New distillation column at Richard Geiss

Thanks to the new unit, Richard Geiss GmbH can now respond even more flexibly to customers' recycling requests. The new distillation column replaces an old column and modernizes the plant for processing solvents. Richard Geiss GmbH has invested around 750,000 euros in the column replacement. "The new column is another piece of the puzzle that brings us one step closer to our vision of CO2-neutral solvents of the highest quality. To this end, we are continuously modernizing our plant fleet," explains Bastian Geiss, Managing Partner of Richard Geiss GmbH. "We started 50 years ago with one column. We now have twelve distillation columns for solvent processing in Offingen." Richard Geiss GmbH undertook the replacement of column A itself and with its own personnel: from dismantling the old packed column to installing and commissioning the new valve tray column. "The switch took place within three weeks. That was a really fast pace and could only be achieved with excellent advance planning," emphasizes Veit Jähne, Operations Manager and authorized signatory at Richard Geiss GmbH. The new column has been in operation since August 2025, in the area of flammable and highly flammable solvents - the largest area of the solvent recycler in Offingen in terms of volume.

Valve tray column at Geiss for increased separation performance

The new addition to the Bavarian solvent specialist's column fleet is a 26-metre-high valve tray column with 50 trays, which results in an increased separation capacity. However, the maximum processing capacity of 1,000 kilograms per hour has not changed compared to the old system. Thanks to the new column, the separation of substances in the recycling of used goods is also easier to calculate - for higher solvent purity and the highest quality distillates. Switching from one solvent to another or from one distillation step to the next is also even easier in the new column: "We are now much faster and have top quality distillate from the very first liter," says Andreas Krebs, assistant to the plant manager. Instead of the previous eight hours, the conversion process in the new column takes just one hour. "This makes us even more flexible for our customers' recycling requests," adds Veit Jähne. And because Richard Geiss GmbH has a second identical column (column F) on the company premises in Offingen, the flexibility in processing is correspondingly high. It is precisely this flexibility that the solvent specialist needs. "We are not the classic company with 3,000 tons of used solvent that we distil. Instead, we receive many different substances from our customers for processing and only in comparatively small batches. It is therefore an advantage if we can change over the distillation process as quickly and easily as possible," says Bastian Geiss.

New column for more sustainability

The new column is not only impressive in terms of separation performance, plant efficiency and changeover, but also in terms of sustainability. Its improved insulation prevents heat loss and, thanks to modern energy management, Richard Geiss GmbH can view the energy flows directly online. "We no longer have to rely on calculations and tests, as we did with the old column, but can measure the actual energy consumption in the distillation process directly. This in turn allows us to calculate the product carbon footprint of our distillates," says Veit Jähne. Richard Geiss GmbH is the first manufacturer ever to individually determine the product carbon footprint for each customer and each recyclate and compare it with newly produced goods. The solvent specialist issues its customers with special CO2 certificates for this purpose.