Every year, as a result of crushing concrete waste from construction and demolition sites, 65 million tons of secondary fine aggregates (Recycled Fine Aggregates, RFA) are formed. Reuse of RFA in concrete production is not possible due to strict building standards.
Vicat has become a member of the Interreg North-West Europe CIRMAP project, which aims to reuse RFA to produce small architectural forms in urban, memorial and park construction that are less demanding on the materials used. 3D printing will be used to implement this process, which allows for the production of custom-made building elements, their weight reduction and their production at the final location, which usually has limited access.
Ten manufacturers will be provided with new design methods for 3DP mortar mixes and individual architectural forms within the framework of CIRMAP. The European project will also take steps to create a market for such products, which will facilitate the transition to a circular economy.
If the 525t RFA will be reused in 3D printing products today, the long-term target for CIRMAP is 25 million tonnes.
