What is cement?
Cement is a fine powder and binding agent. It forms concrete when mixed with water, sand and gravel or crushed stone. Concrete is a primary construction material vital to the world economy, used for a number of structures such as buildings and roads.

How is it made?
1. The raw ingredients for cement are limestone and small amounts of sand and clay. These materials primarily come from quarries near the plant. Those ingredients are combined, blended and ground down for further processing.
2. That material is heated in giant rotating kilns that can be anywhere from 200 to 650 feet long and can reach temperatures as high as 2,650 degrees Fahrenheit. Cement plants use a number of different fuels including coal, petroleum coke, fuel oil and natural gas. Many cement kilns also burn waste materials such as tires.
3. The heated ingredients form a marble-size substance called clinker. Clinker is cooled and combined with a small amount of gypsum to form cement.

Source: Portland Cement Association

Titan America has scheduled three community information workshops to discuss its plans to build a cement plant in Castle Hayne. The intent of the workshops, according to a company news release, is to “educate residents about construction plans and provide an opportunity to interact one-on-one with company representatives.”
All workshops are scheduled from 4 to 8 p.m.

Oct. 27
UNCW Executive Development Center
1241A Military Cutoff Road, Wilmington

What: Carolinas Cement Company LLC plant and Castle Hayne quarry
Where: 6411 Ideal Cement Road
Size: 1,868 acres
Jobs: 160
Annual cement production: 2.31 million tons
Transportation: Rail, truck and/or barge
Proposed new quarry area: 1,263.7 acres
Preliminary wetlands impact: 600 acres
Potential annual emissions: 8,065 tons Projected opening: 2011-2012

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Links

• Carolinas Cement plant project details
• Stop Titan community organization
• Titan America corporate Web site
• Portland Cement Association
• Diagram of Titan's Pennsuco plant
• Portland Cement Association 2008 report on Sustainable Manufacturing
• Army Corps of Engineers, Titan project page
• EPA National Emissions standards for Portland Cement Industry, 12-20-2006

Cement industry news

• San Francisco Chronicle: Green cement may set CO2 fate in concrete, 9-2-2008
• Cement Americas: Conversation with Titan CEO, 7-1-2005
• New York Times: Cement industry at center of climate change debate, 10-26-2007
• Albany Times Union: The Height of Poison, 2-28-2008
• Los Angeles Times: Plant said to emit carcinogen, 04-15-2008
• Mercury News: Cement industry trying to meet demand while curbing emissions, 5-28-2008

General information

• Scoping public meeting notice
• Scoping public meeting notice
• Frequently asked questions sheet from Titan America
• UNCW economic impact analysis for proposed cement plant
• EPA cement industry profile
• U.S. Geological Survey cement report, 2005

Records, deeds and agreements

• Martin Marietta mine deed, 3-31-2008
• Rail agreement, 3-31-2008
• Purchase option, 3-31-2008
• Right of first refusal, 3-31-2008
• Warranty deed for old cement plant land, 3-20-1991

Environmental records

• Roanoke Cement Company enforcement action, 3-2-2005

Agency comments

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service comments, 8-6-2008
• N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, 8-25-2008
• N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, 8-8-2008
• N.C. Division of Water Quality, 8-28-2008