·        4 Lane Knowledge Bridge to the End User

·        Asian Market for Stationary and Mobile Catalytic System Revenues to Approach $12 Billion this Year

·        GDP Update headlines – April 2013

·        Chemical Industry Headlines – April 2013

·        Oil & Gas Update Headlines – April 2013

·        Industrial Boiler Update Headlines - April 2013

·        Cement Insights #8

4 Lane Knowledge Bridge to the End User
 

Other excerpts in this issue of Insights relate to the other vehicles on the knowledge bridge.  You can receive a copy of Thermal/Catalytic Insights every two weeks free-of-charge by registering at: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/Free_Newsletter_Registration_Form.htm.

Asian Market for Stationary and Mobile Catalytic System Revenues to Approach $12 Billion this Year

Asia is now the leading purchaser of catalytic and thermal air treatment systems for mobile and stationary sources.  Purchases this year will be just under $12 billion. This is the latest forecast in Thermal/Catalytic World Air Pollution Markets published by the McIlvaine Company.  (www.mcilvainecompany.com)

Stationary system sales in Asia will be small compared to the mobile.

Stationary Thermal/Catalytic Revenues ($ Millions) Asia

The larger international companies are able to participate in this Asian market. Some of the smaller companies are merging to give them the size to pursue all the world markets.

CECO Environmental Corp. is acquiring Met-Pro Corporation. The combined companies offer a complete range of stationary air pollution control equipment. Met-Pro is a global, niche-oriented provider of product recovery, pollution control, fluid handling and filtration solutions across multiple diversified end markets.

Much of the petrochemical expansion is in Asia.  Johnson Matthey has developed a new low cost, base-metal Halocat^TM SC29 Catalyst specifically designed to reduce up to 99 percent of VOC and toxic organic compounds from PTA (purified terephthalic acid) manufacturing plants.

Mobile catalytic sales in Asia this year will be in excess of $11 billion. More than 50 percent of the world’s automobile production is in Asia, but the potential for growth is very large. Vehicle penetration in China still stands at only about 40 vehicles per 1,000 people, compared with approximately 700 vehicles per 1,000 people in the mature markets of the G7.

Mobile Catalytic Sales ($ Millions) Asia

The replacement catalytic sales in Asia are relatively small compared to the U.S. and Europe.  The reason is that the numbers of vehicles already on the road compared to new production is lower than on the other two continents.

For more information on Thermal/Catalytic World Air Pollution Markets, click on:

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GDP UPDATE 

May 2013 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

AMERICAS

United States

Mexico

ASIA

India

Taiwan

EUROPE / AFRICA / MIDDLE EAST

Czech Republic

France

Latvia

Lithuania

Slovenia

Spain  

AMERICAS

United States

The recently released gross domestic product quarterly report shows a sluggish but improved economy. Markets responded with a day that saw little change in value. 

The advance estimate of real GDP expanded at a seasonally-adjusted annualized rate of 2.5%, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, falling short of analysts’ expectations of 3%, but much improved over the previous quarter’s 0.4% growth. GDP measures the nation's total output of goods and services. The Commerce Department will release an adjusted first quarter report on May 30. 

BBVA Compass, a financial services firm, estimated a first quarter GDP growth of 2.3 or 2.4%. “We are more pessimistic than the majority of analysts,” Kim Fraser, an economist at BBVA Compass, said. “Personal consumption and employment were strong in January and February, but slowed dramatically in March. Employment was down drastically,” she said. 

The increase in the first quarter was due to rises in personal consumption, business inventory, equipment and software, and housing investment, according to the Commerce Department’s report.

“Consumption was stronger than expected, and housing was a strong mover,” Fraser said. 

Imports increased, which resulted in a lower GDP, but economists like Fraser see an upside to this. “Imports may be an encouraging sign,” she said, referencing the fact that they indicate an increase in consumer spending. 

Another factor responsible for lower than expected GDP growth was a decrease in spending by local, state and federal governments.

Most of the effects of sequestration, the drastic across the board cuts to federal spending, have yet to be felt in the economy, but defense spending declined 11.5%, which kept the first quarter GDP growth from reaching 3%, according to BMO Capital Markets Senior Economist Sal Guatieri. “Federal defense spending carved 0.6 percentage points from growth,” he wrote in a report. 

