Cement Industry - Maihar Cement (birla Gold)

In tr od uc ti on: Maihar Cement is a division of Century Textiles and Industries Ltd, a flagship company of BK Birla Group. The company is well diversified having interest in cement, textiles, rayon, chemicals, pulp and paper. Maihar Cement is situated at Sarlanagar (Maihar) Dist. Satna in the State of Madhya Pradesh with an installed capacity of 3.80 Million TPA.

Maihar is 45

Kms South - East of Satna on Howrah - Mumbai Central Railway Main Line. Maihar is well known for Sharda Devi Temple and Maihar Gharana Music whose proponent was renowned Musician Padma Vibhushan Baba Allaudin Khan.

Devi Sharda (Maihar) Apart from Maihar Cement, company has two more cement plants namely Century Cement at Baikunth, Dist. Raipur in the State of Chhattisgarh with an installed capacity of 1.80 Million TPA and Manikgarh Cement at Gadchandur, Dist. Chandrapur, Maharashtra with an installed capacity of 1.50 Million TPA.

The combined Capacity of all cement plants taken altogether is 7.80

Million TPA. More emphasis is given for production of blended cement which constitutes about 95% of the total cement produced by the company. Plants of Century Textiles & Industries Limited:

Century Cement - Chhattisgarh

Maihar Cement – Madhya Pradesh Manikgarh Cement – Maharashtra

Units

Figures in Million TPA 2008-09

Century Cement

2.1

Maihar Cement

3.8

Manikgarh Cement

1.9

Total

7.8

The capacity enhancement to 7.80 Million TPA is under implementation by carrying out modification, up gradation and debottlenecking of existing plant & machinery and equipments, which is likely to be completed by Oct-Dec

2007 Quarter. All cement plants are equipped with captive power plants, which not only ensure an uninterrupted power supply, but also help company substantially on power cost, as the own generated power is quite economical as compared to grid power. The company sells its cement under its premium brand name - BIRLA GOLD.

Capti ve Mine s: Maihar Cement has its own Captive Mines with rich limestone reserves at Bhadanpur just 7 Kms from the plant. Mines' working is fully mechanized and an overland belt conveyor of 7 kms passing through hilly terrain transports limestone from mines to plant.

The aesthetic view of the

surrounding area has been maintained by afforestation of the mining area and also by creating water reservoir in the excavated area.

A Panoramic view of Mines

Capti ve P owe r Pl ant: To meet the need of the hour and in order to reduce the cost of production, so as to be competitive, Maihar Cement has installed its own Captive

Thermal Power Plant and the total installed capacity is 35 MW which is helpful in uninterrupted running of the plants on sustainable basis.

Power Plant View

Lo gisti cs: Strategic location of the plant, connected with NH-7 puts Maihar Cement in a very advantageous position so far as logistics is concerned. The Plant is well connected by Road with all the major marketing centers. Being situated on Mumbai - Howrah (via Allahabad) main Railway Line, it is also well connected with all the States in East & North East.

Rail Lines

Maihar Cement is pioneer in producing Blended Cement i.e. Portland Pozzolana Cement. The motivation for the production of blended cement has been

primarily

environment.

with

the

aim

of

preserving

limestone

reserves

and

Adv anta ges: •

Low Heat of hydration resulting in resistance to cracking.

•

Resistance to corrosive water and chemical attacks and thereby longer life to steel/iron structure underneath.

•

High degree of impermeability and workability for the concrete mix.

•

Higher ultimate strength at longer duration

•

Higher degree of fineness, resulting in -

•

-

Complete chemical reaction

-

Easy workability

-

Increased plasticity

Reduced Alkali aggregate reaction as also free lime expansion and thereby resistance to cracking.

•

Lower drying shrinkage and low leaching value.

PPC can be used for any type of construction which earlier had been the forte of OPC. However due to it's special attributes, it's use is rather imperative for the following construction works.

