A major construction project at Scotland’s only cement plant is on track to deliver a major improvement in energy efficiency.
A new cement mill is taking shape at Tarmac’s Dunbar Works, with construction well underway. The mill will be capable of producing up to 60 tonnes per hour – taking the cement ‘clinker’ nodules which are produced in the kiln and grinding them down to the more familiar cement powder, for use in construction projects across Scotland and the North of England. Once construction is complete and the new ‘vertical roller’ mill is in use, it will reduce the use of two of the older mills and use 50% less power.
The mill, one of several improvement schemes underway at the site, is a complex and large-scale engineering project. As well as the site team, it has involved up to 100 specialist contractors at any one time.
Over the last few weeks the installation of the mill base has been completed. This phase involved a 13-hour continuous pour of 829m3 concrete (made from Dunbar’s CEM I cement) around 129 tonnes of steel.
Tarmac project engineer Jonny Toal said: “Construction of the mill is challenging and complex, not least because we are working around the operational site while it continues to produce cement for our customers. Thanks to the hard work of the Tarmac team and an extended team of expert contractors, I am pleased to say we are looking to bring the new mill into use early in 2020. Once the new mill is in use, we will significantly reduce the use of two older mills and look forward to seeing a major reduction in our energy bill.”
Some of the mill project statistics:
• Average number of contractors onsite for the Mill installation: 80-100 contractors
• Number of contractors inducted on site for work so far (number of different contractors involved so far in the project): 250
• Total rebar (steel) used in the mill foundation: 129t (considering the base and the walls)
• Total m3 of concrete used in the mill foundation: 1097 m3 (considering the base and the walls)
• 829 m3 concrete poured in 13 hours (Dunbar cement)
• 82t of rebar used in mill foundation
• Mill will be capable of producing 60 t/h of cement
Photo caption: Constructing the foundations for the new cement mill involved a 13-hour continuous pour of concrete.