Refractory Sorting Using Revolutionising Classification Equipment

Projektinformationen

ReSoURCE

ID Finanzhilfevereinbarung: 101058310

DOI

10.3030/101058310

Projekt abgeschlossen

EK-Unterschriftsdatum 20 Mai 2022

Startdatum 1 Juni 2022

Enddatum 30 November 2025

Finanziert unter

• Digital, Industry and Space

Gesamtkosten

€ 7 512 504,99

EU-Beitrag

€ 6 085 644,00

Koordiniert durch

RHI MAGNESITA GMBH
Austria

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - ReSoURCE (Refractory Sorting Using Revolutionising Classification Equipment)

Berichtszeitraum: 2023-12-01 bis 2024-11-30

Zusammenfassung vom Kontext und den Gesamtzielen des Projekts

Circular economy will be one of the main drivers to significantly reduce CO2 in the refractory industry, as the energy-intensive primary raw material production has by far the highest impact on the product's carbon footprint. So far, automated sorting solutions could not consolidate in refractory recycling because the development is extremely complex and requires combination of different sensor technologies. The ReSoURCE project will innovate the full process chain of refractory recycling with an AI-supported multi sensor sorting equipment as its core technology. Combining laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, hyper spectral imaging with optimized pre-processing and automated ejection will lay the foundation to set a new state of the art for refractory sorting starting of particle sizes down to below 1 mm. The continuous monitoring of the economic and ecologic benefits by techno-economic and life cycle assessment will ensure the green and digital transformation of the refractory recycling value chain. Reaching the ReSoURCE objectives will lead to massive annual CO2 reductions (up to 800 kilo tonnes) and energy savings (up to 760 GWh) in the European Union. Naturally usage of secondary raw materials is related to a reduction of extractive processing in the raw material mines (reduction of 1 million ton). Simultaneously, it will give access to currently unexploited raw material sources within the European, therewith strengthening EUs resilience by fostering refractory material autarky, particularly as some of the refractory base materials are listed on the EU's critical raw material list (bauxite, graphite). The two demonstrators built in course of the ReSoURCE project, will ensure the straight-forward exploitation and implementation of this revolutionising recycling process chain in the European industry.

Arbeit, die ab Beginn des Projekts bis zum Ende des durch den Bericht erfassten Berichtszeitraums geleistet wurde, und die wichtigsten bis dahin erzielten Ergebnisse

Scientific analysis and technical development highlights
WP1: Achieved comprehensive feedstock identification and standardization in sampling and sorting, coupled with in-depth industry analysis, enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of automated refractory recycling.
WP2: Successful completion of the base-line assessments and interim reports for both LCA and TEA including re-submission incorporating comments and recommendations. A draft high-level questionnaire has been developed for issue across partners for the TEA / LCA during early 2025. Review of RHIM washing & drying process reviewed. Work is now ongoing to generate an updated mass balance based on automated sorting using demonstrator A performance as a benchmark. This will feed concept design work as well as the LCA and TEA development.
WP3: The mathematical approach for calculating the amount of spent refractories generated (presented in D3.1) was combined with a data set containing information on the European cement and steel industry. The result is a GIS map showing the majority of European cement and steel industry sites along with their corresponding calculated spent refractory generation. Additionally, T3.4 was kicked off, during which a segmentation model was successfully trained to help evaluating the singularisation of Demo A. The model is now ready for pilot plant testing.
WP4: Maximising fractions that are amenable to processing by sensor-based sorting was validated with comparing conventional and alternate comminution technologies.
WP5: The work on the individual components has basically been completed. On-site testing of the interacting systems will now follow. The Demo A laser was delayed and will be replaced in February 2025.
WP6: For the handling of the data streams from the individual sensors, real-time interfaces have been developed and tested. Software modules for combined data evaluation have been implemented for intelligent target selection, material classification and sorting. Testing with data generated on site in Demo A will follow.
WP7: Successfully concluded the experiments and other related activities on direct sorting methods, and powder handling challenges for 0-5 mm refractory leftovers. Necessary pretreatment processes for efficient sorting of fine fraction have been investigated.
WP8: Demo B is still being worked on. The specifications have been finalised and will soon be converted into specific components. Demo A is now at the recycling site in Austria. The process is being worked on there while the mechanical and electrical setup is completed.

Fortschritte, die über den aktuellen Stand der Technik hinausgehen und voraussichtliche potenzielle Auswirkungen (einschließlich der bis dato erzielten sozioökonomischen Auswirkungen und weiter gefassten gesellschaftlichen Auswirkungen des Projekts)

The ReSoURCE project has reached maturity, achieving several significant milestones and results. The highlights include the IA-based sensors systems, LIBS and HSI, which are core technologies to Demo A and Demo B ensuring the automated sorting equipment for refractory recycling materials. Alongside with this, two materials mRefCem (https://www.project-resource.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/mRefCem-TDS.pdf) and mRefFerro (https://www.project-resource.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/mRefFerro-TDS.pdf) have been developed with applications for the thermoplastic applications.

Sorting unit design