefits of high performance filter media for reducing dust emissions during the cement production process.

67/ Process Exhaust Gas ConditioningRichard Davies, Redecam USA, LLC, discusses the benefits and methods of process exhaust gas conditioning.

TESTING AND ANALYSIS71/ Representative Hot Clinker SamplingLenka Schwarzerova and Ian T. Campbell, FLSmidth, and Jiri Lerch, plant Mokra, Ceskomoravsky cement, a.s., Czech Republic, discuss the effectiveness of hot clinker sampling.

75/ Reviewing a Decade of Online Particle SizingOliver Schmitt, Malvern Instruments, UK, and Thomas Schuster, Zementwerk Berlin, Germany, discuss the crucial role of online analysis in the manufacture of slag cement.

83/ Laser Based SpectroscopyMichael Gaft, Lev Nagli and Yoni Groisman, Laser Distance Spectrometry, Israel, Konstantin Kovler, Israel Institute of Technology, Israel, and Alexander Barishnikov, Icon Steel, Russia, outline the benefits of using a LIBS-Raman analyser for online process control during cement production.

GENERAL INTEREST89/ Reducing the Risk of ExplosionFrancesca Vincenzi and Dr-Ing. Johannes Lottermann, REMBE® GmbH Safety+Control, Germany, explain how to identify and mitigate explosion risks in cement plants.

92/ POWTECH PreviewNews items from a few of the companies attending POWTECH 2014.

SILO CLEANOUT99/ Maximising Material MovementDan Keeling, Primasonics® International Ltd, UK, outlines how audiosonic acoustic cleaners were used to prevent bridging and ratholing buildup at Vasavadatta Cement’s Sedam plant, India.

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September 2014

EDITOR’S COMMENT

Katherine Guenioui, Editor [email protected]

It is the time of year when www.worldcement.com fills up with financial results. Putting aside the issue of currency depreciation, which is making its presence felt in a number

of companies’ bottom lines, energy supply is probably the second most prevalent issue impacting results, particularly for companies operating in Africa and parts of Asia.

For those of us living in countries with a reliable national grid, the idea of not having access to the power we need is like something out of a dystopian novel. In reality, more than a billion people worldwide don’t have access to electricity, and the very definition of ‘access to electricity’ is flimsy at best – certainly the minimal amount suggested per person would do little to help power a cement plant.

It is interesting to see the difference energy makes in different markets. For the US, the shale gas revolution has led some cement plants to consider converting to gas – though it has also brought down coal prices. It has also boosted the US economy, aided its recovery, leading to greater investment in infrastructure and construction and bringing all round good news for the cement industry. In contrast, in Nigeria, a country that flares some US$2 billion worth of gas annually, cement plants are turning to coal imports from South Africa to support production because

the unreliable nature of the gas supply network frequently disrupts production.

In Dangote Cement’s 1H14 results, the company reported that fuel supply has been a problem, as a result of which the company is investing in coal-fired power. Ashaka Cement, a fellow Nigerian company, reported lower costs thanks to the increased use of coal. The Cement Company of Northern Nigeria is also planning to invest in its own power plant, though the fuel of choice was unspecified in initial reports. Nigeria has its own coal resources, but these are not currently being fully exploited. (Perhaps that’s another avenue for Aliko Dangote to explore.)

Over in India, the supply and price of coal is an ongoing issue. Imports are set to increase, particularly from Indonesia and Australia, as domestic coal resources are tied up in post-election scrutiny. In Indonesia, rising energy tariffs are leading cement producers to invest in their own power. Similar stories are occurring all over the world.

What is the long-term solution? Perhaps those companies operating in sunnier climes could follow the likes of Hanson Cement and CalPortland and start up a solar power plant to help power their operations? Cemex and Italgen are among those companies exploring the potential of wind power. Waste heat recovery is an increasingly popular option and as for fuel for the kiln, alternative fuels are taking off in emerging markets, having proven themselves in a big way in Europe. As energy security and climate change continue to make headlines, the cement industry must prove it is willing to adapt to survive.

19/Rick Bohan provides his thoughts on Keeping Humans in the Automation Loop.

