Modern technology impact on power usage in cement plants

As a trend, both power usage and power rates have increased such that in many North American and European cement plants, the cost of electricity is now higher than the cost of fuel. This is expected to worsen. As a result, many new technological innovations have begun to appear which will enable cement producers to combat this alarming trend. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of these advances-some are well known, others are leading edge. All of them feature ways to reduce specific power usage in the cement industry. By increasing awareness, producers will be able to better formulate their own plans in their ongoing battle to control costs. The technologies discussed cover electrical power management, gas handling and pneumatic systems, motors and transformers, and comminution and separation