FCT COMBUSTION NEWSLETTER: MARCH 2021
BURN AFTER READING
Dear Friends,
I write knowing that for many of you, 2020 has been a most difficult year with Covid-19 impacting almost everyone in some way. We feel mostly for those whose health or the health of those close to you has been affected or even worse.
Many others have suffered from the economic fallout brought about by the shutdown of economies. Most others have been impacted somehow from restrictions to our normal lives.
However, there seems to be a turning point now with various vaccines and I believe we are now heading toward normality during 2021.
At FCT, we have been impacted also through travel restrictions and shutdowns, but we have managed to continue to win projects and find the way to deliver for our customers. With operating bases in several countries, we are fortunate to be able to cover most of our markets and their needs.
You will see from our newsletter that our business continues to grow and expand into new regions, and we are thankful for a solid base of customers we continue to work with. 2021 has started with a wave of new orders across the globe that I think signals a return to confidence and the future of the world economy.
I am proud of what FCT has achieved, but even more proud of where we are going with a range of new environmentally based technologies that we feel will have a positive impact on the world in coming years.
We have started to commercialise our expertise and technologies in clay calcination which we believe will become part of mainstream cement production because of its environmental benefits and also because of economic benefit. We continue to work on projects in this arena with many more discussions taking place.
A range of other combustion technologies are in development aimed at reducing emissions further for our customers such as hydrogen combustion and CO2 capture. Environmental impact is an increasingly important phrase for the world’s future.
I should also note that FCT now offers a very comprehensive range of hot gas generators capable of firing all kinds of fuels including lump fuel and alternative fuel, with or without refractory, and delivering whatever volume and temperature a process may require. With applicability in many processes, we see this as a significant part of our future business.
I conclude by wishing everyone a safe and healthy 2021 and trust that by the end of it, the crisis from the Covid 19 pandemic will be over.
Managing Director
FCT International
PROJECTS ACROSS THE GLOBE
RECENTLY COMPLETED OR CURRENTLY ACTIVE PROJECTS ACROSS FCT COMBUSTION INCLUDE:
AUSTRALIA: SIMEC Mining, Whyalla
FCT is participating in the modernisation of the Whyalla Steelworks Green Steel Plant. A CFD Study is now being conducted, to follow the completion of a prefeasibility study on converting a grate-kiln burner from coke oven gas to 100% natural gas, as well as investigating the possibility of using hydrogen as a clean alternative fuel in the plant.
AUSTRALIA: Graymont Charbon, New South Wales
FCT is delivering a new burner system and supporting Graymont to restart its Charbon lime plant in Australia.
AUSTRALIA: Albermarle, Kemerton
FCT is supplying the combustion system and supporting Metso:Outotec for pyro-processing at its Albermarle Kemerton lithium plant in Western Australia, which will be commissioned this year.
BRAZIL: Undisclosed customer
FCT has been awarded a contract to supply a set of 90 burners for an iron ore pelletizing plant. The scope also includes valve trains, flame sensors, igniters, gas analysers, flow meters and various other equipment to convert the kilns to natural gas and improve operational safety.
CAMEROON: Undisclosed client
FCT has been awarded a contract to deliver a complete fuel oil system for a calciner and a hot gas generator, from truck unloading pumps to valve trains inlet. The scope includes tanks, filtering, pumping and heating stations. Delivery is scheduled for 2021.
FRANCE: Ciments Calcia, Couvrot
FCT has delivered a Turbu-Flex™ burner for Ciments Calcia’s Couvrot plant to be installed after the installation of its new calciner. The targets of the project are to maximise the use of alternative fuels as well as improve combustion control. Commissioning is expected for March 2021.
GERMANY: Heidelberg Cement
FCT has been awarded a contract to deliver a Turbu-Flex™ burner for HeidelbergCement’s Burglengenfeld plant to be delivered by July 2021. The targets of the project are to maximise the use of alternative fuels as well as improve combustion control. Commissioning is expected for the second half of 2021.
JAPAN: Sumitomo
FCT is supplying Sumitomo with a Turbu-Jet™ burner and trolley for ferro-nickel reduction application.
MALAYSIA: WK Asia Pacific
FCT will supply WK Asia Pacific with a waste liquid Valve Train.
NAURU: Republic of Nauru Phosphate Corporation (RONPHOS)
RONPHOS has two rotary kilns for drying of phosphate rock, with only one kiln currently in operation. Each kiln has its own hot gas generator (HGG). RONPHOS are seeking to increase phosphate production to 500,000 tpa. There is potential for further production with their main customer requesting 1,500,000 tpa and to this end are currently restoring the second kiln to bring it into operation. Resource indication is 25-30yr mine life. There is the possibility of an additional kiln at later date so the request is for a system which is robust and not likely to go obsolete quickly.
The existing kilns are diesel fired; RONPHOS collects waste oil from the island’s power station, refugee camps and various other sources. The waste oil stock is accumulating. RONPHOS is looking for means to start burning the waste oil.
RONPHOS has requested that FCT provide a combustion system suitable for the existing HGG’s and kilns which will utilise diesel and waste oil with minimal maintenance. The existing burner is obsolete. The request therefore is for 2 burners with spares and a rotable burner spare to allow swap around and burner servicing.
OMAN: Vale, Sohar
FCT will supply a Gyro-Therm™ burner for iron ore pelletizing grate-kiln application, to be installed at Vale’s plant in Sohar, Oman.
