BHS Sonthofen

What is to be done when there is no empirical data for the production conditions of using a mixer in advance? And what to do furthermore if the construction site of the mixer is difficult to access? These were the initial conditions that BHS-Sonthofen had to contend with as part of the ARGE ETS Konrad mine project in Salzgitter-Bleckenstedt, Germany. It had to design a BHS twin-shaft batch mixer and deliver a custom-designed mixing plant (Figure 1).

The mixing plant will produce wet shotcrete (0-4 mm) from dry compound with different concrete additives and achieve an optimum end product – in a mine located 1,000 meters underground.

“We use the BHS laboratory mixer of type DKX 0.06 S (Figure 2) to meet any requirement for which we still do not have any example cases available in our portfolio of previous projects,” explains Eckhard Rößner, who is responsible for the building materials machinery sales force in the region. Those responsible at the ARGE ETS mine used this scaled-down version of the large BHS twin-shaft batch mixer to test what the optimal design for the ready-mixed shotcrete (grain and cement) would be and how it needed to be processed for use in the mine. To be more specific, the mixing plant should produce 20 to 25 cubic meters of wet shotcrete per concrete pour with a concreting time of four to six hours. The consistency range for the finished product is F2/F3. The key here is maintaining the exact water-cement ratio of 0.45 set out in the requirements specified for exposure class XA3.

A successful test led to a successful order

To get the best idea of how the BHS twin-shaft batch mixer works and the results it delivers, the cooperation between ARGE and BHS started with the rental of the laboratory mixing station. The team performed a two-stage test starting in August 2020. The first stage took place on the premises of ARGE stakeholder Schachtbau Nordhausen, with the second stage then taking place underground. They tested all of the functions and performance features of the mixing system, as well as the combination of dry mixes with additives from various suppliers. “It was important for us to experiment and develop the ideal product characteristics before investing in a large plant. The laboratory system from BHS provided the perfect conditions for us to do this in,” emphasizes Marcel Hahn, a project manager at ARGE. To produce wet shotcrete underground, a dry compound from big bags with a maximum grain size of 4 millimeters is used to which steel fibers are added during the mixing process. Once the concrete is mixed, the end product is loaded into a special truck mixer that has a capacity of 3.5 cubic meters and is transported to the concrete pump.

Complicated logistics for onsite installation

ARGE ordered the custom-designed BHS “Stabimix 0.75” mixing plant at the beginning of October 2020 following the successful test with the machine in the lab. In addition to the BHS twin-shaft batch mixer of type DKX 0.75 (Figure 3), the delivery scope also included all of the peripheral equipment and a process and dosing control system developed inhouse by BHS’ control systems department.

Equipment designed to make the already difficult working conditions underground easier to deal with, such as a high-pressure cleaning system for the mixer and a central lubrication system, rounded off the delivery scope. “After we had placed the order, we still had a few logistical demands to deal with in terms of having the installation components delivered,” explains Rößner. “We couldn’t simply deliver and install the plant and equipment in the same way we normally would at other sites. Instead, we had to deliver them divided into logical individual components and transport them to a depth of 1,000 meters using a shaft hoisting system.”

The clear specifications for the dimensions of the components and transport containers included a maximum component format of 2,300 mm deep x 2,700 mm wide and a maximum weight of 5,000 kilograms. In total, BHS transported around 45 individual pieces down to the mine in line with these project specifications. Delivering and transporting the components underground were not the only things that required meticulous planning – everything from the location of the hoist to where the mixer will actually be used (an area of approx. 3 km) on a base measuring 1,000 meters did, too. The final installation process also had to be designed using completely different work steps to the usual procedure, since deliveries are normally comprised of much larger assemblies than the one at this underground construction site. Tools and work materials were planned with safety reserves, as the complex logistics of the situation meant additional deliveries would not arrive quickly enough.

