Chemical and Physical Engineering
Contact: Grad.-Chem S. Kaps
E-mail: CPVk-utec.de
Phone: + 49 3632 610 116
Fax: + 49 3632 610 105
Overview
- Process design and basic engineering for processes and plants producing inorganic salts, oxides, hydroxides, especially potassium, sodium and magnesium compounds as well as fertiliser
- Development of processes, planning, supervision of erection, start-up
- Carrying out feasibility, assessment and economical studies
- Treatment of natural raw material, salt solution, brine, bittern
- Manufacturing of particles with special properties
- Test work in laboratory and bench scale, scale-up to industrial plants
- Industrial waste water treatment, brines produced by solution mining
- Balances of processes, mass, energy, heat balance
- Kinetics of dissolution, solubility of salt
- Manufacturing of product samples
Test plant
Technical Advancements
- Test laboratory for technological investigations
- Technical hall with manifold test equipment and pilot plant with:
- Equipment for dissolution, leaching, decomposition, evaporation, crystallization and flotation of mineral salts, agitated reactors, loop reactor, evaporator, vacuum cooling plant
- Equipment for fine grinding, screening, jaw crusher, impact crusher, disc mill
- Floatation cells
- Belt and pressure filter, centrifuge, spray dryer
- Plant for simulation of solar evaporation
- Clarifying cone, settler, thickener
- Post-treatment of granules, granulation drum, disc pelletizer, mixer
- Pilot equipment for manufacturing of product samples
Flowsheet
Examples
I. Customized product development through continual precipitation or reaction crystallization
According to a principle developed by K-UTEC, materials which are poorly soluble can be precipitated in a coarse defined size and are easily filterable. In a special reactor with an inner mixing reaction zone and outer sedimentation zone, the material is crystallized and produced in special particle sizes and forms, e.g. hydroxides with a spherical particle form.
We solve your problems through practically orientated investigations!
II. From raw materials to procedures - for the development of methods specific to site and type of raw material, in the recovery of potash and mineral salts
Raw materials:
- Raw salt and salt crystals obtained naturally and from mines/mining (carnallite, salt mixtures, evaporated salt crystals, hard salt, sylvite)
- Natural brine and bittern
- Brines produced by solution mining
- Waste water with mineral salt content
Methods:
- Sieving, screening, grinding, milling
- Leaching, dissolving, crystallization, evaporation, cooling, precipitation
- Decomposition of double salts (Carnallite, Kainite, Glaserite, Polyhalite, Glaserite, Schoenite), conversion
- Purification by floatation and inverse floatation
- Solid/liquid separation, filtration, centrifugation, sedimentation, clarification
- Fractional crystallization by evaporation
- Latent heat storage (smelt of salt hydrate), TES thermal energy storage’s
- Brine purification by controlled precipitation of magnesium hydroxide, gypsym, calcite
Products:
- Potassium chloride, potassium sulphate (MOP, SOP), fertilizer quality
- Potassium-magnesium-salts (Schönite, Leonite, Langbeinite)
- Magnesium compounds, cloride (Bischofite), sulfate (Epsomite, Epsom, Kieserite), hydroxide (Brucite), oxide, carbonate (Magnesite)
- Sodium chloride (Halit, Rock salt), sulphate (Glauber’s salt, Mirabilite, Thenardite)
- Calcium carbonate (Calcite), sulfate (Gypsum, Anhydride)
- Aluminium hydroxide, oxide, Alum, Aluminate (from Alunite)
- Boric acid, Borax, Pentaborate (from Ulexite)
III. Recycling of valuable materials from waste
K-UTEC, working together with partners, has developed recycling methods for:
- the recovery of nickel, cobalt and rare earth from Ni-MH battery scrap material
- the recovery of nickel and chrome from metal hydroxide sludge
- the recovery of potassium components from spent electrolytes of Mg electrolysis
crystal photo / REM
References (selection):
- Basic engineering of a plant for production of potassium sulphate (SOP) from mother liquor
Salinen Austria AG / Austria - Feasibility study for treatment of magnesium slag
Norsk Hydro Magnesiumgesellschaft mbH / Germany - Feasibility study for production of boric acid
Quiborax S.A. / Chile - Process design for potash production plant
IMPASCO / Republic of Iran - Process design for magnesium hydroxide production plant
IMPASCO / Republic of Iran - Feasibility study and test work for production of potash (industrial grade) from brine
TATA - Chemicals Ltd. / India - Design, erection and operation of pilot plant for recycling of valuable substances from waste
NEDMAG Industries / The Netherlands
VARTA / Germany
European Portable Battery Association / Switzerland
BUS – AG / Germany - Investigations for manufacturing of special flame retardants from magnesium hydroxide
NEDMAG Industries / The Netherlands
Lurgi Metallurgie / Gemany - Pre-feasibility study for crystallization and decomposition of carnallite
NEDMAG Industries / The Netherlands
TATA Chemicals / India - Process design for production of nickel hydroxide and nickel carbonate
MSH Metallwerke Südharz / Gemany - Investigations for carnallite crystallisation and producing potash, product diversification
DEUSA International GmbH / Germany - Investigations for purification of rock salt by floatation
Mitteldeutsche Kali AG / Germany
Südwestsalz / Deutschland - Investigations for production of ultrapure carnallite for electrolysis
Multiplex Constructions PTY LTD / Australia
Hatch / Canada