Both Fraser and Guatieri believe the sequestration cuts will have more of an effect in the second quarter. Despite this, Guatieri predicted, “While sequestration will slow GDP in Q2, we still expect growth to top 3% in the second half of the year amid improved household finances, pent-up demand for autos, and the long-running housing market recovery.”

Mexico

The outlook for economic growth and inflation in Latin America's second-largest economy this year has deteriorated among private-sector economists, according to a Bank of Mexico survey.

Analysts see the country's economy expanding 3.35% in 2013, according to the average estimate of the central bank's April survey, down from the 3.46% expected in the previous month's poll.

Mexico's annual inflation is seen rising 3.9% this year, up from the previous estimate of 3.75%. Thirty-three local and foreign banks and consultancy firms responded to the April survey.

The central bank's survey showed economists maintain a glum view of Mexico's growth as sluggish global demand, particularly in the U.S., is already affecting Mexico's export engine.

The government itself sees first-quarter GDP growth slowing to an annual rate of 1%, the lowest since the recession of 2009, with an economic recovery expected to happen in the second half of the year.

Price worries have recently increased in Mexico after 12-month inflation rose to 4.72% in the first half of April, the highest level in seven months. The central bank has said it is a temporary uptick caused by volatile agricultural prices.

Lower growth and higher inflation led Mexico's central bank to stand pat on rates in its last policy meeting in late April, keeping a neutral tone. The bank already cut the key overnight interest rate by 50 basis points to 4% in its March decision.

ASIA 

India

Projecting a modest pick-up in economic activity in the coming months, Reserve Bank today pegged GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth rate for the current fiscal year at 5.7%, significantly lower than the Finance Ministry's forecast of 6.1 to 6.7%.  

"The Reserve Bank's baseline projection of GDP growth for 2013-14 is 5.7%. The bank's current assessment is that activity will remain subdued during the first half of this year with a modest pick-up in the second half, subject to appropriate conditions ensuing," RBI said in its annual monetary policy review for 2013-14.

India's economy grew by 5% in the last fiscal year, lowest in a decade, because of poor performance of manufacturing, agriculture and services sector.

The RBI's current fiscal year's growth estimate of 5.7% is much lower than the finance ministry's growth projection of 6.1-6.7% and Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council's growth projection of 6.4% for 2013-14.  

It is also lower than the World Bank's growth projection, which predicted the Indian economy to grow by 6.1% in 2013-14 on account of robust domestic demand, strong savings and investment rate.  

Not happy with RBI's growth projection, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia had described its outlook as 'pessimistic'.  

"Reserve Bank is clearly more pessimistic than the government is. I think that the government forecast as of now is feasible. Critically what matters is, how effective we are in restoring the momentum of investment in the large projects", the Plan panel deputy chief said.

The Reserve Bank today cut the key interest rate by just 0.25% to 7.25% and kept the liquidity enhancing cash reserve requirement unchanged.

Further, the central bank said it expects inflation to hover broadly around the 5.5% mark in the current fiscal and will deploy "all instruments at command" to bring it down to 5%  by March next year.

Taiwan

Taiwan's economy grew by a much-slower-than-expected 1.54% in the first quarter from a year earlier, badly undershooting a median forecast of 3% as export growth fell short of expectations and private consumption sputtered. 

The figure was well below even the lowest forecast from 11 analysts polled by Reuters, as soft global demand continues to weigh on Asia's trade-reliant economies. 

On a quarterly basis, gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 0.8% from the December quarter, preliminary data showed.

Private consumption growth eased to 0.35% on-year, from 1.55 in the fourth quarter, contributing 0.20 percentage point to GDP growth, while government spending declined 0.52%. 

But investment remained robust, growing 10.64% from 8.97% the previous quarter, contributing 1.65 percentage points. 

Exports increased 4.84%, while imports rose strongly at 6.92%, with net exports dragging growth by 0.26 percentage points. (Imports are subtracted from exports to give the net effect.) 

Reduced government spending cut GDP growth by 0.5 percent to 1.54 percent. 

