100% recovery and RECYCLing of construction vehicle crAwler TRACKs into constituent rubber and steel for sustainable raw material supply

Informations projet

Recyclatrack

N° de convention de subvention: 719038

DOI

10.3030/719038

Projet clôturé

Date de signature de la CE 17 Février 2016

Date de début 1 Mars 2016

Date de fin 31 Mai 2016

Financé au titre de

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Climate action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials

Coût total

€ 71 429,00

Contribution de l’UE

€ 50 000,00

Coordonné par

Aquablast Ltd
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Recyclatrack (100% recovery and RECYCLing of construction vehicle crAwler TRACKs into constituent rubber andsteel for sustainable raw material supply)

Période du rapport: 2016-03-01 au 2016-05-31

Résumé du contexte et des objectifs généraux du projet

“Recyclatrack”© is a patent-protected, process using low volumes of water to recover valuable steel and rubber granulate from end-of-life vehicle crawler tracks and achieve 100% recycling of a waste stream for which, until now, there has been no practical or sustainable solution.

Improved manufacturing technology for steel/rubber composite crawler tracks has developed greatly promoting a steep increase in civil , military and agricultural applications. By 2020, without a practical solution such as “Recyclatrack”© millions of tracks could be abandoned.

Enquirers from throughout Europe and the USA seek a solution to the same disposal problem found in UK which led to the development of the process. Extremely high pressure waterjets separate the rubber from the steel. The water used is also recycled. UK National Recycling Awards voted “Recyclatrack”© their “Innovation of the Year”.

The objective is now to construct a commercially attractive version of the process with all identified improvements. The process is readily scaleable and at least 20 countries have been identified which would support a commercial track recycling centre. A marketing and business plan has been completed.

Travail effectué depuis le début du projet jusqu’à la fin de la période considérée dans le rapport et principaux résultats atteints jusqu’à présent

Work completed under Phase 1 shows that regulatory pressure and landfill closures severely limit options for track disposal. This has confirmed the urgent need for an environmentally attractive recycling process.

Extensive work has been completed examining the demographics of waste tracks worldwide by contact with over 100 track distributors, manufacturers, end users and waste processors. Research into the recovered products – scrap steel and particularly the rubber powders – has confirmed demand for rubber powders as fillers in rubber manufacturing processes. The process produces clean, high quality rubber powder which does not require any post-processing.

Progrès au-delà de l’état des connaissances et impact potentiel prévu (y compris l’impact socio-économique et les conséquences sociétales plus larges du projet jusqu’à présent)

Between now and 2020 the rise in crawler track usage will result in an estimated 12m tonnes of high-grade steel and 5m tonnes of re-processable rubber being lost to the community if a process like “Recyclatrack”© is not rolled out. Left as a composite rubber/steel assembly, tracks will be stock-piled, abandoned, buried or incinerated.

In addition, the process has revealed considerable potential for the development of a viable de-vulcanisation process for the produced rubber crumb and applying the techniques learned to the disposal of large mining and earth-moving tyres.

Recyclatrack Images