Laboratory machine guarantees reproducible mixtures

Installation onsite started at the beginning of February 2021 (Figure 4). To this end, BHS installation specialists prepared themselves for working underground. A lead installation technician, an electrician and a control specialist underwent a physical specifically for this task and receiving training in working underground and the occupational safety regulations that apply in that environment. The batch mixer and its peripherals were installed and commissioned in around four weeks with the support of ARGE personnel. “Production with the BHS plant went live in the early part of summer 2021 and we can implement the exact conditions we tested in the lab here underground. It worked really well. That’s why we decided to buy the machine from the lab as well,” says Hahn. “This also allows us to perform detailed dosing and mixing tests for other projects before we start them since the lab results are representative of the production machines.” This means that ARGE ETS has the safest operation possible when it comes to concreting work in underground projects as a result.

Further information:
BHS Sonthofen GmbH
www.bhs-sonthofen.com

British recycling specialists Recycling Lives commissioned a recycling plant that was planned and implemented by BHS-Sonthofen. The plant is designed to handle a variety of materials such as automotive shredder residue (ASR), electric and electronic scrap (WEEE) as well as so-called “meatballs” (electric motors and motor armatures). The process developed together with the company is based on a profitability analysis and ensures marketable end products.

In the process of expanding capacities, the British recycling company Recycling Lives decided it required a plant that could process different materials simultaneously at its 15-acre Recycling Park in Preston (Figure 1). These included ASR, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), metal composites and meatballs. After BHS had drawn up an initial concept for a plant, extensive tests were carried out at the Sonthofen test center with about two to three metric tons of each material required by the customer (Figure 2).

BHS calculated profitability after tests in the test center

Customers of BHS-Sonthofen need a validated basis for decision-making before they invest in a new plant. Data on throughput and material quality, among other parameters, is collected during the tests and analyses in the test center. This information is then used to create a mass balance a profitability analysis– a key advantage for customers. The recycling company used the calculation to estimate the profitability of the plant investment.”

Accordingly, the experts from BHS designed the plant based on the test data. The feed material is supplied to the Rotorshredder of type RS 3218 via a feeder (Figure 3). The tools of the Rotorshredder exert a very intense stress on the feed material through impact, shock and shearing forces (Figure 4). The result is selective size shredding: Particle sizes are selectively reduced and composite materials are separated. All fine fractions of particle sizes smaller than 25 mm are processed on other existing plants. The fraction >25 mm is conveyed to a zigzag sifter, which frees the feed material from light material (fluff, films, fibers, dust, etc.).

The cleaned material is then transported via an overhead magnet to a cyclone separator, which was included in the order to BHS. In the overall control concept BHS took these assemblies into account and also supplied the steel structures for these parts of the plant. The process, which was developed by BHS together with the British customer, produces market-ready end products.

Recycling Lives’ Chief Engineer Gary Halpin explained: “Since the machine was installed three years ago downstream from our main shredder at the Recycling Park in Preston, it has proved efficient in further reducing the particulate size for more efficient extraction of metals and other materials from the waste stream. It is a valuable element within our waste processing operation, helping to extract maximum value and also increase the amount of material that can be recycled as we progress towards a circular economy solution.”

Further information:
BHS Sonthofen GmbH
www.bhs-sonthofen.com

Machinery and plant engineering expert BHS-Sonthofen has expanded its test center at the Sonthofen site and has undergone modernization work in the areas of recycling and environmental technology. BHS conducts tests with shredding, sorting, and conveyor technology for the recycling industry and environmental technology in a space that spans nearly 1,000 square meters. This allows BHS to offer its customers the option of testing all process steps.

When it comes to recycling and the environment, no two input materials are ever the same. That is why it is imperative that recycling companies conduct extensive tests with the respective input material before deciding on a specific plant layout. At its company headquarters in Sonthofen, Germany, BHS offers customers and interested parties in the area of recycling the opportunity to conduct comprehensive tests using their own input materials. Magnets, screening, and various separating tables provide the right technology for sorting shredded products.