As demand for Taiwan's exports is expected to pick up following the typically slow first quarter, some analysts saw the weak GDP number as signifying the worst was over for the export-driven economy, sparking a rally in Taiwan stocks and the local currency. Taiwan shares ended up 0.8%, to a more-than-13-month closing high, while the Taiwan dollar rose T$0.128 to T$29.478 to the U.S. dollar in early afternoon trading.

"Most investors believe GDP has hit the bottom in Q1, and will be then ticking up each quarter throughout this year," said Rex Chen, chief investment officer of BNP Paribas's fund management joint venture in Taiwan. 

Frances Cheung, a senior strategist of Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong, said that although exports had contributed slightly to GDP growth, expanded imports had been more significant in reducing it.

"On a more positive note, contributions from exports actually picked up, but imports were even stronger. So it may be a good sign for Q2 growth if those imports are transformed into exports going forward," said Cheung.

Andrew Tsai, an economist at KGI Securities, took a slightly less optimistic view and noted the lack of policy options available to stimulate growth because an interest rate cut by the central bank would not stimulate demand.

\"We may not see a strong rebound until Q3-Q4," he said, adding that the central bank may try to lower the Taiwan dollar's value via heavy selling of the local currency to keep exports competitive against those of South Korea and other Asian rivals.-------------------------------------------------------------------(Remaining text not included in this sample.)

A complete analysis of GDP and Monthly Updates for individual countries are included as part of Thermal/Catalytic World Air Pollution Markets.  For more information, click on:

http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php/component/content/article?id=48#n007

CHEMICAL INDUSTRY UPDATE

 MAY 2013  

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

INDUSTRY NEWS

Asian Companies Emerging as Suppliers of Continent’s Fast Growth Chemical Industry

UK Researchers Devise PE Decomposition Additive

COMPANY NEWS

Mitsui & Celanese Enter Joint Venture to Produce Methanol in U.S.

Solvay, Ineos Reach Merger Agreement for PVC Businesses

Mitsubishi Buys Michigan-based Compounder Comtrex

Mitsubishi Chemical, JNC, and Japan Polychem to Transfer PP Businesses

Evonik and OPX Biotechnologies Signs Development Agreement for Bio-based Chemicals

Dow Chemical’s Venture Targets $1 Billion in Carbon Investments

Chemical Industry Forecasts and Updates are included as part of Thermal/Catalytic World Air Pollution Markets.  For more information, click on:

http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php/component/content/article?id=48#n007

OIL & GAS UPDATE HEADLINES 

April 2013

Detailed project information is available separately under “Oil, Gas and Refining Sales Leads”.

Kinder Morgan to Invest $58 Mln in Louisiana Methanol Storage Facility 

(Investment  Dated:  5/1/2013)

Toyo Engineering Awarded $400 Mln EPC Contract for Egypt Polyethylene Plant 

(Contract  Dated:  5/1/2013)

SNF Oil and Gas to Build Specialty Chemicals Plant in Northeast England 

(Project  Dated:  5/1/2013)

BASF Antwerp Chemicals Complex Contract Goes to Jacobs Engineering 

(Contract  Dated:  5/1/2013)

UOP Selected to Provide C3 Oleflex Process Propylene Tech for China Project 

(Project  Dated:  4/30/2013)

American Chemistry Council Chief Predicts Chemical Manufacturing Boost for West Virginia 

(Article  Dated:  4/30/2013)

Chevron Sees Continued Benefits from Downstream Integration with Refining and Chemicals 

(Article  Dated:  4/30/2013)

Williams Plans to Build Alberta Petchem Plant for up to $900 Mln 

(Project  Dated:  4/30/2013)

Jacobs Engineering to Design Sulfuric Acid Regeneration Plant for Chinese Company  (Contract  Dated:  4/30/2013)

Seoul’s Hanwha Chemical Plans U.S. Ethylene Plant 

(Article  Dated:  4/30/2013)

Pertamina Appoints PTT Global Chemical as Petrochemical Business Partner 

(Project  Dated:  4/30/2013)

Aquatech Awarded Contract by ETHYDCO for Egypt's First Integrated Zero Liquid Discharge Plant  (Contract  Dated:  4/30/2013)

