Schneider Electric Case Study

A Cement Manufacturing Facility

USA

Big Picture Strategies Contribute

to Energy Efficiency
in the Cement Industry

Make the most of your energy

SM

Schneider Electric Case Study > A Cement Manufacturing Facility

While there are a number of factors influencing the attitudes and opinions towards
energy efficiency most notably the increasing cost of energy and a rising social
conscience legislative drivers likely will have the greatest impact on changing
behaviors and practices. Internationally, governments are introducing energy
saving targets and effecting regulations to ensure they are met.
For businesses, it is important to highlight that decreasing energy consumption
contributes both directly to the cost of goods sold and indirectly by impacting the
cost of energy generation emissions. Both factors improve financial performance,
as well as contribute to sustainable development efforts.
Social pressure to meet the needs of the present without compromising future
generations also play a critical role. Implementing an energy solution helps
companies meet their own needs and is another factor in expanding the scope
of energy efficiency solutions.
As an energy intensive industry, cement manufacturers must be ready to
undertake major efforts to contain energy consumption.

Energy Consumption in the Cement Industry

Over four million British Thermal Units (BTUs) of energy are required to
manufacture one ton of cement, approximately 90 percent of which is thermal
energy and 10 percent is electrical energy. In terms of the cost per ton, these
percentages may change based upon the different unit costs of energy.
The following average figures illustrate the energy challenge facing
cement manufacturing:
More than 80 percent of the electricity consumed in a cement plant is
motor/machine driven
Finish grinding consumes 40 percent of electric power
110 kWh of electricity is required to produce one ton of cement
Energy consumption by the cement industry is estimated at about two percent
of the global primary energy consumption
Energy costs can contribute up to 40 percent of operation costs

Big Picture Strategies Contribute to Energy Efficiency in the Cement Industry

Schneider Electric Case Study > A Cement Manufacturing Facility

Understanding and Containing Energy in the

Cement Industry
Cement producers are working together and partnering with government
agencies to contribute to sustainable development and to share best practices.
Energy efficiency is a key focus of these initiatives. Three of the more prominent
examples include:
The Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI)
The Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) is a sector project from World Business
Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and it joins the major global
cement producers in a common alliance to discuss and propose strategic
solutions addressing critical issues, including energy, health, emissions
and more.
U.S. Energy Star cement manufacturing
A proposed partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
the Energy Star program and cement companies would take a structured
approach to improving energy efficiency, including strategic and corporate
recommendations, assessment, key performance indicators (KPIs) and

As part of their five-year plan,

China intends to cut energy
consumption per unit of gross
domestic product (GDP) in the
cement industry by 25 percent
throughout five years.

reporting tools.
The China example
In 2007, China spurred investment in renewable energy by introducing several
environmental and energy efficiency actions and laws to shape energy-saving
guidelines for cement manufacturing plants.

Energy Efficiency Challenges for the

Cement Industry
Cement manufacturers face a myriad of challenges when attempting to optimize
energy usage, including:
Absence of energy efficiency as corporate culture
It is very common for energy efficiency to be treated as a corrective tool rather
than a routine behavior. Using energy efficiency actions as a remedy may fix
immediate problems and momentarily reduce consumption, but it doesnt
generate a positive cycle in the plant or a long-term strategy.
Lack of online and integrated information
A recent ARC Advisory Group survey demonstrated that just 10 percent of
industrial users have immediate access to the impacts of energy cost changes.
Some users dont realize their energy efficiency problems until long after the root
events have occurred. When information is available, its often not granular down
to every load.

Big Picture Strategies Contribute to Energy Efficiency in the Cement Industry

Schneider Electric Case Study > A Cement Manufacturing Facility

To minimize these issues, users need a deeper understanding of how energy is

used and the ability to identify the drivers and root causes for increased energy
consumption per unit of production. This understanding requires timely access
to accurate energy information as well as the operational context of how that
energy was used.
Some users have the energy consumption information, but its not crossreferenced with production information, so users cant identify the difference
between overconsumption generated by legitimate process requirements
against overconsumption caused by problems or under performance.
In this situation, forecasting is a challenge since there is no complete model
about how energy has been used.
Energy not treated as a process variable
In many plants it is very common for electrical and process control to be treated
as two separate departments. In this situation there are classic information silos
with no connection between them, and energy information isnt used as an
active process variable. An optimum process analysis must take into account
energy consumption.

Energy consumption by the

cement industry is estimated at
about two percent of the global
primary energy consumption.

