Successful kiln lift at Mergelstetten's catch4climate project

A 700t crane was used to lift the kiln into position at Mergelstetten cement plant, Germany, for the ‘catch4climate’  CO₂ capture project on 7 March 2024. The four European cement manufacturers Buzzi SpA (Dyckerhoff GmbH), Heidelberg Materials AG, Schwenk Zement GmbH und Co KG and Vicat SA joined forces in In 2019 to start the research company CI4C GmbH & Co KG to jointly realise the ‘catch4climate’ CO₂ capture project.

Schwenk's Mergelstetten plant, for the construction and operation of which over EUR120m will be invested, is the first to use the so-called pure oxyfuel process for CO₂ capturing. A separate rotary kiln line with a clinker production capacity of 450tpd will be built for this purpose, which will be used exclusively for research and development.

The pure oxyfuel process was designed by thyssenkrupp Polysius. The company Hoffmeier in Hamm was commissioned with the production of the kiln pipe, the assembly of the kiln rings, the kiln inlet/outlet segments and the gear ring. The CO₂ purification unit (CPU) is being built by Linde Engineering and the oxygen supply (LOX = Liquified Oxygen Plant) is being provided by Westfalen AG.

In December 2023 the rotary kiln was transported by barge on the river from Hamm-Uentrop to Heilbronn-Hafen, where it was initially stored temporarily until the construction work on site for kiln assembly was completed. The rest of the journey to Mergelstetten was then carried out by heavy goods vehicle during the night to avoid disrupting traffic as much as possible.

Due to its compact dimensions, the kiln is the first that Polysius has transported in one piece, including the race and gear ring, and placed on the kiln foundations in one lift. In addition to working out the transportation concepts, all the assembly processes on the construction site were planned in such detail in advance that the rotary kiln could be placed in one lift without delay.

The oxyfuel kiln system is expected to be commissioned in the 1Q25. After commissioning, a period of around three years is planned to work on the research and development results, if the progress of the results requires it.