BIRSAND
PRODUCTION OF CONCRETE AGGREGATES FROM FOUNDRY SAND
In the current situation of the construction sector, where margins on materials are becoming smaller and smaller, the use of industrial waste as a by-product allows for a significant reduction in the cost of aggregates for the manufacture of concrete. On the other hand, finding new applications for a waste material such as foundry sand has a dual benefit from a sustainability point of view: (1) a new outlet for the material, facilitating the management of this waste, and (2) the reduction of environmental impact associated with the consumption of non-renewable natural resources.
HORMOR, a company specialising in precast concrete, has led BIRSAND, with the collaboration of the TECNALIA Technology Centre, and with foundry sand from FERROCARRILES AMURRIO.
DRIVING FACTOR
OBJECTIVES
- Validate the use of foundry sand, such as fine aggregate for concrete.
- Guarantee the conformity of the use of the chemical silicate sand from Ferrocarriles Amurrio as an aggregate for concrete, by complying with the common specifications for use.
- Define different scenarios for foundry sand, designing optimal concrete formulations for the initially foreseen uses.
- Define the specifications for the use of foundry sand as a raw material in concrete. And preliminary processing of the European recognition of the suitability of foundry sand for use in the manufacture of construction concrete as a basis for obtaining the CE marking.
- Achieve a more dynamic alternative to Law 22/2011 through a future voluntary CE marking, which enables waste flow from chemical silicate sand from foundry moulds to be recognised as a by-product "aggregate for concrete in construction".
- Reduce material-related costs in the manufacture of concrete for construction.
- Obtain products with significantly lower environmental impact associated with their life cycle.
RESULTS
- Validation of foundry sand for the proposed purpose from the point of view of chemical composition and leaching.
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Relative property losses are lower in concretes prepared with moulding sand than in reference HA-35 concretes.
- It is not necessary to make any additional adaptations to the recovery process of the moulding sand from FERROCARRILES AMURRIO in the existing manufacturing process used by HORMOR.
CONCLUSIONS
- The BIRSAND project has proven the technical and economic feasibility of using foundry moulding sand for concrete through the development of different pilots. The project results show that the final properties are even better in the developed product than a traditional concrete equivalent
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BIRSAND has generated the necessary documentation so that the product can be placed on the market with all the guarantees, as well as being the starting point to obtain a regional assessment and the European technical assessment, which will lead to the preparation of the Declaration of Performance and the voluntary CE marking of the product based on the provisions of the Construction Products Regulation.
ENVIRONMENTAL
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ECONOMIC
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