Impact
on environment
The EU policies energy, environment,
employment and health are directly coupled with an EU wide problem of waste management,
waste treatment, reuse of products and acceptance of incineration processes due to
possible emission of toxic compounds like dioxins.
In case of steel industry it is obvious that new energy saving techniques have to be
developed if the European steel production will be competitive with world wide steel
companies and if subventions shall be stabilized. It is much more useful to combine this
energy saving strategies with recycling of waste material coupled with managing of toxic
compounds than using any other fuel. It is energy saving and not only substitution of
energy since the steel bath is heated directly by injection of pyrolysis gases and not
indirectly (radiation) as in case of electrical arc.
The problem generated by landfill and incineration concerning the status of the air, water
and soil are the following:
air/landfill: Emission of greenhouse gases methane and carbon dioxide, unpleasant
smells
water/landfill: Leaching of pesticides,
organic compounds, cyanide,nitrates and heavy metals into substrata
soil/landfill: Use of space, build up of
hazardous substances in the soil
air/incineration: Emission of sulphur
dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen chloride, organic compounds, dioxins and heavy metals
water/incineration: Fallout of hazardous
substances into surface water
soil/incineration: Dumping of incinerator
ashes and smoke-cleaning residues
This work proposes usage of electronic
scrap or shredder light fractions for fuel recovery. The process, which will be developed,
minimizes the above mentioned problems resulting out of landfilling or incineration of
these fractions.
Impact on health
The EU policies energy, environment,
employment and health are directly coupled with an EU wide problem of waste management,
waste treatment, reuse of products and acceptance of incineration processes due to
possible emission of toxic compounds like dioxins. The inventions in the project are
coupled with a reduction in emission of halogenated compounds and therefore for a better
living.
Today it is a problem to recycle oils from electrical transformers or circuit boards. A
co-combustion in small scale is possible but, due to the emission of chlorinated and
brominated compounds, incompatible with human health.
Waste is a by-product of our way of life in the industrial countries. Its volume is
growing all the time, to say nothing of its complexity or toxicity. In today‘s
Europe, household waste is being generated at a rate of over one kilogram per person per
day! The way we manage this waste is often outdated and represents a serious health and
environmental hazard that can only be reduced by drastic changes in production methods and
consumption habits. Until this can be managed effective technologies for waste treatment
have to be developed.
Impact on employment
The developing industrial partners may have a new product for saving or increasing
employment. Brabender OHG, AHT and Sea Marconi are very interested to work in this project
to increase their range of activity and find new customers in Europe. The business
strategy of these small and medium sized companies is invention and evaluation of the
market for saving and increasing employment. Due to the fact of saving money for
development and being able to cooperate with large industry partners the changes for
exploitation and increasing of employment are excellent.
The policies employment is directly matched in case of recycling of electronic devices and
electronic scrap. This recycling sector is a very fast developing and increasing sector
especially for SME‘s. Those companies need a save and effective technology which can
be handled even by small companies without chemical devices and highly integrated
processes.
Noble metal recovery
A second item of the project is steel production combined with noble metal recovery and
saving of electrical energy. The steel production is an industrial section with a lot of
employed people but needed to be supported by governments to survive the international -
world wide competition.
An integration of steel production into waste management and noble metal recovery will
open up new opportunities for development of small industrial companies and will help to
reduce the financial support by governments.
Clean fuel production
This European project contains the development of a technology for thermal-chemical
treatment of electronic scrap, shredder light fraction, and waste from packages as well as
sewage sludge.
With the aspects of separation of halogens and metals a „clean fuels“ for energy
recovery can be gained.
