LIFE

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LIFE ENVIRONMENT | LIFE and the circular economy (LIFE11 ENV/FR/000752) aimed to design and set up sorting processes for the two fractions of CDW which can contain hazardous substances, namely 8-30 mm and 30-80 mm. To achieve this, project partner Pellenc Selective Technologies adapted its optical and blowing technologies for industrial use. “The project was able to demonstrate that it is possible to sort construction and demolition waste using optical sorting machines,” says project manager Killian Leroy of Veolia. Non-inert waste plaster was extracted from a flow of ‘dirty’ rubble, comprising 70% inert materials (aggregates) and 30% non-inert waste (plastics, wood, paper, plaster, cardboard and scrap metal). “The machines installed in the Nice sorting center (pilot site) can extract 80% on average of non-inert materials in a stream of dirty rubble,” notes Mr Leroy. As well as showing that plaster can be extracted from aggregates in sufficient quantities to reduce pollutants (sulphates) in inert landfill, the CDWrecycling project improved knowledge and skills for CDW sorting, dealing with specific constraints related to waste density, dust, humidity, outdoor conditions, and so on. In particular, the optical sorting technology was modified to combine colour analysis and chemical analysis. “This has greatly improved the sorting quality when waste is wet, which is very important because most CDW is The tiles are made with 70% of recycled materials such as glass and pozzolan cement from construction and demolition waste Photo: LIFE14 ENV/IT/000801 stored outside and therefore subject to the weather,” explains Mr Leroy. The ongoing project LIFE ECO TILES (LIFE14 ENV/ IT/000801) aims to demonstrate an innovative methodology that integrates promising research results to produce a new generation of Terrazzo tiles made from 70% recycled materials using a patented low-energy production process. “ECO TILES products will contribute to the achievement of EU 2020 goals on waste and resource efficiency, by reducing emissions, resource waste, impacts on human health and the environment,” says project manager, Eleonora Paris. The first tile samples were presented at CERSAIE, the International Exhibition of Ceramic Tile and Bathroom Furnishings, in Bologna (Italy) in September 2016. The tiles include 50-60% recycled glass (in place of aggregates) and pozzolan cement made from construction and demolition waste (c.15% of the weight of the tile). “To obtain the same quality standards, we had to carefully verify the waste materials to be used as well as to optimise the recipes and the industrial processes. … It is therefore a continuous process which makes university and industry work together to find the best solutions,” explains Ms Paris. The most rigorous way of ensuring the recycled materials meet the high quality standards required for ceramic tile manufacturing is for the recycler to process the waste before its delivery. “This is an extra step which, although not very desirable, helps ensure the quality of the new product made with waste. Only if the quality of the eco-product is very high, in fact, will it attract the interest of the market and the end users,” says Ms Paris. Terrazzo tiles are produced in many parts of the world, so the process, when optimised, could be widely replicated. “The real challenge will be to achieve acceptance first by stakeholders and then by consumers,” she explains. The mandatory application of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) norms in construction would dramatically increase the demand for eco-products, concludes Ms Paris. The challenges involved in creating a circular economy for gypsum from demolition waste are highlighted by the work of the G to G project (LIFE11 ENV/BE/001039) on the following pages. 92
LIFE ENVIRONMENT | LIFE and the circular economy Priority sectors A circular economy for gypsum waste The GtoG (‘Gypsum to Gypsum’) project pioneered the development of a circular economy for gypsum in demolition waste. Among the project’s achievements was the creation of a roadmap for a sustainable value chain. Gypsum sticks to other construction materials in demolition waste, making it difficult to valorise the material Gypsum is an abundant mineral that is used to make plaster and plasterboard, materials widely used in construction. With around 160 quarries and 200 factories, the European gypsum industry has an annual turnover of €7 billion, employs 28 000 people and is indirectly responsible for another 300 000 jobs. More than 1 million construction workers use products containing gypsum. The gypsum industry generates 1% of all construction and demolition waste. This can be divided into three categories: production waste (gypsum boards that do not meet specifications and waste resulting from manufacturing; construction waste (i.e. waste from building sites); and demolition (and renovation) waste. The chemical composition of gypsum products remains unchanged. This means that they are among the few construction materials for which closed loop recycling is possible. Despite this possibility, gypsum recycling rates are low. The main barrier to recycling is the fact that buildings are currently demolished and not dismantled, hampering the recovery of gypsum waste. However, the gypsum industry recognises the need to recycle more, driven in part by the closure of coal-fired power stations, which supply synthetic gypsum, a by-product of flue-gas desulphurisation, and in part by increasing difficulties in opening or extending gypsum quarries. priority sectors 93
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LIFE

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