A process used to reconstitute waste consisting of limestone building blocks or excavated limestone material into a suitable building/decorative material. The process requires the collection of waste limestone, building blocks or excavated waste, processing the waste by carrying out crushing and grading of the waste limestone, then further processing the waste aggregate into a suitably graded powder. The powder is then converted into a workable paste which can be moulded. The resulting reconstituted stone material is a hard, dense limestone material which can be cut, shaped and finished in a similar manner to natural limestone.
There is currently no solution for recycling waste limestone and concrete in which such great benefits are obtained. The recycled material performs better than the parent material, particularly with respect to strength, water resistance and weathering.
The process can be used to turn a portion of construction industry waste into revenue-generating recycled building materials.
According to the European Commission, 'Construction and demolition waste is one of the heaviest and most voluminous waste streams generated in the EU. It accounts for approximately 25% - 30% of all waste generated in the EU'. Of that 40-80% is concrete and masonry. The European Commission has issued a policy stating that 70% of construction and demolition waste must be recycled by 2020.
Given that waste is used as a raw material, the resulting products are likely to do well in publicly procured projects or in projects seeking LEED certification, or similar.
The process can be used to make building materials such as building blocks, bricks, cladding, tiles and decorative materials.
Given that the process moulds resulting products, niche products can be devised which contain water repellents, fire retardants, colour, fungicides, reinforcement and so on.
The technology is protected by European Patent 3129201.