Oct 19 2005
New research will examine the potential for using of mineral wastes - such as construction and demolition wastes, mineral processing residues, etc - in manufacturing construction products, including bricks and blocks, pipes, tiles, soil stabilisation material, mineral-based insulation and added-value architectural products.
This Defra funded project will be carried out by The Minerals Industry Research Organisation (MIRO), BRE, The University of Leeds, the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) and Akristos Ltd.
The project will establish a common framework for determining the fitness for purpose of mineral waste materials, which ensures both their quality and volume of supply. It will deliver a matrix that clearly links the properties of the mineral wastes with those required from construction products.
Those operating in the mineral material supply, construction product manufacture and construction industries, have varying requirements for the level of detail needed in this information:
- a 'strategic' level for organisations needing generic information to inform planning, policy, strategy and initiatives aimed at stimulating waste utilisation
- an 'implementation' level (ie utilising waste) for users needing more detailed fit-for-purpose information.
The project will provide for both these perspectives. It will also relate material characteristics to the processing parameters of state of the art / emerging process technology, to provide information on the development needed in processing technology research.
Mineral-based wastes being examined by the project include dredged silts, mineral extraction wastes (past and present), combustion residues, mineral processing residues, construction and demolition waste, treatment residues, advanced/alternative municipal waste treatment, and heavy/mineral fraction residues.