Reprinted from WORLD CEMENT April 2004

IntroductionTIS, is a combination of production and laboratory infor-mation systems, which can be implemented in one step or in a phased approach.

ABB Switzerland signed the worldwide TIS agree-ment with Holcim Group Support (HGRS) in Decemberof 2001. This agreement means that ABB will supplyTechnical Information Systems for all Holcim Plantsworldwide including St Lawrence Cement’s Mississaugaand Joliette plants.

The ABB Standard TIS includes supply of hardware,software, project management, engineering, commis-sioning, training, warranty and support. The TIS stan-dard application and implementation is a collaborationbetween ABB Switzerland and HGRS CorporateEngineering.

The commissioning of TIS at the St. LawrenceCement Inc., in Canada, was initiated by the client’sneed to meet with Holcim reporting requirements.ABB Switzerland implemented TIS for environmentalreporting providing automated, reliable environmen-tal information. This allowed the customer to success-fully replace the old unreliable, mainly manualreporting system.

St. Lawrence Cement Inc.The company is a leading producer and supplier of prod-ucts and services for the construction industry, namelycement, concrete, aggregates and construction. It oper-ates in Canada and on the eastern seaboard of theUnited States, and serves around 9000 customers inCanada and the United States through its four cementplants, 21 cement distribution terminals, one slag gran-ulator, two mineral components distribution terminals,a GranCem facility, 43 ready-mixed concrete plants, 22quarries and sand pits, as well as its three constructioncompanies.

TIS was introduced to the customer during a work-shop in May 2003. After an audit carried out by HGRS animplementation plan was devised focusing initially onthe environmental needs of the two plants. Improvedenvironmental data quality and reduction of manualinputs were two of the goals of the initial TIS imple-mentation.

The project is being implemented in two phases; thefirst for the Environmental report phase was carried outin 2003, with the second phase, incorporating produc-tion, process, energy and quality, planned for2004/2005.

Environmental reportsSt Lawrence Cement currently has three separate envi-ronmental sections:

� Federal/Provincial � Holcim internal� St. Lawrence internal.

Each of the sections has its own rules for normalisingbased on oxygen, pressure and temperature, kiln condi-tions, and CEM status for assessing whether or not toaccept the current raw data. In Ontario there is an addi-tional reporting requirement for the smog season (1 May - 30 September).

The engineering of the St Lawrence project was exe-cuted in September / October 2003 and was commis-sioned in November 2003. By February 2004 the projectwas already in the fine-tuning and training phase.

Emission monitoring technology (at Joliette)St. Lawrence Cement operates four emission-monitor-ing systems at the Joliette plant. The company have cho-sen to use the ACF-NT of ABB Automation Products inGermany for this purpose. ABB also supplied the actualmeasuring equipment.

The new ACF-NT analyser system complies with thenew emission monitoring requirements for plant flues,and is a further development of the highly successfulContinuous Emission Monitoring (CEMAS) FTIR system.Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectrometers offer ameasurement technology with the highest levels ofaccuracy, selectivity and reliability that reduce the needfor frequent calibration.

The main part of the ACF-NT analyser system is the

ABB has implemented Technical Information Systems (TIS) for St. Lawrence Cement Inc. inCanada. Christophe Krogmann, Andrew Wilson and Henning von Hoersten provide details.

The Mississauga plant.

multi-component gas monitoring system installed in anelectrical room close to the incinerator flue. A sample ofthe flue gas is drawn through a sampling probe andbrought to the analyser system using a unique electron-ically controlled air injector.

The ACF-NT system is designed to expand with thefuture needs of the customer in that it can easily beexpanded through software to measure additionalinfrared-active components. Compared with competitorsolutions, the ACF-NT system offers:

� Continuous measurement of hydrochloric acid (HCl),hydrogen fluoride (HF), carbon monoxide (CO),nitrogen oxides (NOx), Sulphur dioxide (SO2), ammo-nia (NH3) and unburned hydrocarbons (TOC).

� Continuous measurement of global warming gasessuch as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) andnitrous oxide (N2O) along with water vapour andoxygen.

� Proven hot wet extractive measurement technique. � High stability, accuracy and reliability through

proven FTIR analyser technology.� Unique air-driven aspirator pump, no moving parts,

low waste condensate to handle. � Low ownership, maintenance and installation cost

through multi-component measurement technology.

� Clear-text status messages and user friendly operatorinterface on a large back- lit display.

� Remote control and/or maintenance via Modbus,Ethernet or modem.

Feedback Bill Williams, St. Lawrence Cement’s Project Manager,reports that the installation and configuration fromABB were fine, and that all problems that occurred weresolved quickly despite the six hr time difference.

In addition:

� The system has the flexibility to meet the currentenvironmental reporting requirements of the gov-ernment and has been designed for the potentialchanges over the next few years.

� Currently the TIS Environmental Report includes O2,NOx and SO2, HCl, CO, CO2, VOC, ammonia (all interms of concentration and mass flow). The reportsare being accessed by many users from environmen-tal groups (corporate and plant) and production andmaintenance. With the new system in place thisinformation is easily accessible on the local intranet.

� Although the system has not been designed in itsfirst phase for production and maintenance, they arestill using the reports to detect the correct point atwhich they have to change bags in the filter bag-house.

� Mr. Williams foresees that other plants in the SaintLawrence Cement Group will also look to implementTIS in the near future.

Through projects such as those at Mississauga andJoliette, ABB has once again the opportunity to exem-plify its environmentally friendly capabilities and toestablish a stronger relationship with Holcim, both with-in Europe and Worldwide.__________________________�

Reprinted from WORLD CEMENT April 2004

ABB Emissions Monitoring Solution ACF-NT.

Four separate lines monitored by individual CEMS. Location of the sample extraction equipment on the stack.