“As a leading process consultant and mechanical process technology provider, it is our responsibility to develop all-in-one solutions together with our customers that are perfectly adapted to their needs,” explains Steffen Hinderer, Director Process Development at BHS-Sonthofen. “Our test center, which opened in summer 2019, has already raised the bar in the areas of mixing, shredding, recycling, and filtering. Thanks to the expansion of the recycling and environment test division, our customers are able to test all their processes in this area even more comprehensibly in our facilities.”

Turnkey systems for improved overall process efficiency

In addition to optimizing the conveyor technology, investments for the expanded area of recycling also include sorting machines that perfectly complement the process expertise of BHS-Sonthofen. Dryers and mixers can also be installed upon request. “Our customers can now test their entire recycling processes, all the way from the input material to finished products on-site at our facilities. Our “one-stop shop” approach allows you to test your complete systems in a time and cost-efficient manner,” explains Steffen Hinderer.

In the expanded test center, customers will also be able to gain an impression of suitable plant control systems for the area of recycling and environment (Figure 3). This involves control systems for complete plants from BHS Control Systems, which are specifically tailored to the requirements of the customer. The user benefits from the base software’s open interface architecture: the Win CC Open Architecture. The scalable system allows the wide range of components to be integrated smoothly and therefore the plant control systems can be expanded as required and without large investments.

Put to the test: recycling of lithium-ion batteries

BHS can now also test the shredding of electrolyte-loaded and deep-discharged lithium-ion batteries at its Sonthofen location. “The recycling of lithium-ion batteries comes with great challenges in terms of safety,” says Hinderer. “That’s why many providers do not possess the necessary infrastructure.” At BHS Sonthofen’s, the shredding of battery packs, modules and cells with an individual weight of up to 220 kg can be tested in a closed nitrogen atmosphere inside the machines.

Further information:
BHS Sonthofen GmbH
www.bhs-sonthofen.com

The Dominican building materials manufacturer Calizamar, S.A. relies on crushing technology from BHS-Sonthofen (Figure 1). The company has commissioned the BHS rotor impact mill of type RPM 1513 to produce high-quality crushed sand. With this machine, there are now three crushing plants from BHS-Sonthofen in operation in the Caribbean.

In the building materials industry, not all sand is the same – and the same goes for countries blessed with picturesque Caribbean beaches such as the Dominican Republic. Not all naturally occurring sand has a form and composition that is suitable for the construction industry. In particular, the demand for dry and fine sand for dry mortar and concrete production is constantly increasing. That is why companies such as Calizamar need high-quality crushed sand with consistently reliable properties for their products. As its original mobile impact crushers were unable to produce appropriate crushed sand with the desired high cubicity, the search for new, suitable machines led Calizamar to BHS-Sonthofen.

The company opted for a BHS rotor impact mill of type RPM 1513 (Figure 2). The high-performance crusher features a vertical shaft and delivers high crushing ratio as well as an excellent cubic particle shape. It is based on an impeller rotor that uses BHS’ unique crushing principle: the high circumferential speed of the rotor results in an almost permanent gap between the tips of the horseshoe-shaped hammers and the anvil ring. A small gap width and the high energy input due to the circumferential speed produce a targeted, very high crushing ratio. The result, in percentage terms, is a higher proportion of fine sand in the grain spectrum from 0 to 2 mm.

Further information:
BHS-Sonthofen GmbH
www.bhs-sonthofen.de

BHS-Sonthofen GmbH, Sonthofen/Germany, now offers turnkey control systems for complete plants in the field of recycling and environment thanks to the newly founded BHS Control Systems GmbH & Co. KG. The customer receives complete solutions tailored to their needs, including recycling, control, and automation technology from a single source. BHS provides assistance in transferring the control system to modern systems.

