HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES
Nicht immer, wenn's gefährlich wird, hilft ein Helm
Gefahrstoffe gehören zu unserem Alltag. Leere Batterien beispielsweise enthalten gesundheitsschädliches Quecksilber und müssen mittels spezieller Verfahren entsorgt werden. REMONDIS ist dafür die richtige Anlaufstelle. Wir verfügen über weltweit führende Technologien zur Behandlung gefährlicher Abfälle – Quecksilberaufbereitung inklusive.
Dangerous and yet valuable as well
Running a sustainable business such as ours also means finding ways to recycle products that would, at first glance, appear impossible to treat. Hazardous substances for example. For over 40 years now, we have been making the most of every opportunity to develop ways of processing hazardous waste and using it to create innovative recycled products so that as many materials as possible can be returned to production cycles. Such actions help conserve our planet’s natural resources and protect our environment. Here are just a few examples.
Hazardous waste is lurking in every home – in yours, too
Hazardous waste is, for the most part, generated by industrial businesses. Every private household, however, also has a large number 0f different objects that cannot be simply thrown away into the residual bin – from old batteries to printer cartridges. We have a solution for these as well: REMONDIS’ mobile hazardous waste collection vehicle. Practically all types of hazardous waste found at people’s homes can be handed in to these vehicles so that they can be sent on for recycling. Yet another example that clearly shows that sustainability works best when everyone works together hand in hand.
Find out all about REMONDIS’ mobile hazardous waste collection vehicle at safety-truck.de
What to do with your lithium-ion batteries? The best solution: bring them to us!
From electric tools, to e-bikes, to EVs – nothing works in our lovely new electric world without lithium-ion batteries. They are, however, a genuine challenge. Especially batteries that are defective or not completely empty as they pose a very real risk. They can suddenly self-ignite and burn at very high temperatures or even explode. This means that old lithium-ion batteries should never be left lying around but must be safely stored and handed in as quickly as possible.
Find out more about this system for handling lithium-ion batteries at retron.world
Our RETRON boxes are available in a variety of sizes and models. Also for use in people’s homes. For example, for safely storing batteries from electric tools and e-bikes
Here at REMONDIS, we have developed our specialist RETRON system to deal with these batteries. The lithium-ion batteries are stored in fireproof steel boxes, which we then pick up with our specialist, ADR-compliant vehicles so that the batteries can be safely recycled at our plants. One particularly convenient feature for all RETRON customers: handling these steel boxes is both extremely easy and clean as – unlike the other storage systems on the market with fire-resistant insulation – they do not need any inert filling material at all. So there is no dust. A truly clean and safe system.
240 million lithium-ion batteries needed to be professionally transported and recycled in Europe alone by 2020.
A centre of recycling know-how covering 100,000m2
It is perhaps true to say that Bramsche is not one of the world’s best known cities. This town in the German state of Lower Saxony is, however, leading the way when it comes to processing hazardous waste. This is where our industrial recycling centre is located that has been specially designed to treat over 600 different types of waste. Innovative processes and state-of-the-art technologies ensure that potentially dangerous substances are recycled in the best possible way – and in huge volumes. Every year, the plant handles over 80,000t of material.
An innovative process for treating mercury
Nowadays, manufacturers avoid using mercury in their products whenever they can. It is, however, an undeniable fact that many industrial processes have no other option but to use this “quicksilver”. It goes without saying, therefore, that we – being hazardous waste specialists – are doing everything in our power to ensure waste mercury is recycled in an environmentally friendly way. A prime example of this can be found at REMONDIS QR’s branch in Lübeck. This site deploys a distillation plant with a vacuum process that is able to recover mercury and clean it so that it has a purity level of 99.99999%.
How dangerous mercury (Hg) is transformed into harmless mercury sulphide (HgS) – also known as cinnabar:
Moreover, this mercury treatment process has its very own USP within the REMONDIS Group as far as protecting the environment is concerned: any mercury that is unable to be recycled for reuse is made safe using a patented stabilisation process. The mercury undergoes a number of chemical processes until it is transformed into mercury sulphide. Mercury sulphide is none other than cinnabar, the safe, naturally occurring substance from which the mercury was originally extracted. The ideal way, therefore, to return mercury back to nature.
Hazardous waste as a source of energy
No matter how much specialist know-how a company may have, there are still a number of dangerous materials that simply cannot be recycled and returned to production cycles. The no. 1 priority here is to make sure that they are disposed of in the most environmentally friendly way. Our subsidiary REMONDIS SAVA is able to offer such services as it operates a hazardous waste incineration plant in the German city of Brunsbüttel – one of the most modern of its kind in Europe. In this case, ‘modern’ also means absolutely environmentally sound. On the one hand, because it generates energy worth several million euros without having to use primary raw materials and, on the other, because we strictly observe all aspects of environmental protection, recycling and resource conservation. This is demonstrated, for example, by the following:
It has the world’s lowest emission value limits
The filter dust is recycled
Absolutely no wastewater is discharged
Rainwater is used as process water
The bottom ash is recycled to build landfills
State-of-the-art systems are used to measure mercury levels in cleaned/uncleaned gases
Quality that is appreciated by customers from all around the world: REMONDIS SAVA’s plant in Brunsbüttel treats hazardous waste from many countries including Romania, Belarus and Nepal
Tracing a trace element. In a facility that is unique across the world
The trace element iodine is a good example for demonstrating how hazardous waste contains valuable substances that are well worth recovering on an industrial scale. Just like phosphorus, iodine is essential for the human organism. It is also used in the chemicals industry as well as to produce disinfectant and contrast agents. In a nutshell: everything should be done wherever possible to recover iodine so it can be reused. REMONDIS SAVA shows how this can be done with its recycling process that it developed together with REC53 GmbH – a process that no other plant around the world is able to do. The flue gas cleaning system downstream from the hazardous waste incineration process was optimised and modified so that even the smallest amounts of iodine can be extracted. Each year, the plant is able to recover an additional 50 tonnes of this valuable trace element that had, in the past, been lost forever.
Discover more about the technical process used to recover iodine
You might also be interested in the following topics
