Modification of the sewage sludge ash P-mineralogy by thermo-chemical
treatment with LF slags
© Lehrstuhl für Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2022)
As an essential nutrient Phosphorus (P) is an important constituent in fertilisers used in agriculture. However, almost the entire amount of P used in Europe must be imported from sources worldwide. High amounts of P are concentrated in sewage sludge from mostly municipal sewage. From 2029 P-recycling from sewage sludge is mandatory for wastewater treatment plants in Germany. In this study, a process which uses a thermo-chemical treatment of sewage sludge ash (SSA) with Ca-carriers, is developed. The method succeeds in producing materials which match the demands for plant available P and as proven by chemical extraction and pot trials as required by national and European regulations for fertilisers. This was achieved by treating the molten SSA with burnt lime and slags from Ca-rich ladle furnace (LF-slag) which results in the formation of better soluble P-minerals in comparison to the phases whitlockite and apatite mostly abundant in SSA.
© Lehrstuhl für Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2022)
As an essential nutrient Phosphorus (P) is an important constituent in fertilisers used in agriculture. However, almost the entire amount of P used in Europe must be imported from sources worldwide. High amounts of P are concentrated in sewage sludge from mostly municipal sewage. From 2029 P-recycling from sewage sludge is mandatory for wastewater treatment plants in Germany. In this study, a process which uses a thermo-chemical treatment of sewage sludge ash (SSA) with Ca-carriers, is developed. The method succeeds in producing materials which match the demands for plant available P and as proven by chemical extraction and pot trials as required by national and European regulations for fertilisers. This was achieved by treating the molten SSA with burnt lime and slags from Ca-rich ladle furnace (LF-slag) which results in the formation of better soluble P-minerals in comparison to the phases whitlockite and apatite mostly abundant in SSA.
Development of an approximation model for the evaluation of slag treatment strategies
© Lehrstuhl für Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2022)
Sustainable management of resources and circular economy are key focal points of research and development activities within the iron and steel industry. In the project Slagreus, a novel approach enhancing internal and external recycling of basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slag has been developed.
© Lehrstuhl für Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2022)
Sustainable management of resources and circular economy are key focal points of research and development activities within the iron and steel industry. In the project Slagreus, a novel approach enhancing internal and external recycling of basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slag has been developed.
Collective research projects: Reviewing gaps in the recycling of multilayer flexible food packaging
© Lehrstuhl für Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
Recyclability and sustainability are conflicts in multilayer flexible food packaging, where material combinations (polymers, paper, aluminium) intend functionality. To increase the sustainability of multilayer flexible packaging through recyclable solutions, systemic and technical obstacles need to be considered. A holistic redesign approach, addressing food protection and the packaging’s end of life (collection, sorting, recycling) is essential to improve these already sustainable packaging solutions. To this, current collective research projects at the University of Applied Sciences, aim to closely link science and industry, promote research in the field of sustainable packaging and provide solutions to recycling goals of the European Union.
© Lehrstuhl für Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
Recyclability and sustainability are conflicts in multilayer flexible food packaging, where material combinations (polymers, paper, aluminium) intend functionality. To increase the sustainability of multilayer flexible packaging through recyclable solutions, systemic and technical obstacles need to be considered. A holistic redesign approach, addressing food protection and the packaging’s end of life (collection, sorting, recycling) is essential to improve these already sustainable packaging solutions. To this, current collective research projects at the University of Applied Sciences, aim to closely link science and industry, promote research in the field of sustainable packaging and provide solutions to recycling goals of the European Union.
PlasticFreeDanube: Composition of macro-plastic waste in and along the Danube River
© Lehrstuhl für Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
The reliable estimates are essential to developing measures to reduce plastic pollution and to make successes measurable and visible. For this reason, the cross-border project "PlasticFreeDanube" (PFD), which is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund within the framework of Interreg Slovakia-Austria, aims to gain new knowledge on this topic for the Danube.
© Lehrstuhl für Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
The reliable estimates are essential to developing measures to reduce plastic pollution and to make successes measurable and visible. For this reason, the cross-border project "PlasticFreeDanube" (PFD), which is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund within the framework of Interreg Slovakia-Austria, aims to gain new knowledge on this topic for the Danube.
Environmental-economic impact assessment of business models in the Austrian waste economy
© Lehrstuhl für Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
The dynamic macroeconomic one-region and multi-sector model WIFO.DYNK (dynamic new-Keynesian) was adapted to model the employment and value-added impacts of the Austrian waste economy in this respect. It is based on the most recent input-output tables of Statistics Austria.
© Lehrstuhl für Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
The dynamic macroeconomic one-region and multi-sector model WIFO.DYNK (dynamic new-Keynesian) was adapted to model the employment and value-added impacts of the Austrian waste economy in this respect. It is based on the most recent input-output tables of Statistics Austria.
