In this article, we present a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) case study that we carries out for Circular Materials Srl, an Italian company committed to preventing the dispersion of valuable resources into the environment by offering innovative and sustainable processes and technologies for recovering and valorizing metals and critical raw materials dissolved in industrial wastewater.
Why conduct an LCA study?
Currently, wastewater containing dissolved metals from various industries – such as those performing galvanic treatments – is sent to wastewater treatment plants. While the water is treated and purified, the metals become trapped in the resulting sludge, which is the disposed of in landfills as hazardous waste.
This process not only generates large quantities of waste (typically, for every tonne of wastewater treated, one tonne of sludge is produces), but also leads to a significant loss of valuable metals, which end up in landfills and are removed from the value chain.
This is where Circular Materials comes in: through an innovative supercritical water precipitation process (high pressure and high temperature), the company can recover dissolved metals from wastewater with an efficiency of over 99%, converting them into reusable oxides or hydroxides. This reduces the need for extracting new raw materials and contributes to a more sustainable life cycle.
Study objective
The aim of the study we were commissioned to carry out was to compare the environmental impact of Circular Materials’ process with that of the conventional methods currently in use, such as chemical-physical wastewater treatment, mining and the refining and production of metal oxides and hydroxides. The goal was to demonstrate that the environmental impact of traditional processes is greater than that of the technology proposed by the company.
The importance of assessing your environmental impact
LCA is a methodology used to assess the environmental impact of a product, process or service throughout its entire life cycle. Its four main phases are:
- Goal and scope definition
- Life Cycle Inventory (LCI)
- Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA)
- Interpretation of results
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The Results
The LCA conducted by Ecoloop for Circular Materials highlights several key aspects. First, it allows for the quantification of environmental improvements: through the LCA, we were able to accurately measure the reduction of landfill-bound sludge, providing an objective assessment of the decrease in the process’s carbon footprint. Another significant outcome is the reduction in raw material extraction thanks to metal recovery, which helps prevent soil degradation ad the depletion of non-renewable natural resources.
Finally, the comparison with conventional processes made it possible to estimate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants, confirming the environmental benefits and greater sustainability of Circular Materials’ technology.
Conclusions
At Ecoloop, we conducted an in-depth comparative study to assess the environmental impact of Circular Materials’ proprietary technology for recovering metals from industrial wastewater.
The comparison between traditional methods and the innovative solution proposed by the company highlighted a substantial environmental advantage in the process promoted by Circular Materials. The ability to compare existing systems with innovative solutions is one of the strengths of LCA analysis; it allows for the identification to reduce environmental impact.
In conclusion, through LCA analysis, Ecoloop has highlighted the efficiency and sustainability of Circular Materials’ wastewater treatment process. This type of study demonstrates the importance of comparative assessment in guiding innovation toward more sustainable solutions and supporting companies on their path to sustainability.
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