BESSEMER PLANT To cut back on emissions, Essroc installs dust collector

THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN
BESSEMER, Pa. -- Essroc Cement Co. has installed $4 million worth of equipment at its cement plant here to reduce emissions.
The equipment, known as a clinker cooler dust collector, will bring the plant into compliance with 2003 federal emission requirements, said Paul Landman, administrative manager.
Essroc had shut down both its kilns at the plant for two weeks to complete the installation.
Idling both kilns at the same time is rare, but it underscores the importance of the project, Landman said.
The equipment replaces a gravel bed filter. The new process collects dust and then recycles it back into the plant's manufacturing system.
The kilns are loaded with a slurry mixture of limestone and other materials that are heated to nearly 3,000 degrees as they rotate.
The cold raw materials undergo chemical changes as they pass through the kiln and bond to form a material called clinker.
The clinker is then ground and mixed with other materials to form the powdery cement used in the construction of buildings, highways and other projects.
Essroc, which is based in Nazareth, Pa., has nine cement plants in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. It is a subsidiary of Italcementi Group of Italy.