Circular economy
Industrial waste management is one of the main areas of action in this quest to create a smart and decarbonized industry. In this case, Tecnalia has launched a new technology aimed at improving this industrial waste management, specifically, the management of sand from foundry processes. To this end, it is collaborating mainly with the Furesa foundry, with the participation of other Basque companies such as Castinox, Amurrio Ferrocarril, Fundición Gamarra, Grupo Wec, Alju and the metallurgical company Foseco.
The project seeks to develop a technology to recover the sand used in molding for reuse in the foundries themselves, since only 35% of the sand used in the foundries is recovered. It is based on the use of electromagnetic currents to ensure that the sand grain does not break and remains stable, thus facilitating its collection and subsequent reuse. On the one hand, it will facilitate the collection of the sand and its subsequent use in the plant itself, which will reduce the consumption of raw materials and make it possible to control the quality of the sand from the facilities themselves. On the other hand, it will reduce CO2 emissions and allow each company to align itself more efficiently with environmental objectives.
Text published in El Correo, in the section Euskadi Avanza, on February 27, 2023
