New technologies, waste reduction and energy efficiency are the main goals of projects that receive new funding from UKRI's Basic Industries Program.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) yesterday announced details of a series of innovative new projects that have successfully secured £8 million in funding. The aim is to improve the productivity and competitiveness of British Basic Industries Corporation and its supply chain.
Through its large-scale collaborative R&D competition, UKRI’s Transformation Fundamental Industry Challenge (including glass, cement, paper, chemicals, ceramics, and metals) requires research and innovation alliances to develop technologies to reduce energy and resource inefficiencies in these industries, and will Lead to reduce carbon emissions. These projects are designed to provide cross-departmental benefits, bringing companies and their supply chains and equipment suppliers together to meet challenges together.
Successful projects in this competition include Ultromex's Carbacem project, which treats waste from the aluminum industry—not only prevents hazardous waste from entering landfills, but also provides secondary resources for cement production, including carbon, alumina, and silicate. , Which helps reduce its environmental footprint. Axchem's paper-focused Hifib project also aims to meet the demand for sustainable, lighter and stronger paper and cardboard, which will reduce the number and weight of packaging, as well as transportation costs and carbon emissions.
Bruce Adderley, Director of UKRI's Transformation Fundamental Industry Challenges, said:
"Cooperation is the key to innovation in these industries, because mutual benefits, by-product reuse, and opportunities for knowledge and skill exchange are essential to ensure that they increase efficiency and productivity to meet new market challenges.
"We have seen from the quality of the application how new technologies and the commitment to integrated thinking can work together to solve some of the key issues affecting the industry. The ability to reduce energy use and carbon emissions obviously has a direct impact on the key net zero goals, but it is equally important. It is the potential efficiency of processes, materials and systems, which will not only bring further environmental benefits, but also promote the development of these industries as the basis for future competition."
The basic industrial transformation plan implemented through the Industrial Strategic Challenge Fund will help energy-intensive companies share expertise and propose radical new innovations to help reduce their carbon footprint.
The plan will inject a large amount of new public and industry innovation funds into the basic industries and help us realize the vision of a cutting-edge, innovative and sustainable industrial sector. 66 million pounds will be provided by the government and 83 million pounds will come from industry.
The Industrial Strategic Challenge Fund (ISCF) combines the UK’s world-leading research base with our best companies to change the way we live, work and travel. This will put the UK in the best position to take advantage of future market opportunities.
AI6S will develop a new toolkit for process optimization in basic industries to improve process efficiency. This will result in:
In order to optimize the time, place, method and method of implementing additive manufacturing, we must be able to evaluate its impact on the environment and compare it with traditional manufacturing processes such as CNC machining.
The development of the tools proposed in the SAMCRD project will have a profound impact on energy reduction. As part of the UK's manufacturing capabilities, it will also accelerate additive manufacturing as a viable sustainable production process.
Project leader: Pilkington Technology Management Co., Ltd. (PTML)
The project will look at the readiness of digital technology from the perspective of the entire supply chain to enhance and enhance the traditional formulation process. In addition, the knowledge of process experts in ingredient manufacturing and application processes can be obtained through digital-first processes.
The alliance, which includes the metal, glass, bulk, and specialty chemicals supply chain, will seek to demonstrate a digitally-led approach to preparing formulations for spray deposition on two different types of substrate systems:
Although we will focus on antimicrobial coatings, our method will eliminate similar methods in many different ways:
This will bring together national expertise centers and industry partners. In general, this will enable us to produce high-value products with lower costs and lower energy consumption.
The project has a potentially significant positive impact on the economy and resource efficiency of the two industries, bringing huge environmental and sustainable development benefits to society.
Project leader: Minerals Association Co., Ltd.
In this project, waste clay from many different sources will be characterized and tested for its useful properties for cement and concrete production. The waste-derived clay will be prepared using two different heating methods to compare the resulting properties. These methods are rotary kilns, a commonly available technology and "flash heating", a new and innovative heating technology that has not yet been tested in the UK.
Project leader: Material Evolution Ltd
This study raises resource and energy efficiency opportunities in the cement industry, which is the main carbon emitter in concrete. This is to create new cement by using industrial by-products of the steel industry, and to establish a circular economy between these two basic industries.
Material Evolution's technology has helped the cement industry transform from one of the largest contributors to embodied carbon to a solution that truly eliminates carbon from the concrete manufacturing process.
By using our patented technology, we have changed the chemical properties of cement to produce concrete that is excellent in terms of economy, strength and sustainability. This will enable manufacturers to grow their businesses while reducing their carbon footprint, and using circular methods to quickly decarbonize two basic industries.
Project leader: Axchem International Ltd
The project aims to meet a clear business need for sustainable production, lighter, stronger paper and paperboard. This is very desirable because their use reduces the number and weight of packaging and the associated transportation costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
The goal of the project is to establish an ultrasonic treatment process that can produce pulp suitable for the production of lighter and stronger products on the scale required by the industry. Ultrasound of the pulp produces highly fibrillated cellulose fibers (HFCF), which helps to increase the strength of the finished product.
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