Displaying items by tag: circular economy

Finland: VTT Technical Research Centre subsidiary Carbonaide has concluded its seed funding round, having raised funds worth Euro1.8m. Lakan Betoni, which produces precast and ready-mix concrete, led the funding, along with utilities provider Vantaa Energy. Carbonaide will use the funds to build an industrial pilot plant for its carbon neutral precast concrete product at an existing precast concrete plant in Hollola. The plant will bind captured CO₂ in the product at atmospheric pressure. The process generates 50% lower CO₂ emissions than precast concrete production using ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Suitable raw materials include ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), green liquor dregs and bio-ash. In trial production, the use of GGBFS gave Carbonaide's concrete a negative carbon footprint of -60kg/m³.

Other sources of loans and in-kind contributions included Finnish state innovation fund Business Finland.

India: Antony Waste Handling Cell Limited (AWHCL) has won a US$124m contract for construction and demolition waste management services in Mumbai. Press Trust of India News has reported that the contract covers nine municipal subdivisions of the city and will last until 2044. AWHCL said that the contract will enable it to develop the circularity of cement and concrete within the local economy. It expects to commission 600t/day-worth of waste processing capacity by March 2023. The waste management company expects a recovery rate of 25% recyclable materials.

AWHCL chairman and managing director Jose Jacob said "This sub-segment of solid waste management provides tremendous growth opportunities given the number of infrastructure development projects underway, and the government's push to accelerate the economic growth with infrastructure being one of the important growth pillars."

India: A team at SRM Institute of Science and Technology has patented a new concrete paving block produced using fibres from waste printed circuit board (WPCB). The refuse-derived material will replace some sand and clay in the concrete mix. SRM Institute of Science and Technology said that India generates 2Mt/yr of electronic waste (e-waste), and additionally imports this type of waste from other countries. Besides being non-biodegradable, WPCB is contaminated with colouring chemicals.

The developers said "The steadily rising volume of electronic waste poses a serious hazard to human health and the environment."

Belgium: The EU Innovation Fund has awarded Euro4.5m to a consortium consisting of Prefer, gas provider Fluxys Belgium, lime producer Lhoist and carbonation technology developer Orbix. The collaborators are working on a project called CO2ncrEAT. The project will carbonate steel sector by-products with captured CO₂ from Lhoist's Hermalle lime plant to produce alternative building materials. CO2ncrEAT will be the first project to employ Orbix's innovative technique for the purpose. Fluxys Belgium's pipeline technology will convey the Hermalle plant's emissions over a distance of 2km to a Prefer concrete blocks plant.

The consortium said that it will use 12,000t/yr of CO₂ to produce 100,000t/yr of reduced-CO₂ concrete blocks. The use of alternative raw materials in the blocks will further reduce their carbon footprint by 8000t/yr.

Prefer managing director Raphaël Grimont said “As market leader, we must ensure the sustainability of our business by offering innovative and eco-friendly products to our customers. With the CO2ncrEAT project, our building materials will be produced through a sustainable and efficient process and based on local, circular raw materials. The Prefer masonry block of tomorrow will retain all the advantages of the traditional block, with the difference that it will benefit from a negative carbon footprint. We are proud to develop this exceptional project together with key industrial partners, while benefitting from the trust of the European, Belgian and Walloon authorities.”

World: Cemex has announced the launch of new bio-based admixtures which offer CO₂ emissions reductions of up to 70% compared to oil-based admixtures in its Asian, European and Middle Eastern markets. The range includes 10% reduced-CO₂ IsoPlast Bio, 20 - 30% reduced-CO₂ IsoFlex Bio plasticisers and superplasticisers and 50% reduced-CO₂ IsoFlow Bio high-performance superplasticiser technology, as well as CO₂-reducing IsoMill Bio grinding aids. The products will subsequently become available in other markets during 2023.

CEO Fernando González said “Innovation is at the core of our efforts to become a carbon neutral company and foster a more circular building materials industry." He added "Innovative admixtures aim to enhance concrete's sustainable attributes for our customers further.”

Canada: Lafarge Canada has signed an agreement with power provider TransAlta to recover and process fly ash from the site of the latter's decommissioned Edmonton coal-fired power plant. The project will use Ash-TEK's Ponded Ash Beneficiation System (PABS) fly ash beneficiation technology. The processed ash will then be able to replace up to 25% of cement in low-CO₂ concrete production.

TransAlta previously secured with Lafarge Canada for the supply of renewable power to its Exshaw, Alberta, cement plant in February 2022.

UK: Germany-based Heidelberg Materials has signed a deal for the acquisition of Mick George Group, the leading concrete recycling company in the East Midlands and East of England. Mick George Group’s 40 sites span bulk excavation, earthmoving and demolition services and demolition waste removal and management, as well as ready-mix concrete and aggregates distribution.

Heidelberg Materials Western and Southern Europe director Jon Morrish said “With the acquisition of Mick George, we are clearly moving towards establishing a truly circular materials and services offer in our UK business. I warmly welcome all 1000 Mick George employees to Heidelberg Materials and look forward to further developing the business together.”

Heidelberg Materials aims to offer circular alternatives for half of its products by 2050.

Colombia: Cemex has announced the launch of the Tunjuelo Circularity Centre at its former Tunjuelo quarry near Bogotá. Having rebuilt parts of the 50m-deep quarry with demolition waste, Cemex will now work on its ecological restoration, while continuing to receive excavation waste for reconstruction of the ground. It will meanwhile divert demolition waste deliveries for recycling in aggregate production. In Bogotá, Cemex has launched an initiative for urban construction partnerships in collaboration with local authorities. It will also collect municipal solid waste (MSW) there for use in its cement production and collect its used plastic cement bags for recycling in building materials production.

Cemex’s Colombia and Peru president Alejandro Ramírez said "This is a pioneering model for Cemex in the construction materials industry globally, which we aim to position as a benchmark for circularity within the sustainable development of large cities in Colombia and the world. A piece of land that supplied materials for Bogotá's development for decades has received construction and demolition waste for its redevelopment and was transformed into a green area to the south of the city, an epicenter of the circular economy and an opportunity for urban development for the capital city of Colombia."

US: CR Minerals has signed a contract with mining company Rio Tinto for the supply of mineral waste from the latter's subsidiary US Borax's boron mining operations in California. CR Minerals will use the waste to produce pozzolans to replace cement in local concrete production.

CR Minerals president Jeffrey Whidden said "We have been working with Rio Tinto for several years now to bring this concept to life. Taking what was once considered waste streams and turning them into usable products for the construction materials industry is part of the vision of our company."

UK: Holcim has acquired recycled concrete and aggregates producer Wiltshire Heavy Building Materials. Wiltshire Heavy Building Materials' material recovery system enables it to process 150,000t/yr of construction and demolition waste for recycling. It operates multiple plants across Wiltshire, Berkshire, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, and generated Euro20.6m in sales in 2021.

Switzerland-based Holcim said that the acquisition will expand its UK subsidiary Aggregate Industries' position in the area between London and the West of England, and help the group to achieve its goal of 10Mt/yr-worth of construction and demolition waste recycled globally by 2025.