Seeking Sustainable Solutions

Australian Research Team and Report Earns Honors

September 1, 2013
RTGE Staff

Ferrous Legislation & Regulations Plastics

The team that researched the use of plastic and rubber scrap at a steel mill in Australia worked under the auspices of the Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT), housed within the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia.

UNSW created SMaRT to bring together researchers from the science, engineering and built environment departments, as well as the Australian Defence Force Academy, to work in coordination with industry to design sustainable materials and manufacturing processes.

The report “The Power of Steelmaking – Harnessing High Temperature Reactions to Transform Waste Into Raw Material Resources” was based on research conducted by SMaRT along with industry partner Arrium (formerly known as OneSteel).

The report was honored in May 2013 as the Howe Memorial Lecture at the AISTech Conference & Exposition in the United States hosted by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST, www.aist.org.) The lecture is named in honor of Dr. Henry Marion Howe, a U.S.-born late 19th and early 20th century metallurgist and author who wrote a significant number of essays and textbooks on steelmaking and metallurgy.

The 14 members of the SMaRT research team who contributed to the report were: Dr. Veena Sahajwalla, M. Zaharia, I. Mansuri, R. Rajarao, R. Dhunna, F. Nur Yunos, R. Khanna, N. Saha-Chaudhury, P. O’Kane, A. Fontana, C. Skidmore, P. Vielhauer, D. O’Connell and D. Knights.

Those wishing to see a complete copy of the report can contact AIST at info@aist.org.

Welsh Ship Recycler Lands Contract

Swansea Drydocks will scrap and recycle a mothballed Royal Navy frigate.

September 1, 2013
RTGE Staff

Legislation & Regulations

Welsh ship dismantling firm Swansea Drydocks has been awarded a contract from the U.K.’s Ministry of Defence to scrap and recycle the former HMS Cornwall, a Royal Navy type 22 frigate. The vessel, built in 1985, was decommissioned in 2011.

To win the contract Swansea Drydocks says it was required to “demonstrate its capabilities and resources; relevant experience and technical expertise; obtain mandatory permits, approvals and licenses and those of its subcontractors; the competence to deliver a safe and environmentally sound ship recycling service and the ability to maximize the financial return from the ship’s metals, materials and equipment while minimizing waste to landfill.”

“Developing Swansea Drydocks into a world class ship repair and recycling facility has been a huge challenge,” says Karl Dunn, managing director of the firm. “It’s taken us several years of hard work and significant investment to be in a position to win this tender. As a result, we are beginning to achieve the goals we set for the business and we anticipate substantial growth over the next few years.”

ALMO Expands Screening Line

Company says the Mogensen line is able to handle a wider range of applications.

August 29, 2013
CDR Staff

Equipment & Products

ALMO, headquartered in Cincinnati, says its Mogensen sizer has demonstrated success with more than 400 reference materials. The range of materials includes animal feed, wood chips, sugar, pharmaceutical powders, coal, sand, sodium bicarbonate, salt, iron ore, shale, detergent, fertilizer, gravel, bauxite, glass, oats, pearls, potatoes, tin ore, coffee, clay, citric acid, chestnuts, urea, bread crumbs, fly ash, nylon granulate, pepper and quartz.

The application-specific approach has proven Mogensen to be successful from aluminum to zinc. The newly established trial center has provided product advancement with thorough evaluation of an increasing number of materials.

The Mogensen product line offers 5 models, available in 37 frame sizes, to meet the individual requirements of a process. Available features, which include an adjustable feed spreader and wear plates, enable Mogensen products to meet the requirements of demanding applications.

The Mogensen sizer-screening concept was developed in 1947 by Fredrik Mogensen. The machine concept is based on the principle that different sized particles have different probabilities through a screen. With sloped screen decks, the capacity of a specific area is achieved and particles have freedom of movement. The concept has been adapted to meet the specific requirements for a diverse range of materials.

ALMO Process Technology combines the equipment and expertise of two industry-leading solutions companies. ALMO has been derived from parent company name of AL-lgaier and screening company Mogensen. ALMO Process is a single source contact for project development and after-market support.

More information about ALMO Process Technology, with full product details, can be accessed at www.almoprocess.com.

Carpet Recycling UK Seeks to Boost Recycling Efforts

Organization says that the reuse and recycling of carpet tiles provides opportunities in the U.K.

August 29, 2013
Recycling Today Staff

C&D Legislation & Regulations

Increasing the reuse and recycling of the estimated 58 million individual carpet tiles removed annually in the United Kingdom is a key focus for Carpet Recycling UK (CRUK) as it strives to divert more material from the country’s landfills and to help organizations in the U.K. achieve zero-to-landfill targets.

In 2011, an estimated 750,000 carpet tiles were reused or recycled, representing a diversion rate of about 1.4 percent. However, the sector is expanding with 15 CRUK member organizations comprising five reuse organizations and 10 recycling or fuel flock specialists able to increase the recycling and reuse of the 64,000 metric ton waste stream.

Several projects being developed to boost carpet recycling and reuse efforts include flooring manufacturer DESSO’s nationwide collection and recycling Take Back program and Greenstream Recycling’s national reuse and recycling collection for local social benefit.

“Raising awareness within these sectors is crucial for us in finding useful second lives for carpet tiles and diverting a readily recyclable resource from landfill,” says Laurance Bird, director of CRUK. “Having made a great start, there is still much more we can do.”

DESSO, a CRUK core funder, provides nationwide collection and recycling facilities through its Take Back program, which accepts used tiles from any source, except PVC-backed tiles. Established in 2008, the initiative strives to eliminate landfilling of any tiles. Instead, the company seeks to recycle the tiles into new flooring products or use them in other recycling initiatives.

Greenstream Flooring CIC, based in South Wales, diverted more than 36,500 square meters of unwanted carpet tiles from landfill in 2012, 70 percent of which was reused, either by Greenstream or one of the company’s national networks of community resellers.

“Creating a second life for carpet tiles for low-income families and individuals in the U.K. provides the FM sector with a set of unique quantified social outputs that any other ‘waste option’ can’t beat,” says Ellen Petts, managing director of Greenstream.

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