Prevention of hazardous materials
The directive on hazardous waste that
sets more stringent requirements for the handling of this type of waste. Following
hazardous materals can be treated or avoided:
Heavy
Metals
Lead
Lead can damage both the central and peripheral nervous systems of humans. Effects on the
endocrine system have also been observed. In addition, lead can adversely affect the
cardiovascular system and the kidneys. Lead accumulates in the environment and has high
acute and chronic toxic effects on plants, animals and micro-organisms.
ref 's
Cadmium
Cadmium compounds are classified as toxic with a possible risk of irreversible effects on
human health. Cadmium and cadmium compounds accumulate in the human body, in particular in
the kidneys that in time may lead to damage. Cadmium is adsorbed by respiration but is
also taken up with food. Due to its long half-life (30 years), cadmium can easily be
accumulated in amounts that cause symptoms of poisoning. With prolonged exposure cadmium
chloride may cause cancer. Cadmium shows a danger of cumulative effects in the environment
due to its acute and chronic toxicity. ref 's www.epa.gov
Mercury
Inorganic mercury spread in the water is transformed to methylated mercury in the bottom
sediments. Methylated mercury is easily accumulated in living organisms and concentrates
through the food chain via fish. Methylated mercury has chronic effects and causes damage
to the brain. www.epa.gov
Hexavalent chromium (Chromium VI)
Chromium VI can easily pass through cell membranes. Accordingly, chromium VI is easily
absorbed and produces various toxic effects within the cells. Therefore, chromium VI is
considered an important risk for the environment in industrialised countries. Furthermore,
chromium VI causes severe allergic reactions. Small concentrations of chromium VI in the
environment might lead to an increase of allergies. Asthmatic bronchitis is another
allergic reaction linked to chromium VI. Chromium VI is also considered genotoxic,
potentially damaging the DNA.In addition, hexavalent chromium compounds are assumed to be
toxic for the environment. As regards possible exposure, chromium VI contained in wastes
can easily leach from landfills that are not appropriately sealed. During incineration of
chromium VI contaminated wastes the metal evaporates through fly ash. Chromium VI in the
fly ash is easily soluble. There is agreement among scientists that wastes containing
chromium should not be incinerated.
Brominated
flame retardants
Brominated flame retardants are regularly designed into electronic products today as a
means of ensuring flammability protection. The use is mainly in four applications: in
printed circuit boards, components such as connectors, plastic covers and cables. 5-, 8-
and 10-BDE are mainly used in printed circuit boards, plastic covers of TV sets and
domestic kitchen appliances.
One of the main objectives of the present proposal is to divert WEEE from disposal
operations and to increase recycling of this waste. This is in particular true for
plastics, which constitutes 20% of the composition of WEEE. One of the main impediments to
the recycling of this fraction is the risk of dioxin and furan generation by certain
brominated flame retardants during the recycling of the respective plastic. In particular,
it has been shown that polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) formed the toxic
polybrominated dibenzo furans (PBDF) and polybrominated dibenzo dioxins (PBDD) during
extrusion, which is part of the plastic recycling process. As a consequence, the German
chemical industry stopped the production of these chemicals in 1986.
ref 's
In addition, high concentrations of PBDEs have been found in the blood of workers in
recycling plants. ref 's
Various scientific observations indicate that PBDEs might act as endocrine
disrupters.
Dioxin and
Furans
The presence of polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) in Arctic seal samples indicates a wide
geographical distribution. The principal known routes of PBBs from point sources into the
aquatic environment are PBBs plant areas and waste dumps. PBBs are almost insoluble in
water and are primarily found in sediments of polluted lakes and rivers. PBBs have been
found to be 200 times more soluble in landfill leachate than in distilled water. This may
result in a wider distribution in the environment. Once PBBs have been released into the
environment, they can reach the food chain, where they are concentrated. PBBs have been
detected in fish from several regions. Ingestion of fish is a source of PBB transfer to
mammals and birds. Neither uptake nor degradation of PBBs by plants has been recorded. In
contrast, PBBs are easily absorbed by animals and although they have been found to be very
persistent in animals, small amounts of PBB metabolites have been detected.
ref 's
Contribution to EC policies
The European Community directives are necessary but at the same time techniques for safe
processing have to be developed and if possible should combine recycling, energy saving
and generating of materials for post processing. If those combinations can be realized the
amount of money per ton of material for decontamination, recycling or thermal treatment
decreases and the activity of industry increases.
Industry has a crucial part to play when it comes to reducing the volume of waste, because
it can take action at the source - during the design and manufacture of products.
Industry also has to introduce collection and recycling systems for used products, as
already exist in a number of countries for packaging, paper, batteries, tyres used cars
and trucks and electronic equipment
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