LIFE

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LIFE ENVIRONMENT | LIFE and the circular economy The NOVEDI project (LIFE07 ENV/IT/000361) showed how glass rejects that are usually landfilled can be reincorporated into the process for manufacturing glass foam for use as glass-based cellular insulation materials. At the project’s pilot plant in Piedmont, recycled rejects from ‘special’ glass (e.g. soda lime glass, artistic glass) were transformed into glass foam suitable for lightweight structural concrete for roofs and floors and glass foam suitable for super lightweight insulating concrete for walls. Importantly, assessments showed that a production plant around four times the size of the pilot plant would have the economies of scale to produce competitively priced insulation materials. The pilot plant employed two full-time and three parttime workers, and the project team estimate that a further two or three employees would be needed to operate a full-scale plant. Four years after the end of the project, the beneficiary SASIL is in the process of defining a marketing strategy for the product, under its new brand-name SAVELPOR50, and establishing a sales network. The project concept has been replicated in several different contexts: in a large-scale plant in Switzerland, a medium-size plant in Sweden and a smallscale plant in the Czech Republic. Plants in Belgium and Canada are under construction, while there have been expressions of interest from industrial plants in Austria and Germany. Another Italian project focused on the difficulties of re-using glass in the glass container industry, which requires cullet (crushed waste glass that is ready to be re-melted) to be ‘oven ready’ – i.e. free of substances such as ceramics, chinaware, stones, plastics or organic matter from food and beverages. The MEIGLASS project (LIFE06 ENV/ IT/000332) pioneered a cost-efficient process for treating ‘dirty’ cullet that has been rejected by the primary cullet treatment plants. It thus demonstrated a method for generating a greater amount of high-quality recycled glass for use in the glass container industry. By the end of the LIFE project, the beneficiary was treating a total of 200 000 tonnes/yr of dirty cullet, derived from some 1 million tonnes/yr of differentiated urban waste collected in central and northern Italy. Some 70% of the 200 000 tonnes/ yr went to the glass container industry (‘glassy sand’), 20% to the ceramic industry (‘ceramic sand’), and 5% to the bricks industry. Only 1% of material is required to go to landfill. The increased availability of clean cullet was shown to reduce average primary material use in the glass container industry from 50% to 30% (when substituted by glassy sand), and in some cases to as little as 10%. In addition, the number of glass containers rejected and recycled to furnace because of impurities was reduced by 1.5-2%. LIFE FLAT to FLAT Demand for flat glass is increasing, but its production consumes large amounts of energy and raw materials as well as producing a range of pollutants. Only around 30% of glass waste (cullet) is recycled. For reasons of quality, flat glass producers re-use only internal cullet (production losses and glass with colour faults) and some industrial cullet (from subsidiaries and recyclers). The LIFE FLAT to FLAT project (LIFE12 ENV/BE/000214), however, demonstrated an innovative processing technique that can use cullet containing a thousand times more ceramics, stone and porcelain material – i.e. it can come from sources that could not previously be used by the glass industry. Recycled cullet is mixed with raw materials to reach the desired quantities. To be cost-effective, collected glass must not come from too far from the recycling centre. The LIFE project has shown it is possible to raise the content of recycled glass in flat glass to 25% and to adjust the ratio according to availability of recycled cullet. By reducing raw material consumption to this extent, the project says it can lower energy consumption by 5% and CO 2 emissions by 12%. “Cullet requires less energy to melt, and replaces carbonated raw materials,” says project manager, Etienne Degand. “The glass made out of recycled cullet is exactly the same quality as glass made out of raw materials. We have created a perfect circle. We get glass back that has been produced decades ago,” he explains. 68
LIFE ENVIRONMENT | LIFE and the circular economy The ceramics sector has also explored the greater use of secondary raw materials. The manufacture of ceramic tiles, in particular, generates significant quantities of waste (around three million tonnes/ yr in Europe). While some of this waste material is re-used as low-value fillers in the construction industry, much is commonly sent to landfill. LIFE CERAM (LIFE12 ENV/ES/000230) sought to address this problem by showing that it is feasible to achieve a zero-waste ceramic tile manufacturing process. It has developed a new type of ceramic tile for outdoor use, such as urban paving, that is made from ceramic manufacturing residues. The project first studied wastes generated in the ceramic production process and ancillary activities in order to determine those most suitable for use as raw material for the new product. After characterising the waste materials, the project team proceeded to formulate the correct mixture of ceramic waste to obtain the new tile. It then designed a manufacturing process based on dry milling technologies. Materials market Online tools can help match up supply and demand of secondary raw materials. The Mo.re. & Mo.re. project (LIFE08 ENV/IT/000437) created such a tool for Italy’s Lazio region. With the involvement of all operators of the relevant sectors, the project identified entire supply chains for the reclaiming and recycling of waste derived from municipal collection and separation schemes. The online platform not only promotes the use of secondary materials by purchasing companies, but it also provides an economic incentive for the seller to recycle. The platform is supported by a dynamic map that shows the supply and demand trends of different types of waste, as well as a map of all the businesses operating in different sectors in the region. Its database lists more than 1 500 contacts. The absorption capacity of locally-produced waste was calculated by conducting interviews with local businesses, which also led to the identification of 40 different waste supply chains. The end product is made up of 100% recycled material and the ceramic tile retains the same aesthetic qualities whilst providing a series of surface properties such as impermeability, cleanability, gloss, colour, surface texture, and chemical, mechanical and slip resistance. The LIFECERAM project could lead to more jobs, as the possible implementation of this production process will require the establishment of new waste processing and handling plants, or the adaptation of existing plants, as well as qualified workers to carry out the treatments needed to convert these wastes into raw materials. Composite growth A potential growth area in the materials sector is the replacement of metals and plastics with lighter, composite materials with a lower carbon footprint, such as carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP). The high cost of production and difficulties in recycling currently act as a barrier to greater use. The CRESIM project (LIFE11 ENV/IT/000095) was set up to meet these challenges and to demonstrate an innovative process for producing CFRP composites from recycled carbon fibre. It showed how lightweight composites, mainly recycled from cars and aerospace parts, can be used for different applications, including automotive, public transportation vehicles and sport and leisure equipment. These products have high physical-mechanical and aesthetic features. It is also possible to use CFRP in combination with virgin carbon fibres using this technology. The project developed two patent pending technologies – Liquid Lay Down and Gap Injection – which could be used in a commercial plant by 2017. The cost-saving process will likely create additional employment as the CRESIM plant needs 1-2 more people to operate than traditional CFRP plants. The CRESIM project provides a significant support for the implementation of the Waste Framework Directive, in particular, the management of hazardous wastes and reduction of waste going to landfill, as well as recycling of ‘end-of-life’ vehicles. SECONDARY RAW MATERIAL 69
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LIFE

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