Recymelt (Recovery of solid residues from smelting or refining furnaces)
Partnership: CRM, CTP, CRIBC, ISSeP, ULg-GeMMe
Grant amount: €961,967
Research period: 24 months
Program: Collective research
Contact: Benjamin Bergmans, b.bergmans@issep.be.
Industry and human activities generate large quantities of by-products (dust, slag, consumer goods residues, etc.) which are considered waste and end up in landfill sites. They contain high value-added constituents (Ni, Cr, Zn, Pb, etc.), but these are not exploited for lack of suitable recycling channels. These by-products represent hundreds of thousands of tons per year in Wallonia, and are a source of pollution and wasted natural resources. Added to this is the environmental impact of transporting raw materials from abroad, when potential deposits are available in the form of landfills or polluted industrial sites. The aim of the “Recymelt” project is to develop a new process for recovering these residues by melting or high-temperature fusion-reduction in smelting or refining furnaces, in order to recover the metallic elements separately. In addition to technical aspects and economic profitability, the environmental impact on air quality was also studied. This project fits in perfectly with the expertise developed by the Institute in recent years in the environmental impact of industrial processes.