According to the Belgian Federation of waste managing companies, G04CIRCLE, 646 279 tons of glass have been recycled in Belgium in 2015, including 353.500 tons of hollow glass and 292 779 tons of plan glass. The use of 1 kg of recycled waste glass allows to avoid the emission of 0.67 kg of CO2, coupled to the non-use of 1.2 kg virgin raw materials. As a result, the recycling of glass in Belgium has avoided the emission of 433 000 tons of CO2 or the esuivalent of the pollution caused by about 250 000 cars, according to GO4CIRCLE.
Le Gouvernement wallon a labellisé en 2015 un projet porté par le pôle Greenwin, appelé Rebinder et dans lequel Centexbel effectue des essais sur la recyclabilité et les propriétés mécaniques et autres des rPVB, visant à maximiser le recyclage du polybutyral vinylique ou PVB (feuille de plastique utilisée en couche interne dans le verre feuilleté, tant dans le bâtiment que dans le secteur automobile) dans des applications industrielles d’ampleur suffisante pour absorber d’importantes quantités de PVB recyclé.
PVB is a polymer containing three functional groups: acetates, hydroxyls and butyraldehydes. This thermoplast is largely used in different sectors, including the glass manufacturing industry because of its adhesive properties, transparancy and its mechanical, physical and chemical resistance. By adding additives or plastifiers one can reinforce certain aspects of PVB.
By the valorisation of PVB, this project will automatically enhance the value of glass waste and have an impact on the proprieters of sheet glass and waste management procedures, while allowing Walloon companies to create innovative products, in respect of the environment and the circular economy.
The consortium is composed of the following companies Minérale S.A., Derbigum and Ava Industrial. Centexbel offers the scientific and technical support related to recycling.
Objectives
- determine and optimize the extraction procedure of PVB in view of recycling and qualitative processing starting from plane glass waste of car glass.
- development of new and high value industrial applications based on PVB recyclates in a manufacturing process of a bituminous binder for roof top membranes.