Commitments and Contingencies (Details) (USD $)	0 Months Ended		6 Months Ended					0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended			1 Months Ended		6 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	0 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	5 Months Ended	31 Months Ended			0 Months Ended												1 Months Ended					12 Months Ended					6 Months Ended
	Nov. 20, 2012 Accelerated Share Repurchase program 2012	Jun. 30, 2013 Accelerated Share Repurchase program 2012 Estimated	Jun. 30, 2013 Waterlink's Columbus, Ohio property	Jun. 30, 2012 Waterlink's Columbus, Ohio property	Jun. 30, 2013 Waterlink's Columbus, Ohio property Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	Jun. 30, 2013 Waterlink's Columbus, Ohio property Accrued pension and other liabilities	Dec. 31, 2012 Waterlink's Columbus, Ohio property Accrued pension and other liabilities	Apr. 11, 2012 Big Sandy Plant	Jun. 30, 2012 Big Sandy Plant	Nov. 30, 2012 Big Sandy Plant	Dec. 31, 2010 Big Sandy Plant	Mar. 31, 2013 Frontier Chemical Processing Royal Avenue Site Item	Aug. 31, 2008 Frontier Chemical Processing Royal Avenue Site Item	Jun. 30, 2013 Frontier Chemical Processing Royal Avenue Site	Jun. 30, 2013 Frontier Chemical Processing Royal Avenue Site Minimum	Jun. 30, 2013 Frontier Chemical Processing Royal Avenue Site Maximum	Mar. 31, 2013 Pearl River Plant	Nov. 10, 2009 Period of Review I	Apr. 08, 2007 Period of Review I	Mar. 29, 2007 Period of Review I	Mar. 02, 2007 Period of Review I	Nov. 09, 2009 Period of Review I	Dec. 31, 2012 Period of Review I	Dec. 17, 2009 Period of Review I	Nov. 17, 2010 Period of Review II	Oct. 31, 2011 Period of Review III	Nov. 09, 2012 Period of Review IV	Nov. 09, 2012 Period of Review IV Minimum	Nov. 09, 2012 Period of Review IV Maximum	May 03, 2013 Period of Review V	Jul. 11, 2012 Period of Review V Item	May 03, 2013 Period of Review V Minimum	May 03, 2013 Period of Review V Maximum	Jun. 26, 2013 Period of Review VI Item	Dec. 18, 2012 Sunset Review Item	Jun. 06, 2012 Sunset Review	Mar. 18, 2013 Sunset Review	Mar. 31, 2012 Sunset Review Item	Dec. 31, 2012 Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act Distributions	Nov. 30, 2009 Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act Distributions	Dec. 31, 2008 Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act Distributions	Dec. 31, 2012 Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act Distributions	Dec. 31, 2011 Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act Distributions	Dec. 31, 2010 Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act Distributions	Jun. 30, 2013 Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act Distributions	May 31, 2013 Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act Distributions	Jun. 30, 2013 Carbon Imports - Anti-dumping duties	Mar. 02, 2007 Carbon Imports - Anti-dumping duties Minimum	Mar. 02, 2007 Carbon Imports - Anti-dumping duties Maximum
Contingencies
Recorded liability estimates for environmental loss contingencies					$ 200,000	$ 1,000,000	$ 1,400,000
Environmental remediation costs			200,000	400,000
Published anti-dumping tariff rate (as a percent)																																																61.95%	228.11%
Prior period over which Commerce Department reviews anti-dumping tariffs																																															12 months
Period for which reviews are possible																																															5 years
Anti-dumping duty deposit rate (as a percent)																			69.54%	78.89%	84.45%	69.54%			14.51%
Adjusted Ongoing Anti-dumping duty rate determined by review (as a percent)																		14.51%								0.00%	0.00%
Rate of adjustment for certain ministerial errors (as a percent)																								0.07%
Assessment rate (as a percent)																		31.93%
Receivable recorded for anticipated refunds of anti-dumping duties																		1,600,000								1,100,000
Refunds received for tariff deposits made																							1,600,000
Tariff collection rate for cooperative respondents (in dollars per pound)																									0.127	0.127
Assessment rate finalized at deposit rate due to not participating in review (as a percent)																											14.51%
Number of mandatory respondents selected for review of anti-dumping tariffs																															2
Number of U.S. producers besides the Company participating in sunset review																																			2			2
Number of mandatory respondents																																		2
Extension period for continuation of anti-dumping tariff																																				5 years	5 years	5 years
Period for possible continuation of anti-dumping tariff																																			5 years			5 years
Distributions received under Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act																																								800,000	200,000		0	0
Distributions received as a percentage of total amount of duties available																																								59.57%	59.57%
Amount received																																							1,800,000
Amount received, reflected within the entity's consolidated statement of comprehensive income																																										1,500,000
Preliminary amount identified for distribution related to certain activated carbon imported from China																																														86,765
Percentage of final anti-dumping duties expected to be returned as CDSOA distributions																																													59.57%
Accrued potential loss related to civil penalties											2,000,000
Reduction in previously recorded liabilities									(200,000)
Penalty amount										1,600,000
Penalties associated with respect to characterization of the residues								0
Amount available in trust account of PRP Group to fund remediation														7,500,000
Number of PRP's joining the Company in Consent Order for additional site investigation													100
Number of PRP's joining the Company in Consent Order for additional site investigation												30
Estimated costs for thermal treatment of soils															7,500,000	8,000,000
Anti-dumping margins for mandatory respondents (in dollars per pound)																												0.20	0.96	0.19		0.13	0.25
Anti-dumping margins for cooperative, separate rate respondents (in dollars per pound)																											0.47
Anti-dumping margin for a competitor (in dollars per pound)																											0.00
Insurance claim received from insurance carrier that was recorded as a deduction to cost of products sold (excluding depreciation)																	400,000
Purchase price of stock repurchased recorded as a reduction in stockholder's equity	$ 50,000,000
Shares repurchased	3,276,002
Number of shares repurchased that were less than previously delivered		236,284