Circular Economy through industrial symbiosis of strategic sectors in the Comunitat Valenciana

The project “Circular Economy through industrial symbiosis of strategic sectors in the Comunitat Valenciana (MEM4ALL)”, which took place in April 2019 until December 2020, presented the results that were obtained during the first year of the project.

The project aims to recover waste flows from various industrial sectors (ceramics, pigments and glazes, surface treatment and toys) using membrane technology and the trans-sectoral recovery of the flows derived from the use of this technology. The companies that took part in the project (SAMCA (coordinator), COLOR ESMALT, COLORTEC QUÍMICA, CREACIONES JOVIAR, MATRIDOS y NIQUELADOS GÓMEZ) are a clear representation of each of the sectors included in it. Therefore, the obtained results may be extrapolated to each of the sectors listed.

The most relevant tasks and conclusions to date have been
– The trends to be dealt with in each of the companies have been defined and characterised:

–  SAMCA: well and tap water used to obtain atomized powders, in which it is of interest to obtain low conductivity and hardness.
–  COLOR ESMALT: cleaning and manufacturing currents for the collection of ceramic frits and pigments, in which the recovery of ceramic compounds is of interest.
–  COLORTEC QUÍMICA: suction dust from the cleaning process of masterbatch formulation powders, in which the recovery of titanium dioxide is of interest, with the least possible interference of iron (Fe).
–  CREACIONES JOVIAR: water from the vibrating/polishing of zámak parts, in which the maximum possible amount of zinc (Zn) is recovered.
–  MATRIDOS: demetallised bath and subsequent demetallized rinse, in which it is important to recover the copper (Cu) and nickel (Ni) that might be present.
–  NIQUELADOS GÓMEZ: pickling of racks and acid and basic electrolytic degreasing, in which it is interesting to recover the copper (Cu), nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn) present.

– Different membrane technologies have been selected and validated at a laboratory scale for the recovery of the previously mentioned compounds, such as microfiltration, nanofiltration and polymer-assisted ultrafiltration.

For the present year 2020, the possibility of developing “ad hoc” ceramic membranes for the membrane treatments that require it will be studied and different alternatives for intra- and intersectoral recovery will be defined among the participating companies. It is relevant to consider this information, without losing sight of the fact that the final objective of the MEM4ALL project is to obtain zero final waste by implementing a circular economy and industrial symbiosis between different industrial sectors in the Comunitat Valenciana.

This project is partially subsidized by the Agencia Valenciana de Innovación (AVI) within the program of Consolidation of the business value chain during the 2019-2020 call. The objective of this program is to support the development of solutions with an impact on the business value chain, which involves the application of novelty in products, processes, organisational systems, etc. in order to improve the exchange of information and work processes among the companies involved. In addition, the development and use of other key technologies to boost industrial and economic development is highly encouraged.

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