But as each country is not able to make artificial gypsum because of the distribution of raw materials, the export of this mineral bonding agent plays an important role for the German energy sector. Rhenus has proven its worth as a high-performance logistics partner for years.
Germany produces at least 7.5mt of FGD gypsum every year — this translates into business operations worth around €58 million according to figures published by the Federal Institute for Geo-Sciences and Natural Resources. East Germany alone produces 4.5mt, as a great deal of lignite is burned there. The FGD gypsum is made from the waste gases of flue gas desulphurization plant — the sulphur dioxide in the waste gases reacts with limestone that is added to form gypsum. The sulphur content in lignite is much higher than in black coal, so it is the preferred material for ‘gypsum production’. The FGD gypsum obtained at flue gas desulphurization plants is chemically identical to the natural product. It is mainly used in the cement industry to manufacture materials like gypsum plaster, gypsum plaster board or floor screed, but is also required as a fertilizer or to produce hemihydrates.
But deposits of lignite — the ‘raw material’ for FGD gypsum production — are not evenly spread. This is why Germany has become a gypsum exporting country: approximately 700,000 tonnes of FGD gypsum are shipped to England, Scandinavia or the Benelux countries every year. Most coal-fired power stations in England are not equipped with desulphurization equipment.
The lignite power stations in the Eastern German and Rhineland brown coal areas are the main suppliers of this sought-after building material on account of the natural deposits where they are located. Rhenus has been working in this business for years and ships several hundreds of thousands of tonnes of this material every year. It has proven to be a reliable and high-performance partner for the gypsum industry — not just in terms of transportation, but also loading and unloading: the gypsum is moved from the Eastern German coal mining areas by rail to Hamburg, Rostock and Stralsund and is then loaded from intermediate storage sites on to seagoing vessels for onward shipment to England, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.
Rhenus Midgard unloads approximately 1.9mt of bulk materials at Hamburg-Harburg and transships them: this not only involves building materials from Scotland, Scandinavia and Ireland and scrap metal from the Hamburg region, but also FGD gypsum from the Eastern German power stations.
Rhenus put into service a new gantry crane in September: the rail-bound gantry slewing crane has a maximum lifting capacity of 55t and is mainly used for bulk materials. When used in tandem with a second crane, the loading equipment can handle project or heavy loads weighing up to 80t at Seaport II. Rhenus Midgard has also had an area measuring 10,000m2 redeveloped at this site.
Rhenus also works for the Rhineland coal mining districts by providing transportation services: the FGD gypsum is first shipped to Rotterdam by inland waterway vessels through the port in Neuss. It is then transported to England on coastal vessels from the Dutch intermediate storage area.
The need for gypsum will continue to grow over the next few years as building work increases and demand for fertilizers rises. The energy companies have a reliable partner in Rhenus, which not only has a well-developed transportation network, but can also draw on its many years of experience in shipping building materials.