Huntsman Corp Invests $135 Mln in Geismar, Rotterdam MDI Plants 

(Investment  Dated:  4/30/2013)

Saudi Aramco Ready to Extend Leadership to Chemicals 

(Analysis  Dated:  4/29/2013)

Temple Combined Cycle Expansion-Panda Power 

(Project  Dated:  4/15/2013)

Angola Invites Petrovietnam to Bid for Onshore and Offshore Oil Blocks 

(Article  Dated:  4/15/2013)

Asylum Township Combined Cycle-Moxie Energy 

(Project  Dated:  4/15/2013)

Petrobras $3.5 Bln Oil Services Contract Awarded to SBM-Led Group 

(Contract  Dated:  4/12/2013)

SNC-Lavalin Wins HFG Engineering Contract for Statoil's North Sea Gina Krog Field  (Contract  Dated:  4/12/2013)

Ten Year Plan Upgrades Natural Gas Infrastructure in Central and Southern Illinois 

(Article  Dated:  4/12/2013)

Statoil Awarded Fifteen Leases in U.S. Gulf of Mexico 

(Article  Dated:  4/12/2013)

Chiyoda and Consolidated Contractors Establish JV Company to Target Middle East Market  (Article  Dated:  4/12/2013)

Aquatech Awarded Permit to Operate Water Treatment Facility In PA for Shale Gas Producers 

(Permit  Dated:  4/12/2013)

EPA Selects Fracking Industry Peer Review Panel 

(Article  Dated:  4/12/2013)

Russia Combines Fracking with Horizontal Drilling to Revive Soviet Oil Fields 

(Article  Dated:  4/12/2013)

Tokyo Gas to Buy Stake in Texas Shale Gas Project from Quicksilver Resources 

(Purchase  Dated:  4/12/2013)

Use of Private Frack Water Treatment Expanding in Marcellus Shale 

(Overview  Dated:  4/12/2013)

GreenHunter Water has Plans for Frack Water Treatment Facility in West Virginia 

(Project  Dated:  4/11/2013)

ABB Wins $15 Mln MEC Oil and Gas Contract at Ichthys Oil and Gas Field Australia 

(Contract  Dated:  4/11/2013)

Cairn Energy Expects to Participate in Two UK North Sea Field Development Plans 

(Article  Dated:  4/11/2013)

ABB Wins $8.2 Mln E-house Natural Gas Plant Project in Bolivia 

(Project  Dated:  4/11/2013)

Honeywell's UOP Introduces Membrane Element to Improve Natural Gas Processing Capacity 

(Article  Dated:  4/11/2013)

Ivanhoe, SBM Create Alliance for Offshore Heavy Oil Development 

(Article  Dated:  4/11/2013)

EMAS AMC Wins $165 Mln Offshore Pipelay Contract for Aasen Field 

(Contract  Dated:  4/11/2013)

Management of Water Resources Key Issue for Drillers of Niobrara Play in CO 

(Analysis  Dated:  4/11/2013)

LiqTech, FMC Enter Exclusive Agreement for Development of New Water Treatment Systems  (Agreement  Dated:  4/11/2013)

Aker Awarded $850 Mln Moho Nord Subsea Production System Contract Offshore Congo  (Project  Dated:  4/10/2013)

Chevron to Develop $10 Bln Moho Nord Project, Offshore Congo 

(Project  Dated:  4/10/2013)

FMC Technologies Awarded $130 Mln Contract for Offshore Brazil Fields 

(Contract  Dated:  4/10/2013)

Aker Solutions Gets Second Petrobras Deepwater Subsea Tree Call plus New Frame Agreement 

(Agreement  Dated:  4/10/2013)

Punj Lloyd Awarded $57.75 Mln Oil Transmission Line EPC Contract Offshore Saudi Arabia 

(Contract  Dated:  4/10/2013)

Suncor Awards Subsea 7 with $100 Mln SURF Contract Offshore Newfoundland 

(Contract  Dated:  4/10/2013)

Siemens Signs LOI to Power North Sea Ivar Aasen Platform 

(Contract  Dated:  4/10/2013)