BHS significantly expanded its service portfolio in the area of control and automation technology with the acquisition of Thoma Elektrosteuerungsanlagen GmbH from Babenhausen on 1st January 2020. Using its more than 30 years of experience and expertise as a basis, the Group now also offers customers engineering, supply, and design services for turnkey plant control systems for major projects in the recycling industry (Figure 1). BHS takes care of installation and commissioning and also provides user support and training.

Customers benefit from the open interface architecture. “Win CC Open Architecture is an open and scalable system that enables a wide range of components to be integrated smoothly and it is suitable for both small and large plants,” explains Steffen Kämmerer, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at BHS-Sonthofen and Managing Director of BHS Control Systems. BHS uses this as the foundation for custom solutions. The customer can expand the plant as required without the need for major investment in interface management. From a simple small system to a complex high-end system, the architecture is highly adaptable.

Win CC Open Architecture is also platform neutral and runs on Windows, Linux, Android and iOS. The system has proven itself to be extremely efficient when being used in everything from user guidance to system connection. BHS develops the individual components of its automation and control technology at its site in Babenhausen near Memmingen, in exact line the customer’s individual requirements. BHS Control Systems is already implementing a project in the processing of lithium-ion batteries for the Recycling & Environment division of BHS.

Further information:
BHS-Sonthofen GmbH
www.bhs-sonthofen.de

Sand manufacturer Kasprs Build Mate inaugurated a new plant for processing off-spec particles in Pune/India, in mid-2019. The centerpiece of the plant is the rotor impact mill from BHS-Sonthofen GmbH, Sonthofen/Germany, which, in contrast to conventional VSI rotor crushers, even further reduces fine grain sizes (Figure 1). Kasprs can thus make use of off-spec material of other companies to produce high-quality Plaster Sand and Dry Mortar Sand for the construction industry. High economic efficiency goes hand in hand with the conservation of natural sand reserves.

Kasprs Build Mate Private Ltd. is a company in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The range of products includes sand, mortar and concrete as well as bricks for the steadily growing Indian construction industry. Major projects in the mega-cities also require sand of the highest quality. Unregulated mining of this basic raw material leads to numerous environmental problems such as erosion, water pollution, and increased risk of flooding and drought. It is therefore essential to use this resource as efficiently as possible.

Sand production using conventional VSI rotor crushers, as they are often used in India, produces a large volume of off-spec particles, which are 10 to 15 mm in size and remain in the circuit without being crushed any further. These off-spec particles can account for up to 35 % of the total volume. As they are of no more use to the sand manufacturers, they are backfilled. Kasprs Build Mate was looking for a way to turn this surplus material into high-quality sand as well.

Himanshu Mavadiya, Production Applications Manager at BHS India, identified the RPM 1513 rotor impact mill as the perfect tool for this task: “Our RPM 1513 delivers a targeted and very high crushing ratio, which has a consistent grading curve over the entire tool lifetime. It is therefore able to produce sand of the highest quality with an excellent particle shape from the surplus material of conventional rotor crushers.” The producer benefits considerably from this and, in addition, every ton of sand that can be produced from off-spec particles slows down the depletion of natural sand deposits.

BHS has a modern test center where the material to be processed can be tested in advance in various machines. “In this particular case, we are dealing with basalt – a magmatic rock that presents some challenges,” says Mavadiya. “The BHS experts in Germany were able to carry out tests using a rock sample, allowing them to select the ideal machine and determine the best settings, too.” The customer did not want to leave anything to chance in this project and therefore inspected the machine at the German production site. The key goal was not only to find the right technology for the application, but also one that stood out from competing suppliers in the Indian region in terms of quality.

The selected RPM 1513 rotor impact mill fulfilled all expectations right from the start. In total, several hundred thousand tons of high-quality sand have already been produced.

