Minerals are an integral part of our daily lives and are used in a wide variety of industrial applications. We have been a process specialist for clay, industrial minerals and carbon containing minerals as well as other application areas of pigments and chemical products since 1930.
Depending on the product, the desired fineness and the throughput, we offer different solutions. For minerals, the choice is usually the pendulum mill, which is ideal for requirements of large throughputs and low energy requirements. The impact classifier mill and hammer mill also offer numerous advantages for these applications. While the pendulum mill and the impact classifier mill are already equipped with an integrated classifier, such a classifier can be retrofitted or replaced in existing plants.
Clay is the most important and oldest raw material for the production of ceramics, whether pottery or porcelain. Clay is also found in other products such as bricks, tiles, roofing tiles, hollow blocks and in the cement industry. In addition, it is used as a filler in plastics or in porcelains for electrical engineering, sanitary engineering and dentistry.
Bleaching earths are mainly used as adsorbents for decolorization, stabilization and purification (e.g. in edible oil, wine and in most juice and beer). It also acts as a binder for fat or oil on water and is used in the paper industry.
Bentonite is a special layered silicate consisting mainly of the swellable clay mineral montmorillonite. It finds application as a binder, adsorbent, stabilizer and additive. Typical applications include sealants and drilling fluids in the construction and drilling industries.
The most common application of bentonite is in drilling fluids. The bentonite in drilling fluids lubricates and cools oil and natural gas wells on drilling rigs. In this process, the drilling fluid transports the drilling material to the surface, and when the mud pumps stop, the thixotropy of the bentonite prevents the rock material from sinking back into the well. As a drilling fluid, bentonite seals the borehole against water and forms a solid mud cake on the borehole wall, which additionally stabilizes the borehole. The fine bentonite particles penetrate the bore wall, swell and solidify. Depending on the nature of the soil, fine and coarse particles are required.
Kaolin is a base material for the production of white porcelain and for light-firing clay masses. It is used as a white pigment in the production of coating colors and paints, and in the manufacture of paper. It also serves as a filler in plastics and is used in tire production, the food industry and in cosmetics.
Barite is mainly used in deep drilling as an additive for drilling fluids and to produce white pigments. It is found in components of heavy concrete and is added to other products to reduce sound transmission.
Calcium carbonate is extracted from mines and quarries and occurs in three different rocks. Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock composed mainly of the mineral calcite. It formed under marine conditions from the accumulation of fossils of shells. It is often used as a filler in paints, especially in matte emulsion paints. Approximately 30% of the paint is either chalk or marble. Marble is a metamorphic rock formed by the metamorphism of limestone, which consists mainly of calcite. High temperatures and pressures were necessary to form marble and usually destroyed all fossils and sedimentary structures of the original rock. Limestone is also a sedimentary rock composed mostly of the mineral calcite. Limestone often contains silica, clay silt and sand as inclusions or layers. It is often used in desulfurization processes in furnaces and power plants.
More than 80% of phosphate rock is used in the production of fertilizers. It is also processed to extract the element phosphorus (P). This element is a nutrient that is vital to humans, animals and plants. Naturally occurring phosphate rock is mined mainly in Florida, China, North Africa and Russia. In the fertilizer process, ground phoshate is treated with sulfuric acid to produce "phosphoric acid" and "simple superphosphate". Phosphate and phosphoric acid form "triple superphosphate". "Mono-ammonia phosphate" and "di-ammonia phosphate" are the final products after the chemical reaction of phosphate with ammonia.
Talc is known as the softest mineral on earth. As a natural ore, it always occurs in combination with other minerals such as dolomite, magnesite or very often chlorite. Most talc is white, lamellar, chemically inert, non-toxic and insoluble in water, but with an affinity for organic chemicals. The benefits of talc vary depending on its application. It acts as an anti-adhesive, an anti-caking agent, a lubricant, a carrier, a thickener and an adsorbent.
During lime burning, the limestones are heated to between 900 and 1200 °C. This process is called calcining. During this burning process, carbon dioxide escapes and burnt lime/calcium oxide/CaO is formed.
If water is added to this burnt lime, slaked lime/calcium hydroxide/Ca(OH)2 is produced. When the slaked lime sets (i.e. when water is released and carbon dioxide is absorbed) calcium carbonate/CaCO3 is formed again. By adding sand in the setting process, lime mortar is obtained.
Coal is widely used as a fossil energy carrier to produce heat or generate power, as well as for coke and graphite production. Carbon or activated carbon is a component of water or air filters, in medicine it is used for problems in the marginal intestinal tract and is said to bind toxins. It is found in food (e.g. in confectionery) but also in "charcoal drinks" (smoothies) and shower gel. Biochar is becoming increasingly important in various industries and can also be used for energy. Depending on the selected hydro/pyrolysis input, the output biomass can reach heating values of hard coal.
