Western Railroad Discussion > Cement Plant Closing -Railroad Car Loadings

I did a little reading up about the 2 cement plants in Northern Calif. that might close/are closing. A lot of variables come into play when management contemplates a plant closing. I will look at each plant separately and give the reasons I found for each that might be the main cause. I will also tell how I feel the railroads might be effected by these closures. I say might because I certainly don't have access to all the variables.

First the Davenport plant (CEMEX). In that I could cite other plant closings in Calif. the 6 month temporary closing was , I think, based mostly on the economy with the chromium 6 discovery just hurrying the closure along so expensive clean-up could begin. The chromium 6 would be eliminated in switching from slag to more expensive iron ore in the cement making process . As if the chromium weren't enough at about the same time the E.P.A. let it be know that there were going to be new strict limits on mercury emissions from cement kilns. According to the E.P.A., cement production is the fourth largest source of the nation's airborne mercury-due to the raw materials and fuel required for making cement.

The Davenport plant would have to reduce it's mercury emission by 70% according to CEMEX officials as reported in the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Also CEMEX was checking to see if the technology even exists to do it. According to the Portland Cement Association (PCA) the cost of controlling the compounds is prohibitively high. The spokesman for the PCA also stated that the rules would shutter several of the top polluting plants (of which Davenport is one).

Speaking of costs, I should add that the limestone at Davenport is not of the best quality and the plant imports over 300,000 ton of high quality limestone from Canada through the Port of RWC. Also aprox. 100,000 tons of gypsum are also imported to the plant through the Port of Redwood City.


As stated above existing kilns release too much mercury into the atmosphere so is that why Texas Industries,in S. Calif.,at it's Oro Grande plant tore down the 7 old kilns and replaced them with one state of the art kiln along with other improvements to expand the plant's size to the tune of 427 million dollars?? I think this 100 year old Davenport plant has just too much going against it with the mercury being the straw that broke the camel's back and is the main reason for the plants closing NEVER to open again.

This plant supplied CEMEX's cement terminals in Redwood City and Sacramento and customers in the San Joaquin Valley. So with it's closing there will be no more coal loads in or empty hoppers in. The full cement hoppers went to RWC and Sacramento. The RWC and the Sacramento cement terminals are presently supplied with hopper loads from the Victorville (Southern Calif.) plant. When the economy picks up this practice with probably stop and Victorville's cement will stay in S.Calif. In that CEMEX has a new 50 million dollar marine cement terminal at the Port of Sacramento that has barely seen a ship and CEMEX's 10 million dollar marine terminal at the Port of Redwood City has not seen a 30,000 ton load of Chinese cement in about 2 years I think these 2 terminals will be put to work unloading Asian cement. The 2 terminals can easily import enough cement to replace Davenports 980,000 ton output with the bulk of it going out of the terminals by rail. Also it is possible that CEMEX will maintain a cement distribution terminal at the Davenport site with the hopper loads coming from Redwood City.

Photo 1: Davenport plant showing silos out near public road -future cement distribution terminal??

Photo 2: Redwood City Marine Terminal $10,000,000

Photo 3: Sacramento Marine Terminal $54,000,000.

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Photo 4; CEMEX at the Port of RWC is itself and old cement plant site. Note all the boxcars.

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The main cause of CEMEX closing was economics, however the yuppies might've affected its ability to restart. Apparently these idiots are asking for higher construction prices from importing from other nations/states. I bet the Cupertino NIMBY idiots won't shut up even if the existing Permanente plant installed a windmill.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/10 16:52 by coast7.

coast7 Wrote:
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> The main cause of CEMEX closing was economics,
> however the yuppies might've affected its ability
> to restart. Apparently these idiots are asking for
> higher construction prices from importing from
> other nations/states. I bet the Cupertino NIMBY
> idiots won't shut up even if the existing
> Permanente plant installed a windmill.


I'm sure you are correct. Some years back they tried to experiment with the highly successful European method of burning old tires and the neighbors "got wind of it" figuratively, not literally, and raised a huge fuss and that ended that. Windmills kill birds so forget that one. :-)
C.

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA

Will this effect the Monolith plant too or is it modern enough mercury-wise ?

switchlamp Wrote:
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> Will this effect the Monolith plant too or is it
> modern enough mercury-wise ?

This plant is #3 on the EPA list with 586 pounds of mercury per year with Permanente at 496 and # 5. Not good.

However they are experimenting with nut shells and also wood chip waste for fuel in that the coal they use now is part of the problem.

The chromium 6 is the source of the mercury?? Aaron 22

RRmemories Wrote:
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> The chromium 6 is the source of the mercury??
> Aaron 22

No.

To make cement limestone HAS to be heated and the mercury is given off in the flue gases. Even coal used as the fuel contributes some mercury. I am no chemist but from what I have read one of the new ways to capture the mercury requires a rebuilt of the plant-there is no effective cheap solution.

The Lehigh plant in Mason City, Iowa burns surplus corn
seed from Pioneer Seeds as the primary kiln fuel, natural
gas is the back-up.