RUSSIA: Metalloinvest, Lebedinsky Gok (LGOK)
Lebedinsky GOK is the largest plant for the beneficiation of iron ore in Russia and the CIS, producing high quality iron ore and raw materials. FCT Combustion is supplying 18 I-Jet™ burners, Valve Trains, and Burner Management Systems (BMS) for the natural gas straight grate pellet plant. CFD Modelling was used to optimise and validate burner design, ensuring optimal flame shape and length, as well as fuel consumption.
TURKEY: Deha Industry, Kayseri
FCT has delivered a burner for a new zinc recuperation kiln in Kayseri, Turkey. The main fuel is natural gas. As part of the complete scope, FCT supplied the burner, natural gas valve train, burner management system, primary air fan, igniter, flame sensor and minor accessories. Commissioning is expected in the first half of 2021.
USA: Imerys, Andersonville
FCT has delivered Gyro-Therm™ burners for both kiln lines 1 and 2 at the Imerys plant in Andersonville. The scope also included Burner Management Systems, trolleys, fans, igniters, flame sensor.
The current contract to supply I-Jet burner systems to Lebedinsky GOK in Russia follows a previous successful commissioning at Mikhailovsky GOK, where FCT supplied I-Jet burners, fuel handling systems and burner management systems
PEOPLE OF FCT
At FCT, we know that our continued success is largely due to our team’s commitment to providing the best products, service and expertise across all our offices. We are pleased to introduce the newest additions to our team:
Chester Chen, Business Development Manager, FCT Combustion (Asia Pacific)
Chester joined FCT Combustion as Business Development Manager (Asia Pacific) in November 2020. Most recently, Chester was Business Development Executive at Sinosteel Australia, and has also held positions with Focus Minerals Limited (FML), Yankuang Resources Pty Ltd, Bauxite Resources Limited (BAU) and CITIC Pacific Mining Pty Ltd. Chester is an English-Chinese Translator (Professional Level) accredited by the Australian National Accreditation Authority of Translator and Interpreters (NAATI), and also holds a Master’s Degree in Strategic Marketing from Curtin University. He is based in Western Australia.
Paul Harris, Business Development Manager (Asia Pacific)
Paul joined FCT Combustion in November 2020 as Business Development Manager (Asia-Pacific). Based in Western Australia, Paul offers local support to our key clients within the Australian mining and mineral processing industries. Paul has extensive experience within this sector, having held roles such as Managing Director of Hosch International, and Senior Technical Sales at Continental Belting, where he worked with clients such as Rio Tinto, BHP, Leighton’s, and Mt Gibson Mining, among others. Paul holds a Business Diploma in Management and is a former winner of the Golden Module award for outstanding achievements in his field.
Syed Atif, Control Systems and Instrumentation Engineer (Asia Pacific)
Syed joined FCT Combustion as Control Systems and Instrumentation Engineer in September 2020. Syed is a Chartered Professional Engineer with Engineers Australia and also listed on National Engineering Register. Prior to joining FCT, Syed worked as lead field engineer on multibillion dollar mega refinery project. Syed has gained 10+ years of engineering experience while working for multi-national engineering consultancy firms like Fluor Corp. on Oil & gas, and chemical projects. Syed is experienced in Functional Safety based Control Systems, burner management system engineering and instrumentation design.
Glauco Tymus, Mechanical Engineer, FCT Combustion (South America)
Glauco recently joined FCT Combustion as a Mechanical Engineer in January 2021. A combustion specialist, Glauco was previously a Manager at Flame Combustion Projetos e Equipamentos Ltda and has also held various Engineering Management and Project Engineering roles with A TEC Group, Greco Enfil – Equipamentos Termonidustriais Ltda, and AutoJet Technologies, among others. Glauco holds a degree in Mechatronic Engineering from the Universidade Bandeirante de Sao Paulo.
FCT unveils specialist Clay Calcining Technologies for the production of Green Cement
Cement is a vital resource for the development of infrastructure across the world. However, the production process creates more than 5% of man-made CO2 emissions globally and several countries are now adopting strict policies for greenhouse emissions reductions.
One of the ways to reduce CO2 emissions caused by cement production is to replace clinker with Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCM) such as calcined clay, to produce what is known as ‘green cement’, so named for its environmental benefits. Other key benefits of green cement production include lower fuel consumption and lower capital costs.
AT FCT, we have put together a specialist team who have successfully commissioned tens of plants across the world for calcined clay cement. Our expert knowledge has shaped the development of two proprietary technologies for clay calcination: FlashCalx™, a suspension calciner, and RotaCalx™, a rotary kiln calcining solution.
For more information about the topic of clay calcining, as well as the available technologies and which scenarios they are best suited to, we have developed a series of webinars:
- Producing Green Cement Using FCT Calcined Clay Technologies
- Identifying the best FCT Calcined Clay Technology for different scenarios, using case studies
- FlashCalx Calcined Clay Technology, Case Studies and Color Management Strategies
These can be accessed by following the links below:
Alternatively, please contact our team directly for more information.
Case Study: Optimizing alternative fuel combustion and benefits
In the previous edition of the newsletter, we published the first instalment of a two-part case study outlining the work undertaken by FCT Combustion to optimise combustion and increase the alternative fuel firing substitution rate at Cemmac’s Horne Srnie cement plant.
Now, in this second instalment – which was recently published in the February edition of World Cement – we detail how a study using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was used to correct issues with the swirl direction, inform the new burner specifications, and improve the plant’s alternative fuel firing rate.
