Norit NV
1,001 Applications For Activated Carbon
Norit 'leading in purification' is a strong, well-known brand in the market for activated carbon. The company’s cooperation with Brenntag dates back to 1926.
Photo: Norit
It was nearly a century ago that Norit 'leading in purification' began the production of activated carbon on an industrial scale. Company founder A. Wijnberg developed a method for decolorizing sugar syrup in the refining process to produce white sugar. Headquartered in Zenderen, the Netherlands, the company has been one of the leading producers of activated carbon ever since. Today Norit is a global company, leading the way in purification solutions based on activated carbon technology. The Norit group supplies consumables, components, systems and solutions for every step of the water and beverage value chain. Some eight percent of the world’s population for instance consumes water purified by Norit technology – more than 15 million cubic meters daily. The activated carbons needed for this are produced or reactivated in a multitude of sites in the Netherlands, Italy, the UK and the US, with company participation in Mexico and Brazil. Norit 'leading in purification' is also an active member in a number of initiatives dedicated to meeting the growing demands for sanitation equipment and clean water. René Kuipers, CEO of Norit NV, says: "The development and application of high-quality purification technologies allows us to find the ideal balance between ecological, sanitary, safety and economic considerations and work toward our goal of a sustainable future." Broad Spectrum Of Raw Materials A wide spectrum of raw materials, including peat, wood, lignite, coal, coconut shells and even olive pits, are used to produce a vast array of activated carbon types. The portfolio of products available for delivery is accordingly diverse. By controlling variations in physical nature (powdered, broken granular or extruded), particle size (from extremely fine powders to 4-mm extrudates), degree of activation, purity, and through specific after-treatments such as impregnation, Norit 'leading in purification' can offer a carbon type for every application. "You never need to force fit a Norit carbon." Purification by activated carbon is a proven, modern, state-of-the-art technology with a long tradition for a multitude of purification needs. The Ancient Greeks used charcoal to ease the symptoms of food poisoning. And during the time of Columbus, sailors used to blacken the insides of water barrels with fire, having observed that the water would stay fresh much longer by doing so. This beneficial behavior of carbonized materials has to do with the phenomenon that contaminants, typically organic compounds, tend to accumulate on surfaces – a process commonly referred to as adsorption. It was the adsorption of organic compounds from the water that impeded the growth of bacteria in the sailors’ barrels. Likewise it was adsorption of the toxins emitted by ingested bacteria that reduced the effects of food poisoning in Ancient Greece. A Spoonful For A Soccer Field It is the physical nature of the surface that makes adsorption occur. In the case of activated carbon, it is primarily the sheer size of the surface that makes it so effective; a single spoonful of activated carbon can easily contain the equivalent surface area of an entire soccer field. This surface area is created during the activation process. The most common process is steam activation, in which steam molecules at approximately 1000°C selectively burn holes in the carbonized raw material to create a multitude of pores inside the carbonaceous matrix. In chemical activation, phosphoric acid is used to generate a similar porous system at lower temperatures. Purification is the primary field of application for activated carbon. The vast porous structure of the carbonaceous matrix allows activated carbon to eliminate unwanted contaminants from all types of streams (both liquid and gas) in a cost-effective manner. But the unique porous structure lends itself to many fields of application outside of purification, for instance as a catalyst carrier or in gold extraction. Exciting new fields of use continue to be discovered today. Brenntag Supplies Numerous Customers Brenntag assists Norit 'leading in purification' with its state-of-the-art distribution network. For instance Brenntag Nordic acts as a distributor of Norit products in the four Nordic countries of Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark. Applications for Norit products lie primarily in pharmaceuticals, food & beverage, drinking and waste water, chemicals, mining, catalysts, and gas & air. Bengt Unnefors, Brenntag Product Manager, comments: "Brenntag Nordic supplies Norit’s more than 200 different grades of activated carbon to numerous customers in all fields of application. Many customers receive deliveries from our distribution warehouses, but we sometimes also ship bulk or packed goods to customers directly from the factory." Bengt Unnefors adds: "The ambition of Norit in Brenntag’s Nordic region is to be the market leader in the next four to five years." The prospects certainly look good: "Norit 'leading in purification' is a reliable partner with outstanding expertise that can help us develop the market and give us more opportunities to grow our business. The name Norit 'leading in purification' itself is a unique selling proposition. Additional quality features include secure and reliable deliveries, custom support, special equipment and a well-trained sales force." Additional Opportunities For Growth In Environmental Protection Increasingly stringent environmental legislation is another factor that could stimulate business. Bengt Unnefors remarks, "Activated Carbon is a long established, well known product. Norit Activated Carbon is introducing new and improved grades to meet the latest market needs." Demands on wastewater treatment for instance have increased both at the municipal level and in the pharmaceuticals industry. Wastewater must be carefully treated to remove hormones, drug residues, pesticides, herbicides and other substances. The corresponding regulation has already been included in an EU Framework Directive for water scheduled to come into force in 2015. Affected companies are beginning the necessary preparations much earlier. The new European HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) guidelines for food and pharmaceuticals will also lead to an increased use of activated carbon for purification purposes. Brenntag provides support for Norit’s own sales force. Backed up by a team of application specialists, it ensures that customers in more than 150 countries around the world are adequately served in meeting their purification needs. "Wherever you are, there is always a Norit representative at hand" – and this is also true for its sister companies providing membranes, valves, CO2 recovery and analytics under the umbrella of Norit. A PERFECT TEAM:BRENNTAG AND NORIT The initiative of Hanne Geiger, Sales Executive at Brenntag Nordic, landed a lucrative new customer for Brenntag’s partner Norit 'leading in purification'. After reading an online article from the Norwegian environmental agency, she quickly established contact between Norit and a potential new customer, manganese producer RDMN. Norwegian daily newspaper "Rana Blad" even reported on this development, excerpted here:
RDMN Stops Mercury Emissions
On Friday, Rio Doce Manganese Norway (RDMN) tested the newly installed equipment from Dutch manufacturer Norit… The pilot plant will run until a permanent solution for removing mercury is found. Managing Director Svein Are Olsen from RDMN says that this plant will be used as a fully operational pilot plant to test how efficient this solution is in the longer run. The process is based primarily on the addition of activated carbon…
According to the manufacturer, this should remove 97-99% of the mercury in the flue gas from the sinter plant … Process Metallurgist Johan Eilertsen from RDMN explains that the pilot plant injects activated carbon into the airflow from the sinter plant. Mercury in the air stream binds with the activated carbon and is then collected in filter bags... Contact: Bengt Unnefors Hanne Geiger bengt.unnefors@brenntag-nordic.com hanne.geiger@brenntag-nordic.com Further information:www.norit.com
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