Page 35 from: January / February 2014

35January/February 2014

project was the combination of PV-specific

components such as PV modules and electron-

ics and lower-tech components.’ That is why the

project partners investigated the possibilities of

reusing old or leftover cabling to connect the

components of the PV installation. Aluminium

profiles from a printer manufacturer’s produc-

tion line were reused for the metal structure.

Modular design
To fulfil the other D4R criteria, the PV system

itself had to be designed for repair, refurbishment

and reuse. ‘We gave the components a modular

design to facilitate the exchange of components

if there is a failure,’ stated Arranz. To ease disas-

sembly, most of the components are fixed using

screws and pressure contacts; soldering is adopt-

ed solely for fixing components on the PCB.

The project partners identified a number of

obstacles during the development work.

According to Arranz, the main barriers are lack

of guarantees for second-hand components and

the high requirements of the technology. To

overcome these hurdles, he proposed the estab-

lishment of EU-wide standards for second-hand

and off-specification components, as well as the

enhanced use of standardised components.

Preventing waste
For the automotive sector, cost-competitiveness

is one of the major drivers behind D4R. ‘Using

recycled plastics instead of primary materials

contributes to such efficiency,’ observed Max

Regenfelder from Germany’s Graduate School

of Excellence Advanced Manufacturing Engi-

neering (GSaME). A modern car contains

around 40% of recycled materials based on its

total weight; up to 15% of the thermoplasts

used in cars have been recycled. However, recy-

cled materials are hardly ever used in the secu-

rity-related components of a vehicle.

‘The main aim of the automotive practical

demonstrator is to show that it is possible to

use by-products such as sprues before they

become waste for a very complex and security-

related part,’ commented graduate economist

Regenfelder. To be more precise, this demon-

strator is aimed at producing a security-rele-

vant part of the braking system using a mixture

of recyclate and virgin materials.

The recyclate is reprocessed from injection

moulding sprues, which are residues from cold-

channel injection moulding. These sprues are

now used as input for the security-relevant part

which is manufactured using hot-channel

moulding. ‘This process totally prevents waste

generation because it is a sprue-free production

process,’ Regenfelder pointed out.

Applications unlocked
A pilot OEM customer has already agreed on a

recyclate quota of 33% in this security-relevant

part. Mass production started in the second half

of 2012, with an estimated 600 000 units turned

out in the first year. ‘This case study unlocked

further applications for recycled materials in

automotive,’ Regenfelder proudly announced

to the audience.

To use recycled materials means not only a

change of input material; it also adds complex-

ity to the production process. The new process

includes milling of sprues and dust filtering as

well as change from a cold-channel moulding

process to hot-channel moulding. Another

important point to be considered is the control

of sources. ‘Material requirements change more

with every recycling loop the recycled material

has passed,’ emphasised Regenfelder. ‘And

traceability is mandatory for security-relevant-

use cases.’

Demolition efficiency
Another important sector in terms of waste

generation is construction and demolition.

Across the EU-27, construction accounted for

860 million tonnes – or 34.4% – of total waste

in 2010, according to data provided by Eurostat.

Therefore, it is not surprising that a handful of

practical demonstrators revolve around this

subject area.

As with most other industries, the general eco-

nomic slowdown of recent years has put pres-

sure on the demolition industry to reduce its

costs and to operate more efficiently. ‘Improv-

ing resource efficiencies like reducing waste

generation, water usage and carbon emissions

are approaches that can reduce operating cost,’

noted Professor Ian Williams, head of the Cen-

tre for Environmental Sciences at the Univer-

sity of Southampton in the UK.

For these reasons, one project sought to assist the

industry in identifying opportunities to minimise

waste as well as to develop reuse and recycling

opportunities for materials that are difficult to

recycle. The main idea was to demonstrate ‘con-

tinuous improvement’ towards resource effi-

ciency in demolition projects by tracking

progress towards sustainable best practice on six

individual demolition sites from different eras.

Selecting these buildings enabled identification

of the relative recyclability of materials as well as

the capture of resources from building products

used at the time of construction.

Logistical planning
A closed material loop cannot work without an

efficient logistics supply chain at both the deliv-

ery and disposal end. The main idea of another

of the practical demonstrators was to improve

logistical processes both up- and downstream

of construction sites. ‘The purpose was to inves-

tigate how comprehensive logistical planning

approaches can be applied to optimise environ-

mentally sound construction,’ said Williams.

The researchers implemented an industrial

network around two selected construction

projects of Germany’s Deutsche Bank by plan-

ning and securing efficient on-site material

management via the German logistics services

provider Bauserve. As a result, Bauserve

received a top Logistics Service Award from the

German Logistics Association.

A Close-up of ZeroWIN
The goals of the ZeroWIN project are to develop
innovative technologies and effective strategies
for resource use optimisation and prevention of
waste in industrial networks based on industrial
symbiosis. A key target is reaching 70% overall
reuse/recycling of waste.

Project stats
• Co-ordination: Austrian Society for Systems

Engineering and Automation (SAT).
• Duration: May 2009-April 2014.
• Consortium: 30 partners from 11 countries.
• Budget: Euro 9.5 million (US$ 13 million).

Trama TecnoAmbiental is opting for components with ‘less environ-
mental impact’ like off-spec PV modules.

A second industrial revolution

RI-1-2014-Zero Win Project.indd 35 29-01-14 15:04