Recycling

As part of the ongoing improvements in Sustainability at Byldis, the latest move is to create less waste through recycling residual concrete. To achieve this Byldis has recently introduced a concrete recycling system (de-sludge installation) from BIBKO, installed by Betonma. The system separates the aggregates from the cementitious water, which can then be used again. The water is then filtered, thus producing clean water. This results in less waste disposal and the discharge of sludge-free water into the municipal sewer system.

The concrete recycling system

The concrete recycling system is (among other things) a machine that separates the fine particles such as cements, fillers and pigments from the sand and gravel in the residual concrete that has not yet hardened. The sand and gravel can thereby be reused in production. Furthermore, three pumping stations have been placed, that collect sludge-heavy water and pump it to an agitator basin. Sludge-bearing water is generated from washing and polishing concrete elements and rinsing the concrete mixers and placing equipment. In the agitator basin, the sludge-heavy water is collected and kept moving so that the sludge cannot settle. This sludge-heavy water is then passed through a chamber filter press. The result is sludge-free water that is partly reused to ‘thin out’ the water in the pumping stations and partly discharged into the municipal sewer. This means no pollution in the pipes for the municipal sewer, less wear on the pumping stations and less water to be purified.

The installation has been designed with excess capacity. This means that the material that is sucked up through the settling tanks of the Byldis branch in Tilburg can also be processed by the installation at Byldis in Veldhoven.

The basis has been installed and results are as expected. Developments are continually progressing, and research is being carried out in order to further optimise and automate the system.

Sustainability and The big 5 of Byldis

One of our key concepts, 'The big 5 of Byldis' is ‘Sustainability’. Sustainability is at the heart of how we approach everything as we focus on the reduction of our ecological footprint. Through limiting our use of energy and waste production, reducing the use of raw materials and fundamentally reducing the embodied CO2 in our product. Circularity in construction materials and construction components forms an integral part of our vision for the future.