White Rose Carbon Capture and Storage Project Wins UK Funding 

(Project  Dated:  4/10/2013)

Global Partners Announces Bakken Pipeline Connection Agreement   

(Agreement  Dated:  4/10/2013)

Gassco Awards Linde Gas German Natural Gas Terminal Contract 

(Contract  Dated:  4/9/2013)

Yukon Issues Draft Regulations for Prospect of Natural Gas Increase in Electricity Generation 

(Article  Dated:  4/9/2013)

Total Presses for Approval of Uganda Crude Export Pipeline 

(Article  Dated:  4/9/2013)

Colonial Pipeline Plans to Expand Network by as much as 600,000 bpd 

(Article  Dated:  4/9/2013)

Sunoco Logistics Launches Open Season for Mariner South Pipeline 

(Project  Dated:  4/9/2013)

Shell, Drax Selected As Preferred Bidders in UK $1.5 Bln CCS Project 

(Project  Dated:  4/9/2013)

Ireland Start-Up Wins U.S. Order for New Technology to Store, Separate and Capture Gases  (Order  Dated:  4/9/2013)

Shell Set to Invest $1 Bln into China Shale Gas Development 

(Article  Dated:  4/9/2013)

MND Grp, Gazprom to Build Gas Storage Unit in Czech Republic 

(Project  Dated:  4/9/2013)

Rangeland Energy Acquires Land in SE New Mexico for Large Crude Oil & Frac Sand Terminal 

(Contract  Dated:  4/8/2013)

Alfa Laval Wins Heat Exchangers Order for Natural Gas Plant in Russia 

(Order  Dated:  4/8/2013)

American Power Wins $900,000 Order to Upgrade and Convert Pumps Used for Hydraulic Fracturing  (Order  Dated:  4/8/2013)

OriginOil and PearlH2O Challenge Halliburton’s Produced Water and Frack Water Cleaning Costs 

(Article  Dated:  4/8/2013)

Enbridge Seeking U.S. Approval to Pipe more Oil to Superior, WI 

(Permit  Dated:  4/5/2013)

Major Resources Services Contractors Benefit from Rapid Growth of Projects in Australia 

(Article  Dated:  4/5/2013)

Emerson Receives Orders Worth $5.8 Mln for Gas-leak Detection Technology 

(Order  Dated:  4/5/2013)

Oklahoma Earthquake Linked to Oil Wastewater Injection into Abandoned Wells 

(Article  Dated:  4/5/2013)

Outlook in Worldwide Pipeline Construction Trends 

(Overview  Dated:  4/5/2013)

These sales leads are part of Oil, Gas, Shale and Refining Markets and Projects and are issued bi-weekly. As a subscriber to Thermal/Catalytic World Air Pollution Markets you receive a 30 percent discount for this service.

For more information on Thermal/Catalytic World Air Pollution Markets, click on:

http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php/component/content/article?id=48#n007.

INDUSTRIAL BOILER UPDATE 

April 2013 

INDUSTRY NEWS

Newmont Experience with 10 Meter Bags Has Been Good

Tri-Mer System Controls Multiple Pollutants

Coverage of Industrial Boilers in the Fabric Filter Newsletter

Coverage of Industrial Boilers in the Scrubber/Adsorber Newsletter

Nationwide has SCR for Industrial Boilers

Council of Industrial Boilers has a Number of Associate Members

Cleaver-Brooks is a Major Supplier of Industrial Boilers

Fluid Bed & Stoker Fired Boiler Operations and Performance Conference - May 20-22, 2013

Detroit Stoker has Lots of Experience with Biomass

PROJECTS

Metso has Order for CHP Plant in Västerås, Sweden

Metso Providing Kuopion Energia in Kuopio, Finland, with Combustor to Burn Pulverized Peat

Metso will supply Jönköping Energi’s Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Plant in Torsvik, Sweden with Biomass Boiler

Metso will Supply PT Cikarang Listiindo in Indonesia with 2 Power Boilers

Metso will Supply Värnamo Energi AB with a Biomass Power Plant

Metso-supplied World’s Largest Biomass Gasification Plant Inaugurated in Finland

Metso to Supply Biomass Power Plant for Vimmerby Energi & Miljö in Sweden for Green Energy Production