Us es: •

Hydraulic Structures

•

Mass Concreting Works

•

Marine Structures

•

Masonry Mortars and Plastering

•

Under aggressive Conditions

The basic raw material in the production of cement is Limestone.

The

Limestone ore as obtained from the Mines is fed to the Raw Mills after first crushing it to acceptable size. Certain additives such as Laterite, Bauxite,

High Grade Limestone(Sweetener) etc. are also introduced alongwith Limestone into the Raw Mills as applicable. In the Raw Mills, the above inputs are reduced to a particular fineness.

The output of the Raw Mills, called

'Raw Meal' is then burnt in the Kiln and then cooled to produce Clinker. The fuel used for burning of limestone is powdered coal produced from the coal Mill. The Clinker is thereupon fed into Cement Mill & pulverized along with Gypsum to yield the basic cement. A certain proportion of Clinker in the production of cement is replaced by Fly ash to produce PPC.

Process in Nutshell Scenic View of Our Uniqueness: 1.

Limestone excavated from Mines is transported through Dumpers and fed to crushers wherein it is reduced from above 850 mm to 80 mm size.

2.

Environmental friendly Conveyor belts transport the limestone from the Crusher to the Plant Site over a distance of 7 kms.

3.

Scientifically designed Stackers provide for stacking of the limestones received from the mines in circular / longitudinal stock piles. Use of Reclaimers ensures consistency in quality.

4.

State of the Art Vertical Roller Mill grinds Limestone feed form called Raw Meal.

to powdered

5.

Most advanced Coal Mill pulverizes the coal to be injected into Kiln for burning of Raw Meal.

6.

Rotary Kiln provides for Clinkerisation where in Raw Meal fed from VRM is first burnt to melting (1400 C) & then cooled to 100 - 120 C by means of coolers immediately outside the Kiln to produce Clinker.

7.

Close Circuit Cement Mill ensures high quality grinding of clinker, gypsum and Pozzolana to yield best possible uniformity of the cement particles.

8.

Centralized Control Room monitoring the manufacturing process through computers.

Consistency and accuracy in the packing of bags by electronic packing machines: Packing Plant is equipped with computer controlled electronic packers, which ensure that cement bags are packed and sealed to 50 kg of cement each accurately. Manual check is also carried out at random to monitor computer accuracy and introduce correction as applicable.

Pac kin g & Dis pa tch :

Loading of bags in the wagon/trucks is carried out automatically by means of wagon / truck loading machines, equipped with Electronic Loading Counters which accurately keep count of the Number of bags being loaded.

Efficient logistic & transportation network ensures prompt delivery of materials to the customers.

Env ironm ental Mana gem ent System: Right from inception, great emphasis has been laid at Maihar Cement on maintaining ecological balance and environmental preservation so as to provide

green,

healthy

and

pollution

free

environment.

Continuous

monitoring of various Pollution Control equipments are done round the clock to maintain emission levels much below the norms specified by State Pollution Control Board. Measure s Taken T oward s a Cle aner En vi ronm ent

•

Installation of highly efficient Pollution Control Equipments viz., ESPs, Bag Houses and Pulse Jet Dust Collectors at every dust generating point in the Plant.

•

Regular monitoring of all stacks and ambient air quality.

•

Proper treatment of domestic affluent generated from residential colony in Oxidation Ponds and use of treated water for plantation purposes.

•

Massive efforts for plantation of various species of trees for ecological up-gradation.

View of Greenaries in Plant Area

To control fugitive emission, following additional steps have been taken: • Covering of Conveyor belts transporting various process materials •

All raw materials are stored in covered gantry.

•

Water sprinklers have been provided on the roads to check fugitive emission generated due to movement of vehicles

•

Concretization of roads and floors inside the Plant

•

The Fly Ash generated from Thermal Power Plant is used as an additive for manufacture of PPC.

The Plant maintains perfect harmony with environment through effective pollution control measures in respect of air, water, land and noise level. All efforts are made to curb pollution at grass root level.

