PPC's R3.3bn expansion in Cape

ppc's r3.3bn expansion in cape

cement producer ppc is to spend around r3.3 billion on a new 1.2 million tons a year production facility at its existing riebeeck west plant.

this follows the significant development currently taking place in the western cape and the demand for cement that has rocketed.

annual growth in the western cape has averaged 8.2% over the last five years. currently 94% of cement manufactured in the western cape is utilised within the province.

ppc supplies the majority of the western cape market. presently the company has two cement manufacturing plants in the western cape, namely at ppc de hoek (near piketberg) and ppc riebeeck (near riebeeck west). the existing riebeeck plant currently produces 600 000 tons a year.

in order to meet the western cape’s future demand for cement and thus ensure continued growth and development for the province, ppc urgently needs to increase its current production capacity, documents show.

ninham shand consulting services has been appointed to undertake an eia process for the activities relating to the proposed cement factory and associated infrastructure.

ppc undertook a pre-feasibility study to determine whether ppc de hoek or ppc riebeeck, amongst others, should be selected for future expansion.

the study showed that de hoek’s limestone resources are limited and would not support any additional capacity over its anticipated life span whereas riebeeck had recently added the delectus limestone deposit to its resources and therefore is able to support the proposed capacity expansion.

the factory will consist of the following main components:

• a crushing system to reduce the size of the limestone sent to the factory.

• a raw material stockpile facility which will comprise three stockpile systems - one for limestone, one for coal and one for the remaining ingredients gypsum, sand, shale and furnace dust granules used to make cement.

• a clinker production facility where vertical roller mills will be used to grind the raw materials. in the new plant, the ground raw materials will first be homogenised in the silo before being heated in a multi stage preheater and calciner system that utilises the heat in the kiln exhaust gas. the material will then be converted into clinker in the kiln itself.

• a clinker grinding facility where the clinker will be grinded together with gypsum and extenders such as limestone and slag to produce cement.

the extent of the site required for such a cement manufacturing plant and associated infrastructure is approximately 50 hectares, although the structures themselves will only occupy a portion thereof.

the highest structures are likely to be the preheater tower which is anticipated to be approximately 115m high and the stack for the kiln exhaust gas (supported by the preheater tower) at approximately 120m. the existing factory stack is approximately 70m.

ppc says the crusher technology selected will be more energy efficient than the existing factory crushers and there will be a focus on keeping dust and noise emissions as low as possible.

most existing plants, including ppc riebeeck, use ball mills to grind the raw materials.

these consume a lot of energy and generate noise. if proven feasible, the new plant will use vertical roller mills to grind the raw materials. this technology is more energy efficient, which will result in less electrical power consumption as well as less noise.

the use of a modern preheater and calciner system is expected to substantially increase the energy efficiency of the process. the energy required to produce a bag of cement will be significantly less in the new plant as compared to the existing plant. as with the existing plant, the heat for the kiln will come from burning ground coal.

greater efficiencies in the clinkering process will also mean that the amount of coal used per bag of cement is less than in the existing plant.

the type of filter systems being investigated for the new plant will result in very low dust emissions from the clinker facility, ppc believes.