Metso to Supply Biomass Power Plant to Bioenergeticheskaya Kompaniya in Russia

Metso to Supply Biomass-Fired Heating Plant for District Heat Production to Savon Voima in Finland

Metso’s Biomass-fired Heating Plant Delivery will increase the Production of Green Energy in Line with Savon Voima’s Strategy

Waupun Replacing Coal-fired Boilers with Gas Turbines

CNIM Selects Metso’s Automation for Waste-to-Energy Plant in Suffolk, UK

Dow to Build Several New Chemical Plants on the U.S. Gulf Coast

Cambria Cogen is one of 20 CFB Combustors Burning Coal Refuse and which may Remove HCl but Increase Mercury

MARKETS

Comparison of Final and Previous Industrial Boiler MACT

60 Universities are still Operating Coal-fired Boilers

Will Industrial Boiler Owners spend $5 Billion or $12 Billion to meet the New Industrial Boiler MACT? – Hot Topic Hour March 21, 2013

Industrial Boilers database is included in the Industrial Emitters service.   For more information, click on:

http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=93extsup1.asp    

·        Pictures and Product Analyses from the Cement Conference in Orlando

·        TDL and FTIR are Options for Cement HCl Measurement

·        Optimization and Automation was a Focus at the Conference

·        Bedeschi was an Exhibitor with Big European Presence

·        Some Cement Show Exhibitors also Displayed at the Biomass Show

·        Many of the New Projects are in Asia

·        New 1Mta Tajikistan Plant to be Commissioned

Pictures and Product Analyses from the Cement Conference in Orlando

McIlvaine interviewed exhibitors, took pictures of people and products, and has now posted this information in the Global Decisions Orchard.  Click on the titles below and then “additional exhibitor information” for the full text and pictures.

·        A TEC America at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Abresist Kalenborn Corporation at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        ADA Environmental Solutions at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Airtech Environmental Services, Inc. at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Apex Instruments at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        California Analytical Instruments (CAI) at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Christian Pfeiffer America at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Claudius Peters (Americas) Inc. at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Continental Construction Company, Inc. at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Control Analytics at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        DALOG GmbH at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Diamond Power at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        DURAG at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Dustex at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Dynamis at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        EnviroCare International, Inc. at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        FCT, Inc. at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Fives FCB at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        GE Power & Water at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        H2E, Inc. at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Howden Covent Fans, Inc. at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Lhoist North America at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Loesche America, Inc. at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        LTB America at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Materials Handling Equipment Company at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Merrick Industries, Inc. at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        METCO Environmental at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        MKS Instruments at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Muhlen Sohn Industries, LP at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Natronx at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Onsite Energy at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        PANalytical at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        PCME, Ltd. at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Pentair Environmental Systems at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Promecon USA at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Redecam US, LLC at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        SABIA at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        SICK MAIHAK at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Siemens at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        The Avogadro Group, LLC at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        ThermoFisher Scientific at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        ThyssenKrupp Polysius AG at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        TLT-Babcock at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Trinity Services, Inc. at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        UNiCAST at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2013

·        Ventilatorenfabrik Oelde (Venti Oelde) at IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement   Conference 2013

TDL and FTIR are Options for Cement HCl Measurement

The cement industry will be challenged to measure HCl along with a number of other pollutants. Tunable diode lasers (TDL) and FTIR are the methodologies which were on display at the conference. Control Analytics is selling the NORS TDL. Cemtek is selling Unisearch TDL for NH₃ and HF. Two of the eight moniroeinf exhibitors were primarily instrument aggregators. Sick is an aggregator and has its own TDL. A number of instrument competitors were exhibitors.

A Trinity Consultants analysis said CEMS were available to meet the Cement NESHAP. The paper listed both sorbent traps and dilution extractive gas monitors for Mercury. For HCl both TDL and FTIR were generally considered successful. “TDL is often judged to be the furthest along in development and it is the most likely to be acceptable under developing EPA requirements. HCl CEMS requirements are in the early stages of development and they are likely to change significantly as more reliable information is made available. Compliance with current draft EPA performance specifications for HCl has not been able to be determined as issues with spiking, calibration and limitation of detection (LOD) remains a concern for all parties involved.” There are a number of prototype instruments presently being tested with the purpose of improving performance on low level HCl concentrations.

