Landfill Mining
Excerpt “Müll und Abfall”, Journal January 2016
– Wet processing of fine-grained material –
Landfill mining can be made from various perspectives. The reasons for landfill mining have changed in the last decades. In most of the projects executed in the past the main focus had been set on groundwater protection, gain of landfill volume and gain of areas for settlement. As a consequence of the fact that a shortage of resources is to be expected in the future as well as an increase in price, the aspect of mining of recyclable fractions from landfills is becoming more and more the centre of consideration – landfill mining. Details about the best techniques of treatment to be applied for the different wastes are often not available. The technical implementation of landfill mining in terms of raw material extraction and production of marketable products depends on the quantity and quality of the landfilled material. Information on achievable product qualities or even on appropriate treatment methods are insufficiently available due to lack of knowledge. This is valid in particular for the fine fraction of which the deposited waste predominantly consists. In 2012 a research project supported by the German Ministry of Education and Research started on the topic of Landfill Mining as part of the “r 3 Innovative Technologies for Resource Efficiency – Strategic Metals and Minerals” initiative. Main target of the project is to provide or enhance knowledge on achievable product qualities and appropriate treatment techniques, including economic and ecological aspects. Partial results are presented in this paper.