Demonstration project
HySand
High-purity quartz sand is one of the main products of Nivelsteiner Sandwerke und Sandsteinbrüche GmbH, based in Herzogenrath. The company extracts the sand, which must then be dried for further processing. © Dominik Ketz, Bezirksregierung Köln
Climate-friendly pathways for sand drying
Certain types of sand, such as high-purity quartz sand, must be dried before further processing. To date, this has typically been done using fossil fuels such as natural gas or heating oil, resulting in CO₂ emissions.
In the HySand project, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Nivelsteiner Sandwerke und Sandsteinbrüche GmbH (Herzogenrath), RWTH Aachen University, FH Aachen and DTG GmbH Development & Technology (Niederzier) are joining forces in a joint feasibility study. The aim is to generate a solid knowledge base on how climate-friendly electricity and hydrogen can be used to decarbonise the drying process.
The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space with €593,000.
Management of the project
“Sand will remain an indispensable raw material across many sectors in the future.
This makes it all the more important to decarbonise energy-intensive processing steps. In HySand, we focus specifically on the drying process,”
said Dr Sarah Deutz, project lead at the Institute for a sustainable Hydrogen Economy (IHE), Forschungszentrum Jülich
What happens here, technical details
At present, Nivelsteiner Sandwerke und Sandsteinbrüche GmbH uses light fuel oil to heat rotary kilns in which high-purity quartz sands are dried. This process is associated with significant CO₂ emissions. One alternative is the use of electricity from renewable sources. In addition, green hydrogen and hybrid energy concepts may play an important role in the future.
This is where the company dries the quartz sand: in so-called rotating rotary kilns, light heating oil is currently still used to reach the required operating temperature. As part of HySand, climate-friendly alternatives are being developed. © FH Aachen/Arnd Gottschalk
A key aspect of the feasibility study conducted by the Institute for a sustainable Hydrogen Economy at Forschungszentrum Jülich is the supply of sites without direct access to hydrogen pipeline infrastructure. In such cases, hydrogen derivatives – chemical carriers in which hydrogen is stored – can provide a viable solution, enabling more efficient transport and storage.
Within HySand, the Institute for Advanced Mining Technologies (AMT) at RWTH Aachen University is developing an online concept for the continuous monitoring of the drying process. The Chair of Thermal Energy Engineering at FH Aachen is modelling the drying process and carrying out thermodynamic assessments of optimized operating modes. DTG GmbH Development & Technology and the IHE are jointly preparing cost estimates, developing a business plan, and defining pathways to transfer the project results into industrial practice. In addition, the IHE is using simulation-based analyses to compare different climate-friendly drying concepts in terms of both economic performance and environmental impact.
The results of the feasibility study are expected to be available by mid-2027.
Anyone interested in finding out more about the HySand project can send an email to info.hch2@fz-juelich.de.
In rotary kilns, the sand is typically heated to around 100 to 130 degrees Celsius. The heating oils used for this process reach significantly higher temperatures of several hundred degrees at the burner. © Forschungszentrum Jülich/Reisen
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