Cement is one of the most vital elements for the nation’s infrastructure growth. Along with other additives like sand, water, aggregates it builds the nation. India is the second-largest producer of cement in the world. It accounts for more than 7% of the global installed capacity. UltraTech Cement Limited, a part of the Aditya Birla Group, is the largest manufacturer of cement in India and ranks among the world's leading cement makers. Aided by suitable Government foreign policies, several foreign players such as Lafarge-Holcim, Heidelberg Cement have invested in the country in the recent past.
A significant factor which aids the growth of this sector is the ready availability of raw materials for making cement, such as limestone and coal mines which are spread throughout our country. India’s overall cement production accounted for 294.4 million tonnes (MT) in FY21 and 329 million tonnes (MT) in FY20.
The cement industries have several components which undergo extreme wear & tear along with fracture during operation. Regular maintenance & periodic repair is the key to the sustainability & efficiency of the plant. EWAC Alloys have been a pioneer in innovating the new & effective techniques for repairing these components & prolonging the life through specialised productions & solutions.
A key concern of any cement plant is the availability of the critical processing equipment, mostly crushing and grinding machines and vertical roller mill (VRM) is well known in the cement industry as the preferred mill for grinding of raw meal, coal, slag and clinker
The downtime during repair is a major cost, and there are continual efforts to reduce this time to resume full production status. In Situ Repair welding of rollers and table in VRM is an efficient way to extend the life of the VRM as it reduces the downtime, improves efficiency, reduces vibrations and energy consumption. EWAC Alloys has developed highly advanced technology for In Situ rebuilding of VRM/Table liners and supplying major wear components like Cage/Separator Rotor, Guide vanes, static blades/ louvers, fans, body liners, nozzle ring segments, Yoke, cone, roller guard, chutes, ducts, hoppers, rotary airlock etc. not only to cement plants but also to most of OEM's. Apart from VRM, EWAC Alloys has successfully executed many critical breakdown jobs like Girth Gear crack, Ball Mill shell crack, Trunion crack, Pinion crack.
Crushers are vital equipment in the cement industry as the manufacturing process starts from the crushing of raw materials like limestone, coal, dolomite, gypsum etc. The size reduction of raw materials is affected in at least two main stages: crushing (primary reduction) and grinding (fine reduction). Generally speaking, crushing denotes the size suitable as feed for the next main stage, i.e. grinding. EWAC R&D has developed innovative products withstanding extreme wear against Friction, Impact, Abrasion, Erosion accompanied by corrosion for life enhancement of crushing equipment and provide the optimal solution for reclaiming all types of crushers such as double toggle jaw crushers, cone / gyratory crushers, roll/hammer crushers, ring granulators and hammer mills and most important impact crushers which hold the highest population in cement industry.
The portfolio also includes wobblers and vibratory screens, grizzly/apron feeders.
For Impact Crushers, EWAC has established repair solutions for critical components such as Wobblers, LS Crusher Rotor, Impactor Arm, Blow Bar, Discharge Chute, Body liners, Grinding Paths etc.
The milled and blended raw materials from mills go to a silo and then to the kiln through the preheater. The preheater-kiln system consists of a multi-stage cyclone, rotary kiln, and grate cooler. In the preheater, the kiln feed is preheated by hot gas coming from the combustion chamber and rotary kiln. Clinker formation takes place inside a rotary kiln which gets cooled inside the grate cooler. In the entire process, the components have to withstand high temperature up to 1450°C, thus they are susceptible to serious operating and maintenance problems such as failure of anchors holding castable in Preheater & cooler, cracking of kiln shell and misalignment of the rollers, frequent wear of clinker hammers/HRB Rolls etc.
EWAC has developed novel electrode Eunitrode D, which is a trusted product for anchor joining along with other SS/HRCS Grades materials used in high-temperature applications in most cement plants. Similarly, we have developed a unique solution for life enhancement of other applications such as Tongue plate, Inlet Sector, Tip Casting, Grate Plates, Grizzly bar, clinker breaker hammer, discharge chutes, HRB Rolls, cooler fans etc.
The cement industry is one of the major markets for industrial fans. Fans in the cement industry are heavy duty and perform two basic functions i.e., supply of air or removal of exhaust gases and material handling. Many process fans find applications in the cement industry such as Raw Mill Fans, Preheater Fans, Induced Draft Fans, Cooling ID Fans, Raw Mill Exhaust Fans, Coal Mill Fans and Cooler Exhaust Fans. Most of these fans are prone to severe erosion.
EWAC Terocoat alloys, Wear plates and wear-resistant coatings not only extend the fan service life but also save energy and decrease other component maintenance costs.