Objectives of the commitment
Urban bulky waste is a very heterogeneous material flow usually destined to landfill. The idea here is to improve the end-of-life and disposal of these complex products, proposing and demonstrating the viability of a new collection stream model with integrated advanced technology treatments to increase the quantity and quality of recovered materials, substituting other raw materials with highest environmental impact.
To demonstrate its technical and economical viability and asure the sustainable market introduction of the resulting raw materials with the highest possible added value, we will take into account: Reusing furniture or valuable components; Separating and recovering valuable materials, i.e. wood, plastics, foams, textiles, metals.; Developing and validating innovative final uses, also considering several technological levels to ensure the potential adoption in all European countries; Controlling the quality of the non-recyclable fraction, to be valorised as Recovered Solid Fuels or with advanced thermal technologies.
Description of the activities
1. Studying and analysing the existing most representative European urban bulky waste collection and treatment models and practices, in order to:
o Enhancing and improving the inter-regional and trans-national knowledge transfer, based on practical experience and validated results, to promote the creation of European networks oriented to join the governmental politic strategies on waste, research efforts and industrial eco-efficient activities, to achieve a European sustainable circular economy.
o Identify gaps and improvements in the different models.
o Develop a flexible collection and treatment model to optimize the valorisation (material or energetic) of non-hazardous urban bulky waste, also improving existing models in an eco-efficient way.
2. Demonstration experiments in re-use products or components from bulky waste to introduce the idea of up-cycling, taking the old material and making a better product out of it. To promote the needed social challenge, the project will identify the educational and manufacturing gaps and will develop the skills to repair or redesign products by re-using old furniture or wooden products.
3. Demonstration of the viability of existing and emerging control, classification and treatment technologies, to be applied to the complex bulky waste flows (excluding waste of electric and electronic equipment, WEEE), increasing material recovery (rates and quality), with the minimum environmental impact (and best available technologies). This validation will be achieved by developing the following activities:
o Identification of legislation requirements and critical use parameters of the several potential final end-of-life and disposal options for non-hazardous waste: reuse, recycling (panel industry, textile sector, interiors design for transport sector and packaging applications) and habitat sector (construction elements, furniture, flooring, wall covering and decorations...) and energy valorisation (co-incineration, pyrolysis and gasification).
o Composition and physicochemical characterization of un-treated bulky urban waste flows.
o Demonstration of waste treatment improvement, developed in three iterative steps:
> Analysis and identification of technological options to separate valuable materials from input waste flows, eliminating contaminant materials from them according to the different output flows requirements.
> Development of demonstration experiences in several waste management facilities representing different European waste scenarios. It will include both, installation or adaptation of technical equipment, and implementation of operational procedures.
> Characterization of the related waste treatment output flows, according to final uses options.
> Calculation of waste treatment process eco-efficiency, material recovery rates and quality indicators in correlation with the management practices.
4. Development and validation through demonstration experiments, of the potential of several outputs from bulky waste treatment, both several degrees of mixed and separated material flows, in several final use applications. The innovation aspects will be, not only the substitution of traditional raw materials by recycled ones, but as far as possible, to avoid generated problems in productive systems due to the new raw materials, and to improve final products properties. To achieve this, energy efficiency and bio-economy objectives will be considered in new materials and applications development, through the use of eco-design strategies along the whole life cycle of the products. Potential final applications to be developed are listed below:
o Panel industry: flooring, wall covering and decorations, construction, packaging, furniture, interiors design.
o Wood Plastic Composites (WPC) (same final use sectors).
o Textile: carpets, curtains and other home textiles products.
o Foams: isolating panels, carpets underlayments, cushion materials in packaging, furniture, panels for acoustic and thermal insulation and flooring.
o To control quality of non-recyclable fraction, to be valorised as Recovered Solid Fuels (RSF) or by other emerging technologies: pyrolysis, gasification.
Description of the expected impacts
The knowledge transfer between different European models of waste treatment and the collaboration among actors of the supply chain will improve the framework policy regarding end of waste conditions for raw materials and will promote international cooperation.
The project will act on the 3 pillars of sustainability.
Environment: reducing the waste landfilling of urban bulky waste (excluding electric and electronic products) following the EU strategy on waste treatment: reuse, recycling and energy valorisation, as preferable final destinies to landfill; reducing the EU's dependency on imports of raw materials because bulky urban wastes are a resource of efficient and alternative materials that can be found all over, have stable prices and nowadays suppose an environmental problem to manage.
Social: Partnership between industry and society will come going towards a circular economy by promoting the re-use of furniture and by the development and use of innovative recycled products, by using flexible production systems and the best available technologies. This involves a cultural change regarding second hand products purchase and will facilitate the job creation, and the development of new skills.
Economy: The new developed eco-materials and the validated final applications will contribute to increase the competitiveness of high tech manufacturing industries. Waste treatment and disposal costs will be reduced through the efficient treatment technologies and adding value to the resulting recovered materials. This aspect will provide the added economic aspect to generate new market products with a by-product approach meaning using re-generated recycled materials as raw materials.
