CEMEX Balcones Doubling Production Capacity

 Cement Line CEMEX Balcones Doubling Production Capacity Zachry Construction Assists Plant Expansion in New Braunfels By R. G. Pickard -- Texas Contractor, 6/16/2008 CEMEX' Balcones plant near New Braunfels is nearing completion ofan expansion project begun in January 2007 that will double thefacility's existing production while reducing emissions. Theexpansion is being built by both CEMEX and Zachry ConstructionCorporation of San Antonio. Zachry has been constructing a new cement line with a plannedproduction capacity of 3,850 short tons per day, and allconstruction has had to be accomplished without interfering withthe operation of the existing production line. Plant Features The project included construction of a limestone storage andreclaim facility, a raw mill feed structure, a water cooling towerand air compressor building, a raw mill system, a clinker cooler, acoke/coal mill system, and a cement mill system, all of which wereconstructed by Zachry, as well as silt fencing installed to protectthe environment. Zachry also remodeled the existing control room and completed twooutages in September 2007 and January 2008 to tie new baghousesinto the existing line. The control room was updated with systemsthat will enable CEMEX to operate both production lines from onelocation. The Zachry team installed a new control panel, flooring,ceiling, and walls, and rewired the control room. According to Zachry project manager Andy Power and operationsmanager Dan Pratt, "another challenge has been the small areain which we have to construct the new line. Cement lines arecompact in general, and constructing an addition within an existingoperation means even tighter quarters. We are fortunate to have a30-acre laydown area northeast of the plant. When it became full,the overflow materials were placed at the back of the nearbyquarry." A blending silo and loadout was slip formed by CEMEX subcontractorBorton, with mechanical, structural, electrical and instrumentationwork in the silo being completed by Zachry. Borton also slip formeda preheater tower, which was built with a reinforced concrete framewith a steel interior. The CCC group completed the foundation workfor the tower, and Zachry completed the structural steel workinside the concrete tower frame. As the tower was being slipformed, steel embeds were poured into the structure. As thestructural steel work inside the concrete tower frame rose, thepreheater equipment was installed at the appropriate height. A64-ton Favco tower crane supported the tower throughout theprocess. Preheater equipment included cyclones and a calciner, which werefabricated offsite by KHD and shipped to the site by truck inpieces as large as the trucks could handle. The pieces were thenoffloaded in the laydown yard and assembled on site with the aid oftwo 3900 Manitowoc crawler cranes. KHD also fabricated and suppliedthe ductwork, and the structural steel was fabricated by Qualico. The four main bag houses were supplied and erected by SoliosEnvironmental with the aid of two 2500 Kobelco crawler cranes, andthe kiln was installed by Philips. Additionally, Zachry expandedthe existing limestone storage building by adding a 300-foot-longextension and installing a new reclaimer and conveying system. A new double track 200-plus car capacity railroad, which requiredapproximately 17,000 linear feet of rail, was laid by CEMEXsubcontractor Track Works and completed in April. Dirt and ballastwork for the new railroad was completed by Zachry, which requiredexcavation of approximately 480,000 cubic yards of dirt and theaddition of approximately 45,000 tons of ballast. The surface area of the new production line is fairly small, butthe structures are quite tall. This project required nine cranes,and precise civil, structural, electrical and mechanical work wasespecially critical. Additional equipment required included four75-ton Grove pickers where needed, two 15-ton Galion pickers asneeded, and various excavators and haul trucks. The concrete used on the project was supplied by Ingram Readymixmade with CEMEX cement produced on the existing production line atBalcones. Rebar was supplied by Capitol City Steel with structuralsteel being supplied by Qualico. Gravel and ballast for therailroad were supplied by CEMEX. Zachry Construction supplied pipefrom Turner Industries, as well as civil components and bulks forall the crafts. CEMEX supplied all required equipment, which wasmanufactured by Loeshe, IKN, KHD, and Solios. Safety First Safety was and is the first priority of CEMEX and ZachryConstruction. Standard safety procedures are in place at this jobsite, and with the help of the CEMEX expansion management team, thesafety program has a recordable incident rate on site of 0.66 basedon 1.8 million work hours completed through April 27. Because a lot of the work on this project is elevated, managementhas instituted a 100-percent fall protection (tie off) policy tohelp keep employees safe. Safety management is headed by adedicated CEMEX and Zachry safety team whose sole job is to ensurethat all safety procedures are being followed and all employees areproperly trained and equipped to safely perform their duties. Thesite has daily safety meetings where the crew completes Safety TaskAssignments (STAs), which help employees to recognize all possiblehazards associated with a task and then either eliminate thosehazards or implement controls for their protection. A site safetymeeting is held once a month wherein a "Crew of theMonth" is chosen and rewarded based largely on safetyperformance. Efficient Technology Once the production line is operating, emissions will not increaseeven though the capacity is being doubled, according to CEMEXmanagement. "This is being accomplished because of CEMEX'swillingness to invest in the newest and best technology available.As a result, the Balcones site will be one of the most efficientand productive cement plants in the country, and will be operatedin the most responsible and environmentally conscientious mannerpossible. Specific energy usage will go down, dust emissions willbe reduced, and all emission controls will be greatlyenhanced." To increase efficiency, CEMEX replaced the dust collectionequipment in the existing kiln line and installed state-of-the-arttechnology to continue to protect the environment. The old kiln andcooler had an electrostatic precipitator and a gravel bed filter,but were upgraded with new fabric filter dust collectors made bySolios Environmental of Canada. Additionally, new and improved NOx control technology capable ofburning 100-percent pet coke and a modern automation systemproduced by FLS Automation of Bethlehem, Pa., were installed in theexisting kiln. The same technology, which was applied to upgradethe existing production line, is also being installed in the newproduction line. A tubular calciner was chosen as the most efficient method toaddress carbon monoxide reduction. The tubular calciner allows alengthy retention time and provides thorough mixing capability.Additionally, the inherent cleansing effect of the pre-heater andthe inline raw mill are key elements in the reduction of sulfurdioxide emissions. Aggressive Scheduling The expansion had to be completed in a very small area on a veryaggressive schedule, all of which required careful organization,planning, scheduling and collaboration by everyone working on theproject. Zachry Project Execution Planning Process (also known as"ZPEPP"), Zachry's signature project execution andplanning process, provided a framework to help keep all projectpartners coordinated. Zachry's Andy Power says, "CEMEX is a preeminent force in theproduction of cement, concrete and aggregates, and the Zachry teamis privileged to serve the company. This environmentally friendlyexpansion will enable CEMEX to help meet the growing demand forhigh-quality cement, while meeting CEMEX's priority of conductingits business with respect and care for the environment. We havelearned many lessons from this project and hope to have theopportunity to put them into practice on future jobs withCEMEX." The new production line is expected to be completed and operationalat CEMEX Balcones in the summer of 2008.