Waste is a valuable resource if and only if Concepts and strategies for waste management

Transcription

1 Waste is a valuable resource if and only if Concepts and strategies for waste management Mats Carlin Research director Optical Measurement Systems 1

2 Fast Near Infra Red Spectroscopy Plastic film on beverage cartoons 7 polymer fractions (PP,PE,PET...) Deink paper fractions Material knowledge Fast spectrometers Near Infra Red (NIR) Scanning solution Air jet sorting X-ray spectroscopy An industry with a 60 M revenue in automatic sorting of waste 2-10 tonnes per hour per system The major European player units in 35 countries 2

3 The Raw Materials Initiative The European Commisions strategy on non-energy raw materials was adopted 4 November 2008 ensure access to raw materials from international markets under the same conditions as other industrial competitors; set the right framework conditions within the EU in order to foster sustainable supply from European sources; and boost overall resource efficiency and promote recycling to reduce the EU's consumption of primary raw materials and decrease the relative import dependence. 3

4 4 Large values at stake The estimated monetary value of lost materials from disposal in the European Union is at least 5.25 billion. We would have saved CO2eq emissions of 148 million tonnes, equivalent to taking approximately 47 million cars off the road per year. Additional loss due to exports Source: FoEE: Gone to waste, report October 2009

5 5 Large potential energy savings by secondary use of recycled metals Source:

6 6 Future scarcity of resources (metals) Source: TNO paper on Metal minerals scarcity.

7 Waste resources are exported to China Trade flows for recovered paper Source: Pöyry 9

8 10 The recycling industry in Norway 9000 employees (2008), 6000 in the private sector Total amount of waste : 9.7 Mtons (2005) Annual turnover 1.5 M in private sector (est.2007) Earnings dependent on prices of raw materials like metals Significant contributor of raw materials for new products. The goal is 80% recycling of waste Landfill ban of fractions with high TOC from 2009 Potential energy recovery of 4 TWh annually 3% of Norway s CO2 emission stems from land fills

9 The waste hierarchy 11

10 Waste is a valuable resource if and only if it can be collected efficiently Most European countries rely on curbside collection for municipal waste and container transport for commercial and industrial waste Waste collection is labour intensive and energy consuming Must balance the need for transport against the cost of processing and the value of the secondary raw material. Logistics research How should different fractions be transported collectively? 13

11 Waste is a valuable resource if and only if it can be processed industrially The waste material from a disposed car with a production value of is probably less than Shredders are the state-of-the-art technology for the major waste streams of industrial recycling. Automatic sorting of fractions is necessary Sorting based on mechanical properties/behaviour Sorting based on sensors Play polysort.mpg 14

12 What can be sorted today? Dependent on the waste material stream Magnetic/ferrous metals Aluminium (but not aluminium alloys) Polymers/plastics (PET, HDPE, PP, PS, mixed polymers) Beverage cartons Deink paper and cardboard Glass fractions Heavy inert objects 19

13 Summary on technology Sensor-based sorting can be combined with mechanical sorting. High capacity systems based on spectroscopy or image processing have been available for ten years. X-ray systems is becoming cost effective for some sorting tasks The sorting technology is driven by progress in other areas (computational power, fast and reliable sensors) 20

14 Waste is a valuable resource if and only if we can extract recyclable fractions The needed purity of a recycled fraction is differs between fractions Certain fractions need solutions High value materials Non-ferrous metals Shredder fines Rubber tyres Composite materials Electronic waste 21

15 22 Waste is a valuable resource if and only if we can create valuable products Car tyres Average weight: kg Content: Rubber/elastomers (48%) Carbon black (22%) Steel (15%) Textiles (5%) Zink oxide (1%) Sulphur (1%) Additives (8%) Ca 10% is worn away during the life-time of the tyre. Landfill ban on tyres in Europe to enforce reuse or export. Authorities are sceptical to products based on reused tyres

16 Waste is a valuable resource if and only if we avoid harmful/toxic ingredients PVC Polyvinyl Chloride Chloride is harmful to incineration ovens Difficult to distinguish from other polymers Brominated flame retardants Brominated flame retardants are applied to 2.5 Mtons of polymers annually Bioaccumulative, influences nerve system and hormons Heavy metals Dioxins Concentration of harmful substances is difficult due to regulations of contamination values 24

17 Waste is a valuable resource if and only if we can balance energy/material demand Europe is thirsty for energy Norwegian production covers 27% of Europe s consumption Large investments made in waste disposal incineration Pressure on the mass burn material prices anything goes Should value material recycling higher than energy recovery. 25

18 26 Waste is a valuable resource if and only if public regulations support recycling Should value material recycling higher than energy recovery. Must have a tax regime that enforce the best environmental alternatives It must be economically favourable to recycle to avoid unnecessary incineration, landfills and illegal export.

19 Summary what can we do? Ensure efficient collection and transport of waste Process waste on an industrial scale Sort out waste fractions automatically Create valuable products based on waste raw material Avoid harmful and toxic ingredients in waste fractions Balance material recycling and energy recovery Advocate sustainable public regulations Deposit intoxic inert masses Contain, neutralise and destruct toxic fractions 28

20 Thank you for the attention! Effective solutions for sorting waste exists. Waste is valuable! 29