75/Reviewing A Decade of Particle Sizing in this article from Oliver Schmitt and Thomas Schuster.

32/D.V.G. Edwin presents A Growth Story, the meteoric rise of Dangote Cement. 83/

Authors from Laser Distance Spectrometry, the Israel Institute of Technology and Icon Steel discuss Laser Based Spectroscopy.


Cement plantsWith more than 150 years of experience, we have unique know-how in the field of cement technology. We offer the entire process chain from a single source: from the quarry to the cement loading facility, and from engineering, procurement, erection and commissioning to after-sales service. We ensure the highest level of plant availability through the perfect harmonisation of Polysius machines and processes.

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Cement plantsWith more than 150 years of experience, we have unique know-how in the field of cement technology. We offer the entire process chain from a single source: from the quarry to the cement loading facility, and from engineering, procurement, erection and commissioning to after-sales service. We ensure the highest level of plant availability through the perfect harmonisation of Polysius machines and processes.

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Wonder Cement, India, has ordered a second Polysius cement kiln line,this time with a capacity of 8,000 tpd (cement clinker).


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September 2014

WORLD NEWS


NewsHighlights

To read more about these articles

go to:

Scan for the WORLD CEMENT iPhone/iPad App

Get the free mobile app athttp:/ /gettag.mobi

X Six Cemex USA cement plants achieve Energy Star® certification

X CRH reports on positive 1H14

X MIT researchers evaluate the costs and environmental impacts of infrastructure

Brazil Lafarge and Holcim announce proposed asset disposals

Lafarge and Holcim have announced further details on their proposal for comprehensive asset divestments in Brazil, smoothing the way for the completion of the LafargeHolcim merger in anticipation of any potential issues with regulatory bodies.

The companies have presented a package of assets from both Holcim and Lafarge to CADE, Brazil’s competition authority, in the context of pre-filing negotiations. These include:

l Lafarge’s Matozinhos cement plant. l Lafarge’s Arcos Jazida cement plant. l Holcim’s Cantagalo cement plant. l Lafarge’s Arcos Cidade cement grinding station. l Lafarge’s Santa Luzia cement grinding station. l Holcim’s Pouso Alegre ready-mix plant.

The proposed divestments will be subject to review and further discussion until a final decision is reached. The divestment process will be carried out in the framework of the relevant social processes and ongoing dialogue with the employee representatives’ bodies and will be conducted in parallel to discussions with the competition authorities and potential buyers. The divestment process will be completed subject to the closing of the merger between Holcim and Lafarge, which is expected in 1H15.

DRC PPC signs engineering contract with Sinoma

PPC Barnet DRC has signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Sinoma International Engineering Company of China for the construction of a new cement plant in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The signing ceremony took place in Kinshasa, DRC, and marks the inaugural phase of the construction, which is valued at around US$300 million.

The major project sponsors are PPC Ltd, Barnet Group and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Trevor Barnard, PPC’s Business Development Executive, noted that construction of the plant will take about 26 months to complete and commissioning is expected in 4Q16. “The plant is located near Zamba in the Cataracts district, approximately 230 km from Kinshasa. The fully integrated plant will consist of a 5-stage preheater kiln with an inline calciner and will produce 1 million tpa of cement to serve both the rapidly growing market in the DRC and neighbouring export markets,” said Barnard.

When fully operational, the plant will create approximately 300 direct jobs and will employ modern technology in cement manufacturing and environmental protection. This investment is part of PPC’s African Expansion strategy. Currently, 26% of the company’s revenue comes from outside of South Africa, with the target to increase to 40% by 2017.

