HOK activated lignite: Lignite from the Rhineland - more than just a fuel

Lignite-based activated carbon is in great demand for use as an adsorbent and catalyst in waste-water and waste-gas cleaning

Cologne. - Lignite from the Rhenish mining area is not only an indispensable fuel that accounts for a quarter of Germany"s electricity production - it is used worldwide to reduce emissions, thus serving to protect the environment.

HOK activated lignite, which is used in the capture of pollutants, has special properties that yield an adsorbent and catalyst which is in demand in numerous fields. Produced by RWE Power AG in compliance with DIN ISO 9001, HOK is marketed worldwide by Rheinbraun Brennstoff GmbH as low-cost and highly effective sorbent - for instance for waste water treatment and drinking water filtration.

One important field of application is waste-gas cleaning in refuse incineration and in the steel industry. A method commonly used in the steel industry is the melting of iron and steel scrap, which is processed in an electric arc furnace. The thermal treatment of the scrap, which is loaded with paints, oils and other organic substances, produces dioxins and furans, necessitating special reduction measures. Adsorptive entrained-flow waste-gas cleaning using HOK is one of the easiest and most cost-efficient cleaning methods.

HOK activated lignite in use - Air pollution control is of significance throughout the world

Even in the US, activated is now helping lower air pollution levels. Besides sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, mercury poses a special challenge for US power plants. Here, too, "Activated Lignite HOK®" has proved to be both an outstandingly effective and a low-cost adsorbent.

Biological sewage treatment plants - another field of application - operate on the basis of the "manger model", i.e. the micro-organisms required to degrade pollutants are supplied with nutritive substances and oxygen by the activated coke. The nutritive substances on which the micro-organisms feed - pollutants and degradation products contained in the water - are concentrated near the coke particles. This leads to the increased colonization of micro-organisms and speeds up the filtering process. At the same time, the material functions as a buffer and temporary store, which reduces fluctuations in medium. The result is a compact sludge that quickly sediments.

From 27 to 30 October 2009, RBB will present this and other innovative product solutions at the Entsorga-Enteco trade fair in Cologne. Interested trade visitors are welcome to visit representatives of Rheinbraun Brennstoff GmbH at stand A 046 in hall 7.1 during opening hours (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.).

For further information, also check out the Internet: www.hok.de.