ANNUAL REPORT 2015 I Sustainable materials management

As an alternative to the increasing scarcity of raw materials, Europe and Flanders

are focusing on the circular economy. This unstoppable transition is preparing the

industry for the future and offers many opportunities: think of the recycling sector

for example. But today these opportunities often remain underutilised. Which is

why the Sustainable Materials Management unit is supporting Flemish industry and

policy-makers in turning the possibilities of the circular economy into interesting

business cases.

SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS

MANAGEMENT

“ACCELERATING THE TRANSITION TO THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY”

Peter Vercaemst (Unit Manager)

Mieke Quaghebeur (Program Manager)

REFORMING AN ECONOMIC SYSTEM IS A HUGE TASK. WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FACED BY THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY?

Peter Vercaemst, Unit Manager Sustainable Materials Management at VITO: “The transition from the current linear system to a circular economy presents not only technological challenges. New business models and policy frameworks are also needed. Therefore, we need to identify and utilise the opportunities inherent in such a transition, in order – together with all the players in society – to bring about real change. Sustainable materials management is no longer simply nice to have. On the contrary, it has become an urgent matter that, due to volatile commodity prices and other factors, must be at the top of the agenda for both Europe and Flanders.”

WHERE LIE THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR FLANDERS?

“The opportunities for Flanders are principally located in the recycling industry. Our ports are world-renowned, our chemical and recycling industry are among the international elite. The European Institute of Innovation and Technology – EIT Raw Materials – has a headquarters in Leuven, and numerous R&D programmes focused on recycling are being pursued in Flemish research institutes, universities and companies.

Experimenting with redesign, reuse, repair, remanufacture and recycle is certainly meaningful. But first we need to focus on what we do best, namely further developing our recycling industry. There are also opportunities in other sectors, but they have not been sufficiently translated into actual business cases. We wish to help companies in this.”

IS RECYCLING THE OPTIMAL ROUTE IN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY, SINCE ENERGY IS REQUIRED AND VALUE IS DESTROYED?

“Recycling alone is indeed not a panacea. But we do believe that a well-developed recycling programme will be necessary in the coming decades to achieve the transition to the circular economy. It is an illusion to think that the solution lies only with reuse and repair. Recycling is a part of the solution, and here the industrial expertise of Flanders is significant. Which is why we need to invest wisely in this sector.”

HOW IS VITO TRANSLATING THIS VISION INTO ITS RESEARCH PROGRAMMES?

“We are working around two strategic lines. The principles of the circular economy are well known and are gradually finding acceptance by Flemish industry. It now primarily comes down to accelerating this transition. Within the first line – waste to products – we are developing specific

technological solutions to upgrade waste streams into products with value.

Furthermore, the transition of our economy also has a social dimension that we wish to support. In our second strategic line – unlocking the potential of the circular economy – we provide frameworks and methodologies to government customers and businesses to allow them to fully exploit the potential of the circular economy.”

WHAT ADDED VALUE DOES VITO’S EXPERTISE PROVIDE?

“Through our numerous research projects, mostly with industrial partners, we have accumulated much relevant knowledge concerning how to extract value from industrial waste streams. Our position at the centre of a web of government-industry-research activities also gives us unique access to data on material flows in the economy. By analysing this data we can show companies, federations and governments where the economic opportunities in the circular economy lie in the short and longer term.”

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ANNUAL REPORT 2015 I Sustainable materials management

FROM WASTE TO CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

Waste streams often contain useful materials such

as the precious metals gold and copper. These can

already be recovered today using special recycling

techniques. However the residue, which is much

more voluminous, also needs to be upgraded

into products with added value. VITO develops

technologies to transform bulky waste streams into

raw materials for the construction sector.

UPGRADING BULKY WASTE STREAMS

Residual wastes are often landfilled or used for low-value applications such as backfill. Thus some 95 % of the waste streams are lost. The recovery of materials, in which waste is used as raw material, is an interesting application within the circular economy. Moreover, reusing waste streams, for example as construction materials, reduces the CO

2

emissions involved in production.

