SMART GROUND Project: SMART data collection and integration platform to enhance availability and accessibility of data and information in the EU territory on secondary raw materials

The issue of resource security has come to the forefront of the debate as Critical Materials (CRM) and Raw Materials (RM) supply is fundamental to maintain and develop EU economy. Considering the increasing scarcity and raising prices of RM, their recycling and recovery from anthropogenic deposits is essential. To date there is no homogeneous inventory available of SRM and CRM present in EU landfills, and best management practices to recover SRM from landfill activities are inefficient. In this context, the EU SMART GROUND project intends to foster resource recovery in landfills by improving the availability and the accessibility of data and information on SRM in the EU

Towards sustainable mining: exploiting raw materials from extractive waste facilities

The focus of the present research is on the exploitation of extractive waste to recover raw materials, considering the technological and economic factors, together with the environmental impacts, associated with extractive waste quarrying and dressing activities. The present study, based on a case history from Northern Italy (Montorfano and Baveno granite quarrying area), was intended to validate the presented interdisciplinary approach for evaluating economic and environmental impacts associated with extractive waste facility exploitation (from granite waste to products for the ceramic industry and by-products for the building industry). A shared methodology was applied to determine extractive waste characteristics (geochemistry, petrography, and mineralogy), waste volume (geophysical, topographic, and morphologic 3D characterization) and potential exploitable products and by-products. Meanwhile, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was applied to determine the environmental impacts associated with the extraction and processing phases

Assessment of the Possible Reuse of Extractive Waste Coming from Abandoned Mine Sites: Case Study in Gorno, Italy

Supply of resources, a growing population, and environmental pollution are some of the main challenges facing the contemporary world. The rapid development of mining activities has produced huge amounts of waste. This waste, found in abandoned mine sites, provides the potential opportunity of extracting raw material. The current study, therefore, focuses on testing the validation of a shared methodology to recover extractive waste from abandoned mines, and applies this methodology to a case study in Gorno, northwest Italy. The methods focused on: (1) analyzing the impact of tailings and fine fraction of waste rock (<2 mm) on plants (Cress - Lepidium Sativum) to assess usability of both as soil additive, and (2) recovering raw materials from tailings and coarse fraction (>2 mm) of waste rock, by means of dressing methods like wet shaking table and froth flotation. The results indicated that the fine fraction of waste rock and tailings did not have detrimental effects on seed germination; however, there was marked decrease in plant growth. As for the recovery of raw materials, the coarse waste rock samples, crushed to <0.5 mm, produced a recovery of Cd, Ga, and Zn—as much as 66%, 56%, and 64%, respectively—using the wet shaking table. The same samples when crushed to 0.063–0.16 mm and used for froth flotation produced a recovery of Cd, Ga, and Zn of up to 61%, 72%, and 47%, respectively. The flotation experiment on tailings showed a recovery of Cd, Ga and Zn at pH 7 of 33%, 6% and 29% respectively. The present investigation highlights the methodologies used for extracting raw materials from extractive waste

Exploiting secondary raw materials from extractive waste facilities: A case study

In recent years, resource scarcity has emphasised a need to transition from a linear to a circular flow of resources. Securing supplies of critical and secondary raw materials (CRM/SRM) for the manufacturing industry is at the forefront of industrial challenges, especially in Europe, USA and Asia. A key step towards achieving resource efficiency, is to recover these materials from anthropogenic waste deposits, such as urban landfill sites and extractive waste facilities. This means breaking away from the traditional linear use of resources to a closed-loop approach that allows maximum recovery of resources from waste. The management of extractive waste deposits and resource recovery is closely linked to the concept of urban mining. In this paper, we present a case study illustrating the feasibility of recovering SRM from EW facilities and discuss the pros and cons of undertaking such activities

Landfill mining from extractive waste facilities: The importance of a correct site characterisation and evaluation of the potentialities. A case study from Italy

Raw materials (RM) and critical raw materials (CRM; EC, 2017) supply is essential to both the maintenance and development of the EU economy as its industries rely on a steady RM supply. Thus, securing a sustainable RM and CRM supply and their circular use in the economy is of importance at EU level and beyond (Blengini et al., 2017, Coulomb et al., 2015, Vidal-Legaz et al., 2016). Furthermore, the developments of clean technologies coupled with economic growth exacerbate the short and long-term demand and needs (Blagoeva et al., 2016, Pavel and Tzimas, 2016). For example, Habib and Wenzel (2014) reported that the necessary supply Nd and Dy will grow from 10.0 Gg to 54.5 Gg and 0.5 Gg to 4.95 Gg respectively from 2010 to 2050

Switch to maraviroc with darunavir/r, both QD, in patients with suppressed HIV-1 was well tolerated but virologically inferior to standard antiretroviral therapy: 48-Week results of a randomized trial

Objectives Primary study outcome was absence of treatment failure (virological failure, VF, or treatment interruption) per protocol at week 48. Methods Patients on 3-drug ART with stable HIV-1 RNA <50 copies/mL and CCR5-tropic virus were randomized 1:1 to maraviroc with darunavir/ritonavir qd (study arm) or continue current ART (continuation arm).Results In June 2015, 115 patients were evaluable for the primary outcome (56 study, 59 continuation arm). The study was discontinued due to excess of VF in the study arm (7 cases, 12.5%, vs 0 in the continuation arm, p = 0.005). The proportion free of treatment failure was 73.2% in the study and 59.3% in the continuation arm. Two participants in the study and 10 in the continuation arm discontinued therapy due to adverse events (p = 0.030). At VF, no emergent drug resistance was detected. Co-receptor tropism switched to non-R5 in one patient. Patients with VF reported lower adherence and had lower plasma drug levels. Femoral bone mineral density was significantly improved in the study arm. Conclusion Switching to maraviroc with darunavir/ritonavir qd in virologically suppressed patients was associated with improved tolerability but was virologically inferior to 3-drug therap