PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Magnesium hydroxide (MDH) is increasingly used as a flame-retardant additive. MDH offers a more environmentally friendly alternative to brominated substances, many of which are restricted or banned in the European Union due to their persistence in the environment. MDH also offers an alternative to difficult-to-handle and carbon intensive lime as a neutralising agent in wastewater treatment plants.
Nevertheless, mining and processing MDH generates significant greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to more than 1.55 tonnes of carbon dioxide per tonne of MDH produced. In addition, 97% of the magnesium used in Europe is imported from China, and with increasing demand the situation will be exacerbated.
Finding alternative sources of this chemical from within Europe, with lower impact on the climate, is necessary. Fortunately, MDH is found naturally within seawater. A process developed by the SEArcularMINE H2020 RIA project allows the extraction of MDH from the residual brine from sea salt production using renewable energy and without the use of other chemicals.
OBJECTIVES
The main objective of the MareMag LIFE project is to offer a technically, financially and environmentally viable alternative source of MDH to industrial users that will allow them to substitute substances that pose health concerns (such as Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA)) or substances that endanger the environment and human health/safety (such as caustic lime).
The specific objectives of the project are to:
- build robust tools that allow comprehensive assessment of the life-cycle impacts from the production and use of MDH in the target applications
- develop, optimise, design and build the first MareMag plant at an industrially relevant scale at the Trapani saltworks in Italy
- demonstrate successful long-term operation of the first MareMg plant, delivering products that can be directly used in the market, substituting harmful chemicals and delivering environmental benefits
- build a second plant at the Kitros saltworks in Greece to prove that the concept can be fully replicated in different conditions
- work on technical, practical and financial aspects that will allow for the rapid scale-up and commercialisation of the process and enable a wide uptake of the produced MDH, maximising the impact of the project in a short timeframe
RESULTS
The expected results of the MareMag LIFE project are:
- production, at industrial scale at the MareMag plant, of 100 tonnes of MDH per year (both in powder and slurry form)
- production of cloridric acid and sodium sulphate, which can be used in the detergents sector.
- reduction in the use of harmful substances such as TBBPA and/or caustic lime by 11,111 kg per year by the end of the project
- savings of 52m3 per year of fresh water compared to the traditional production of MDH from magnesite ores by the end of the project
- production of 66 tonnes per year of MDH slurry, which correspond to 84.7 tonnes per year of lime for environmental applications
- savings of 39 tonnes CO2 equivalent per year at the end of the project, by substituting lime with MDH