Pozzolana which is an eco-friendly and cheap supplementary cementious material has not been established on a commercial scale in the construction industry in Nigeria. Hence, this paper is aimed at presenting a feasibility study to show the viability and highlight the business opportunities available for local and foreign investors in the area of pozzolana production in Nigeria. The paper discussed the technical requirements and estimated start-up capital for setting up a Pozzolana production plant from calcinated of Fifteen Thousand Tonnes Annual Production Capacity. An outline for start-up capital identified building and civil work, furniture and fixtures, machinery and equipment requirement, intangible assets, and seed fund. Raw materials/utilities and organizational requirement for annual production were also presented. The investment is viable with a total investment cost of $507,321.23, annual net profit of $107,961.70 and a payback period of 4.7 years. The net profit ratio and rate of return are 16.28% and 21.28% respectively. The findings and understanding of the technical and financial requirements from this work will aid investors in making decisions. The project if carried out will reduce cement contents in concrete and mortar structures, with eco-friendly cement admixtures and subsequently reduce the cost of construction in general.
Concrete is a crucial material for infrastructural development. Its versatility and flexibility in usage and application make it superior to other building materials such as wood and steel [
Pozzolans which can partially replace PC were defined by [
Pozzolans have historical evidence dating back as 500-400 BC. The Greeks followed by the Romans in the pre-400 BC were the first civilizations to use pozzolana in lime motars. The ancient Greeks deliberately used volcanic materials, such as, volcanic ashes or tuffs [
In developing countries, commercial exploitation of pozzolana is at a slower pace. In Africa, Ghana has acknowledged the use of Pozzolanic cements where the Building and Road Research Institute, BRRI in Ghana established a Pilot Plant in Ashanti City of Kumasi, likewise in Rwanda and the United Republic of Tanzania. In Nigeria, the use of pozzolana in commercial scale have not been acknowledged in spite of the great potentials, though, research works have been carried out extensively on the use of pozzolana. [
The aim of this paper is to present a technical profile which will further illustrate the viability of pozzolana production on a mini scale (15,000 ton per year). Production of cement or cementitious binders/admixtures on a medium scale according to [
• Less capital intensive;
• Short gestation period;
• Quick return of investment;
• Utilization of small deposits of raw materials;
• Attractive to entrepreneurs with limited financial resources.
This paper as well discusses the technical profile of Mini Scale Pozzolana production and reveals the business prospects available for local and international investors in the area of pozzolana production in Nigeria using clay.
Pozzolans are defined as siliceous or siliceous and alumnus materials in which in themselves have little or no cementitious property but in a finely divided form and in the presence of water will react chemically with calcium hydroxide at room temperature to form compounds having cementitious properties [
Pozzolana production from calcinated clay can be divided into three major stages. Each of these stages has more than one operation. The first stage is raw material preparation which consists of clay crushing in order to loosen the lumped clay and palm kernel grinding to have powdered form of the palm kernel shells (PKS). The second stage is raw materials processing which involves mixing the crushed clay with the ground PKS at the appropriate proportion with the addition of water. The resulting mixture will be nodulized and dried in open air and then calcinating in a VSK. The optimum calcinating temperature is normally taken between 700 and 800 degree celsius. After calcination, it is ground in a ball mill. The third stage is metering and bagging.
Pozzolans are used beneficially with either lime or/and OPC. Blending with OPC only allows for replacement of up to 50 percent. With lime, (lime: pozzolana) of 1:1 to 1:4 is possible depending on the quality of lime and pozzolana, and the end use of the mortar.
The methodology employed was a detailed study during the test run of the 2 tons per day pilot plant established at Ota, Ogun State South West Nigeria. This involved determination of plant area/layout and identification of different equipment and establishing the capacity and number. Material and utility requirement was also established and the required man power for running the plant. Then a market survey which involved location and cost of all the inputs. The established mini scale plant is proposed to produce 45 tons per day operating at 334 days per year to have an annual production of 15,000 tons per year.
The resources needed to set up a pozzolana plant are; land and building, raw materials, machinery, manpower and finance.