Main beneficiary sectors are: waste management, manufacturing industry, isolating to outdoor and indoor habitat sector and transport sector (automotive parts, packagingâ¦). As complex multi-material end of life products, bulky wastes treatment model and recycling options will be easily moved to other habitat elements from automotive vehicles, or even packaging.
Coordinating organisation & role
Name of the coordinating organisation: AIDIMA - Asociación de investigación y desarrollo en la industria del mueble y afinesCountry: SpainEntity profile: OtherRole within the commitment:
AIDIMA is the technical coordinator of the project. Besides AIDIMA participates in the analysis of the different European waste treatments and characterises the bulky waste input flows and the recovered materials from waste treatment processes as well. AIDIMA collaborates in the development of new composites and evaluates the mechanical properties and the environmental impact (LCA) of the final products prototypes (packaging, furniture, etc.).
Other partners
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Angewandten Forschung e.V.
Name of the organisation: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Angewandten Forschung e.V. Country: Germany Entity profile: Governmental/public body
Role within the commitment: Fraunhofer will lead the CFRP and GFRP recycling research.
Fraunhofer will perform corrosion tests on the developed materials.
Fraunhofer will work with CIDAUT on the implementation, validation and refinement of LCCA tools for the project. Fraunhofer is the Quality Manager of the Consortium and will oversee deliverables and general reporting are produced with the best possible quality following agreed review standards.
Fundacion Cidaut
Name of the organisation: Fundacion Cidaut Country: Spain Entity profile:
Role within the commitment: CIDAUT will lead the research activities on materials recycling and compounding, implementing lab scale demonstrators of each process at its premises and, later, supporting end-users upscale the processes.
CIDAUT will perform mechanical tests, microstructural analyses, injection moulding capability studies on the developed materails, and will work with Fraunhofer on the implementation, validation and refinement of LCCA tools for the project.
RWTH Aachen University (Institute of plastic processing (IKV)
Name of the organisation: RWTH Aachen University (Institute of plastic processing (IKV) Country: Germany Entity profile: Governmental/public body
Role within the commitment: RWTH will implement the novel 3D Generative Preforming process (3D Fibre Spraying) that enables to create high-value long fibre-reinforced 3D preforms for thermoplastic and thermoset composites at low process costs (different kinds of yarn as a raw material, low tooling costs due to low cavity pressures). This cost effective technology allows to align the sprayed fibres in order to produce high-performance, engineered anisotropic products.
Universita' di Cagliari
Name of the organisation: Universita' di Cagliari Country: Italy Entity profile:
Role within the commitment: University of Cagliari is one of the leading European organization in the resin design and coupling with thermoplastic and thermose materials. University of Cagliari will support in the definition of the composite materials, both from CFRP/GFRP, ABS and Rare Earth composite material.
Relight
Name of the organisation: Relight Country: Italy Entity profile: Private sector - SME
Role within the commitment: RELIGHT will work with ITRB to provide the research partners with residues for the recycled ABS supply and the REE recovery processes, including their HydroWEEE process as part of the processes to be studied and analyzed.
Piaggio Aerospace
Name of the organisation: Piaggio Aerospace Country: Italy Entity profile: Private sector - large company
Role within the commitment: Piaggio Aerospace is one of the project End Users (Aeronautics Industry): as such it will provide requirements and further applications that could be developed with the Consortium Materials. Piaggio will assist in the compounds selection, provide Fraunhofer with specific corrosion requirements on business jet size aircraft, and will assess that the developed materials performance fits the selected applications desired improvements.
Blackshape Aircrafts
Name of the organisation: Blackshape Aircrafts Country: Italy Entity profile: Private sector - SME
Role within the commitment: Blackshape Aircrafts is one of the project End Users (Aeronautics Industry): as such it will provide requirements and further applications that could be developed with the Consortium Materials. Blackshape will support to fulfill the requirements of the aeronautics industry on ultra light jet, light jet and trainer for Syllabus, and will assess that the developed alloys performance fits the selected applications desired improvements.
KU Leuven
Name of the organisation: KU Leuven Country: Belgium Entity profile: Academia
Role within the commitment: KUL will collaborate on the balance problem studies and will lead the rare earth recovery research with the solvometallurgical and ionometallurgical processes.
KUL will also contribute to the final compounding selection.
KUL is the Dissemination Manager of the project, promoting that all partners are active on the project Dissemination.
FIDAMC
Name of the organisation: FIDAMC Country: Spain Entity profile: Governmental/public body
Role within the commitment: FIDAMC is going to lead the Work Package on Compression Moulding with CFRP-enhanced materials. As part of the AIRBUS Group, FIDAMC will also be able to provide the input material.
FIDAMC successfully developed a 3D Printer of own design to serve the Aerospace Industry and will be supporting Smart Lab 3D Industries in its 3D printer design.
COMPOSITE INNOVATION CENTER
Name of the organisation: COMPOSITE INNOVATION CENTER Country: Canada Entity profile: Governmental/public body
Role within the commitment: Composite Innovation Center is one of the world leading organization in the field of Composite materials, both from carbon fiber and vegetal-based fibers.
Composite Innovation center has successfully implemented, at lab-scale, recycling processes for CFRP and GFRP.
Existing EU Contribution: No
Period to implement the commitment: from 01-10-2014 to 30-09-2017