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Innovative insulation products through recycling and reuse of waste streams

This project develops and demonstrates an innovative closed-loop recycling process for non-hazardous mineral wool waste, in compliance with Section 1 of REACH Annex XI. This includes wool waste from manufacturing, processing, and construction, often bound to aluminum caching.

Compared to competing initiatives, the project has the least environmental impact in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. It represents a major technological contribution to the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) goals, which require member states to reuse, recycle, and recover 70% of non-hazardous construction and demolition waste.

Ensuring compliance with the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) (EU) No 305/2011 for the recovered product is another key objective of the project.

Objective

The main goal of this initiative is to establish a fully operational closed-loop mineral wool waste recovery facility. The technology, based on a unique separation process, ensures that glass and stone wool fibers are preserved while aluminum is efficiently separated for reuse. The project will start with a demonstration plant and scale up to full-scale industrial operation.

Intended results

A fully validated closed-loop recovery process that allows efficient separation of aluminum caching from mineral wool panels used in insulation.
Market-ready second-use insulation materials for applications such as insufflation insulation or core filling of clay bricks.
Construction of a demo plant in Maastricht, which will serve as a model and transition into a fully operational facility.
Improved compliance with the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) for specific construction products.
Innovation-driven economic growth in the region, leading to job creation and international application opportunities.

Innovation and impact

The current state-of-the-art recycling methods involve remelting waste fibers into a so-called frit, which is then added to raw material flows, or binding them with cement into bricks that are fed into melting kilns. Other experimental recovery techniques have not yet reached industrial application.

Currently, glass and stone wool waste is minimally recycled in a high-quality manner. A large portion is landfilled or downcycled due to the absence of large-scale, efficient recycling technologies. This project is developing an advanced process that preserves material integrity and enables reuse without quality loss.

This process represents a substantial, industrializable alternative to current competing R&D efforts and industrial applications.

Collaboration

This initiative is a collaboration between Devilee Insulation B.V. and Unipor Coriso Fibres B.V., both based in South Limburg. By combining their expertise in insulation manufacturing and recycling technology, these companies are pioneering a scalable and sustainable solution for recovered insulation materials, with the goal of long-term industrial implementation.

Financial support from the European Union and Province of Limburg

This project is made possible with financial support from the European Union and the Province of Limburg, as part of the EFRO-OPZuid program. The total eligible project costs amount to €1,058,294.78.

Thanks to this financial support, the Fiber:loop project can make a significant contribution to innovation and sustainability in the construction sector.

€370,403.00 in funding from EFRO (European Regional Development Fund)
€158,743.00 co-financing by the Province of Limburg
€529,148.78 own contribution by Devilee Insulation B.V. and Unipor Coriso Fibres B.V.