Cement plants could take GRP waste

Around 80 per cent of thermoset waste from the automotive industry could in future be used as a raw material and energy source in cement kilns. According to the European Composite Recycling Company (ECRC), 170,000t of end-of-life (ELV) vehicle thermosetting GRP waste will grow to 251,000t by 2015. In the same period, GRP production waste will swell from 47,000t to 53,000t.

Fons Harbers, automotive industry development co-ordinator at DSM, told the Plastics in Automotive Exteriors conference in Prague yesterday that waste GRP materials such as BMC and SMC contain high levels of calcium oxide, silica and aluminium oxide – key ingredients in the manufacture of cement. At the same time, he said, the resin content can contribute 30 per cent of the energy need.