Total costs for modernization and automation of the technological equipment at Sibcem’s Topkinskiy Cement will exceed RUB 210 million in 2020. The largest part of the investment program will be the modernization of the rotary kiln No. 1. RUB 148.9 million will be allocated for its implementation this year alone.
The replacement of gas control units (GCU) and the construction of a gas distribution point (GDP) is nearing completion at the gas section of the Steam and Water Department. Topkinskiy Cement has been using natural gas as a process fuel since 1979, and in 2012, four gas control units that have exhausted their resource and were replaced. In the near future, it is planned to put into operation three more GCUs in the slag drying department of the Grinding facility and the boiler room of the Steam and Water Department along with preparation of a GDP construction site.
The launch of new equipment, which controls and stabilizes the pressure of the supplied gas, will ensure the uninterrupted operation of the technological lines and the heating system of the enterprise. Until January, over RUB 8 million will be allocated to solve these problems.
Sibcem’s specialists have improved the system of process control and measuring equipment of the rotary kiln No. 4. Now, 130 temperature, flow, level and pressure sensors monitor the operation of the kiln unit and transmit the obtained values to the database server and then report it to the kiln operator's computer. The data is also mirrored on the company's technological web portal. The total cost of modernization of the unit amounted to almost 19 million rubles.
The modernization of the kiln No. 1 is partly an environmental project and includes the installation of a modern European-made electrostatic precipitator. Commissioning of the equipment is scheduled for 2021. The new precipitator will ensure the stable operation of the kiln gas cleaning system and will reduce the amount of dust in the exhaust gases. The total cost of the project is about 235 million rubles, where 86 million will be allocated in 2021.
“In the context of the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic and other unfavorable factors, the company continues to modernize and automate production units. The implementation of investment projects will allow us to use the equipment more efficiently and promptly respond to the needs of the construction industry in the region as the cement market recovers,” emphasizes Alexey Ospelnikov, Managing Director of Topkinskiy Cement.
Topkinskiy Cement, Sibcem’s largest enterprise, produces a wide range of cements. About 80 % of product shipment is carried out by rail. Topkinskiy Cement became the fifth cement plant in Russia to successfully pass the audit of the American Petroleum Institute.
