PILOT PRODUCTION LINE OF INNOVATIVE THERMAL INSULATION MATERIAL WILL BE OPENED

 

 

On 24 November of this year, a pilot production line “BFtechnology” of waste paper recycling company SIA Balticfloc will be opened in Cesis. This pilot production line is intended for production of innovative thermal insulation material “BFlex” which will be made of low class waste paper and hemp fibre. This is one of the goals to be achieved within the European Commission LIFE programme funded project LIFE PHIPP which is implemented at production facility.

 

The installed production line is a prototype and is developed specifically for the needs of Balticfloc and is adapted to recycling of low class waste paper. After installation of the equipment, the emphasis was put on the equipment testing and adjustment. This process is time-consuming and also each new raw material tested on the production line forces to make new corrections. A Licence Agreement has been developed for “BFtechnology” which will allow to acquire and introduce it in other production facilities of natural fibre thermal insulation materials across Europe. The new production line was developed by SIA Elektro Vilks, taking into consideration the long-standing experience of SIA Balticfloc in waste paper recycling.

 

The new product is composed of low class waste paper and high-value hemp fibre which is obtained by SIA Balticflocas a result of production process from hemp straw rolls. The initial test material, composed of 80% of low class waste paper and 20% of hemp fibre, showed thermal conductivity equal to 0.0386 λ.

 

SIA Balticfloc is one of the largest manufacturers of ecowool, and qualitative waste paper is very important for the production of this product; however, also a large amount of low quality raw materials, which are wet, dirty and containing various impurities, are delivered to the company. In order to avoid taking this type of raw materials to a landfill, implementation of the project Alternative recycling of waste paper and hemp fibre into innovative thermal insulation materials with improved thermal conductivity (LIFE PHIPP) was commenced in 2019.

 

The main goal of the project is to develop a pilot production line with stable production process of up to 250 m3 of the product a day. During the production process, it is planned to use 750 t of low class waste paper annually. Co-funding of the European Commission and the state is granted for implementation of the project. The total planned investment constitutes 2,943,225 EUR.

 

Within the framework of the project, also the first demo house has been constructed near the production facility in Cesis, which is insulated with the innovative thermal insulation material created during the project. The main purpose of the demo house is to evaluate the efficiency of the thermal insulation material, applying energy-efficiency assessment methods. The obtained data will be registered and compiled over a period of 12 months. In general, the project will continue until the end of July 2023.

 

 

Article is published in internet portal “Būvinženieru Savienība” 21/11/2022       

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