Udayapur Cement Industries Ltd.

1.1 Portland cement

The process of manufacturing Portland cement has passed through various stages of development since prototype of today’s Portland cement was invented by Joseph Aspdin in 1824. The furnace used by him was a dome kiln of approximately 11m in height and 5m in diameter with a production of approximately 15tons per charge. It took several days to produce each charge. To meet growing demand in the following years, long wet and dry process kilns were installed. Later on, these kilns gave rise to suspension preheater kilns and then in early seventies to precalcination technology. These developments have finally resulted in more production capacity for the same volume of kiln. With preheater kilns, the capacities couldn’t be reached beyond 4500 t/d, owing to the limitations of higher thermal load in the burning zone. Precalciner kilns are now in operation in various countries, producing more than 10,000 t/d of clinker.

The cement manufacturing process is an energy-intensive process. A substantial amount of thermal energy is needed in its processing and electrical energy is considerable consumed in the grinding of raw materials and clinker. The cost of thermal and electrical energy alone accounts for the major cost of cement production. The production of one ton of cement clinker requires the combustion of about 80-90 liters of heavy oil or 80-100 cubic meters of natural gas or 130-150 kilograms of coal. An average electric energy consumption for one ton of cement produced in a suspension preheater/precalciner kiln is 100-105 kWh, though power ranging from 80 to 85 and even 70 kWh is possible with the latest efficient equipment and machinery. A specific fuel consumption of 680-700 kcal/kg of clinker is being achieved as against 1400-1500 kcal/kg of clinker in the earlier wet kilns.

Cement industry is a dynamic industry and the entire manufacturing process is undergoing highly technology advancement. The use of pre-grinders, vertical mills, two support kilns having provision of a friction drive in place of gear and pinion drive, 5/6 stage preheater kiln system with efficient pre-calciners and new generation of clinker cooler having heat recuperating efficiency of about 80% or more shall dominate in future.

In the new millennium, a strong trend will undoubtedly be the replacement of conventional fossil fuels by waste materials with residual heat content including hazardous. Also the subject matter of environmental management and the reduction of the amount of CO2 generated per ton of cement by using additives in cement will be intensified. By adopting clean production technology, cement plants hitherto considered as dirty and difficult would be acknowledge as clean and comfortable in the years to come.

1.1.1 Manufacturing Process

The manufacturing of Portland cement starts with the mining or quarrying of the raw materials. To reduce raw mix variations, the larger size materials received at the plant are crushed, homogenized and ground to secure a uniform bled for proper reaction. An intimate mixture usually of limestone and clay or other suitable materials is sintered in a kiln at a temperature of 1450-1500 degree centigrade for a certain time. Pulverized coal, fuel oil or natural gas along or in combination with waste derived fuel is introduced in its front end for combustion. This product called clinker after cooling ground with 4-6% of gypsum or other form of calcium sulphate. Some specifications allow the addition of other materials during grinding of clinker. The cement is then stored in silos for shipment in bags or in bulk.

1.1.2 Process automation

Process automation has been achieved by combining traditional engineering skills with technological innovation. Reliable control programs have been developed which offer comprehensive plant – wide control of cement manufacturing operation such as quarrying, grinding , kiln operations, dispatch and production scheduling etc. PLC installed monitors the measured values as well as those of closed –loop control. Standard software packages are available for the control of variable of technological process.

Advances in computer technology have greatly enhanced the scope and performance of expert systems. The controllers, indicator and recorders of process variables and CCTV monitors the clinker production and reduces the burden of operators while guaranteeing economical production and the quality of the final product. Such systems have resulted in significant improvements in kiln stability, fuel efficiency, and clinker quality and production quantity.

An on- line X-ray fluorescence spectrometer with automatic sampling and transporting system from various stages of manufacturing guarantees continuous testing of the kiln feed and thus ensuring smooth pyro processing of clinker in the kiln. In the recent years, a concept of very extensive automation by installing a central robot has emerged and is being adopted to ensure a consistent quality control over the entire process of cement manufacturing.

Needless to say, the best equipment in the world will not perform like the best unless the persons in charge of operating them know what they are doing. Automation also need a lot of training and education to handle the sophisticated system involved. Integrated engineering with common database, standardization and pre-defined modules are being developed for optimum production and engineering planning.

1.2 Cement Production in Nepal

The use of cement in Nepal as binding material came into effect from the beginning of early 1950s. Early users of cement were dependent on imports from India to meet their needs. The history of cement industry in Nepal dates back to 1970 when Himal cement factory established. Later with peaking demand of cement as urbanization was in its initial phase, under financial assistance of Japanese Govt., Udayapur Cement Industries Ltd. was established on 31^st Jestha, 2044 B.S (14^th June 1987 AD).

