Moler is the original Danish word for the unique local diatomite, which has an extraordinary high content of clay. The unique composition of materials can only be found in the northwestern part of Denmark. Only a few places in the world, nature has formed argillaceous diatomite that is remotely comparable to the Danish Moler. One of these special places is situated in Russia.
Moler and diatomite consists of fossilised remains of a special type of hard-shelled algae, which gives the material its unique organic structure. Diatomite in general is over 30 million years old – the Danish Moler was formed more than 50 million years ago.
The high and natural content of clay makes our Danish moler and Russian diatomite ideal for producing insulation bricks as it can be done without damaging the unique organic structure. This ensures that all the unique and natural properties are retained.
When producing bricks from ordinary diatomite, it becomes necessary to mix in additional clay, which affects the organic structure and destroys the special insulating properties.
In other words, the natural moler and argillaceous diatomite that we use at Skamol can not be replicated.
The Moler excavation was initially started to find diatoms for filtration of chemicals and more, but due to its strength, lightweight and high content of clay, the moler could advantageously be used for producing building bricks.
The fact that Moler bricks can float on water led to a closer examination, and it was discovered that, because of its organic structure, it can be used as a unique insulating material – even at high temperatures and in harsh chemical environments.
This new knowledge led Skamol to find great industrial uses for these unique insulation systems – for example in the aluminium smelting process, where corrosion had been a major problem in connection with thermal insulation. Today, Skamol produces technical insulating systems for various high-temperature industries, including insulation of rotary kilns.
The moler and diatomite raw materials at our sites in Denmark and Russia are almost identical, however, one of the key differences is the content of iron.
The Danish Moler has a high content of iron, which makes the insulating bricks very strong.
On the other hand, the lower content of iron in the Russian diatomite bricks, makes them profoundly acid resistant.
Having both materials in our product range contributes well to our complete package of technical insulation systems.
