The kick-off meeting of the project LIFE ECO-SANDFILL was held on 7 July on the premises of IK4-AZTERLAN. With a total budget of 2,313,350€, the project is co-financed by the European Union under the Environment and Climate Action Programme (LIFE 2015).
The main goal of the project is to demonstrate the technical, economic and environmental feasibility of using reclaimed Spent Foundry Sand (SFS) as fine aggregate in three construction applications, specifically for embankments, Controlled Low Strength Material (CLSM) and flowable mortars for injection.
As required, the surplus sand will be subjected to a novel mechanical treatment, which will ensure impurity removal and meeting the quality specified for each of the 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 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.
The Kick-off meeting of this challenging project took place on the premises of the Metallurgy Research Centre IK4-AZTERLAN, with all the consortium partners launching the activities of the workplan foreseen for the next three years. LIFE ECO-SANDFILL consortium is composed of the prominent Basque companies FUNDICIONES DEL ESTANDA S.A, ONDARLAN S.L, IK4-AZTERLAN and GAIKER-IK4 Technology Centres and the leading construction company in Europe ACCIONA INFRAESTRUCTURAS.
LIFE ECO-SANDFILL project team on the premises of the Metallurgy Research Centre IK4-AZTERLAN.