No benchmarking
Some companies dont compare plant performance against other plants or
unitary processes to identify best practices and energy-saving opportunities.
It is very common for success cases to be isolated and not shared with other
branches or plants.
A new energy efficiency strategy
Implementing energy efficiency initiatives in cement plants goes beyond wellknown actions like applying variable speed drives and advanced process
optimization in grinding and kiln combustion. Cement companies must strive for
bigger changes to realize the greatest savings.
Sustainability task force
The first recommended action is to create an energy efficiency and sustainability
task force or department. This multidisciplinary team will be charged with
coordinating all transverse activities related to energy efficiency. Energy teams
also require a broad corporate involvement, from the corporate levels to
operational levels. As with any quality control approach, energy efficiency teams
have to use a systematic and simple approach of define, measure, analyze,
improve and control (DMAIC) to achieve long term results.
Measurements and management
After establishing a sustainability task force, the next step is to conduct a plant
assessment to identify bottlenecks and propose improvements for mechanical,
electrical and production processes. In addition, the task force can make

Big Picture Strategies Contribute to Energy Efficiency in the Cement Industry

Schneider Electric Case Study > A Cement Manufacturing Facility

recommendations involving alternatives fuels and renewable energy actions.

But these actions wont bring any long term effect if online information isnt
always available. A metering system is necessary for generating data for realtime actions, as well historic data for future crossed analysis. Water, air, gas,
electricity and emissions are metered, checked for data quality, and warehoused
for analysis. Advanced modeling and visualization help you reveal energy
inefficiencies, set priorities and keep each project on track.
An energy management system also is essential to track real-time power
conditions, analyze power quality and reliability, and respond quickly to alarms
to avoid critical situations. It helps you study trends to reveal energy waste or
unused capacity as well, as verify efficiency improvements and allocate costs to
buildings, departments or processes.
Central control room
An up-and-coming concept in cement manufacturing is the use of a central,
virtual control room. The central control room monitors several cement
plants in distant locations from a single location. Central control rooms in use
today monitor all energy consumption from different units and compare the
performance among different plants down to the equipment level and loads, all

More than 80 percent of the

electricity consumed in a cement
plant is motor/machine driven.

from a single location.

It is even possible to outsource the remote monitoring to an energy
management technology supplier that manages the user information and
historic data in virtual servers.
Reporting tools
Reporting tools bring relevant and filtered information to all enterprise levels
allowing empowerment and company-wide commitment. Automated reporting
tools minimize manual data entry and can be customized to adhere to the CSI
and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative. A production management system
can gather data from distinctive sources and aggregate information to generate
decision reports and KPIs against established targets.

Production Energy Optimization

Production energy optimization is a combined approach that integrates production
management with energy management systems. This solution crosses energy
information against production variables and business context.
The system also determines the historical correlation between energy
consumption and process variables to produce an energy model that states
energy consumption (MWh). This mechanism for modeling energy consumption is
a sophisticated tool to generate forecast.

Big Picture Strategies Contribute to Energy Efficiency in the Cement Industry

Schneider Electric Case Study > A Cement Manufacturing Facility

Power and Control Integration

Physically integrating process control, electrical distribution, motor control
and energy efficiency systems exchanges useful information for process
improvements. Integration based on Ethernet TCP/IP and Web tools, provides
the greatest openness and transparency at all levels of the enterprise. Ethernet
simplifies the overall communications infrastructure by expanding the horizon of
components and innovation, and provides consistency and simple integration of
plant floor with business level communications.
Intelligent motor control centers and networked intelligent relays not only provide
improved motor protection, but offer information granularity for a precise load
analysis. Virtually every single motor in the plant is delivering power information.
More than 80 percent of the electricity consumed in a cement plant is motor/
machine driven.

Choosing the Right Partner

These recommendations are a small sample of how strategic actions and new
technologies can significantly contribute to energy containment in cement plant
operations. Its also important to choose a trusted engineering partner with proven
energy consulting experience. Properly integrating the right tactics with help from
the right partner can help cement manufacturers to optimize energy consumption
throughout their plants lifecycle and improve safety, productivity, cost efficiency
and environmental consciousness.

Big Picture Strategies Contribute to Energy Efficiency in the Cement Industry

Schneider Electric Case Study > A Cement Manufacturing Facility

Make the most of your energy

SM

Schneider Electric provides inspired and comprehensive energy

solutions that transform the way businesses manage their
environment, efficiency, and costs.
As a global specialist in energy management with operations in
more than 100 countries, Schneider Electric offers integrated
solutions in energy and infrastructure, industrial processes, building
automation, and data centers/networks, as well as residential
applications. Schneider Electric is dedicated to making individuals
and organizations energy safe, reliable, efficient, productive, and
green from plant to plug.

Big Picture Strategies Contribute to Energy Efficiency in the Cement Industry

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This document has been

printed on recycled paper

April 2011

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