Descripción del proyecto
Tecnología innovadora de reciclado de residuos de vidrio
Las prácticas de reciclado de vidrio se basan en una tecnología experimentada que exige mucha energía para fundir grandes cantidades de vidrio. Este sistema de alta resistencia es rígido y sólo permite reciclar determinados tipos de vidrio. El equipo del proyecto EVERGLASS, financiado con fondos europeos, pretende ser pionero en una tecnología novedosa de reciclado de vidrio «in situ», denominada transformación de vidrio por láser: facilita la reutilización infinita del vidrio. Este método innovador, distinto del reciclado centralizado tradicional, consiste en que los usuarios introducen los residuos en una máquina y seleccionan el nuevo producto deseado. La tecnología supera las limitaciones de los sistemas actuales, adoptando un modelo ecológico que permite la flexibilidad de materiales y procesos. En EVERGLASS se revoluciona el reciclado, se abordan los problemas de participación de los usuarios al personalizar los artículos reciclados y se defiende el vidrio como material superior a los plásticos, problemáticos para el medio ambiente.
Objetivo
"Glass recycling uses mature technology limited by high energy consumption to melt tons of glass and the inflexibility of a heavy-duty system. Current technology only allows the recycling of certain glasses and a very small amount of waste generated. A new technology is required to allow the integral recycling of all types of glass, drastically reducing the carbon footprint. EverGLASS proposes to develop a radically new technology called ""glass laser transformation"" for on-site glass recycling and the generation of customized or technical products. Users will feed waste into a new machine and select which new product to get. The vision is ambitious, as it aims to bring to the consumer market a novel technology to enable virtually infinite reuse of glass. It is also radical since, through a multipurpose system capable of being located on any site, it proposes an alternative approach to the traditional centralized recycling process (particularly where this model is not possible, generating thousands of tons of glass waste annually taken to landfills). The new technology goes beyond the current limitations of the systems (high energy use, expensive and rigid process, strong logistical requirement), adopting a highly environmentally friendly model that will allow flexibility in the use of the material and in the process. Therefore, EverGLASS has the potential to revolutionize recycling as a concept. It also addresses one of the main problems with recycling, user participation, in an innovative way by allowing the personalization of recycled items of different use. Finally, it aims to encourage the use and reuse of glass as a quality material, displacing more environmentally problematic materials, such as plastics. This project brings together experts from advanced laser technologies (UVIGO), glass and ceramics science (ICV-CSIC), glass processing and engineering (TnUAD), risk and impact assessment (ACTALIA), Social Sciences (ESCI) and numerical simulation (ITWM)."
Ámbito científico
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
- HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC) Main Programme
Convocatoria de propuestas
HORIZON-EIC-2023-PATHFINDEROPEN-01
Consulte otros proyectos de esta convocatoriaRégimen de financiación
HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC GrantsCoordinador
36310 Vigo Pontevedra
España