September 2014

WORLD NEWS

10\September 2014World Cement

30 September – 2 October 2014 POWTECH 2014

Nuremberg, Germanywww.powtech.de/en

8 – 10 October 2014ILA General Assembly & Information

Exchange ForumVancouver, Canada

[email protected]

13 – 14 October 201416th Asia CemenTrade

Jakarta, Indonesiawww.cmtevents.com

22 – 23 October 20143rd Carbon Dioxide Utilisation Summit

Bremen, Germanywww.wplgroup.com/aci/conferences/

eu-cco3.asp

29 – 30 October 20141st Alternative Fuels Symposium

Duisburg-Ruhrort, Germanywww.lechtenberg-partner.de

11 – 13 November 201419th Arab International Cement

Conference and ExhibitionMarrakech, Morocco

www.aucbm.org

Canada Lafarge’s Exshaw plant achieves major environmental milestone

Lafarge Canada’s Exshaw plant, Alberta, has achieved its first major environmental milestone, meeting its target to reduce emissions of dust, sulfur dioxide (SO2) and oxides of nitrogen (NOX) from the existing cement kiln line. The facility also achieved zero water discharge from its operations.

As part of its expansion project, Lafarge upgraded an existing manufacturing line and is constructing a new kiln line. Construction work is expected to be completed in summer 2015 and will increase manufacturing capacity by around 60%. The US$20 million upgrade of the existing line (including additional dust mitigation and the installation of noise abatement equipment) is now complete, resulting in the reduction of SO2 emissions by

60% and NOX emissions by 40%. Lafarge achieved this milestone while remaining injury-free.

The work being carried out at the facility supports Lafarge’s Sustainability Ambitions for 2020 to provide solutions using sustainable manufacturing practices and improving the environment in and around its operations. The company is now looking to reach its next major milestone – the completion of its new kiln line and vertical cement mill.

The economic impact of the Exshaw plant’s increased production capacity and GDP of Alberta is estimated at US$800 million per year. Lafarge’s investment will also provide long-term employment opportunities in the Bow Valley.

India Gebr. Pfeiffer receives repeat order for MPS mills from Wonder Cement

Gebr. Pfeiffer SE has received another order from Wonder Cement for the supply of raw meal and coal mills for the company’s Tehsil Nimbahera plant. The order forms part of the manufacturer’s plan to expand the facility, which is located in India’s Chittorgarh district.

Gebr. Pfeiffer will supply an MPS 5600 B mill, equipped with a 5600 kW drive, for the production of 605 tph of raw meal with a fineness of 1.5% residue on the 212 µm sieve. The customer will use pulverised petcoke for kiln firing. This fuel will be produced on an MPS 3070 BK mill with a capacity of 40 tph and a product fineness of 2% residue

on the 90 µm sieve. As the mill will be equipped with an SLS-BK high efficiency classifier, both coal and lignite can be ground and dried with process gases in the mill and classified in the integrated classifier. Due to the high abrasiveness of Indian coal, the mill will be equipped with adapted wear protection.

Gebr. Pfeiffer (India) Pvt. Ltd will carry out the planning work for the grinding plants, including general arrangement drawings, specifications of components to be provided by the customer, and support during erection and commissioning of the mills.

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September 2014

WORLD NEWS


UK and Ireland Moller and PCI to merge UK and Irish businesses

Leading refractory specialists Moller UK Ltd, Moeller Refractory Service Ireland Ltd and Platinum Controls Installations Ltd have announced plans to merge the three businesses to create Moller PCI Ltd. The merger is aimed at offering clients throughout various industries across the UK and Ireland the highest levels of service, including health and safety, after sales care and value for money.

The joint venture will combine Moller’s extensive refractory knowledge and 15 years of experience in the UK and Irish market with PCI’s experienced site management team. The mixture of German roots with high-qualified installation personnel and professional management skills, as well as wide-ranging British health and safety knowhow, will become a massive benefit for the operations in the British and Irish markets.

Moller PCI Ltd will offer comprehensive turnkey refractory installations for both planned and unscheduled outages and shutdowns on micro and macro scales, as well as offering the complete range of refractory services, including new project installations:

l Demolition (robotic and manual). l Engineering services and designs (refractory,

mechanical, electrical and controls). l Refractory installation (shot-cast, gunning, casting,

precast installation and bricking). l Independent provision of site management/

supervision. l Comprehensive project management and site

supervision. l Material supply from various material suppliers. l Factory dryout facilities.