In the meantime, the sand produced by the BHS rotor impact mill has become a brand in its own right. “Customers have taken to calling this high-quality product Kasprs Sand. This name stands for an optimal, homogeneous particle shape. And despite the somewhat higher price, it has become a sought-after construction raw material, especially for ambitious projects,” reports Anup Karwa, Project Manager at Kasprs Build Mate. In contrast to naturally occurring sand, which often has to be shipped over vast distances and is sometimes of dubious origin, this sand is also a local product: The basalt rock mined in the vicinity of the plant has been made fully usable by BHS technology.

Further information:
BHS-Sonthofen GmbH
www.bhs-sonthofen.de

After winning an international tender, BHS-Sonthofen GmbH, Sonthofen/Germany, was commissioned with constructing the largest mixer in the company’s history (Figure 1). An Indian zinc mine operator required a mixer with a very large filling capacity. The proven Combimix system with overflow was custom-built by BHS in this extraordinary size and shipped off to India. Ease of maintenance, implementation of all customer requirements and a local service office convinced the Indian customer to opt for BHS.

The largest zinc mine in the world is located in India. And when it comes to total zinc production, India ranks among the top 10. To backfill the mines, the operators require high-quality and robust mixing technology with a very high throughput capacity. Overburden and filter cakes, the by-products of zinc production, need to be mixed to a homogeneous mass free of clumping in order to make the mixture as readily pumpable as possible for backfilling.

An Indian mine operator launched an international tender among mixing technology experts to source new mixers for an upcoming plant conversion. BHS won the contract due to their high-quality, customizable technology and comprehensive mining expertise, and because the German company also has a dedicated sales and service team in India.

The customer’s requirements were very clear: a longer retention time of the material in the mixer and a filling level below the mixing shaft. This means that the mixer required a much larger filling capacity to process the same quantity of mixing material than in the conventional design. Design engineer Sebastian Poppel was responsible for customizing the technology. “These special customer requirements meant that the mixer had to be built for a total capacity of 28,000 l,” says Poppel, “This made it the largest mixer we’ve ever designed at BHS-Sonthofen.”

The experts at BHS decided that the Combimix system, a twin-shaft mixer of the DKXC series with overflow, would serve as the perfect base technology for the application. According to the customer’s requirements, the filter cake needed to have a long retention time to yield a final mass with maximum homogeneity and as little clumping as possible. In order to optimally meet their customers’ requirements, BHS can draw on a wealth of experience and even carry out extensive tests. “With a throughput of 263 m³/h, we arrived at a retention time of about 137 s,” explains Poppel. “During this time, lumps are dissolved to our satisfaction thanks to the high-performance mixing unit.”

A characteristic feature of the twin-shaft mixer from BHS is the three-dimensional mixing method. The turbulent overlap zone of the two mixing circuits generates an intense material exchange, as well as very high relative movement, thus resulting in a highly homogeneous final product.

In addition to the other requirements, the customer also wanted a product that allowed for high-pressure cleaning and delivered easy maintenance access. BHS was able to meet these specific requirements without any problems. Production of this largest-ever BHS mixer was completed in August 2019, and the unit was loaded onto a ship bound for India. Installation in the zinc mine took place at the end of the year under the supervision of BHS experts.

Further information:
BHS-Sonthofen GmbH
www.bhs-sonthofen.de

Sand manufacturer Kasprs Build Mate inaugurated a new plant for processing off-spec particles in Pune, India, in mid-2019. The centerpiece of the plant is the rotor impact mill from BHS-Sonthofen, which, in contrast to conventional VSI rotor crushers, even further reduces fine grain sizes. Kasprs can thus make use of off-spec material of other companies to produce high-quality Plaster sand and Dry Mortar Sand for the construction industry. High economic efficiency goes hand in hand with the conservation of natural sand reserves.

Kasprs Build Mate Private Limited is a company based in Pune in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The range of products includes sand, mortar, and concrete as well as bricks for the steadily growing Indian construction industry. Major projects in the mega-cities also require sand of the highest quality. Unregulated mining of this basic raw material leads to numerous environmental problems such as erosion, water pollution, and increased risk of flooding and drought. It is therefore essential to use this resource as efficiently as possible.