Land for building the production plant should be close to the sources of raw materials. Pozzolanic clay materials are deposited in commercial in the South West of Nigeria. Kaolinite clay is available in Ajebo, Abeokuta (southwest Nigeria) Ayininuola and Adekitan, (2016) [
A land of one acre is suitable for the industry, taking into account an open space for heavy duty trucks during offloading of materials and loading of finished products. Land can be acquired by purchase, a lease or rent. Considering South West Nigeria, the average value of such land with full documentation and
Certificate of Ownership is put at $33,149.17 (Land acquired from the community).
The building is meant to be the processing area. It should have provision for offices, conference room and welfare facilities for the factory workers. Other spaces allocated include; canteen, changing and locker room. An estimated working area for the purpose of setting up a 15,000 ton annual pozzolana production plant is 30 m × 60 m. The total cost of building and civil work including is put at $207,182.32. This includes landscaping, factory building, security post, fencing and power house. Office furniture is put at $13,812.15.
1) Materials and Inputs
The material resources to be used for the production in this work include; kaolinite clay, palm kernel shell and charcoal for firing the kiln and water.
2) Auxiliary Materials
Material for packing the pozzolana is paper sack. This can be produced locally in a number of sack’s producing companies in Nigeria. For annual production, 306,000 bags of 50 kg are required at the rate of $0.11 per bag. Thus, annual expenditure for bags is estimated to be $33,812.2.
| Material | Units | Quantity | Total Cost ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clay | Tonnage | 11,250 | 247,612.5 |
| PKS | Tonnage | 3750 | 36,262.5 |
| Water | Liters | 4,729,020 | 3,265.8 |
| Charcoal | 34,530.4 | ||
| Electricity | Kwh | 934,230 | 76,059.7 |
| Total | 398,731.6 |
**40% of electricity cost added for office equipment.
The machine/equipment and tool requirement are:
1) Palm Kernel Shell Grinding Machine.
2) Clay Crusher (Rotary Mill).
3) Pelletizer.
4) Cup Conveyor.
5) Vertical Shaft Kiln.
6) Industrial Blower.
7) Ball Mill.
8) Screw Conveyor.
9) Metering and Bagging Facility.
10) Dust extractor.
11) Shovel.
12) Spade.
13) Wheel barrow.
14) Water spraying can.
15) Head pan.
16) Rake.
17) Metal bucket.
18) Scrapper.
The machines are electric motor driven apart from the kiln which is a refractory lined chamber with a metal jacket. The only foreign input is the metering and bagging facility. Every other equipment can be fabricated locally within the country and this would attract a cost reduction from freight and import charges.
The manpower required in a pozzolana plant is the entire employee. It is important that all employees have defined roles and are qualified to take their respective responsibilities. The equipments used are easy to operate and operators need not to have too high educational background to operate the machines the basic requirement for the unskilled labour is fitness (physically and mentally). In a 45 ton per day plant the breakdown of the manpower is presented in
In Nigeria, the cooperate affairs commission is in charge of registering any business. Certain charges are involved in the process.
Finance is a very important resource for any business. Sources of funds could be personal savings, grants, issuance of shares or loans from financial institutions. Some of these institutions are commercial banks, cooperative societies and Bank of Industries.
| Machinery | Description/Capacity | Quantity | Total cost ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palm kernel sheel grinding machine | 0.625 ton/hr | 1 | 4143.6 |
| nodulizer | 5 ton/h | 2 | 2762.4 |
| Hammer mill | 7.5 ton/h | 1 | 3314.0 |
| Cup elevator | 2 ton/h | 1 | 966.9 |
| Vertical shaft kiln | 1 | 38,674.0 | |
| Ball mill | 2 ton/h | 1 | 7596.7 |
| Bagging facility | 0 - 100 kg | 1 | 4226.5 |
| Working tools | 303.9 | ||
| Auxillary equipment | 144,751.4 | ||
| Total | 206,740.3 |
**Working tools are spades, shovels, rakes etc. **Auxiliary equipment includes electrical panels for machines, air compressor, 2 hp, water storage tank, dust extractor, vehicles ($110,497.2) and standby generator (250kVA @ $33,149.2).