Optimization and Automation was a Focus at the Conference

There were a number of exhibitors and some papers dealing with automation and optimization of cement processes. Here is an abstract of one of the optimization papers.

Thomas MARX, ABB, Switzerland

ABSTRACT:

The optimum quantitative addition of gypsum to clinker prior to cement grinding is an optimization opportunity for cement manufacturing, which has not yet been extensively used. Near Infra-Red identifies complex chemical molecular structures of minerals. The drawback of this method is that it measures on the material surface only. Since the gypsum additive is statistically homogeneous, it is a suitable material for Near Infra-Red online analysis.

This paper presents calibration results of SO₃ in gypsum. It also describes how this analysis can be used as input to an optimization algorithm software suite, which is based on model predictive control to arrive at an optimum cement quality within complex plant and cement type specific constraints. This optimization software solution implements closed loop quality control at the minimum overall production costs.

Bedeschi was an Exhibitor with Big European Presence

Bedeshi exhibited its bulk handling equipment at the show. The company is based in Italy and works in cement plants around the world.  A subsidiary CTP Tean Srl specializes in dust control. In Turkey, it has been converting precipitators to fabric filters as well as installing fabric filters in new plants.

Some Cement Show Exhibitors also Displayed at the Biomass Show

Another exhibit in April focused on biomass combustion. There is more interest in alternative fuels such as biomass in the cement industry. So there is shared air pollution control technology for the two processes. Here are exhibitors of fabric filters and bags at the two conferences:

Fabric Filter Exhibitors at Cement and Biomass Shows in April

It is interesting that two offshore companies (Scheuch and LTB) were exhibitors in both U.S. shows.  

Many of the New Projects are in Asia

A number of new cement plants are underway. Many are in Asian countries:

Cimentos da Bahia S.A. (Recife, Brazil) Cimentos da Bahia is releasing long-lead equipment bids for a new cement plant to be constructed in northern Brazil. The facility will be located in the city of Paripiranga, 310 kilometers from Salvador, Bahia's state capital.

Secil Lobito, Angola– Companhia de Cimento do Lobito plans to invest 18 billion kwanzas (US$187 million) in a new cement plant in Lobito, with capacity to produce 1.2 million tons of cement per year, the company’s chief executive, Augusto Manuel Miragaia said Wednesday in Luanda.

The new plant will be built just 200 metres from the current Secil Lobito plant, the CEO said at the end of a meeting at the Industry Ministry. Saying that he did not know when the new cement plant would start to be built, Miragaia said that the currently operational unit had a production capacity of 400,000 tons per year.

According to Angolan news agency Angop, Augusto Manuel Miragaia also said that Angola’s cement industry was wasting around 30 to 40 percent of its production capacity due to strong competition from imported cement, after the management of the cement companies operating in Angola concluded that the usage rate of equipment currently stands at between 60 and 70 percent.

“Imported cement arrives here at very competitive prices and is forcing national industry to reduce its prices, which practically happens every two months,” noted Miragaia adding that Secil Lobito was affected, as well as by competition from imported cement, by a downturn in the market since the beginning of 2013.

New 1Mta Tajikistan Plant to be Commissioned

A new 1Mta cement plant is expected to be commissioned in the second half of this year in southern Tajikistan.

According to the Ministry of Energy and Industries (MoEI) Secretariat, Tajikistan-China joint venture, Huaxin Gayur Cement Co, Ltd, is constructing this plant with capacity of in the Yovon district. Plant construction began on 15 September 2011 and is now nearing completion, according to reports by Asia Plus.

Currently there are five cement plants operational in Tajikistan with a combined cement capacity of 1.3Mta. The largest producer is the 1.1Mta state plant of Tajikcement at Dushanbe, which has four 600tpa kilns and two 300tpa lines. However, according to local press reports this plant has not been operational since the start of this year due to a lack of natural gas supplies.

