Sintering plant

Sintering plant | UNESCO Visitor Centre

Year of construction: 1928, added to in 1938
In operation: 58 years until the works were shut down

One of the largest sinter plants in Europe was built in Völklingen in 1928. Sintering is a high-temperature process that is used to fuse together the ore dust that is produced when iron ore is crushed for use in a blast furnace. This was done by heating it up to melting temperature. The material was then broken into pieces about the size of a fist, cooled, and reused in the blast furnace. This reduced the consumption of raw materials and improved the quality of the pig iron.

The plant was built by LURGI AG of Frankfurt, and operated in the American Dwight Lloyd process. In the 1930s, the sinter plant at Völklingen was one of the most productive in the world with a monthly output of 55,000 tons of sinter.

Today, the complex houses the UNESCO Visitor Centre of the World Heritage Site Völklingen Ironworks. Visitors will find information there on UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the history of the Völklingen Ironworks, and the history of the sinter plant. The middle floor houses the large installation by Christian Boltanski entitled "Forced Labourers – Memorial at Völklinger Hütte".  The World Heritage Site Völklingen Ironworks has set up the permanent exhibition on the history of the Röchling family on the ground floor.