A representative case of circular economy
The French plant LME (Laminés Marchands Européens) of the Beltrame Group has for some time been promoting new circular business models, applied to the reuse of steel by-products and oriented towards the use of alternative recycled materials, replacing raw materials of natural origin. In particular, since the early 2000s, in collaboration with the company Aliapur, the process of reusing shredded end-of-life tires (ELTs) was started, in partial replacement of carbon, with the function of reducing agent of the steel bath.
Numerous experimental tests were carried out with the aim of finding the best balance in the dosage of tires and anthracite. Today the process is consolidated and can guarantee a replacement rate of one ton of coal with about 1.6 tons of crushed rubber. More than 62,000 tons of recycled tires have been reused in the steel mill since the beginning of the activity, avoiding their landfill, with an undeniable environmental advantage. This process, in addition to ensuring greater sustainability in supply (with a reduction in anthracite consumption of around 60%), has also allowed for a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, which has been quantified at around 600,000 kilograms per year. As far as other process parameters and related to environmental aspects are concerned, the monitoring carried out did not reveal any significant impact on the quality of the products and residues deriving from processing, nor did it show variations in the concentrations of substances present in the fumes emitted into the atmosphere.