Joanna Johnson, Author at Transfire

New products from high-grade polymer particulate waste streams

New products from high-grade polymer particulate waste streams

TransFIRe researchers at Northumbria University have developed a method to convert waste polyethylene terephthalate (wPET) into an unsaturated polyester for use in protective coatings applications, thereby also lowering the demand of virgin petrochemical feedstocks typically required to produce these polyesters. State of the art mechanical separation of mixed plastics which are predominantly PET at recycling centres works by converting large objects into a “flake” which can be separated efficiently into very high purity recycled wPET content. However, a proportion of the throughput can only be purified to 90-99% PET purity due to the presence of small and often highly coloured flakes of other plastics, and hence has no commercial value. This fraction of the wPET process is incinerated or sent to landfill rather than used in closed loop recycling. These so called “flake losses” account for around 160 ktpa of PET lost from the closed loop recycling process in Europe [...]

Joanna Johnson2024-05-07T12:21:10+00:00April 29th, 2024|

TransFIRe appears at the Edinburgh Science Festival

TransFIRe appears at the Edinburgh Science Festival

TransFIRe researcher, Mark Cassidy, from the University of Edinburgh appeared at the Edinburgh Science Festival this week for a deep dive discussion to explore the latest technologies to around carbon capture and storage. The panel discussion covered the role of the latest technologies and nature-based solutions to remove capture carbon dioxide from both industrial processes and the atmosphere. Mark outlined the work the TransFIRe project in improving efficiencies and reducing energy waste across the foundation industries and also acknowledged the important potential of CCS technologies within hard to abate foundation industries. However, Mark, whose research is focussed on historical, social and cultural relations around energy transitions, also cautioned about the role of technological optimism when discussing possible solutions around decarbonisation and climate change. Mark suggested that while it may seem comfortable to look for a technological fix to solve issues such as carbon dioxide emissions, the slow rates of [...]

Joanna Johnson2024-04-17T11:44:55+00:00April 17th, 2024|

Foundation Industry Forum Report 2023

Foundation Industry Forum Report 2023

The Foundation Industry Forum was held on the 16-17 October 2023 in Leeds. The report from this event, detailing the event's proceedings and outcomes, can now be downloaded by clicking on the thumbnail below. Our next Forum will be our "Final TransFIRe Celebration Event" which will be held on Wednesday 12th June at CMDC, Cranfield University. Registration is open now!

Joanna Johnson2024-03-25T11:12:59+00:00March 20th, 2024|

Discovering the hidden value of mineral waste

Discovering the hidden value of mineral waste

As part of TransFIRe, the British Geological Society (BGS) is working to gain a better understanding of the composition and production of mineral waste in the UK. This research aims to help refine the estimate of the amount of mineral waste produced in the UK and provide more data on the composition of this waste to determine any potential uses for manufacturing processes within the Foundation Industries (FI). The FI are significant mineral consumers and use at least one or more of the products from the UK minerals industry, for example gypsum in cement and ceramics or silica sand in glass, metals and others. Mineral extraction and processing involves selection, size reduction and separation into products and inevitably will lead to the production of waste – material that is either discarded or unsold. Multiplied over the 2000 or so mining and quarrying operations in the UK, this adds up [...]

Joanna Johnson2024-04-26T13:02:04+00:00February 9th, 2024|

Energy Benchmarking of Manufacturing Processes in Foundation Industries

Energy Benchmarking of Manufacturing Processes in Foundation Industries

As industry increasingly looks at ways to reduce their environmental impacts, manufacturing processes have come under greater scrutiny. The manufacturing sector accounts for 38% of global energy consumption and 25% of global CO2 emissions, much of which comes from process energy and electricity consumption. To reduce these emissions, it is imperative to find ways to reduce the energy consumption in manufacturing either using more energy-efficient equipment and processes or by moving towards to renewable energy. In order to identify areas of inefficiency and which changes will have the greatest impact, benchmarking energy consumption, or determining the “best practices”, in manufacturing processes is a critical step. By comparing energy utilisation data to industry standards or to similar operations, manufacturers can get a greater understanding of their energy consumption and determine the areas to tackle first for the greatest effect. External benchmarking, against other companies within the same sector, and internal [...]