Moller PCI Ltd will be headquartered in Swansea, South Wales. A department in Mullingar, Ireland, will cover the requirements of its Irish customers. In addition to the operating offices, there are depots in Rotherham, England, and Mullingar, Ireland. The company will begin its operational businesses on 1 September 2014.

Iraq CNBM’s Al-Douh clinker line successfully put into production

On 30 March 2014, the 3300 tpd Iraq Al-Douh clinker line, constructed by CNBM International Engineering Co., Ltd, was successfully put into production. The production line is located approximately 300 km northwest of Basra.

During the construction phase, CNBM personnel overcame various difficulties, with the aim of achieving early completion of the line. Successful ignition of the project took place on 24 March 2014 and the line began official production on 30 March 2014. To date, all the equipment is working properly and efficiently, achieving the designed capacity and performance. For this reason, RICG Investment Group will cooperate with CNBM in various fields in the future.

UK Aggregate Industries to enter strategic partnership with Siemens

Aggregate Industries and Siemens have announced a new strategic partnership that will see over £2 million invested in cutting edge technologies. The partnership will provide industrial equipment and support, with the objective of helping the business improve productivity, energy consumption and reduce both firms’ environmental impact.

The deal, which lasts until September 2015, will also see Siemens undertake a comprehensive energy and drive train review for 250 of Aggregate Industries’ sites. This is

alongside the installation of technologies that will help reduce its energy consumption. As well as the review of UK sites and investment in a portfolio of technologies, Siemens will invest £10 000 to support Aggregate Industries’ apprenticeship programme in a joint venture with Stephenson’s College, Leicestershire. This investment means apprentices will be trained on equipment in the college that is the same as equipment installed on Aggregate Industries’ sites.

PFEIFFER. SETTING BENCHMARKS. SINCE 1864.

From one man’s idea to the largest mill in the world

When industrialization began in Europe, Jacob Pfeiffer had a vision: the grinding of

mineral raw materials on a large scale. As a family-owned company, inspired by his

energy and enthusiasm, we carry on his idea and have been doing so for 150 years.

And still today, as a technology leader operating worldwide, we continue to set bench-

marks for the industry. Behind all this, lies state-of-the-art engineering work „made

in Germany“ and the special quality of a manufacturer with his own manufacturing

facilities guaranteeing highest durability and reliability. Jacob Pfeiffer would be proud.

www.gpse.de

1864Jacob and Karl Pfeiffer founded the Pfeiffer machine factory and foundry

1890The fi rst air separator in the cement industry

1894The fi rst cement grinding operation in a Pfeiffer mill

1925The largest cement mill in the world

1956The fi rst MPS mills for raw material and coal grinding

1979The fi rst vertical mill for cement grinding

1994Launch of MPS B series with improved performance

2006The fi rst MVR mill for cement grinding

2007The fi rst vertical mill with MultiDrive®

2014The world’s largest vertical mill for cement, under erection

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September 2014

WORLD NEWS


Claudius Peters has been selected to supply storage silo handling, packing and palletising technology for CMS Clinker Sdn Bhd’s new Malaysian plant. The EPC contract for the project was awarded to Christian Pfeiffer in June 2014.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will provide up to US$70 million to Kenya’s National Cement Company Ltd to help expand the company’s operations, increase domestic cement supply and encourage infrastructure development in Africa.

Bestway Cement has acquired Lafarge’s 75.86% stake in Lafarge Pakistan Cement Ltd for an enterprise value of US$329 million (€244 million). The sale is in line with Lafarge’s debt reduction objective.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will lend Senj Sent US$65 million for the construction of a new cement plant in southern Mongolia, around 450 km from Ulaanbaatar. This follows an equity investment of US$20 million for a stake in Senj Sant, agreed in May 2013.

Worldwide Industry appointmentsTitan AmericaBill Zarkalis has been selected as the new Chief Executive Officer for Titan America. Zarkalis joins from parent organisation Titan Cement SA, where he has served as Group Chief Financial Officer since 2010 and Executive Director of Business Development and Strategic Planning prior to that.

