The project aims at the valorisation of spent foundry sand into several construction applications and is co-financed by the program LIFE 2015, the financial instrument for the environment and climate action of the European Union, under the priority area ‘Environment and Resource Efficiency’ (Grant Agreement No. LIFE15 ENV/ES/000612).
The main objective of the LIFE ECO-SANDFILL project is to develop a novel reclaiming mechanical treatment for the sand, which will ensure impurity removal and meeting the quality specified for different applications. As a result, the technical and environmental basis will be provided for the use of reclaimed SFS in construction applications, as well as the criteria for reuse of the reclaimed sand in making moulds and cores in the foundry.
The first reclamation trials with spent sand on the demonstrator located on the premises of ONDARLAN, S.L. were carried out last December. The sand was supplied by FUNDICIONES DEL ESTANDA S.A. and originated within the chemical sand moulding process of the foundry. The characterisation of the actual process and the specially reclaimed samples will be done by ONDARLAN and IK4-AZTERLAN, allowing to optimize the actual operation conditions in order to design a prototype that later on will be integrated in the moulding sand circuit at ESTANDA facilities.
The LIFE ECO-SANDFILL project was launched on 1st July last year and will span for 36 months. Apart from IK4-AZTERLAN, FUNDICIONES DEL ESTANDA S.A and ONDARLAN S.L, the Consortium is formed by Gaiker-IK4 Technology Centre and the leading construction company in Europe ACCIONA INFRAESTRUCTURAS.
The ultimate goal of the project is to contribute to a “close to zero” landfilling of the main solid waste flow in foundry. Waste sands can be a valuable material resource due to their high content in silica and their uniform physical properties, qualities that make them a potential secondary raw material in several industry sectors, after undergoing an advanced treatment for grain cleaning.
To learn more: www.life-ecosandfill.eu