Maximizing the yield from rock with BHS-Sonthofen

Sand production using conventional VSI rotor crushers, as they are often used in India, produces a large volume of off-spec particles, which are 10 to 15 mm in size and remain in the circuit without being crushed any further. These off-spec particles can account for up to 35 percent of the total volume. As they are of no more use to the sand manufacturers, they are backfilled. Kasprs Build Mate was looking for a way to turn this surplus material into high-quality sand as well.

Himanshu Mavadiya, Production Applications Manager at BHS India, identified the RPM 1513 rotor impact mill as the perfect tool for this task: “Our RPM 1513 delivers a targeted and very high crushing ratio, which has a consistent grading curve over the entire tool lifetime. It is therefore able to produce sand of the highest quality with an excellent particle shape from the surplus material of conventional rotor crushers.” The producer benefits considerably from this and, in addition, every ton of sand that can be produced from off-spec particles slows down the depletion of natural sand deposits.

Preliminary trials in the test center result in a best-of-breed solution

BHS-Sonthofen has a modern test center where the material to be processed can be tested in advance in various machines. “In this particular case, we are dealing with basalt – a magmatic rock that presents some challenges,” says Mavadiya. “The BHS experts in Germany were able to carry out tests using a rock sample, allowing them to select the ideal machine and determine the best settings, too.” The customer did not want to leave anything to chance in this project and therefore inspected the machine at the German production site. The key goal was not only to find the right technology for the application, but also one that stood out from competing suppliers in the Indian region in terms of quality.

The selected RPM 1513 rotor impact mill fulfilled all expectations right from the start. In total, several hundred thousand tons of high-quality sand have already been produced. Anup Karwa, Project Manager at Kasprs Build Mate, is satisfied: “For our company, efficient value creation and thus resource savings is an enormously important decision factor when it comes to choosing a new technology. BHS-Sonthofen convinced us on site with their modern test center, experienced shredding experts, and robust high-performance machines.”

The “Kasprs Sand” brand

In the meantime, the sand produced by the BHS rotor impact mill has become a brand in its own right. “Customers have taken to calling this high-quality product Kasprs Sand. This name stands for an optimal, homogeneous particle shape. And despite the somewhat higher price, it has become a sought-after construction raw material, especially for ambitious projects,” reports Karwa. In contrast to naturally occurring sand, which often has to be shipped over vast distances and is sometimes of dubious origin, this sand is also a local product: The basalt rock mined in the vicinity of the plant has been made fully usable by BHS technology.

Further information:
BHS-Sonthofen GmbH
www.bhs-sonthofen.de

Sonthofen, Germany, 01 April 2020. After winning an international tender, BHS-Sonthofen was commissioned with constructing the largest mixer in the company’s history (Figure 2). An Indian zinc mine operator required a mixer with a very large filling capacity. The proven Combimix system with overflow was custom-built by BHS-Sonthofen in this extraordinary size and shipped off to India. Ease of maintenance, implementation of all customer requirements and a local service office convinced the Indian customer to opt for BHS-Sonthofen.

The largest zinc mine in the world is located in India. And when it comes to total zinc production, India ranks among the top 10. To backfill the mines, the operators require high-quality and robust mixing technology with a very high throughput capacity: Overburden and filter cakes, the by-products of zinc production, need to be mixed to a homogeneous mass free of clumping in order to make the mixture as readily pumpable as possible for backfilling.

An Indian mine operator launched an international tender among mixing technology experts to source new mixers for an upcoming plant conversion. BHS-Sonthofen won the contract due to their high-quality, customizable technology and comprehensive mining expertise, and because the German company also has a dedicated sales and service team in India.

