Foundry dust recycling in pilot plant and application - resource conservation, substitution and digitalisation towards 100% efficiency - research project
A research project as part of the ‘Circular economy of the future - ForCYCLE technical centre’ project network
The project is directly based on findings and approaches from the ForCycle-II project ‘Recovery of foundry dust’. In this project, dusts from four Bavarian foundries were systematically analysed, classified and material flows digitised. The aim was to evaluate possibilities for how, on the one hand, recyclable materials can be recovered from foundry dust and, on the other hand, how they can be returned to the material cycle. In addition to the loss of resources, negative environmental effects and disposal costs should also be avoided. The use of dusts in foundry aggregates, which are produced by the company Keßl as pellets and used in the foundries, has proven to be a feasible way. A series of experiments showed that the foundry dusts can be added directly to the pellets.
The existing data from the ForCycle-II project are adopted. These include digitised dust accumulation and composition data for various accumulation points at Franken Guss GmbH & Co. KG. These are supplemented by new investigations and continuously expanded. To further expand the data, a large number of dust samples are analysed at the bifa environmental institute. With the analysis results, digitalisations, dust maps, classifications and preliminary tests, formulations for recycling pellets can be created in consultation with the project partners.
With the defined formulations, laboratory tests are first carried out to optimise the consistency of the moulded products. In doing so, extensive test series are carried out with regard to compositions, adhesives, expansion, setting behaviour and basicity. After the optimised recipes, the test products are produced on a pilot plant scale at GPS SIC Keßl GmbH u. Co. KG. With the knowledge gained from the pilot plant tests, the processes for manufacturing the test products are technically implemented at GPS SIC Keßl GmbH u. Co. KG. The test products are manufactured with the dusts of Franken Guss GmbH & Co. KG according to their requirements and used.
The digital data will be used to set up databases that allow dust fractions to be combined as needed. Furthermore, it should be possible to simulate various scenarios for the use of resources and for processing.
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Funding code: BAF01SoFo-78582
Förderprogramm: Kreislaufwirtschaft der Zukunft - ForCYCLE Technikum"
Funding programme: Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz
Funding priority: Gießereistaubrecycling in Technikum und Anwendung - Ressourcenschutz, Substitution und Digitalisierung Richtung 100% Effizienz
Project durationt: 2022 - 2025
Project partners: Universität Augsburg - Institut für Materials Resource Management - Franken Guss GmbH & Co. KG - GPS SIC Keßl GmbH u. Co. KG
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