Denmark: Re-use of pre-consumed magnetic materials
Magnetic materials that contain rare earth elements are expensive to produce and are obtained through a complicated solvent extraction refining process that involves lot of chemicals and tailings handling. Currently, Grundfos uses these magnetic materials to produce energy efficient products.In an effort to reduce their environmental footprint and promote the sustainability culture, Grundfos Denmark began to maximize the utilization of resources by adopting reuse strategies of the pre-consumed magnetic materials from production scrap.
They conducted tests to evaluate the product performance and material stability when mixing re-use materials with virgin materials in varying proportions. The tests consistently showed that magnetic materials could be reused, without any degradation and compromise to product quality.
The initiative was a stepping stone to align the circular economy strategies for Grundfos products and allowed Grundfos to gain better insights towards the processing aspects of magnetic materials. On top of that, the initiative will save over 3425 m3 of water, 1200 kg of waste, 2 375 000 kWh of energy and 51 000 kg of CO2 on a yearly basis. The project will pave the way for larger sustainable solutions in future.