BHS-Sonthofen competently implements demanding customer requirements

The customer’s requirements were very clear: a longer retention time of the material in the mixer and a filling level below the mixing shaft. This means that the mixer required a much larger filling capacity to process the same quantity of mixing material than in the conventional design. Design engineer Sebastian Poppel was responsible for customizing the technology. “These special customer requirements meant that the mixer had to be built for a total capacity of 28,000 liters,” says Poppel, “This made it the largest mixer we’ve ever designed at BHS-Sonthofen.”

The experts at BHS decided that the Combimix system, a twin-shaft mixer of the DKXC series with overflow, would serve as the perfect base technology for the application. According to the customer’s requirements, the filter cake needed to have a long retention time to yield a final mass with maximum homogeneity and as little clumping as possible. In order to optimally meet their customers’ requirements, BHS can draw on a wealth of experience and even carry out extensive tests. “With a throughput of 263 m³/h, we arrived at a retention time of about 137 seconds,” explains Poppel. “During this time, lumps are dissolved to our satisfaction thanks to the high-performance mixing unit.”

A characteristic feature of the twin-shaft mixer from BHS is the three-dimensional mixing method. The turbulent overlap zone of the two mixing circuits generates an intense material exchange, as well as very high relative movement, thus resulting in a highly homogeneous final product.

In addition to the other requirements, the customer also wanted a product that allowed for high-pressure cleaning and delivered easy maintenance access. BHS-Sonthofen was able to meet these specific requirements without any problems. Production of this largest-ever BHS-Sonthofen mixer was completed in August 2019, and the unit was loaded onto a ship bound for India. Installation in the zinc mine took place at the end of the year under the supervision of BHS experts.

Further information:
BHS Sonthofen GmbH
www.bhs-sonthofen.de

BHS-Sonthofen GmbH, Sonthofen/Germany and MSW Mineralstoffwerke Südwest received the German Resources Efficiency Award 2016 on 16th February 2017 (Figure 1). The prestigious prize was awarded by the German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy to the two companies to commend the development and successful implementation of the Combimix process. This process turns a previously worthless mining by-product accumulated in quarries into a valuable building resource. BHS developed the Combimix process based on their twin-shaft batch mixers and implemented it together with MSW at their quarry in Mönsheim. This marked the first German project of this kind.

In quarries and gravel pits, the Combimix process takes clay-and-rock mixtures – which previously had to be refilled or disposed at a landfill – and turns them into a marketable building material. Furthermore, this means that millions of tons of material previously considered worthless and dumped can now be reactivated.

BHS has also installed the Combimix system in several quarries in France using continuous mixers. Before the system was installed, in one facility more than 100,000 t of rock/clay mixture from the quarry had to be dumped every year. More than 90 % of contaminated feed material is now sold as rock grade thanks to the Combimix system.

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy awards the German Resources Efficiency Award to exemplary products that efficiently use raw materials and other materials, processes or services, as well as application-oriented research results. A jury comprising 14 members screened over 40 submissions to select four winners in the “Companies” category and a single winner in the “Research Facilities” category.

MSW introduced the process at their Mönsheim quarry in the summer of 2016. It allowed the company to increase their repository’s yield by 25 %. To produce the same volume of the final product, it was previously necessary to extract about 620,000 t of limestone annually. Now the total is around 188,000 t less, which corresponds to a relative reduction of around 30 %. It helped to increase raw material efficiency from the previous level of 65 to 70 % to around 93 %.

Dennis Kemmann, the Managing Director of BHS-Sonthofen GmbH, is already thinking ahead: “Our Combimix process holds a vast potential as it enables companies across the globe and throughout various industries to utilize resources more efficiently. In the context of rehabilitating contaminated soil, Combimix can be used to remove oil and other harmful substances. As a result, only a small fraction of the feed material needs to be dumped in hazardous waste landfills. The process is also viable for the cement industry. Here, it can be applied to processing limestone, a key ingredient that improves the burning process in rotary kilns and thus contributes to reducing fuel consumption.”

Further information/Weitere Informationen:
BHS-Sonthofen GmbH
www.bhs-sonthofen.de