BUILDING MATERIALS
cement by more than 30%. In 2009 the
company introduced a world first CO2 rating
system on all its cement bags, which means
that the carbon footprint of each product is
printed on every bag.
Advanced fuel and energy efficient
technologies play a major role in reducing
emissions and it was the first South African
company to install a much more energyefficient vertical roller mill for grinding for
cement. When the company began Project
Green Cement it installed state-of-the-art
blenders that allowed the company to blend
to cement with mineral components (Mic).
These Mic result in a reduction in excess of
40% on electrical and thermal energy used in
the cement production process the company
has also invested in major energy efficient
upgrades of equipment at its production plants
have afforded cement manufacturers the
and employed a team of process engineers to
luxury of using alternative materials that
extract maximum energy efficiency from each
possess cementious properties and have a low
plant component. These measures, alongside
carbon footprint.
behavioural, educational and staff advocacy
AfriSam has invested significantly in research
to develop and implement a CO2 measurement
system on all its cement products. The company
assess the on-going carbon footprint of every one
of its 40 readymix operations, 16 aggregate plants
an d each cement product from every plant.
By definition, composite cements are
initiatives, have yielded significant energy
produced using a combination of clinker and
these advanced cements replacing the
savings.
an increased proportion of pozzolanic mineral
environmentally unfriendly clinker and
components. Typically, these include by-
reducing its carbon footprint dramatically. It
reduced its electrical energy consumption by
products from other industries such as Ground
has poured considerable capital investment
25% and its thermal energy consumption by
Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS) from the
into upgrading its production facilities to
40%. Another industry focus area is to reduce
steel manufacturing industry, Pulverised Fly
produce advanced composite cements,
the use of natural resources through the
Ash (PFA) from coal-powered stations and silica
resulting in a reduction in the clinker factor
increased production of composite cements,
fume, a by-product of silicon and ferrosilicon
from a world average of about 90% to an
sometimes called extended cements. This is
alloy production.
average of 60%, with reductions to as low as
Using 2000 as its base year, AfriSam has
evidence of industry’s growing willingness to
For the past two decades, the company
make environmentally responsible decisions
has conducted extensive research and
and the resulting technological advancements
development into the production of
35% for its particularly environmentally friendly
Eco Building Cement.
Years of research at its Centre for Product
Excellence have led to the composite cement
technology that is today applied to all of its
products, including its innovative new 42.5N
All Purpose Cement, an advanced composite
cement with active mineral components.
This technology makes it possible to achieve
greater concrete yield per bag of cement than
before, without compromising performance.
Interestingly, concrete made from the
company’s 42.5N cement continues to gain
strength past the traditional 28-day cut-off,
actually improving with time to achieve
stronger structures. HA
AfriSam commissioned a state-of-the-art Vertical Roller
Mill in 2009 at its Roodepoort cement manufacturing
plant to increase cement production capacity,
decrease energy consumption and make its production
processes more environmentally friendly.
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HARDWARE AFRICA 2014