BUZZI UNICEM
Headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Buzzi Unicem USA is one of the leading cement manufacturing companies in the United States. The company’s seven cement plants have a production capacity of approximately 8 million metric tons.
The Challenge
Buzzi Unicem Greencastle’s 5000-hp kiln ID fan was experiencing a high wear rate due to a high dust environment, resulting in costly repairs every few months. At the same time, the fan could not reach its design capacity. AirStream was contacted in November 2003 to look into solutions to improve efficiency and reliability.
The Solution
To kick off the project, we studied all aspects of the challenge including system effects, and proposed a turnkey upgrade with a guaranteed simple payback of 1.2 years.
In June 2004, our team of engineers designed a new motor and, in order to keep turnkey project cost to a minimum, completed installation in the existing housing.
The Results
AirStream’s high-efficiency rotor significantly reduced the plant’s power consumption, saving Buzzi Unicem more than 1000 kW during operation. The new rotor also had an increased wear life which reduced maintenance cost and production losses due to unplanned fan shutdowns.
