PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Around 1.5 million kitchen sinks containing acrylic mineral composites are produced annually in Europe. Methyl methacrylate (MMA) account for 20-30% of the raw materials used mineral composite kitchen sinks, with polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) accounting for around 10% and quartz or cristobalite for 60-70%. Thus, the use of recycled materials in the manufacturing of acrylic mineral composites is still limited.
Kitchen sink production consumes around 21 000 tonnes of primary raw materials annually in the EU: 5 880 t of MMA; 1 470 t of PMMA; 210 t of additives; and 13 440 of minerals. It is also responsible for the annual landfilling of around 3 600 tonnes of mineral waste heavily polluted by polymers.
OBJECTIVES
The LIFE GREEN COMPOSITE project aims to demonstrate a sustainable process for manufacturing mineral composite sinks on a pilot and industrial scale. The circular process re-uses waste from acrylic mineral composites in sinks in the production of composites. The project will demonstrate new innovations in grinding and coating, product design and formulations, prepolymerisation re-use of waste from sink production and in-house energy efficient conversion of recycled methyl methacrylate (MMA) into recovered polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The process will target kitchen tops and panels, but it can also applied to other products made from acrylic mineral composites (e.g. shower-trays, cabinet doors). The end goal of the project is to market the newly designed composite worktops made from recycled materials and to prepare market players for collection schemes for future recycling of end-of-life kitchen sinks.
RESULTS
Expected results:
- 100% recycling of Delta’s annual sink waste by environmentally and economically sustainable processes;
- 26% reduction of electricity consumption (per tonne of sinks produced) 33% reduction of gas consumption, yielding CO2 emission savings of 37% compared to conventional production processes.
