Team CORE, made up of students from the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in the Netherlands, has developed a new process for the extraction and recycling of metals using a specially designed furnace.

The furnace takes waste products that were previously unsuitable for recycling, and the metal decays into their constituent elements, allowing for reuse in the manufacture of electrical components, a process that was until recently considered near impossible, reports Innovation Origins.

The innovation has led to the construction of a new metal recycling plant in Delfzijl, due to open in 2021. Dirk van Meer, the captain of Team CORE from TU/e said: “The purchase contract for the Delfzijl site has been signed, with a final option set for the end of 2020. We are now looking at exactly how we are going to set up the site.

“If everything goes according to plan, the factory will be operating in about a year and a half. In the special furnace, metal is heated so that it decays into pure elements; it can be reused this way. This is necessary since in 35 years there will be no more metals like lithium and cobalt in the earth’s crust.”

High- and low-energy waste such as car wrecks, telephones, and laptops, is initially crushed and granulated into 1 cm particles. “This way, we only have to turn on the oven once and it stays warm because of the energy from the waste,” explains van Meer.

The waste in the furnace filters into three separate layers comprised of metal, slag, and minerals. The metals and the minerals can be extracted and repurposed, the latter being high in CO2-absorbent properties being ideal for a sand substitute in concrete and for paving roads.

Team CORE explained that the processes inside the furnace are similar to what happens at the Earth’s core. Waste from rivers and seas filters down between cracks in the tectonic plates until it reaches the core, and the intense temperatures decay the waste back to its elemental form.

“We’ve accelerated this process from 35 million years to one week,” says Van Meer. The furnaces solve the impending metal shortages and ensure that there are fewer waste streams in waste processing.

“We are now in talks to see if we can also set up a factory in Moerdijk, close to the processor. We will then be able to further process the remaining waste streams,” explains the team captain.

As interest for the new technology increases, the team are now looking for new locations and opportunities to build more recycling plants in the Netherlands, such as in Haps, Duiven, and at the Metalot innovation centre in Budel.

“In Duiven we will soon start the application process for a permit, which takes about 18 months,” says Van Meer. “We have contacts with various companies to whom we can sell the flows from our furnace. For example, the obsidian would go to NTP and the metals could go to Nyrstar or TATA Steel.”

If you need contract crushing and grinding, get in touch with Sibelco today!