Traditionally, the production of mineral wool has required considerable quantities of fossil energy and virgin raw materials. At the same time, large quantities of municipal and industrial waste products are produced in society. The Rockwool Group is committed to enlarge our use of residuals and make them substitute virgin raw materials and scarce fossil energy sources.

EU support
The Rockwool Group's project "Waste and Sewage Recycling and Symbiosis in Stone Wool Production" (LIFE05 ENV/DK/000158) has been started in order to reuse residual products from other industries. Our initiative is supported financially by the EU's Life-programme. The objective of LIFE-Environment, the EU-funding for the environment, is to help develop innovative techniques by co-financing demonstration projects.

Project goals
The Rockwool project’s objective is to expand the application of the existing technology for using secondary raw materials in stone wool production. We wish to cover a wider range of waste materials and achieve higher substitution levels. The project seeks to demonstrate the use of secondary combustion material and residuals from water treatment. It should enable the stone wool production units to use locally produced waste materials, as a partial substitution of current energy sources such as coke, electricity and natural gas.
 

The LIFE Programme

• Less waste to be sent for landfill.
• Less exploitation of naturally occurring resources (rock and coal).
• Reduced energy consumption for quarry operation, coke production, transportation, and melting of slag. In addition, melting of waste often requires less energy than melting natural rock.
• Combustion of organic residues – some of them harmful – into the non-poisonous compounds CO₂ and H₂O during the melting/combustion process.
  

Safety, safety and safety
Before a waste material is allowed into the Rockwool process, three vital demands must be fulfilled and documented:

• Workplace safety must never be put at risk
• The environment and the local community should not suffer
• Product quality must remain high

Environmental back-up

The flue gas from the Rockwool melting furnace passes a particle filter and an after-burning system where CO, H₂S and any organic compounds are burnt at temperatures above 800 C and transformed into the traditional combustion products CO₂, H₂O and SO₂.