Recycling and side-stream utilization are becoming increasingly important, not only due to tightening sustainability targets, but also because industry is under growing pressure to use raw materials, water and energy more efficiently. In many processes, valuable material is still lost because side streams are only handled once they have become part of broader waste fractions. At that stage, the streams are typically more complex, more contaminated, and more difficult to upgrade. Earlier recovery can therefore provide significant advantages, since side streams are usually more defined and easier to process.
A typical upgrading process may begin with shredding, followed by counter-current washing to remove impurities and transfer dissolved components into the liquid phase. The cleaned material can then be dewatered using solid-liquid separation equipment such as a belt press, producing a more consistent solid fraction for further use. Furthermore, valuable dissolved compounds from the washing liquid can be recovered by membrane filtration, improving overall material and water efficiency.
Join us for a KCL BIOHUB webinar focusing on recycling, where we will discuss how various wet processing approaches at KCL can support side-stream recovery, washing, and fractionation in practice. With the right processing strategy, underused streams can be transformed into cleaner, higher-value raw materials instead of being lost as waste.
For more information contact:Â
Henrikki Mertaniemi
(firstname.lastname@kcl.fi)