Joanna Johnson2024-01-19T14:28:03+00:00January 15th, 2024|

Model and simulation-based investigation on use of agriculture waste/byproduct in brick manufacturing

Model and simulation-based investigation on use of agriculture waste/byproduct in brick manufacturing

This case study utilises ThermoRecycliSt (Thermodynamic simulation-guided (waste/byproduct) materials Recycling Strategy) and other available models to conduct an exploratory investigation to manufacture eco-friendly light-weight bricks through the mixing of agriculture waste/byproduct with raw materials used for clay brick manufacturing at the Wienerberger brick factory. The primary focus is on examining the feasibility of incorporating agricultural waste and byproducts into the brick manufacturing process. By leveraging ThermoRecycliSt, alongside proven models, this study seeks to relatively predict the essential properties of pre-manufactured bricks, significantly reducing the need for laborious and resource-intensive lab-scale trials. By incorporating modelling tools, it becomes possible to conduct a more streamlined and economical evaluation of the feasibility of utilising waste/byproduct materials in the production of bricks. Ultimately, this case study endeavours to provide valuable insights into the feasibility of implementing ThermoRecycliSt and similar models for enhancing sustainability in the construction industry by reducing reliance on traditional raw materials, [...]

Joanna Johnson2023-12-15T12:53:25+00:00December 15th, 2023|

Potential for energy savings and carbon dioxide emissions reduction in the cement industry

Potential for energy savings and carbon dioxide emissions reduction in the cement industry

TransFIRe researchers have undertaken a literature review to compare cement production practices, in terms of energy consumption and CO2 emissions, in order to identify approaches that are the least energy and emissions intensive. Cement production accounts for 7% of global carbon dioxide emissions, 3 to 4% of green-house gas emissions, and 7% of global industrial energy use. Demand for cement is also continuously increasing due to the rising worldwide population and urbanisation trends, as well as infrastructure development needs, with a further global increase of 12- 23% from its current level expected by 2050. Following the net-zero carbon 2050 agenda, both energy and emissions must be significantly reduced and, in order to do so, it is essential to understand the manufacturing processes involved and the accompanying energy utilisation and CO2 emissions. The literature review considers both the different types of cement production routes and the different production stages involved, [...]

Joanna Johnson2023-12-11T15:25:15+00:00December 11th, 2023|

TransFIRe at the TFI Network+ Conference

TransFIRe at the TFI Network+ Conference

TransFIRe made an appearance at the excellent Transforming Foundation Industries Network+ Conference in Sheffield this week. It was great to get together with other members of the TFI community and hear about the different Network+ funded projects! As part of the event, TransFIRe researchers, James Railton, PhD, Natanael Bolson and Ahmed Khalil, generated a lot of attention with their posters on “Polymers in the Foundation Industries”, “Resource Flows in UK Steel Production” and “Exploring New Horizons for Waste Recycling in Foundation Industries with ThermoRecycliSt’s Universal Guidance Approach”. Dr Michal Drewniok also gave a presentation on "Element-based mapping to identify industrial symbiosis opportunities in the UK cement, steel, glass and ceramics sectors". A great event and a number of contacts made – thanks Transforming Foundation Industries Network+! You can read a short write up of the conference here and see some of the presentations (including Michal's) here .

Joanna Johnson2023-12-08T14:26:39+00:00December 8th, 2023|

Saica site visit

Saica site visit

TransFIRe members paid a visit to Saica Paper this week to find out about their operations and to look for potential collaborative opportunities. Saica are a leading manufacturer of high-performance and 100% recycled papers for corrugated cardboard in Europe and the US. During the visit, Sanjoo Paddea gave a talk on the overall TransFIRe project, Natanael Bolson gave some insights on resource flows for the paper industry, Dr Lampros Litos MIET talked about waste valorisation and Simon Curling talked about his work on coatings for paper packaging with Wipak and re-pulping with Pulpex and others. As part of the presentations, TransFIRe highlighted that best practices in the paper industry could reduce the carbon footprint and energy emissions by up to 50% and we hope to be able to help identify ways in which Saica can move towards this.

Joanna Johnson2023-12-08T12:04:06+00:00December 8th, 2023|

Sustainability Metrics – upcoming challenges for FIs

Sustainability Metrics – upcoming challenges for FIs

Over the past year, TransFIRe have been working alongside North Lincolnshire Council, in order to create a ten-month action plan to tackle the subject of sustainability performance. The action plan promotes guided peer-to-peer learning by sharing knowledge and experiences across different types of foundation industries and their supply chains. The plan has consisted of three-phases: a) June 2023: An introductory webinar open to all industries from North Lincolnshire (Stage A) b) July 2023: A workshop with a small group of companies (Stage B) c) Oct 23 - Jan 24: Group work with four companies (Stage C) Currently, our TransFIRe researchers are working on stage C of the plan, “Peer to Peer Network of Practice”, which brings together a small number of companies to answer questions such as: why are you making and reporting sustainability measurements and how accurate is your data? It is expected that participating companies will learn [...]

Joanna Johnson2023-12-15T09:04:21+00:00December 7th, 2023|

About Joanna Johnson