Before joining Titan, Zarkalis served in a variety of executive positions with Dow Chemical, including Global Vice President of Dow Automotive, Global Business Director of Specialty Plastics and Elastomers, and Global Business Director of Synthetic Latex. He has represented Titan in the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the European Round Table (ERT) and the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI).

ABBNeil Ritchie has been appointed as the head of ABB’s Discrete Automation and Motion division in the UK, following the retirement of Chris Withey. Ritchie previously ran the Drives and Controls business, a post he took over in 2011. Prior to that, he managed ABB’s service activities for drives and motors since joining the company in 1989.

The Discrete Automation and Motion division encompasses ABB’s motors, generators, variable-speed drives, motion control, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), power electronics and robotics businesses.

PlibricoPlibrico Company LLC has appointed Justin Teiken as the new Vice President of Sourcing and Product Development. Teiken began his career at Plibrico, and has since dedicated 18 years to new refractory product development and applications.

Teiken has previously held positions with Vesuvius, where he developed NUMAX™ premium precast shapes and Quick Fix™ phosphate-bonded patch mix, and shared in the development of Surgun® low cement gun mixes. He continued working in new product development at Holland Manufacturing, where he introduced nine new products and opened doors to new markets.

Venture MeasurementVenture Measurement has appointed Ben Gambrel as its new Vice President and General Manager. Gambrel joined Venture’s parent company, Danaher Corporation, in 2007 and was most recently responsible for Global Product Marketing and Business Development for one of its divisions. Prior to joining Danaher, Gambrel’s experience resided in manufacturing and operations management.

Cote d’Ivoire Limak Cement to invest US$50 million in new Ivory Coast facility

Limak Cement Group and Afrikbat have signed a partnership agreement for a new 120 000 m2 cement grinding and packaging facility, located around 20 km from Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. During the signing ceremony, held in Ankara, Nihat Özdemir, Chairman of the Limak Holding Board, stated that the facility, LİMAK Afrika SA, would cost around US$50 million during its first phase.

“The facility to be established will have an annual production capacity of 1 million t of cement and 1 million m3 of ready-mix concrete. With this facility, we will be achieving the first of our targets we set for being an important actor in the African market,” said Özdemir. LİMAK Afrika SA is set to export to other African countries from the Cote d’Ivoire.

The foundations will be laid in December 2014 and the plant is estimated to start production in October 2015. Furthermore, the company is planning to expand the plant by building a block production facility and a prefabricated products unit.

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with EPC and O&M

Less risk – more return

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Untitled-1 1 15/04/2014 08:35

September 2014

KEYNOTE

Rick Bohan / Portland Cement Association, USA, explains how making the most of human control operators can help to

optimise modern plant automation systems.

Introduction

“We pretend that technology, our technology, is something of a life force, a will, and a thrust of its own, on which we can

blame all, with which we can explain all, and in the end by means of which we can excuse ourselves.”1

You have likely heard that the plant of the future would require two living creatures: an operator and a dog. The purpose of the operator is to feed the dog, while the purpose of the dog is to ensure that the operator did not touch anything lest they ruin the plant’s operations. The joke is at least 20 years old but the sentiment it expresses is more poignant today than ever before. We are drowning in technology. Personal computers, tablets, digital assistants and smart devices are geographically and generationally universal. Today’s software and applications are seamless and intuitive, and control room operators have an unparalleled exposure to technology.

Entire systems at the plant level have evolved from a means to automate processes, to a means to automate and optimise processes and, most recently, automate the process, optimise the system, and learn. What remains unchanged is that control of a system still requires:2

l Goal conditions (targets of some sort). l Action conditions (ability to affect changes).

l A model (a representation, usually mathematical, that accurately mimics the physical system).

l An ability to observe the system.

Of course, control of a system still requires a human operator. The operator may be carrying out his duties in the correct manner; however, there are four other possibilities:3

l The operator does not take the required control action. l The operator takes an incorrect or unsafe control

action. l The operator takes a potentially correct action but at

the wrong time (too early, too late, out of sequence). l The operator stops the correct action before they

should.

