N.U.B. Engineering refractory project: Rebuild of No. 2 Retort Brimac Environmental Greenock

Brimac Environmental have three retorts at their site in Greenock and import crushed cow / bovine bones mainly from India for their process. The crushed bones are fed into the top of the retort where they are fired to 1000 degrees centigrade for between 12 to 24 hours. At the end of the firing process the product exits the bottom of the retort as a white powder, which is known as “Hydroxyapatite.” This product is then sold for fluid purification in the likes of sugar and water industries.

The retort:
No. 2 Retort was demolished by Brimac general labourers in the last quarter of 2010 after which N.U.B. Engineering supplied skilled tradesmen and experienced labour for a six week period in November and December of 2010 to rebuild the No. 2 retort from start to finish.

The 6 metres high by 3 metres long and 2.5 metres wide (approximate dimensions) retort consists of a complex arrangement or bricks of many different shapes and sizes over the first 75 coarses, with each coarse having its individual drawing or plan. The remaining 12 coarses of brickwork are built with standard bricks.

The retort rebuild was successfully completed December of 2010 and is now once again fully utilised by Brimac.