Regain’s value proposition is built around the concepts of Industrial EcologyOur Objectives:
Both Industrial and environmental needs have traditionally been opposed to each other. A concept of bringing these needs together, called “Industrial Ecology”, has been shaping the way we think about human progress.
Industrial Ecology can be defined as a concept that:
’ [Addresses] not just issues of pollution and environment, but considers as equally important, technologies, process economics, the inter-relationships of business, financing, overall government policy and the entire spectrum of issues that are involved in the management of commercial enterprises.’ [1]
Industry, just like the natural ecosystem, works on a distribution of materials, energy, and information flows. Also the industrial system (which includes housing, tourism, transport, agriculture, medical services etc.) cannot be disconnected from the Biosphere because it relies on the resources and services provided by the Earth.
Regain’s business is about helping to create a liveable future for those that come after us on the planet. Every tonne of hazardous by-products that Regain transforms is consumed by other industries as a valuable material that cuts down on emissions and energy usage.
The wastes from one industry can be the beneficial inputs to another industry, is a fundamental part of Industrial Ecology.
Regain: an Industrial Ecology solution that really works. For now, and for the future.
Read more about the Emergence of Industrial Ecology in one of the seminal papers on the concepts.
See also Regulatory Validation for a discussion on Regain’s conformance with the EU Commission Circular Economy Package.
[1] - Erkman S, Industrial Ecology: A New Perspective on the Future of the Industrial System. “President’s lecture”, Assemblée de la Société Suisse de Pneumologie, Geneva, 2001 at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11759173
Introducing the concept of an industrial ecosystem to integrate processes, products and wastes
The emergence of industrial ecology came largely in 1989 when an article appeared in Scientific American by Robert Frosch and Nicholas Gallopoulos, as follows: [2]
‘… the traditional model of industrial activity – in which individual manufacturing processes take in raw material and generate products to be sold and wastes to be disposed of – should be transformed into a more integrated model: an industrial ecosystem.’
Frosch and Gallopoulos further observed:
‘Corporate and public attitudes must change to favor the ecosystem approach, and government regulations must become more flexible so as not to unduly hinder recycling and other strategies for waste minimization.’
Improved Production Economics for Cement Manufacturers
Primary aluminium smelting uses:
large amounts of carbon
silica refractory materials
alumina as raw material
sodium and fluoride chemical compounds as flux
The spent potlining waste material from aluminium smelting has all of these materials inextricably mixed together. A next optimised stage in the lifecycle of these materials is to simultaneously:
use the sodium and fluoride compounds as fluxes (1) and mineralisers (2) in energy intensive industries such as cement manufacture
convert the carbon to thermal energy
make use of the alumina and silica as raw materials.
Benefits include:
economic and environmental gain from reduced energy requirements and reducing greenhouse gas emission
cost effective access to fluxing and mineralising chemicals
alternate and cost effective sources of fuel and raw materials.
Notes:
A flux is a substance that lowers the temperature at which solid materials enter a liquid phase and/or increases the quantity of liquid at a given temperature.
A mineraliser is a substance that accelerates reaction rates and promotes the formation of desired materials in the liquid phase of cement clinker or similar materials. This results in a higher quality product with less residence time and less energy for processes such as cement making.