Ruben Snellings, researcher at VITO: “If you only remove the valuable components from the waste stream and ignore the waste residue, the worth of the valuable elements often does not justify the final disposal costs. But if we are able to reduce the residual waste dumped at landfills, we can obtain much more value from our waste streams. Therefore VITO is developing technological solutions to convert waste into useful applications. First, we recover the valuable elements. Then we valorise the residue and put it back to work in high-value applications such as construction material.”

DREDGING SLUDGE AS CEMENT REPLACEMENT

Cement has a major impact on the environment. After water, concrete is the most commonly used material in the world. Each year some 30 billion tonnes of concrete are produced, amounting to 2.5 cubic meters per person. Cement is the binding ingredient of concrete: some 4 billion tonnes of cement are produced each year. 800 to 900 kg of CO

2 are emitted per tonne of cement. This equates to 5

to 8 % of annual global CO2 emissions. The development

of new types of cement can reduce this environmental impact. Therefore, VITO is working on two projects that use waste residue as a partial cement substitute or as a new construction material in which no cement is used.

At the AMORAS site (Antwerp Mechanical Dewatering, Recycling and Application of Sludge) dredged sediment from the port of Antwerp is processed into filter cake, which is temporarily stored. We study whether that material

could serve as a cement replacement by upgrading it using flash calcination technology. The finely ground filter cake is rapidly heated to 800 to 900 °C and then immediately cooled. The water is extracted from the material, yielding a glassy, amorphous substance: particles that react with cement. This can replace a part of the cement, which reduces CO

2 emissions dramatically.

Ruben Snellings: “Our testing programme shows that up to 30 % of the aggregate can be replaced by reprocessed dredging sludge without the concrete losing any strength. Together with researchers from KU Leuven and at the request of the Flemish government, we are testing the durability of the new construction material. We need to show that the new concrete will last for a long time. Pilot tests are planned for the end of the year. This will be followed by the commercial rollout together with industrial partners who wish to use the new aggregate. We expect to produce about 450,000 tonnes of cement replacement per year.”

ground steel slag to react with CO2, which forms calcium

carbonates. This is a binder that fills pores, thus creating an efficient, hard construction material. We are currently investigating whether CO

2 from waste streams can be

collected and used in this process.”

This process has been systematically upgraded. The first tests were made at laboratory scale. VITO then built small reactors of 10-15 litres, and afterwards larger reactors of 100 litres. Finally, a pilot plant was built at Recmix that can produce several tens of thousands of tonnes of Carbstone construction materials per year. The various recipes are still in the testing phase, but eventually Recmix wants to market the technology together with industrial partners.

Over time, the Carbstone technology could also be used for other waste streams such as incineration ash or construction and demolition waste, believes Ruben Snellings: “Carbonatation is a unique and promising technology that was developed in Flanders and put us on the map. There is interest in the technology throughout the world.”

REUSE OF STEEL SLAG

Steel slag, another waste stream, can also serve as a raw material for construction materials in which no cement at all is used. Annually the (stainless) steel industry in Belgium produces more than 500,000 tonnes of steel slag as a by-product. Specialised companies buy this slag, grind it and resell the recovered steel residue. But until very recently, the residue of the steel slag – approximately 90-95 % of the waste stream – was not used. Ruben Snellings: “We were approached by Recmix, a Flemish company that buys up steel slag, with the request to transform the steel slag residue into construction materials. In the Carbstone project, which has already been running for eight years, we use a carbonatation process. We allow the finely

Steel slag is recycled into CO2-negative building blocks.

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ANNUAL REPORT 2015 I Sustainable materials management

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Ive Vanderreydt, team leader at VITO: “Flanders is among the best recycling economies in Europe. In many European countries, up to 70 % of the waste is still being landfilled: in Flanders this is only 5 %. By sharing our best practices with Europe, we are supporting EU policy and inspiring European Member States and regions. At the same time we are continuing to invest in new technologies and models, keeping Flanders in the lead.”

An example in this context is the rise of the ‘restoration economy’. For a time, many products were designed for one-off use. Now many people are having their products repaired so that they can use them as long as possible. This has resulted in initiatives that respond to this need. Shared use is also becoming more popular. Think of car sharing and leasing, or neighbours who buy a lawnmower together.