Influence of pre-screening before ballistic separation on NIR-sorting quality of plastic rich 3D-fractions out of MCW
© Lehrstuhl für Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
The exploitation of plastics gains more importance over time. In this con-text, material recycling is especially focused on packaging plastics. A further waste stream that contains a significant amount of plastics is mixed commercial solid waste. To assess the potential of plastics for recycling and energy recovery from these waste stream large-scale experiments were conducted. The potential of mechanical pre-processing with the aim of generating a 3D-plastics pre-concentrate was assessed. The focus of these investigations was put on the relevance of the screening stage and its influence on down-stream material processing via ballistic separation and sensor-based sorting. Results demonstrate not only that the screening of the waste leads to enrichment of plastics in coarse particle size ranges (especially > 80 mm) and transfer of contaminants, organics and minerals to fine fractions (especially < 10 mm), but also that sensor-based sorting performance can be significantly enhanced due to cleaning effects on plastics, induced by the material circulation and friction in a drum screen.
© Lehrstuhl für Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
The exploitation of plastics gains more importance over time. In this con-text, material recycling is especially focused on packaging plastics. A further waste stream that contains a significant amount of plastics is mixed commercial solid waste. To assess the potential of plastics for recycling and energy recovery from these waste stream large-scale experiments were conducted. The potential of mechanical pre-processing with the aim of generating a 3D-plastics pre-concentrate was assessed. The focus of these investigations was put on the relevance of the screening stage and its influence on down-stream material processing via ballistic separation and sensor-based sorting. Results demonstrate not only that the screening of the waste leads to enrichment of plastics in coarse particle size ranges (especially > 80 mm) and transfer of contaminants, organics and minerals to fine fractions (especially < 10 mm), but also that sensor-based sorting performance can be significantly enhanced due to cleaning effects on plastics, induced by the material circulation and friction in a drum screen.
State-of-the-art and future perspectives in textile recycling
© Lehrstuhl für Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
Today, the blending of materials within textiles is an asset in the design of protective clothing and various technical applications, but material mixes and blends also found their way into retail trade. The rise in end-of-life items is thus putting pressure on waste management to develop suitable recycling processes. Still, in the textile sector, waste prevention claimed by policy seems to be a pious wish.
© Lehrstuhl für Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
Today, the blending of materials within textiles is an asset in the design of protective clothing and various technical applications, but material mixes and blends also found their way into retail trade. The rise in end-of-life items is thus putting pressure on waste management to develop suitable recycling processes. Still, in the textile sector, waste prevention claimed by policy seems to be a pious wish.
Tex2Mat: The recycling of towels and laundry made from PET and cotton
© Lehrstuhl für Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
The project “Tex2Mat” was a cooperation between companies working in the field of recycling or textiles and universities specializing in the field of polymer engineering and recycling. There were two polymers (PET and PA) examined and the whole project divided into two subprojects.
© Lehrstuhl für Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
The project “Tex2Mat” was a cooperation between companies working in the field of recycling or textiles and universities specializing in the field of polymer engineering and recycling. There were two polymers (PET and PA) examined and the whole project divided into two subprojects.
Reporting of food waste in the EU – Results of current estimates in Germany
© Lehrstuhl für Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
In February 2019, the German Federal Cabinet adopted the 'National Strategy for Reducing Food Waste', setting a framework for the future direction of this initiative. Among other things, it stipulated that an inter-ministerial "Indicator 12.3 Working Group" should prepare the data bases and methods for nationwide balancing of food waste generation (baseline). Based on existing 2015 data, this status quo analysis will be used as a starting point to agree on milestones for the respective sectors.
© Lehrstuhl für Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
In February 2019, the German Federal Cabinet adopted the 'National Strategy for Reducing Food Waste', setting a framework for the future direction of this initiative. Among other things, it stipulated that an inter-ministerial "Indicator 12.3 Working Group" should prepare the data bases and methods for nationwide balancing of food waste generation (baseline). Based on existing 2015 data, this status quo analysis will be used as a starting point to agree on milestones for the respective sectors.
Combining laser cleaning and LIBS: fast and precise recycling of metal alloys
© Lehrstuhl für Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
In respect of a limited amount of raw material, costs, CO2 and waste reduction, high precision metal recycling is getting more and more important these days. Contaminations of the melt with unwanted or outright detrimental elements (e.g. C, S, P, Cu or Pb in steel, Cr or Ni in low-alloy steels, Li in aluminium and so forth) are a huge liability toward the ‘‘alloy-to-alloy’’ recycling goal and essentially the only option in this case, is either costly dilution with clean raw materials, downgrading or worst case scenario discarding.
© Lehrstuhl für Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft der Montanuniversität Leoben (11/2020)
In respect of a limited amount of raw material, costs, CO2 and waste reduction, high precision metal recycling is getting more and more important these days. Contaminations of the melt with unwanted or outright detrimental elements (e.g. C, S, P, Cu or Pb in steel, Cr or Ni in low-alloy steels, Li in aluminium and so forth) are a huge liability toward the ‘‘alloy-to-alloy’’ recycling goal and essentially the only option in this case, is either costly dilution with clean raw materials, downgrading or worst case scenario discarding.
