Country: Italy
Focus area:Green
Thematic area:
Waste reduction and Recycling Technology , Green & Sustainable materials, Carbon Capture & Storage Technologies
TRL phase: TRL 6 - technology demonstrated in relevant environment (Technology development)
Addressed business processes: PROCUREMENT process , TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT process
Solution overview
Resilco has developed a technology for the recovery and valorization of industrial alkaline waste such as fly ash from Waste to Energy plants, steel slags, and dust abatement fumes. The solution, based on accelerated carbonation, enables to produce recycled materials for the construction industry while permanently storing CO₂. The technology can also be extended other waste, such as sewage sludge, bypass dusts etc.
The proposed technology addresses a problem which is core to many industries: the recovery of industrial waste which is today landfilled. In doing so, it supplies:
1) a sustainable and cost-efficient waste management approach;
2) permanent CO2 storage, convertible in voluntary carbon credits;
3) recycled materials for the construction industry, which are today highly sought after to reduce the environmental impact of this sector;
4) the creation of a circular economy model that optimizes resources, reduces costs, and creates new business relationships.
Key features
In recent years, many different solutions have been developed to tackle the problem of waste reduction through recovery applying virtuous approaches. This shows both the increasing sensibility on the problem, as well as a demand from the industry for novel technologies that follow the EU guidelines and directives.
Resilco`s approach and technology differentiates from other solutions available on the market since:
1. it operates at room temperature and pressure, thus lowering the energy demand;
2. it uses one only reagent (CO2) and does not imply strong chemical processes such as acid of basic leaching, and it does not make use of natural binders or fillers such as cements itself;
3. it works with a wide variety of residues amongst which Fly Ashes, steel slag, dust abatement fumes, etc.
4. It recovers and reuses over 90% of the process water, thereby reducing water demand and environmental impact.
5. It allows for the permanent storage of CO₂, contributing to Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR), with over 150 kg of CO₂ stored per ton of treated material, net of emissions generated by the process.
6. It has a low investment repayment time (<5years) and enables immediate disposal costs savings.
Integration and adaptability in manufacturing environments
Resilco`s technology can be integrated in many different production settings: it is a stand-alone module that can be installed directly on the site where the waste is produced, or on a separate site where the waste can be transported (or where it is already transported today, e.g. at environmental operator`s premises). This versatility enables not to impact the current production processes (e.g. in the case of a steel mill or of a waste to energy plant, where obtaining on site authorizations might complicated) and to involve different players consolidating the value chain.
The proposed solution can to some extent be customized to manufacturing requirements:
a) it can be applied to a wide range of industrial waste of alkaline nature, the process being adapted according to the specific characteristics of the waste;
b) furthermore, the process is adapted in order to optimize the output recycled material according to the end user (i.e. cement industry players) needs;
c) it can be adapted to process from 2.000 up to 50.000 t/y of waste.
The solutions has been designed in order to have the core component (the Reactor designed and patented by Resilco) custom produced, while all other components, enabling pre and post treatment, are state of the art commercially available components, with multiple suppliers available. This reduces the risk of the time to market as well as the risk of operation. Furthermore, the core Resilco Reactor has been kept simple and it can be manufactured with standard state of the art technologies. This enables a fast time to market and a flexibility in the choice of the supplier.
Implementation support and training for manufacturers
Resilco`s offer consists of:
1. material validation services: the customer waste material is tested at lab level to understand the compatibility between the waste and the proposed treatment process. During this activity which can last between 3 and 6 months according to the waste, Resilco characterizes the waste, tests the waste according to standard process conditions, and tests the compliance of the obtained recycled material with regulations for standard use in the building sector. In this way, the customer has a complete scenario of how the waste can be recovered and valorized (both in terms of market opportunity and economical value).
2. Rent of Resilco Mobile plant and support during authorization phase: Resilco is in the process of building a mobile plant for on-site testing (i.e. at customer location, or at any other location identified by the customer). This service a double scope: a) to optimize the process and the output recycled material by gathering enough data with a dedicated campaign where up to 2000 t of waste can be treated. This data will consolidate the process on the specific waste stream and supply all the necessary information for requesting the End of Waste authorization (mandatory for recycled material re-introduction on the market) as well as for requesting the authorizations for building the industrial plant. Resilco will support the customer during the complete authorization process. b) Provide an on-site semi-industrial validation of the technology.
3. Sale of the Resilco treatment plant: completed phase 1 (mandatory) and phase 2 (highly recommended) above the customer can purchase the plant directly from. The plant final engineering will be carried out according to customer needs.
4. Management of Resilco`s plant: once the plant construction and commissioning is completed, Resilco supplies services for the full management of the plant daily operations, including the sale of the recycled material. In this scenario, the customer is binded by an agreement for the exclusive supply of the waste material, while all other issues connect with the plant management are dealt by Resilco.
Sustainability, compliance and certifications in the EU
The solution must comply with the relevant environmental regulations and industry standard it the EU, which are all considered in the development of the first pilot plant. Resilco has not yet obtained certifications or accreditations since the solution is not yet on the market (TRL6). However, Resilco is already working on these issues, such as an LCA analysis of its process to access the voluntary carbon credit market, as well as the EPD certification for the recycled materials obtained from the proposed process.
