Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

UK: Plans by Knauf Insulation and Veolia to tackle complains about the ‘offensive’ odour from a glass-recycling unit at Knauf’s St Helens mineral wool plant have been approved by the local council. The proposals include introducing a wet scrubber and extending the current dryerstack to 30m from 13m, according to the St Helens Star newspaper. These measures were suggested following an assessment with Odournet. Local residents have made complaints about the Veolia-run unit since it became operation in October 2017.

UK: Knauf Insulation and Veolia have officially opened a Euro11m glass-recycling unit at Knauf’s St Helens mineral wool plant. The unit will be able to recycle over 60,000t/yr of used glass that will then be used as a glass cullet source for glass mineral wool production.

"We have been using recycled glass in our manufacturing process for some time already. As well as securing our glass supply, the quality and consistency that we are getting now from the new facility will enable us to increase further the percentage of glass cullet we use in the manufacture of our glass mineral wool insulation solutions, taking us one step further in our sustainability journey,” said John Sinfield, Managing Director at Knauf Insulation Northern Europe.

Veolia's unit sorts and separates glass to produce pure glass cullet. Machinery at the unit includes vibrating screens for size sorting, magnets to extract ferrous materials and eddy current separators for non-ferrous materials. The new facility enables Knauf Insulation to secure its glass supply and maximise the use of recycled materials instead of using virgin minerals. The closeness of the new unit to the St Helens plant is also expected to save around 600,000km of road journeys. Glass mineral wool products from the plant contain up to 80% recycled materials, the vast majority of which now comes from the glass cullet supplied by Veolia. The new recycling unit has also created 18 jobs.

UK: Knauf Insulation has entered into a long-term contract with Veolia to support the construction of a glass cullet-processing unit next to its insulation production plant in St Helens, Merseyside. The unit will be constructed and operated by Veolia on land owned by Knauf Insulation. It will provide recycled glass for use in Knauf’s insulation products. Veolia has invested Euro11.6m into the unit it plans to build by the end of 2017.

“We are delighted to be working with Veolia on this project, which perfectly aligns our goals for sustainability and the circular economy. Given recent shortages impacting the construction sector, our customers can be reassured that we are working proactively upstream to further enhance the security of our supply,” said John Sinfield, managing director at Knauf Insulation Northern Europe.

The new facility will dry and refine glass into a ‘furnace ready cullet’, a recycled standard of glass that has been cleaned and crushed into small fragments. The cullet is then fed into a furnace where it is melted and spun into glass mineral wool.

UK: Veolia UK has introduced a new technology that it claims will transform non-recyclable paper and cardboard from household waste into a pulp called Pro-Fibre. The material can then be used in a range of products such as insulation and construction materials.

According to Veolia, the UK recycles about 815Mt/yr of recovered fibre, about 70% of the paper generated in the country. However, many different types of paper are rejected from recycling facilities because they have been contaminated with glass, sand, plastic, metal, food or grease. The contaminated paper has traditionally been sent to landfill or energy recovery facilities.

With its new system, Veolia will be able to convert the material into a recyclable material. It is investing Euro1.27m into the new technology at its facility in Sheffield, England, which will be able to treat up to 20,000Mt/yr and produce up to 14,000Mt/yr of Pro-Fibre. The process includes identifying and capturing the non-recyclable fibre fragments, pulping, cleaning, screening and a mechanical pressing stage.

The Pro-Fibre process includes five steps that will enable the removal contaminants to create a pulp that can replace virgin materials currently used in the construction and packaging industry, including insulation materials and biodegradable pots. Veolia is working with a specialist partner from the paper industry, which will analyse the properties of the Pro-Fibre so the companies can determine the product's commercial potential. The first batch of pulp is expected to be produced in early 2015. According to Veolia, Pro-Fibre can be manufactured either wet or dry and is suitable for businesses looking for a cost-effective and sustainable feedstock.