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Recovery of machining sludge: and we’re off!
Five industry professionals have stated their interest in setting up a machining sludge recovery channel (Valbom). Testimonials and videos!
All is set (or almost) for Valbom, the machining sludge recovery channel. The partners, be it the financial partners (the project is funded by ADEME and approved by the Viaméca and Team 2 competitive clusters), industrial partners (SFH, Defontaine Group, SKF, ArcelorMittal, SNF Floerger, NTN SNR) or R&D partners (CTIF and Cetim), are already in the starting blocks.
It is a boon for steel manufactures. “We use millions of tons of scrap metal per year, we are therefore definitely interested in a new material”, stated Philippe Russo, recycling engineer at ArcelorMittal’s Maizières lès-Metz site. However, this involves supplying good quality briquettes that meets the requirements.
CTIF has invested in the project. It tested the briquettes to determine their melting behaviour. “The Valbom project allowed us to qualify the sludge and to prove that recycling was possible to prevent the briquettes from being sent to landfills and thereby recover the material”, explained Jean-Bernard Virolle, project manager at CTIF.
SFH has started compacting. “Today, SFH compacts 90% of machining sludge”, stated Yves Marnas CEO of the company.
SKF intends to recover the oils. “Oil is more and more expensive, the briquetting makes it possible to recover the oil and to reincorporate it into our bath and if it contains too many impurities, we have the equipment to treat it”, explained Claire Deschastres-Gurung, EHS officer at SKF’S Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire site.
A technical sheet was drawn up to guarantee the quality and traceability of the briquettes. It is used to compare the characteristics of the briquettes with the specifications of the steel manufacturers and foundries.
Only the agreements need to be finalised now. In fact, “at present, we know what is in our briquettes, but we have yet to ascertain if it is acceptable or not”, explained Alexandra Boucher, Environment manager at MTN-SNR Roulements.
Regardless, things are progressing by leaps and bounds! Work is in progress to integrate the briquettes in a European reference framework on scrap metal. Other studies are being carried out to ensure the recovery and recycling of machining sludge in the regions.
Consult all the testimonials in the appended document and watch the video on the project by clicking here
You can also read the article to be published in December 2014 issue of Cetim Infos.
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