That is the crux of the matter – how can we ensure that the operator and the technology are in sync, with each one benefitting from the other? In other words, is the control room operator of tomorrow really fated to end up feeding a dog? Let’s hope not, but it is time to reevaluate how we get the most from today’s control room operator into today’s plant automation and optimisation systems. After all, that control room operator is carrying around a computational structure of 100 billion neurons (the

Keeping Humans in the Automation Loop

Today’s software and applications are seamless and intuitive, and control room operators have an

unparalleled exposure to technology.


September 2014

KEYNOTE

average human brain) that can learn and adapt on the fly. Four key concerns are outlined below.

Data vs information

“[Operational data] can be like the captured spy; if you torture it long enough, it will tell you anything you want to know.”4

Let’s try a thought experiment. If only ten data variables could be measured at a cement plant, what would they be? Ask personnel from the same plant that question and listen to what they say. Now let us suppose that instead of just ten data variables, only eight can be measured. If the same question is posed to personnel again, what will they say? The question itself is hypothetical; however, for this experiment, how people answer is just as interesting as their actual answer.

The answers from various plant personnel may differ depending upon their responsibilities. The control room operator, environmental engineer, the production supervisor, the maintenance supervisor, the electrical supervisor and the plant chemist may have widely differing answers. They shouldn’t; and that is the point. The goal is not simply how many tonnes per day the plant achieves; it goes far beyond one single metric. The minimum goal is to safely put out a product that meets market demands and customer specifications as efficiently and economically as possible, with as little environmental impact as possible. Some parts of that goal are critical; for example, safety and regulatory compliance. Other parts of the goal require ongoing optimisation, such as product quality. The point is that they all stand together.

One of the reasons that they frequently do not is that modern technology can measure hundreds and even thousands of discrete data points throughout the plant. The inexpensive availability to collect data has increased the total amount of data, which can now blind one segment of plant personnel to the problems of another; they tend to concentrate on their own functional area, ignoring the data from other areas.

Additionally, we operate in data rich but information poor environments, the quintessential data rich, information poor (DRIP) syndrome that educators have long complained about.5 The problem is that the DRIP syndrome is just as prevalent at the plant as it is in the academic environment. There are consequences. Firstly, operators are less likely to discern critical data from background noise. They might see a rise in NOX emissions, know that the burning zone temperature is rising, but cannot understand why fuel consumption is steady. They see points but not a pattern; trends but not a linkage. Secondly, operators are less likely to infer reasonably expected data when data is missing. They might notice missing data because of failed equipment or a failed sensor, but they are not sure what range of potential measurements is expected, given all of the other conditions.

Thirdly, they are less likely to question uncertain data. They don’t detect that a temperature reading of 27 000 ˚C is not recognised as unfeasible.

So, are we really making use of all this data? Maybe not. Plant operators could probably track fan amps on the kiln ID fan and, most likely, they have gas flow and temperature measurements for that fan. So how many operators are using that to track fan efficiency or the percentage of reserve capacity available? In all probability, not many. Yet there is more than enough information there to trend the fan efficiency and monitor the deterioration of fan performance – key issues for maintenance. Add in fan vibration monitors and now it can be determined whether a fan is getting buildup or getting out of balance. That is information that can drive real solutions for that fan. If this is information that can be taken from fan data, just think of what could be done with all the other data we are swimming (or drowning) in!

So what can be done to help operators? First, the data collected can be used to create realistic training scenarios. Second, realistic training scenarios in trend recognition and identification may be developed by providing operators with real data and having them graph data points preceding an upset condition or out of specification condition. Rudimentary X bar and MR bar charts are an easy approach to these scenarios.

Speaking of data, just how much should be collected and how long should it be kept? Of course, some data retention (CEMS) is critical; however, if past data is not used as a training tool and if there is no statutory or regulatory requirement, information should be archived judiciously. Data systems are collecting at 5-second, 10-second, etc., intervals – not all of that needs to be stored; one point average or spot per hour is enough for a historian. Storing thousands of data points every week is not worth the server space; storing 52 weeks of solid trend information almost certainly is. One storage routine could bankrupt a plant while the other will benefit it.

