Raw materials: Ecoterm

Recycled material to aid sustainable glass production

Black copper oxide (CuO) is a fine black powder for use in the container glass sector to get specific types of colouring. An Italian company, Ecoterm, produces the material sustainably by using a thermal production process as opposed to a chemical one.

Black copper oxide (CuO) is a fine black powder, of high purity and versatility, which can be manufactured from completely recycled raw materials.

It is used in the chemical sector as a catalyst, in the feed industry as a supplement and in the production of fireworks as a pigment. It is also used in the industrial glass sector, mainly for the production of container glass and to get specific types of colouring, as well as in the ceramic industry.

In recent years, Ecoterm has witnessed a progressive change of direction by its customers, who are increasingly aware of all the aspects related to environmental sustainability.

The request for recycled materials to be used in production processes increases day by day, with the aim to use 100% of recycled material within the next 10 years.

Thermal process

For the production of black copper oxide, Ecoterm is the only European company that has always used a thermal production process as opposed to chemical.

It uses raw materials discarded from other industries, such as copper scraps from foundries, and obtains a cupric copper oxide with a high purity (CuO 99% min).

Ecoterm holds the necessary authorisation to collect and transform several waste codes (CER) into secondary raw material (SRM), completely recovering the waste introduced into the production cycle.

Once the raw material has been collected, the production process removes all of the impurities inside using only heat and mechanical systems, without adding any kind of chemicals.

This makes the whole cycle extremely ‘green’, especially if compared to the classical chemical production process. Here the final product is obtained from the ignition reaction generated by cupric nitrate trihydrate, cupric hydroxide or copper carbonate.

Finally, the raw material is micronised to get the grain size requested by the customer, through mechanical processing, for the different fields of application.

This new type of recycled material can be used in the glass industry.

Perhaps it should be considered as a secondary type, when reflecting the quantities of copper oxide compared to (for example) cullets, but it is still essential for achieving sustainable development goals by 2030. �

Ecoterm, San Felice sul Panaro, Italy https://www.ecoterm.info/en