Saskia Manshoven, project manager at VITO: “The ideal of a circular economy, one in which all materials are reused as raw material, is not feasible. Some products, for example, contain toxic substances that are harmful to health. Keeping these substances in the cycle is obviously not a good thing. Which is why, in addition to recycling, ecodesign is also important. This ensures that hazardous substances are no longer used.”

“OUR KNOWLEDGE BRIDGES GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY”

The transition to the circular economy requires

not only a technological revolution, but a societal

change as well. VITO research is helping the

government to further shape the materials policy.

We are developing new alternative business models

together with companies.

ANNUAL REPORT 2015 I Sustainable materials management

NEW BUSINESS MODEL: LEASING OFFSET PRINTING PLATES

In the Alluring project, VITO worked with Agfa Graphics to recycle the high-quality aluminium in offset printing plates in order to use it in making new printing plates. Discarded offset printing plates enter the regular recycling circuit. This aluminium is mixed with aluminium of a lower quality, making it no longer suitable for the production of new offset printing plates. VITO examined a business model in which the offset printing plates are not sold but leased. At the end of the plates’ lives, Agfa Graphics

COMPOSITE PLASTICS

VITO supports the Public Waste Agency of Flanders (OVAM) in preparing Flemish materials policy with diverse studies on, for example, the recycling of electronics and composite plastics. Metals from electronics, such as steel, aluminium and copper, are already being recycled to a large extent, but the rarer metals are often only present in small fractions, which means that it is not always economically interesting to recycle them. VITO is studying the possibility of setting up recycling lines for these plastics and rare metals. We are also identifying the extent to which companies are willing to work with recycled materials, and what obstacles remain.

European authorities also benefit from the studies of VITO. Together with the European Environment Agency (EEA), VITO is preparing a report summarising policy on material resource efficiency in 43 countries. This shows that many countries still limit themselves to a policy on waste. Fortunately there are places, such as Flanders, that wish to lead the way in the efficient use of materials.

WOOD WASTE

Materials, energy and chemicals are all interrelated in the circular economy. If we wish to use the same raw materials to make materials, chemicals and energy, we need to consider how to do this in the most efficient way. Previously each sector did its own thing, which led to clashes. In the meantime, we have come to see the usefulness of a common policy.

Wood waste, for example, can be used for material and energy applications. The particle board industry uses it to make fibreboard while the energy sector burns it to generate bioenergy. There are new insulation materials

based on woody materials, and the chemical industry is looking into ways to produce chemicals from woody waste streams. The increasing demand for woody streams leads to competition.

VITO is supporting the government in determining which wood waste applications have priority, by identifying what each party wants and the final aims of the policy. Using scientifically substantiated arguments, VITO as knowledge institution is bridging the gap between government and industry.

takes them back from the customer and adds the high-quality aluminium to its own resource cycle. Because it is not mixed with other aluminium, it can be re-used for the production of offset printing plates. VITO is studying the feasibility and environmental impact of the concept, and examining what barriers exist and what steps still need to be taken to set up such a new system.

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ANNUAL REPORT 2015 I Sustainable materials management

MATERIALS FOR CHEMISTRY

Catalysts ensure that chemical reactions take place

faster and more completely. VITO has had a technol-

ogy available for several years to build porous ma-

terials layer by layer. Recent research is focusing on

the use of spherical catalysts or catalyst supports.

“WE ARE DEVELOPING FUNCTIONAL CATALYSTS FOR THE FINE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY”

Ninety percent of the reactions in the chemical industry are only efficient with the intervention of a suitable catalyst. The choice of the catalyst is crucial to the performance of the reaction: the reaction speed, amount of product formed, and product distribution are determined to a significant extent by the catalyst. VITO has developed techniques to give catalysts an optimum form – especially their porous architecture – so that the contact time and the intensity with which the chemical substances move in the catalyst can be controlled.

3DFD

A catalyst is made up of an inert carrier structure that determines the shape, with a thin layer of catalyst on top of this. VITO forms the carrier structures using the 3DFD three-dimensional forming technique. The carrier is built up layer by layer using a computer model that drives an extrusion device. This allows us to extrude a paste of ceramic or metallic powders. The structure is finished with a catalyst layer. After thermal treatment and possible post-processing, a ceramic or metal structure is obtained with special control of the form and porous architecture.