Image overloadVisual displays, regardless of visual appeal, are absolutely useless unless they clearly display meaningful information. The visual representation of information has gone far beyond the dials and gauges of early controllers. We are living in a televised world providing real-time images and process flow charts with the ability to superimpose trend information and specific measurements at the click of a mouse. Imagine an operator’s console that includes “ten screens: two sets of three for controls applications, three for fixed displays and video signals, and one attached to a PC connected to the public network – all other machines being on the technical network. All the CPUs and half of the screens are on the uninterruptible power supply.”6 It sounds like a description of today’s modern cement plant. It is actually a description of the control room consoles at CERN, the world’s largest particle physics laboratory. Although typical cement plants


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September 2014

KEYNOTE

do not have an additional sixteen 46 in. screens, that is where we are headed.

The drawback is that these types of display may only stimulate activity in the vision and movement centres of the brain, not the analytic and reasoning sections. Researchers have recognised these effects, most prominently through observing the impacts of television viewing on nearly every age demographic: infants, children, young adults and mature adults.7 The video game playing operator of today may be better at visual search skills, but they still have a problem with visual attention skills.8 It is possible that an operator could watch a potentially catastrophic event happen in real-time without taking the steps necessary to stop the event. In a very real sense, the operator can be hypnotised through an overload of visual information.

The ultimate potential consequence in dismissing these problems is that it puts lives on the line. “Even the most highly trained and alert operators are prone to boredom when they are usually not needed for normal operation, and panic when an unusual situation occurs, stress levels are raised, and lives are at stake.”9

Another ‘what if?’ scenario is outlined as follows. The graph shown in Figure 1 plots materials and gas temperatures throughout a kiln system. The graph was published in Dr Paul Weber’s Heat Transfer in Rotary Kilns more than 50 years ago.10 No doubt current pyroprocessing sensors and scanners could simulate this data with temperature measurements at any point in the system. An operator can drag and drop a flag to scan a point within a flame and determine a real-time temperature with an accuracy that Dr Weber could only dream of.

The graph shows that both the material and gas temperature curves have defined ‘ramps’ or areas of increasing and decreasing temperature: for the material; the point at which the calcination temperature is reached; the peak point where the maximum temperature is achieved,

and a ‘ramp down’ area where clinker cooling is observed. These are critical determinants in the mineralogy (and ultimately reactivity) of the clinker that are not shown in current computer displays. It is derivative information that an operator has to discern from the data points at his disposal.

The gap between the material and gas temperature curves and the area under those curves is also significant. The gap between the two curves uphill of the burning zone is a direct indication of thermal efficiency while the area under the gas curve indicates the thermal energy input to the system. This is also information that an operator should learn to discern.

Technology has come a long way since Kurt Peray’s The Rotary Cement Kiln,11 yet the three F’s (fan, fuel, feed) and the 27 kiln conditions are still fundamentally the basics for all kiln operations. However, it must be questioned how many operators could sit down and work their way through the 27 conditions and the required responses. The solution? Stop overloading operators with images. One operator; one screen. They can decide how many images to put on that one screen and the remaining screens should be turned off to avoid any distraction. Then, let’s start focusing on interpreting the images correctly.

Alarm management

“[Stuff happens] whether you set the alarm or not.”12

Many of us wake to alarms with a snooze feature. We set the alarm for a theoretical wake up time; that is the optimum based upon our schedule. Then the alarm goes off and we will continue to hit the snooze button. We ignore the alarm until the last possible moment. It is not just clock alarms; we are a society surrounded by so many alarms, warnings, hazards and notices that in some cases they are not even a distraction anymore. Consider the beeping sound airport carts make as they wind through crowded terminals. The cart operators have completely blocked out the sound for the sake of their own sanity and most frequent fliers are doing the same thing.

Are operators managing alarms and alerts or are they operating the plant? Some will argue this is a false choice because the operation of a plant necessarily requires managing alarms and alerts. And they would be correct if acknowledging an alarm was accompanied by more than resetting a condition that caused the alarm in the first place. Is the alarm condition a unique event or is it a recurring phenomenon? Does the operator expect that particular alarm

Figure 1. Temperature of the gas and material in the rotary cement kiln (diagram).10


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