| S/N | Description | Number | Labour cost ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plant manager | 1 | 3314.90 |
| 2 | Secretary | 1 | 1989.00 |
| 3 | Clerk | 1 | 1490.70 |
| 4 | Cashier | 1 | 2320.40 |
| 5 | Salesperson | 1 | 1989.00 |
| 6 | General service | 4 | 4640.90 |
| 7 | Security | 8 | 9281.80 |
| 8 | Foreman | 1 | 2983.40 |
| 9 | Electrician/ mechanic | 2 | 3977.90 |
| 10 | Machine operator | 3 | 4972.40 |
| 11 | Labourer | 16 | 26,519.30 |
| 12 | Quality assurance personel | 1 | 2320.40 |
| 13 | Prequisite @ 10% salary | 6353.60 | |
| Total | 69,889.50 |
The total fixed cost is presented in
The annual working capital is presented in
| S/N | Item | Cost ($) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | land | 33,149.17 |
| 2 | building and civil work | 207,182.32 |
| 3 | machine/Equipment | 63,093.92 |
| 4 | office furniture and fixture | 13,812.15 |
| 5 | intangible assets | 14,364.64 |
| Total | 339,502.76 |
**Intangible assets includes interest during construction, training ($13,812.15) and ($552.48) costs of registration, licensing and formation of the company including legal fees, commissioning expenses, etc.
| S/N | Item | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Labour cost | 68,889.50 |
| 2 | Raw materials and utilities | 398,731.63 |
| 3 | Auxiliaries | 33,812.15 |
| 4 | Administrative and contingencies | 1022.10 |
| Total | 503,455.39 |
**Administrative and contingencies includes vehicle fuelling and maintenance ($331.49), postage & telephones ($331.49), advert and publicity ($110.50), secretarial and paper work ($55.25), miscellaneous ($138.12).
The total capital investment is the sum of fixed capital and working capital for the quarter of production year.
The total investment cost was computed to be $507,321 as presented in
| S/N | Item | Cost ($) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fixed Capital | 339,502.76 |
| 2 | Working Capital | 167,818.46 |
| Total | 507,321.23 |
Financial analysis was carried out to determine whether the investment is stable and profitable to warrant a monetary investment. The net profit ratio, rate of return and the payback period were used to determine the profitability of the investment.
Annual production cost is the summation of total recurring cost, all depreciations and interest on total investment.
Gate cost per 50 kg pozzolana put at $2.21.
A total annual sale projected at 300,000 of 50 Kg bags gives $662,983.43.
N P / A = Total returns − cost of production = $ 107 , 961.70 (1)
N P R = ( Net profit per annum / annual returns ) × 100 = 16.28 % (2)
R R = ( Net profit per annum / total investmen t ) × 100 = 21.28 % (3)
P P = ( Total investment / total annual net profit ) = 4.7 years (4)
| S/N | Item | Cost ($) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Total recurring cost | 503,455.39 |
| 2 | Depreciation on machine/equipment | 10,337.02 |
| 3 | 5% | 21,71.27 |
| 4 | Depreciation on office equipment 10% | 39,058.06 |
| Total interest on loan 10% | ||
| Total | 555,021.73 |
**Interest rate of 10% assuming 40% equity and 60% loan.
Total annual sale is computed to be $662,983.43 assuming a gate price of $2.21 per bag and a total annual sale of 300,000 bags. The net annual profit is given to be $107,961.70 as reflected in Equation (1). The profit on the investment over a period of time (Rate of Return) is computed as 21.28% using Equation (3). The payback period which is the time required to recoup the total investment was obtained as 4.7 years.
The business is technically viable based on the calculation and with raw material spread across different parts of the country. The technology involved is the Vertical Shaft Kiln based technology which is the most viable for mini/small scale ventures. The total investment cost is estimated to be $507,321.23 and a payback period of 4.7 years. The analysis shows that the business is viable and capable of creating an avenue for investment in the area of pozzolana production in Nigeria. The business can generate employment for 40 persons on site outside the indirect employment generation based on this plant size. All financial outlays and outcomes presented in this profile are based on the estimated production size or capacity. Using this presentation as a guide, investors are however encouraged or advised to conduct its own feasibility study for a given production capacity and plant size as well as site location.
The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.
Ogwu, E.A., Apeh, F.I., Ogwu, A.A. and Yahaya, B.S. (2019) Technical Profile on the Production of Pozzolana (An Emerging Construction Material) in Nigeria. Open Journal of Civil Engineering, 9, 356-366. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojce.2019.94024