We are wasting our industrial waste

Chemical engineering experts at the University of Sydney have called for the development of new technologies for the sustainable processing of industrial waste or by-products — waste which is currently being, well, wasted.

According to Associate Professor Ali Abbas, director of the Laboratory for Multiscale Systems at the university’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, “Australia’s construction, demolition and power sectors account for more than a third of the country’s waste, and we cannot continue to rely on landfill as the primary means of waste disposal.”

Associate Professor Abbas cited ‘fly ash’ — a by-product of coal combustion — as an example of waste which could be re-used, noting, “We could be recycling fly ash en masse using it as a supplement in concrete mix and its manufacture.

“Concrete containing fly ash can be crushed and re-used in a range of civil and structural applications.”

In fact, Associate Professor Abbas is currently working with Delta Electricity on solutions to increase the recycling of the by-product. “Delta currently recycles 25% of the fly ash produced into the cementitious product market,” he said. “The development of new concrete mix materials creates an opportunity to increase this re-use.

“How many of us now routinely purchase a petrol blend at the pump that contains 10% ethanol as a more sustainable and renewable alternative? The concept of using a concrete blend containing 10% re-used fly ash could become something industry can easily adopt.”

Professor Dianne Wiley, head of the School of Chemical and Bimolecular Engineering, said the school is currently undertaking research in waste management and waste processing technologies.

“We need to boost efforts to unlock the value of the underused resources going to landfill, converting them into safe, high-value chemicals and products for use in industry and our homes,” she said.

“The school’s vision is to build research capacity and establish a national waste transformation research hub that will support Australia’s waste industry and make significant contributions to resolving our national waste challenges.”