Thanks to the Life Cycle and Cost Cycle Analysis that we carry out at CETIM, we will be able to know the most optimal conditions at an economic and environmental level, as well as to establish a comparison with the current methods of PVB management, a material present in laminated glass in cars and buildings.

Plastic is present in most of the products we use in our daily lives. There are even plastic components in places we do not even imagine, such as polyvinyl butyral or PVB, an essential raw material for laminated safety glass sheets in automobiles and architectural applications (windows, structural glazing, etc.).

The European H2020 SUNRISE project in which we participate revolves around this element, as it develops multi-sensor sorting tools for the efficient recycling of PVB interlayer material in high quality laminated glass building products and demolition waste, in a circular economy approach.

This will take into account the fact that laminated glass containing PVB is usually not clean and is generally damaged in its end-of-life phase. In addition, based on the data obtained from the collection and the results of waste handling and treatment, a manual of good management practices for the storage and treatment of laminated glass waste will be developed.

The initiative counts on our collaboration with 19 other partners from seven different countries of the European Union, led by Lurederra Technological Centre: IREC, Ingeniería Navarra Mecánica (INM), DENUO, Minerali Industriali, Dismeco srl, bio-mi, NTUA, Next Technology, Ariño Duglass, Met., HEVADEX, RADICI, Idener, Politecnico di Torino, AMTE Power, LENZ, DIN, WARRANT HUB.

CETIM Expertise

The main innovative component of SUNRISE is the development of a multi-sensor classifier based on spectroscopic techniques and Artificial Intelligence algorithms that detects the composition and quality of PVB in laminated glass, in order to classify it accordingly. However, in order to know its main advantages and whether this process is economically profitable, as well as socially and environmentally viable, CETIM, in collaboration with Lurederra, is carrying out an analysis of the environmental, economic and social sustainability of the project.

Thanks to the data collected from the research carried out, it will be possible to calculate the environmental and social impacts generated by the proposed technological solution, thus ensuring that it is an alternative that improves the current scenario, where most of the post-consumer PVB material in laminated glass is incinerated or landfilled, and very little of it is recycled for secondary uses.

Initial estimates made by CETIM suggest that, thanks to this disruptive technology, the carbon footprint could be reduced by up to 80%. This result will depend directly on the type of PVB treatment (landfill or incineration with energy recovery).

The data show that in the European Union the consumption of PVB is increasing and will continue to do so in the coming years and, with it, the amount of PVB waste generated, which implies important problems from an environmental point of view. All this translates into the need to look for new strategies in terms of recycling, such as the one developed in SUNRISE.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 958243.

More information on the website www.sunrise-project.eu.