TRAUMA

Acronym

TRAUMA

Full name

Wet Treatment of Waste Materials from Electrical and Electronic Equipment

Partners

Acsel SpA

Alma Ingegneria Srl

Technologies

Process of recovery and reuse of secondary raw materials derived from WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) through an innovative zero-emission wet process plant, aimed at reintroducing platinum group metals and rare earths into the electronic components industry, thereby reducing the use of raw materials. Crucial for the proper functioning of the process will be the plant’s control system for managing chemical reactions and ensuring total operator safety.

Implementation times

24 months

Project manager

ACSEL SpA

Alma Ingegneria – Ing. Marco Allegretti

Financing program

PRISM-E LINEA A

Objective of the project

Currently, the waste fraction obtained from WEEE is scarcely valorized and very often ends up in landfills.

The objective of the project is to develop at least one prototype plant module, replicable as needed to match the plant size to the quantities to be treated, based on an innovative principle of material processing with suitable reagents in a closed and protected environment, completely eliminating atmospheric emissions.

The prototype will be able to process, in each cycle, a quantity of pre-enriched material in the order of 10–20 kg and will be equipped with appropriate emission control and operator safety devices.

RICADUTE PREVISTE SULLA COMPETITIVITÀ DELLE IMPRESE COINVOLTE

The two companies involved expect positive impacts already from a first plant resulting from the experimentation carried out on the prototype. In particular:

  • ACSEL will be able to strengthen its WEEE recovery activities, completing the process up to the chemical treatment for the separation of metals.
  • ALMA will instead be able to continue studying and refining the project, also transferring it to other fields such as the recovery of silicon from decommissioned photovoltaic panels.

COLLABORAZIONE ATTIVATA, SIA TRA IMPRESE CHE CON ORGANISMI DI RICERCA

Close collaboration between the partners ACSEL SpA and ALMA Ingegneria srl

ACSEL S.p.A. is a joint-stock company with entirely public capital, owned by 39 municipalities in the western area of Turin up to the French border.

The company is mainly engaged in public hygiene services: collection and disposal of municipal solid waste, street sweeping, management of collection centers, and landfill aftercare. In addition, it provides other services such as renewable energy, environmental communication and awareness, and technical support to member municipalities.

Partecipa come capogruppo ritenendo di elevato interesse il progetto in quanto riguarda il recupero di una frazione di materiale molto importante come i RAEE (Rifiuti da Attrezzature Elettriche ed Elettroniche) nella logica dell’economia circolare a impatto ambientale nullo, mettendo a disposizione competenza ed esperienza nell’estrazione e nella preselezione dello schedame preselezionato, mediante attrezzature per il pretrattamento

WEEE is mainly collected in the consortium recycling centers of the Susa Valley or through free home collection of bulky waste.

ACSEL adheres to the WEEE Coordination Center for the disposal of such waste, which in our case handles the logistics of collection and transport to the treatment plant.

In 2017, across the entire Susa Valley area, about 230 tons of WEEE from monitors, televisions, and small household appliances were collected through recycling centers and home collection, which are expected to provide a high quantity of waste boards. These materials will need to be pre-treated to extract the boards required for the project. ACSEL is contacting companies in its territory that may have waste or processing scraps rich in boards suitable for use in the project.

Such materials could present better quality and significantly increase the amount intercepted in ordinary collection activities.

Collaboration in terms of Contract Research with the Research Organization

CIFS (Interuniversity Consortium for Space Physics) – Chemical reactions; measurements and controls on emissions

Prof. Ferrari – Prof. Giovanni Perona

RUOLO SVOLTO DAL POLO (anche in prospettiva)

Support in organizing dissemination events for the results.

Support for involving partner companies in cluster events to present the project’s content. Cluster stories on the project.

MODALITÀ DI DIFFUSIONE DEI RISULTATI

  • Presentation at conferences
  • Journal publications
  • Dissemination via WEB of the results of the experimentation

Thematic areas