The OPC or the Ordinary Portland Cement is the only type of cement being produced in Nepal. This is most commonly being used in simple construction like building house etc. It is a fine powder produced by grinding Portland cement clinker (more than 90%), a limited amount of calcium sulfate (which controls the set time) and up to 5% minor constituents (as allowed by various standards). There are three major and largest cement industries in Nepal which produce their own clinker.

1.      Hetauda Cement Industries Ltd., Lamshure, Hetauda

2.      Udayapur Cement Industries Ltd., Jaljale, Udayapur

3.      Shree Maruti Cement Ltd., Mirchaiyaa

1.3 Brief Summary of the industry

Udayapur Cement Industries Ltd. is the government undertaking industries established on 31^st Jestha, 2044 under the companies ACT 2021. The plant was jointly financed by Government of Japan and Government of Nepal. Out of total investment 18.77 Crore Japanese Yen was from OECF Japan grant and rest 44.38 Crore was financed by GoN. The construction work of plant was started on 2046 by Kawasaki Heavy Industry Japan and commercial production was started from Magh 2049 with 277,000 MT of cement per year. The industry is producing high quality Ordinary Portland cement in its brand name ‘Gaida Chap’ and it is currently providing employment opportunities to more than 500 people including local and non-local people.

The plant is located in Jaljale -11, Udayapur, Nepal. It is about 7 KM west from Gaighat which is District Administrative Office of Udaypur and 22 KM north from Mahendra Highway. Again, it is about 225 KM and 125 KM from Birgunj Custom Point and Biratnagar Custom Point respectively. In case of import, the Indian suppliers quote their price inclusive of transportation up to custom point.

The plant location is situated in the area where there are no cement industries in 50 KM surrounding area and meeting local demand is strength. However, the cement produced by the industry is highly demanded by the consumers all over the Nepal. At proposed production capacity i.e. 60% of installed capacity, there is no need incurring any additional marketing cost due to trustworthiness of consumers as well as quality of the cement produced.

The plant location has been set up in the area having adequate basic physical infrastructure such as road, water, electricity and availability of the labor and raw materials.

1.3.1 Brief Information of the company

Locations

Quarry site:                 Sindali, Jalpa-Chilaune VDC, Udayapur district

Plant site:                    Jaljale, Triyuga Municiplity-11, Udayapur district

Objective:                    Production and distribution of OPC cement

Establishment:             2046 B.S/ 1989 A.D

Construction Period:   Bhadra 2046 – Ashwin 2049

                                    Sept. 1989 – Oct. 1992

Commercial Prod. :     Magh, 2049 / Jan. 1993

Inauguration:               2052 B.S / 1995 A.D

Company Reg. No:     164/043/44

Financial Assistance for its establishment

OECF Japan                                        : ¥ 18,770 Million

Equity Share of Govt. of Nepal          : NRs. 450 Million     

Project Implementation

Mode                                                   : Full Turnkey Basis

Consultant                                           : Onoda Engineering & Consulting Company Ltd., Japan

Contractor                                           : Consortium of Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. &

                                                               Tomen Corporation, Japan

Production Capacity per Day

Clinker Production                              : 800 Metric. Tons

Cement Sales                                      : 16,800 Bags

Annual Requirement of Raw Materials

Limestone                                           : 330,000 M.T

Clay                                                     : 57,000 – 82,500 M.T

Silica Sand                                          : up to 21,000 M.T (Currently not in use)

Iron Ore                                              : 4,000 M.T

Gypsum                                               : 10,500 M.T

Sources of Principal Raw Materials and Fuels

Limestone                               : From own mine (located 27 Km away – transported via ropeway)

                                                  Deposits enough for more than 200 years continuous production.

Clay                                         : Own source

Silica Sand                              : Own source

Iron Ore                                  : Import/ Purchase from vendors --------à NRs. 15,000 per M.T

Non-coking coal                      : Import/ Purchase from vendors -------- à NRs. 16,000 per M.T

Gypsum                                   : Import/ Purchase from vendors ---------à NRs. 7,770 per M.T

Furnace Oil/ Diesel                 : Nepal Oil Corporation ------------------à NRs. 1, 00,000 per KL

Cement Bag/ Sag                    : Purchase from vendors as per order ---à NRs. 20 per pcs.

The company has total of 192 hector area of land in plant site and 263.23 Hector area of land in Mines site.