Led by the IK4-AZTERLAN Metallurgical Research Center, this project aims to demonstrate the validity of the reuse of regenerated foundry sand in specific construction applications and foundry processes.
LIFE ECO-SANDFILL project has reached its first milestone: to carry out preliminary tests for the recovery of spent foundry sand on a semi-industrial scale. To this end, an attrition regenerator has been used to adjust the different operating parameters to optimize the final characteristics of the regenerated sand.
The battery of preliminary tests has been carried out using the demonstration equipment installed in the company ONDARLAN, using residual chemical bonded sand and green molding sand from the foundry FUNDICIONES del ESTANDA, S.A. The results obtained will be used to adjust the design of the prototype equipment that will be installed in this foundry within the following months.
The challenge of recovering spent foundry sand
The residual foundry sands are classified as non-hazardous non-inert waste and must be handled by authorized agents, which is a clear restriction of recovery. Through the LIFE ECO-SANDFILL project, the working team seeks to overcome these barriers by introducing a regeneration process to obtain a systematized quality sand sub-product of low environmental impact. More specifically, the project is focused on the reuse of this regenerated sand in the field of construction and the casting process itself.
The LIFE ECO-SANDFILL project team is led by IK4-AZTERLAN Metallurgical Research Center, with the participation of the companies FUNDICIONES del ESTANDA S.A., ONDARLAN S.L., ACCIONA CONSTRUCCIÓN, S.A. and the Technology Center GAIKER-IK4. The initiative is co-financed by the European Union’s LIFE program (Contract Nº LIFE15 ENV / ES / 000612).
Prototype and result
