FROM WASTE FOUNDRY SAND TO A NEW BIODEGRADED RAW MATERIAL AN ECOLOGICAL SOLUTION FOR FOUNDRIES

摘要

Today, the majority of spent moulding sand from foundries (around 18M tons per year in Europe) is disposed of in landfill sites. This method of disposal represents a waste of material and carries environmental and industrial costs. Additionally, the formaldehyde present in used foundry sand has recently been classified as carcinogenic. With this backdrop, the European Life project "Foundry Sand" described herein, set out to investigate the viability of transforming waste sand into inert compost via biodegradation. This material would potentially have a commercial use as fertilizer or as added-value filler for geothermal energy applications, for example. The principle objective was to investigate the potential of a natural process (biodegradation) as a method to neutralize contaminants resulting from an industrial process. Other aims included reducing the volume of waste sent to landfill sites by foundries, and, if found to be viable, encouraging the uptake of the method through appropriate dissemination channels Europe wide; around 3,000 foundries and around 1,000 potential customers for the sand.