Actual production, which in 2012 was expected to have reached 0.25Mt, falls well short of current demand levels of 0.82Mt. Imports continue to play an important role in meeting the shortfall. However, the Tajik government has attracted foreign investment to expand its cement production base, and eight new projects are now in the pipeline.

Texas Industries, New Braunfels On April 18, 2013 Texas Industries hosted an Investor Day Conference in Austin, Texas. In recognition of the newly-constructed kiln at its Hunter Cement Plant near New Braunfels, TXI has invited investors, analysts and others to participate in the event next week.

"We believe the Central Texas market will experience strong growth over the long-term, and we are pleased to have the plant coming online at this time," stated Mel Brekhus, President and CEO. "We are excited to have this opportunity to showcase the new production line, which increases our capacity by 1.4 million tons."

Medcem Madencilik, Turkey Loesche is to supply grinding technology to Medcem Madencilik ve Yapi Malzemeleri Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S.’s Silifke cement plant in Turkey. The plant will be located in southern Turkey, around 100 km west of Mersin. It will be the largest cement plant in the country, with a capacity of 10 000 tpd.

Loesche will supply the plant with six vertical roller mills. An LM 41.4 D with a 1250 kW motor will be provided for coal grinding. This VRM has a capacity of 75 tph at a product fineness of 8% R DIN 0.09 mm. Two LM 56.6 VRMs will be used for grinding cement raw material, each at a product rate of 420 tph at a fineness of 12% R DIN 0.09 mm. The two mills will be equipped with 4600 kW drives. Finally, three LM 56.3+3 mills will carry out clinker grinding. Each VRM will produce 210 tph of OPC at 3200 Blaine and 250 tph of PPC at 5500 Blaine. The LM 56.3+3 mills will be driven by 5300 kW motors.

Loesche’s scope of supply includes the discharge device of the mill pre-bunker and its corresponding dosing technology, parts of the mill circulation system, dedusting filters and fans, in addition to components of the product transportation and special electrical components. It will also offer basic engineering for the three grinding plants, as well as mounting services and commissioning supervision. Delivery is scheduled for 2014.

CTEM, Sierra Leone. Albrecht Olivier, the General Manager of CTCEM made it clear in a public disclosure that a fifty million dollar budget that has been slated for the establishment of both the manufacturing and packaging sites at Cline Town and Wellington Industrial Estate respectively.
Ahead of the establishment of CTCEM manufacturing and packaging company, Environmental and Social Impact Assessment has already been undertaken by Sierra Leone’s engineering company; CEMMATS, who was independently contracted by CTCEM to meet the benchmark required for establishing a manufacturing company in the country.

Holcim Weston, New Zealand. A new $400 million cement plant near Weston and cement-handling facilities at Timaru's port remain in limbo because of ongoing uncertainty in the global economy and a flat demand for cement.

Holcim (New Zealand) Ltd has resource consents to build the plant and port facilities, but its parent company in Switzerland has delayed giving approval.

Holcim's New Zealand chairman, John Lindsay, and managing director, Jeremy Smith, in a recently released review of the 2012 calendar year, said while the project did not gain approval last year, various areas of work continued to ensure the project remained ready should funding become available.

''The company appreciates the uncertainty this generates for staff, communities and other stakeholders. ''However, unfortunately it is an inevitable outcome of the broader economic uncertainty in New Zealand and globally,'' they said.

While the market for cement in New Zealand remained flat or was decreasing in some parts of the country, this had been off-set by the start of the rebuilding in Canterbury after the earthquakes. The higher New Zealand dollar had resulted in increased competition while cost pressures squeezed margins last year.

All these factors had contributed to the company taking a conservative approach to its activities and continuing the focus on reducing the delivered cost of product to the market, cash recovery and customer service.

Its outlook for this year was the construction industry in New Zealand remaining subdued, but with hints of recovery through increases in building consents, particularly in Christchurch. Auckland also looked poised for a gradual recovery.

The Weston plant could employ about 140 people directly and about 170 indirectly in services associated with it.

Holcim, NZ sought approval from its parent company in October 2011, but that was delayed a year. Last year it was delayed again. Once approved, it would take about two years to build and commission the plant.

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