The benefits of 3DFD catalysts are particularly evident in reactions in which the product distribution is particularly crucial, as is the case in the fine chemicals industry. Steven Mullens, researcher at VITO: “Industrial customers come to us with the request to create a customised catalyst. Together with the company, we design a structure appropriate to their application. We produce the catalyst in our laboratories. Currently we are already exploring the use of our 3DFD structures for applications in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. They play a role in chemical reactions such as catalytic combustion, flue gas scrubbing and selective oxidation. In addition to their use in the chemical industry, other applications are also possible, including heat exchangers, load-bearing structures, thermal insulation and medical implants.”

BIOCATALYSIS

Steven Mullens: “We produce catalysts tailored to industry. But we are also continuing to develop our knowledge at research level. The aim is to tailor our research to market demand.” VITO recently launched a new line of research at the catalysis department: enzymes are deposited on inert carrier structures, for example, microspheres or 3DFD structures. Such catalysts are widely used in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

PATENTED TECHNOLOGY

The chemistry behind the catalyst is also a research topic at VITO. As part of doctoral research, a material was devised that consists entirely of catalyst material and therefore no longer uses a carrier. A chemical binder holds the catalyst particles together and contributes to determining the catalyst’s properties. Special here is the fact that the binder and catalyst can be printed directly, so that the top layer does not need to be applied separately. VITO has applied for a patent for this technology.

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ANNUAL REPORT 2015 I Sustainable materials management

BAT AND EMIS HAVE BEEN IMPROVING THE ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE OF OUR INDUSTRY FOR 20 YEARS

In 2015 the knowledge centre for Best Available

Techniques (BAT) and the Energy and Environmental

Information System of the Flemish Region (EMIS)

celebrated their twentieth anniversary. They have

been conducting pioneering work since their

inception in 1995 under the auspices of VITO. Today

the knowledge centre is also playing an increasingly

prominent role at European level.

EUROPEAN INTEREST

BAT studies point out innovative technologies to companies and thus give a good overview of what is coming in terms of environmental and energy technology. BAT studies are also made at European level: the so-called BREF (BAT Reference documents). The studies are made in a participatory process involving both industry and Member States. In this, the Flemish and Belgian governments are represented by the BAT knowledge centre.

The BAT knowledge centre and EMIS form an independent link between technology, policy and information. In the past 20 years they have distributed information on hundreds of environmental and energy-friendly measures for industry, and selected the Best Available Techniques for dozens of sectors. In this way, the knowledge centre helped to anchor BAT in the Flemish environmental legislation and environmental permits.

PIONEERING WORK

In 1995, the environmental measures present in the Flemish industrial sectors were drastically in need of im-provement. Thus the first BAT studies performed truly pioneering work. Now VITO is updating these studies to address specific bottlenecks. With these analyses, sectors that are interconnected through specific production chains – such as paper manufacturers and the printing industry – are able to adapt their environmental measures to each other.

BBT AND EMIS

ANNUAL REPORT 2015 I Sustainable materials management

SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS MANAGEMENT

On 7 October 2015, VITO officially launched its

spin-off Laser Cladding Venture (LCV). The company

specialises in laser cladding. With 17 years of

experience in state-of-the-art laser technology, VITO

is far ahead of the curve. A laser is used to fuse

metal powders on objects to obtain a high quality

coating.

The coatings that are applied with laser cladding ensure that mechanical components last much longer and are more resistant to corrosion. Moreover, repairs can also be carried out using laser cladding, and even new components can be made with 3D printing techniques. Unique to 3D laser cladding is the fact that new components can be printed directly on existing components. This was impossible with conventional printing techniques.

FROM ANIMAL FEED TO DREDGING

Laser cladding has been used in various sectors. Jan Lambrechts, CEO of LCV: “We’ve attached a wear-resistant coating to extruder screws for animal feed. This enables the screws to last up to six times longer than screws without the coating. We have also already found nice applications for the technology in the dredging sector. The Belgian dredging, marine engineering and environmental group DEME NV signed a cooperation agreement with LCV for three years to strengthen the cutter teeth used in dredging hard material. The partnership follows a successful pilot project around laser cladding in 2015. This confirmed the confidence of DEME in the innovative potential for the domestic market.”

LASER CLADDING VENTURE (LCV) LAUNCHED

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