Project title:
Valorisation and integration of extractive waste towards the sustainability of raw materials industry


Acronim: VALORWASTE
Contract no: 6 / 2024
Topic: Supply of raw materials from exploration to mining

Participating institutions:

  1. University of Porto, Faculty of Engineering, Mining Engineering Department, Porto, Portugal- Coordinator
  2. Bucharest University of Economic Studies Economic Informatics and Cybernetics, Bucharest, Romania
  3. National Institute of Research and Development for Optoelectronics INOE 2000 Research Institute for Analytical Instrumentation, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
  4. Hacettepe University, Civil Engineering Department, Ankara, Turkey
  5. Chalmers University of Technology, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Gothenburg, Sweden
  6. University of Granada, Granada, Spain
  7. University of Tartu, Institute of Technology, Tartu, Estonia
  8. Kalekim Construction Chemicals, Istanbul, Turkey
  9. AWIDA Sp.z.o.o., Olawa, Poland
  10. Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute Polish Academy of Science Circular Economy, Krakow, Poland
  11. Secil – Companhia geral de cal e cimento, SA CDAC – Cement Applications Development Centre of SECIL group, Setubal, Portugal
  12. Limak Cement Company R&D Center, Ankara, Turkey

Abstract
The extractive industry has been considered one of Europe’s most significant waste streams. Given the ambition to move towards a circular economy, extractive wastes have the potential to be altered from a substantial environmental burden to valuable resources via the recovery of valuable minerals and critical raw materials (CRM), reprocessing, and reusing in various applications. Motivated by this, ValorWaste project was conceptualized to provide a holistic view under the reprocessing of extractive waste by addressing the following challenges: i) implement a comprehensive waste materials characterisation methodology to predict suitable valorisation routes; ii) assess the potential of sustainable mineral processing and hydrometallurgy techniques to valorise residues and recover CRMs and other strategic critical elements; iii) design construction materials and chemicals that can integrate extractive waste in their composition; iv) identify the environmental impact of developed valorisation routes using life cycle assessment, hot spot analysis and risk identification; v) provide access for ML algorithms, simulation models and analytics to support process/products optimisation and promote data-driven decisions; vi) identify business opportunities and challenges for the valorisation and integration of extractive waste in the materials construction industry; vii) promote sustainable practices and circularity for the raw materials industry. The project consortium is composed of 8 partners from University/Research Centres and four industrial partners, who have been selected based on their complementary expertise in terms of detailed technical competence in waste management and characterisation (INOE, UTARTU, AWIDA), mineral processing and hydrometallurgy (CUT, FEUP, HCT), construction materials and chemicals (UGR, HCT, SECIL, LIMAK and KALE), life cycle and impact assessment (MEERI PAS, UTARTU), data management and analytics (ASE, FEUP).

Project objective
The main objective of ValorWaste project is to contribute to the raw materials industry’s sustainability by proposing an innovative supply chain approach for critical and strategic raw materials towards the valorisation of residues generated by the extractive industry and its integration into construction materials and chemicals after recovery of the contained critical minerals.

Estimated results

  • Questionnaire for the assessment of extractive waste
  • List of extractive waste selected for valorization
  • Preliminary characterization report of the extractive waste proposed for valorization
  • Project web page
  • Characterization report of extractive waste proposed for valorization
  • Testing report for extractants used for the solubilization of valuable elements from extractive waste
  • Paper presented at international conference
  • Experimental report on the solubilization of valuable elements from extractive waste
  • Report on valorization routes of extractive waste
  • Paper presented at an international conference
  • Manuscript submitted for publication
  • Leaflet on mining waste valorization

Project start date: 01/04/2024
Project end date: 31/03/2027
Project duration: 36 months

Contact
Proiect Manager
CS I Dr. Erika Levei
Str. Donath nr. 67, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
E-mail: erika.levei@icia.ro; icia@icia.ro
Tel/Fax: +40 264 420590 / +40 264 420667