BossFacade-EcoFacade

Desired outcome

Our company is performing a research on alternative raw materials for Bosnian facades industry.
We are in need of the thorough physicochemical analysis of potential substitutions to the imported kaolin and eventual possibilities for production of the eco facades.

Initial Problem Description

Bosnia and Herzegovina is in the phase of continuous economic growth and the construction works are very pronounced around the country. Need for modern facades materials is very high.
However, the construction companies use mostly imported facades, or in the best case, facades are produced within the country but the main filler materials are imported. If Bosnia and Herzegovina has the sustainable domestic raw materials, facades could be used both domestically and as an export product to support Bosnian international trade development.

Context

Potentially applicable aluminosilicates and their large deposits exit in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and we suspect that at least kaolinite and pyrophyllite are good candidates for the substitution of the imported fillers.
Thus, we need a scientific team which will perform the lab scale separation of the ores, and test them base on the ISO standards on the lab scale as the facade fillers.
If the results are positive, we will be able to attract the investments in the area of these ore preparations and influence the sustainable chain of these raw materials for our clients ("Colorit" and "Kodiak hem" facade factories). Also, with export of high quality facades based on these raw materials Bosnia and Herzegovina will contribute to overall decrease of dependance on the Asian material market in this technology area.

Connection to cross-cutting areas

Even under current conditions, with imported kaolin as the main raw material (filler), Bosnian facades have reached to France, Austria, Romania.
But with increased quality and reliable domestic supply, we could focus on production of the eco-facades as the air-purification product, which could be offered also to the other countries in Balkans, Turkey or along Asia in the countries which face the air-pollution problems.
Typically, it is recommended to add some TiO2 or some other calitic additive to support decomposition of the toxic gas molecules in the air. We recommend the teams to also perform some trials in this sense.

Input

Bosnia has a proven reserve of the kaolinized granite in Srbac (Kobaš village) of over 120 Mt. This material, if properly separated might generate a good material for facades' fillings for our client.
Also, Bosnia possess a largest known reserves of pyrophyllite (over 38 Mt) in Konjic (Parsovići village). This material is also potential substitute to the imported materials.
If X-ray diffraction analysis prove the quality we recommend the viscosity tests for facades on the lab scale. Any additional data will be valued.

Expectations

We expect that kaolinite and pyrophyllite from Bosnian domestic deposits might represent good substitutes for the currently imported raw materials.
If the teams research proves the potential of the samples which we will deliver to them, than we will involve the young researchers into the technology development process and potentially open some future employment opportunities for them.

Desired Team Profile

-1 young researcher (ideally master or doctoral student) in Chemical technology or Chemistry who has already studied aluminosilicates before
-2 senior researchers in different countries in the area of material engineering or technology
-1-2 geologists or mining engineers from different countries or students at the undergraduate level

Additional Information

Some of the countries that have a problem with polluted air, and have pyrophyllite/kaolinite deposits are Serbia, Romania, Turkey, Slovakia, India, China, Japan, Australia, and others. As the main argument the statistics on the construction industry steady growth should be given and analysis of the potential scenario developed for the exports (with transport costs calculations)

Related Keywords

• Industrial manufacturing, Material and Transport Technologies
• Construction Technology
• Materials, components and systems for construction
• Other