March 4, 2012 – ABB commissioned its integrated electrical, control and automation systems at the largest cement production line in the Ukraine. Owned by international building materials group CRH, the plant is located in Kamyanets-Podilsky, approximately 420 kilometers southwest of Kiev and started operation in the 1970s. The new production line No. 7 is part of a plant modernization that replaces the existing production lines while maintaining the plant’s 7,500 ton daily capacity, making it the largest cement production line in the Ukraine. The modernization project helped the plant decrease the emissions from fossil fuel combustion by changing the technology of cement production from a wet production process to a state-of-the-art dry production process.
The new process uses considerably less fuel, with lower emissions of particulates and CO2. “The initial performance of the new plant shows fuel consumption to be less than 50% of the wet process. Power consumption to make clinker shows a reduction of over 15%. And the optimization of the new line will improve performance further”, said CRH Europe Material’s Technical Director Eamon Geraghty. ABB’s solution helped achieve the emissions results that enabled the new line to be the world’s first Track 2 “Joint Implementation” project registered with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
These projects are mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol to help countries with binding greenhouse gas emissions targets meet their obligations. “We offer our customers the industry experience, services, and leading-edge technology to help them reach their productivity targets and maximize their energy efficiency while achieving their environmental goals,” said Veli-Matti Reinikkala, head of ABB’s Process Automation division. “We have enjoyed a close working relationship and history of successful collaboration with Podilsky Cement; the success of this project reinforces this ongoing commitment.”
For this project, ABB delivered integrated electrical and automation systems that include medium-voltage switchgear, intelligent low-voltage motor control centers,variable speed drives, instrumentation, gas analyzers, collaborative production management systems, and a plant-wide 800xA automation system to control, connect, and optimize the performance of all processes, systems and equipment. ABB also provided design, engineering and site services, training, and procurement of third-party equipment. ABB is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 135,000 people.