Mibrag and Romonta

Visit of lignite open-cast mining of Mibrag and Romonta factory of montan wax

ROMONTA is the world’s largest producer of crude montan wax, with a nearly 100-year-old tradition of lignite upgrading. The fossil wax is extracted from bitumen-rich lignite, coming from our own open-cast mine in Amsdorf.
Crude montan wax was first extracted using a method patented by the Hamburg chemist Edgar von Boyen. The modern high-tech process used today is the culmination of years of steady improvement in our production technology.
Its special characteristics make montan wax an important raw material for many branches of industry. This has enabled montan wax products from Amsdorf to maintain their position in the world market despite the development of countless new types of synthetic waxes.
 

Tour 2: TU Bergakademie Freiberg and Siemens Fuel Gasification Technology GmbH

Visit to the Department of Energy Process Engineering and Chemical Engineering (IEC) at TU Bergakademie Freiberg:

The IEC is one of the leading research institutes in the field of gasification technologies in Germany. Research activities at the institute comprise fuel characterisation, pyrolysis, gasification, combustion, synthesis gas production and gas treatment, process development up to pilot plants and modelling of processes and complex energy plants. To fulfil the tasks and validate calculation results a large range of experimental equipment is available.

Focussing on ash and fuel analysis laboratory equipment comprises high temperature and high pressure X‑ray diffractometry (HT/HP-XRD), Hot Stage Microscope, Reaction Calorimeter RC1, Gas Chromatography, Flame AAS, CHN-elementar analyser, Pyrolysis furnaces, High pressure thermogravimetric analysers, High pressure differential scanning calorimeter and Fuel-technical analysis.

Test facilities at the institute include the a gasification reactor for solid fuel, especially for difficult coals with a high content of ashes/minerals, a drop tube reactor for gasification kinetic investigations of solid fuels, a high pressure drop tube furnace for investigations into coal pyrolysis and the Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry.

Visit to Siemens Fuel Gasification Technology GmbH:

Siemens Fuel Gasification Technology is part of Siemens Energy, one of the world's leading suppliers of components and systems along the entire chain of energy conversion - from the extraction of oil & gas via power generation to the transmission and distribution of electrical energy. The Siemens Fuel Gasification Technology is highly recognized for its flexibility and reliable design. The Siemens gasification test centre in Freiberg is one of the most comprehensive gasification test facilities in the world. The centerpiece of the test center is a 5 MW gasification reactor which can be adjusted to different feedstock conditions. The test gasifier is complemented by a range of feedstock preparation systems and related gas cleaning units. A test rig for large-scale, high-pressure feeding tests was refurbished in 2008. This rest rig consists of a fully equipped dry feeding system and will be used to find optimized feeding solutions.

Tour 3: CEMEX OstZement GmbH

Visit to the cement plant of CEMEX in Rüdersdorf

The cement plant Rüdersdorf, situated in the eastern outskirts of Berlin, is considered as one of the biggest and most sophisticated cement plants in Europe. Within the CEMEX world the cement plant Rüdersdorf has a leading technological role. Together with the milling plant Eisenhüttenstadt, the plant Rüdersdorf belongs to the ‘east cluster’ of CEMEX’s cement unit, which is employing approx. 300 people. The cement plant Rüdersdorf has an annual clinker production of 1.8 million tons, which can be processed together with additives to 2.3 million tons of the main types of cement: CEM I (Portland cement) and CEM II (composite cement). These products can be distributed depending on the customer’s needs in bulk or as bagged cement via truck, rail or ship.  In the east cluster, the majority of the cement produced is sold to domestic customers (greater area Berlin, metropolitan areas in Northern and Eastern Germany). Nevertheless, CEMEX Germany is also exporting to Poland and several Baltic and Scandinavian countries.

Rüdersdorf has a rich tradition as a location for the production of building materials. The best-known limestone outcrop in the North German Plain is able to look back on a 750-year old history of quarrying and long-lasting tradition of cement production. In Rüdersdorf cement has been produced for 125 years. 

In the Rüdersdorf cement plant the first application of Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) technology in combination with a cement kiln is located.
Using a gasification process, the CFB processes diverse waste streams to produce  lean gas for use as secondary fuel and an inert ash which serves as a raw material component for the cement production process.

The number of participants is limited to 40 places.