How ABB is Reducing Energy Consumption at Cemex Plant

Automation machinery manufacturer ABB has delivered big benefits through the use of its retrofit solutions at Cemex’s plant in Poland.

Cemex is seeing greater safety and reliability, plus reduced energy consumption, following the improvements to its electrical infrastructure.

Global building materials supplier Cemex says retrofitting has future-proofed operations, while asset monitoring is improving thanks to analogue being updated with digital functionality.

What was the problem?

An ABB press release says Cemex is “committed to providing innovative and sustainable products for the construction industry” and when their own sites require solutions, they “prioritise sustainable development.

Cemex’s Rudniki plant in Poland is one of the country’s largest cement suppliers and a leading producer of four types of cement as well as road binder and limestone flour.

Production processes centre around the plant’s furnace, which can take up to 36 hours to light, so even short power outages which do not require it to completely cool down are unfeasible as they bring production to a standstill.

Cemex maintenance specialist Paweł Małolepszy said: “We were looking for reliable and compact technology.

“The risk of unplanned power outages has been minimised and the use of a pull-out solution has improved our safety.

This significantly extends the continuity of operation of the furnace, which is key to our business.”

How does ABB’s solution work?

ABB and Cemex have been working together for 10 years, during which time ABB has provided trusted service support.

When it came to upgrading the electrical switchgear powering the furnace at the Rudniki plant, ABB tailored a retrofit solution, updating obsolete elements and enabling access to ABB’s digital portfolio.

The retrofit solution involved an upgrade to ABB’s Emax2 circuit breakers equipped with Ekip Touch.

These protection and measurement trip units provide full protection functions and their modular design means they are withdrawable and can be easily interchanged.

The process enables costs associated with replacing the entire switchgear and delivers on the plant’s need for a smooth transition, ongoing reliability and sustainability.

The plant’s control and monitoring system has also been upgraded to ABB’s digital analysers, which enable highly accurate (to 1%) measurements.

This data can be uploaded to ABB Ability Energy & Asset Manager, enabling energy usage, power and load to be monitored via the cloud.

Tailored to the customer’s needs

When Cemex operators test their system, they can now pull out and isolate the relevant breaker and work safely, without needing to disconnect the furnace from the power supply and shut down production.

At the same time, improving the thermal energy efficiency of the furnace enables the plant to reduce its CO2 emissions.

“This is a perfect example of a comprehensive retrofit, tailored to our customer’s specific needs,” said Kamil Schabiński, Project Manager for ABB Electrification Service.

“ABB products have transformed the plant’s operating conditions and the reliability and safety of its power supply.

“The new circuit breakers can be connected to the cloud at any time, which will further increase their digital functionality and energy management.”

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