Calcium carbide for acetylene production
Alzchem is producing Calcium Carbide for over 100 years.
Calcium Carbide is obtained by a reaction of lime and coke in an electric arc furnace at temperatures of around 1,800 to 2,100 °C.
Calcium Carbide is of strategic importance to Alzchem as the starting material for the NCN chain (Calcium Carbide/Calcium Cyanamide chain). Starting from Calcium Carbide, a variety of refined products are manufactured at a total of 5 production sites. Whether fertilizers, specialty chemicals or food supplements for human or animal nutrition, Calcium Carbide forms the basis.
In the metallurgical sector, Calcium Carbide is used not only in primary and secondary metallurgy but also in the production of acetylene.
Acetylene (C2H2) is ideally suited as a universal fuel gas. Due to its special physical and chemical properties, it achieves the highest flame temperature, ignition speed and flame output. It is therefore the most efficient fuel gas for welding and cutting.
It is obtained by the reaction of Calcium Carbide (CaC2) with water (H2O), which produces acetylene (ethine) and hydrated lime (Ca(OH)2).
In order to guarantee the availability of Calcium Carbide at all times, Alzchem produces with a total of 3 electric arc furnaces at 2 locations in Europe. With this redundant production of Calcium Carbide, we can guarantee our customers the highest level of delivery security and reliability.
A constantly high and stable product quality as well as the organization of logistics with partly own Calcium Carbide containers and rail wagons are part of Alzchem's service.
Alzchem offers the filling of customers' own containers as well as the shipment of Calcium Carbide in convenient 100 kg drums.
Contact
Dagmar Stitzl
About Alzchem
Alzchem is a globally active specialty chemicals company that is one of the market leaders in most of its fields of activity. Alzchem benefits from the three very different global developments climate change, population growth and longer life expectancy in a unique way. Alzchem products can offer attractive solutions for achieving the resulting social goals in a multitude of different applications.
The company sees interesting growth prospects for itself in the areas of human and animal nutrition and agriculture in particular. As a result of population growth, it is necessary to achieve efficient food production. Pharmaceutical raw materials and creatine products can contribute to a healthy old age as life expectancy increases. Alzchem is facing up to the goal of sustainability arising from climate change in the field of renewable energies and across the entire company. The fields of fine chemicals and metallurgy offer just as great a perspective.
Alzchem Group AG’s broad product range includes dietary supplements, precursors for PCR tests and pharmaceutical raw materials. These offerings are the company’s response to global trends and developments. Alzchem is ideally positioned in this respect and considers itself well prepared for an environmental future and global developments.
The company employs around 1,690 people at four production sites in Germany and a plant in Sweden, as well as three sales companies in the USA, China and England. Alzchem generated Group sales of EUR 540.6 million and EBITDA of EUR 81.4 million in 2023.