BIRHAKOM PROJECT ENTERS INDUSTRIALIZATION PHASE

by | Apr 5, 2022 | Press releases | 0 comments

  • It will allow the recovery of 100% of the sands used in the company

  • It is an ecological project that promotes the circular economy

The BIRHAKOM project, launched by AMURRIO in 2019, investigates the recovery of foundry sand and its regeneration through a joint composting process with pruning waste and manure, coming from nearby farmhouses.

The result of this process is a material that can be used as an agricultural fertilizer or as a high value-added filler material for the installation of geothermal systems.

Once the first phases of testing and improvement have been successfully passed, BIRHAKOM enters the industrialization phase, at the end of which it will allow the regeneration of all the foundry sands used in AMURRIO.

Among the improvements introduced since the first phases, it is worth mentioning an internal ventilation system for the material that significantly accelerates the composting process, thus expanding the capacity of the system to cover all the company’s needs.

BIRHAKOM is the acronym for “birziklatu harea kompos”, “recycle sand compost” in Basque. A descriptive name for a project whose ultimate goal is to recycle sand by composting, preserving the environment, reducing the use of raw materials and seeking ecological and sustainable solutions.

The project thus promotes the circular economy, following a model in which waste becomes a resource at the end of the product’s useful life.

Pioneer company

AMURRIO FERROCARRIL Y EQUIPOS is the first company in the Basque Country to recycle foundry sand by composting. This is a breakthrough with benefits for the ecology in our environment, as well as a boost to the sustainability of metal smelting, as it is happening in pioneering countries such as Finland.

This project is also expected to generate a reduction in logistics and waste disposal costs and the creation of at least three jobs between 2021 and 2023.

The BIRHAKOM project is subsidized by the HAZITEK aid program of the SPRI, with the collaboration of TECNALIA as a subcontracting center and technological partner.

In addition to the BIRHAKOM project, AMURRIO also participates in the Hormiga project, which investigates the recovery of foundry sands through the use of electromagnetic waves.

More information:

info@amufer.es

+34 945 891 600