En viron ment Po licy

We at Maihar Cement are fully conscious of the environmental impacts of our activities. We also realize the need for minimizing the impacts, towards preservation of environment in keeping with the image of BK Birla Group of companies as a socially responsible organization.

We, therefore, c om mit oursel ves to: • Prevention of pollution incidental to Plant operations •

Adopting clean technology and eco-friendly processes in the Plant

•

Compliance with all applicable legal and statutory requirements

•

Conservation of natural resources

•

Reduction in waste generation.

•

Awareness amongst employees and business associates.

•

Continual improvement in environmental performance by effective implementation

The pl ant ha s been a ccredit ed with I S / IS O 1400 1 Env iron ment al Man age ment S ys tem Certific ati on .

TREES ARE TREATE

D OUR B EST FRIEND

Every year tree plantation is undertaken in a planned manner on a massive scale. As a result the barren land acquired by the Company looks like green land today with different varieties of trees, gardens, lawns, fountains, flora and fauna. The plant presents a wonderful balance between concrete and ecology with smokeless chimneys and lush greenery all around. Number of Trees surviving as on date is 1058840.

Clean De velo pm ent Mec hani sm: Cement Industry is highly energy intensive and leads to generation of CO2 during clinkerisation process due to calcinations of limestone and combustion of fossil fuel inside the Kiln. CO2 is a Green House Gas (GHG) which leads to depletion of ozone layer above earth's atmosphere causing health hazard for all living beings. Maihar Cement is actively engaged in reduction of GHG emissions and has undertaken CDM projects. The project activities consist of an increase in % addition of fly ash in Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC) as well as an increase in the proportion of PPC in the over all product mix. This leads to reduction in usage of clinker in cement production which in turn contributes to reduction in GHG emissions.

At Maihar Cement, proportion of Blended Cement has been gradually enhanced over the last few years and today total cement production comprises of Blended Cement only. The project activity contributes to sustainable development at Regional, National and Global levels in the following ways. •

Reduction of GHG emissions - by way of reduction in clinker usage in cement production as explained above;

•

Industrial Waste Utilization - Fly Ash Handling and disposal not only involves extra cost for Thermal Power Plant (TPP) but also leads to land and air pollution as well as water contamination at fly ash ponds / land fills. Hence the project indirectly helps TPP in cost reduction and pollution abatement.

It also leads to reduction in specific energy

consumption for cement manufacture and positively contributes to conservation of coal which is a valuable renewable natural resource. Reduced usage of clinker in cement manufacture also means reduction in mining / extraction of limestone and its associated fugitive dust emission, loss of bio-diversity etc. Therefore the CDM project related activity has excellent environmental benefits in terms of reduction of carbon emissions, conservation of natural resources like limestone and coal, decreased environmental degradation and enhanced waste utilization.

Energ y Conserv at ion: All out efforts are made at every level to achieve the highest level of efficiency in managing and conserving energy resources. This includes involvement of both financial and human resources coupled with technological upgradation. Following measures have been taken at Maihar Cement for conservation of electrical and thermal energy: •

Upgradation of Kilns by installation of LP cyclones and upgradation of pre-heater section and CIS MFR system on Clinker Grate Cooler;

•

Close circuiting of Raw Mills and Cement Mills by installation of High efficiency Classifiers;

•

Installation of pre-grinder in conjunction with close circuit Cement Mills for capacity upgradation and reduction of specific power consumption;

•

Replacement of pneumatic conveying system of Raw meal and cement by Mechanical handling system

•

Incorporation of VVVF drives;

•

Replacement of low efficiency fan impellers by high efficiency Impellers;

•

Optimization of Raw Mills and Cement Mills by upgradation of internals and grinding media charge;

•

Dry Fly Ash storage and handling system has been installed at Cement Mill.

•

Installation of high efficiency dynamic separators for Coal Mills in place of static Grit separators for power saving and better residue control

•

Process automation with DCS and Fuzzy logic control