The spray dryer is described as one of the first large-scale industrial plants in Germany to use hydrogen as a fuel in continuous operation. LANXESS installed the hydrogen burner at the end of 2025 and has been gradually bringing it online since then. The system is designed to run entirely on hydrogen.

Technical integration includes a dedicated hydrogen line, an adapted burner, measurement control technology, and additional safety and control systems.

The hydrogen is produced as a byproduct of chlorine electrolysis at the neighboring Covestro plant and transported directly to the LANXESS facility via a pipeline. The two companies operate within the same Verbund site, where short pipeline routes, shared infrastructure, and established safety concepts support the hydrogen supply.

Michael Ertl, Head of the Inorganic Pigments business unit at LANXESS, said: “Switching from a natural gas burner to a hydrogen burner is a significant technological step towards low-greenhouse-gas processes. We are proving that decarbonizing industry works not only in pilot projects, but also in the day-to-day operation of large production facilities.”

Rob Eek, Production Manager at Covestro in Krefeld-Uerdingen, said: “The project shows that industrial partners at a Verbund site can particularly successfully shape the transition to climate-friendly production.”

LANXESS and Covestro have a long-standing production partnership at the site. Covestro supplies nitrobenzene for LANXESS’s iron oxide pigment production, while aniline produced as a byproduct is returned to Covestro as a raw material. The hydrogen application in the spray dryer adds a further climate-relevant element to that established arrangement.

LANXESS operates what it describes as the world’s largest production facility for iron oxide pigments at Krefeld-Uerdingen, where pigments have been manufactured for 100 years.

Source:   Hydrogentechworld