Authors
Łukasiewicz – Warsaw Institute of Technology:
Barbara Kukielska – danuta.kukielska@wit.lukasiewicz.gov.pl,
Jarosław Stankiewicz – jaroslaw.stankiewicz@wit.lukasiewicz.gov.pl,
Andrzej Wójcik,
Jakub Wójcik,
Rafał Piotrowski
Aim of the project
Providing building materials technology that respects the strategy of sustainable development and enables the safe management of industrial waste for people and the environment.
Short description of the problem addressed by this project
The main challenge was the demand for aggregates used for construction work in the construction industry.
Another critical issue is that the construction industry refers to the ecological hazards caused by the increasing municipal and post-production waste and the overexploitation of natural resources.
Main results and achievements
The Lukasiewicz Research Network–Warsaw Institute of Technology has developed a method for producing artificial lightweight aggregate by low-temperature synthesis of sewage sludge, fine-grained mineral waste from mechanical mining processing, and the municipal and mining waste. The heavy metal compounds present in the sewage sludge were incorporated into the crystalline structure of the silicate sinter, significantly decreasing chance of leaching.
The innovation has been granted three patents and has been awarded many prestigious prizes, such as Polish Product of the Future (Polski Produkt Przyszłości) by The Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP) and The National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR).
Conclusion
The project is aligned with the current European Union sustainable development politics, promoting a closed-loop economy by, i.e., giving a ‘second life’ to materials, effectively contributing to the reduction of the natural resources consumption.
Therefore, the product created by Łukasiewicz–WIT has contributed to the development of new technologies in building materials such as lightweight insulating or structural concrete, insulation and drainage materials, and in agriculture as a substitute for expanded clay. It also solves significant environmental problems by innovatively using secondary raw materials.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to NTI sp. z o.o. MODERN INSTALLATION TECHNIQUES for developing the concept, as well as for building and commissioning the product’s production line.
We would also like to than Elżbieta Uzunow, Stefan Góralczyk, and Adam Mazela who contributed to this product
