Promoting Circular Economy at ICL Rotem
ICL Rotem inputs energy, resources and work, in order to create its products. The byproducts of the company’s main production processes contain viable and valuable minerals. These include Fluorine, Silica, Sulphur, Calcium Carbonate, and Calcium Sulphate. These minerals are used as raw materials in industries worldwide. The new unit’s vision was to take recycling one step further and make new products.
By looking at the challenge of waste and recycling a little differently, Rotem’s company has set out on an exciting journey in sustainability and begun pioneering ways to turn byproducts into added value products.
ICL Rotem can supply these materials at a lower cost than the market price today. A specialized business unit was created at ICL Rotem with the goal of evaluating byproducts and searching for possible business opportunities, instead of regarding the byproducts as waste. At this stage the business unit is focusing on three main byproducts:
Fluosilicic Acid – FSA, H2SiF6
FSA is a source for Fluorine and Silica. It offers a fluorine rich alternative to Fluorspar or to sell fluorine-based chemicals. Researches have shown that FSA can act as an alternative raw material for approximately 40% of the Fluorine industry in the world. The technology to isolate FSA for sale or as a raw material for the production of downstream fluorine containing chemicals is proven and available. Rotem’s FSA, aqueous solution at concentrations 23-28%, is a high purity product which the company exports to the USA, Australia, Chile, Sweden and Italy for water fluoridation, silicates industry, Metal cleaning, Aluminum industry and for other uses.
There are a number of challenges to reaching the FSA downstream product markets. These include the characteristics of the market, logistics and other challenges. ICL Rotem is looking at various possible markets, expanding the uses in the Florine, metals and construction industries and on the development of new FSA applications in the field of concrete, wood preservation, Scaling removal and more.
Currently, ICL Rotem sells approximately 5,000 tonnes of FSA per year, for reuse. The company’s goal is to find circular solutions for approximately 50,000 tonnes of FSA by 2022.
Oil Shale Ash – SUNNY
Ages ago the Negev desert region of Israel was entirely under a sea, populated by animals, plants, algae and other microorganisms. Gradually the receding sea exposed formations of sedimentary rocks among them the fossil rocks which are the source of the oil shales now quarried in this region for ICL Rotem’s Demonstration oil shale combustion plant for steam and electric power generation (PMA). A porous stone residue, with properties of considerable commercial value, is the outcome of this combustion process. This residue is marketed under the name of SUNNY for use as absorbent of oil spills and other liquids, for cement production and as bedding material. SUNNY is a 100% natural mineral product, and has significant environmental benefits in all its market applications. SUNNY has a high absorption capacity – a 70% water absorption capacity and a 70-80% oil absorption capacity when applying the Westinghouse system for absorption of oil spills. SUNNY is a light weight product with a density of 630-680 kg/m3. its uses include:
- Kitten bedding (in Europe)
- Cowshed bedding (most of Israeli local market)
- Turkeys bedding (local market)
- Solidification/stabilization of dangerous effluents
- Soil stabilization
In the past three years, a joint development with engineering company has been developed to examine possible applications in the field of construction and infrastructures. Laboratory and field experiments have been conducted with leading concrete companies in Israel and other pilots.
Phospogypsum
Phospogypsum is a byproduct of the wet acid process to produce phosphoric acid. The amount of Phospogypsum that has been stored over the last 30 years in ICL Rotem is estimated at 30 million tons. With each year the company is adding 1.9 million tonnes of gypsum to the pile on a dry basis and 1.5 million tonnes of wet-based gypsum.
In recent years, ICL Rotem has been trying to find technological solutions that are applicable to the Phospogypsum mountains that have been created over the years and the amount of Phospogypsum that is added annually from the ongoing production.
ICL Rotem has chosen to put an emphasis on two main applications for Phospogypsum, which are in a relatively advanced technological maturity in the fields of agriculture, infrastructure and construction. Phospogypsum is examined in connection with a variety of other substances, such as sand, cement, sand and ash. Various studies and researches that have been conducted in the past for substrate mixtures that contain Phospogypsum, have indicated the material processes strength and durability characteristics similar to conventional bedding materials.
ICL Rotem is now examining the next steps of Phospogypsum application, by performing a pilot on one of the roads at Rotem, with various mixtures and application layers.
