Recycling of coated abrasives
The challenge.
When producing coated abrasives, waste is created, e.g. shortfall batches, stamping residues and scrap. Until now, production waste has been thermally recycled and then dumped, instead of undergoing a materials recycling process which would allow the abrasive grains to be recovered.
The solution.
PDR is a specialist for complex material recycling with the goal of creating marketable products. Our extensive know-how in the fields of chemical recycling and plastics processing, and years of operative experience in the control of sector solutions and as a partner to large OEMs serve as the basis for creating new recycling approaches for other sectors and waste types. In collaboration with the RWTH Aachen and an industrial partner, we have developed a recycling procedure of this kind within the scope of a project sponsored by the German Federal Foundation for the Environment (DBU), and we would like to establish a sector solution with you.
The recycling procedure.
The recycling process has five separate steps:
1. Preconditioning / shredding to guarantee a defined grain size distribution
2. Thermal material disintegration of abrasive grains and binding agents
3. Desagglomeration (careful separation of the abrasive grain-ash agglomerates)
4. Separation / screening (separation of the abrasive grains from the other materials, such as minerals and residual waste)
5. Classification according to FEPA-P norm
Results.
- The feasibility was verified for all process steps during the project.
- Abrasive agents made of recycling grains meet quality requirements and have abrasion and material properties that are similar to those of abrasive agents made of primary grain.
Your benefits at a glance.
Economic benefits
- Lower disposal costs compared to waste incineration or dumping
- Lower purchasing costs because recycling grain can be marketed below the original grain price
- Closed loop circulation of self-developed, high-quality abrasive grains
Ecological benefits
- Material recycling of the abrasive waste instead of thermal treatment with subsequent dumping
- Reduction of primary energy needs and CO2 equivalents
- Sustainable solution for abrasive waste that contains cryolite
Next steps.
- Erection of a recycling plant
- Development of a Europe-wide sector solution
