The massive production of tyres and the difficulties in disposing of them after use has been one of the most serious environmental problems worldwide in recent years. The European Project EKOPAN is seeking to address the existing problems by re-using tyres in the manufacture of an ordinary construction element like roadway noise barriers.
This project is in line with the principles laid down in the current European Parliament Directive (Directive 2006/12/EC) on waste, in which the upcycling and use of waste as raw materials are encouraged in order to preserve natural resources.
Added to the environmental benefits, the use of a porous material like rubber provides an acoustic barrier with enhanced noise absorption properties. So the new barriers being developed have high noise absorption and a clear environmentally-friendly feature; this “eco-aspect” is made possible by the upcycling of one of the most problematic waste materials and by the cutting of CO2 emissions through the partial replacing of the raw material used in the ordinary barriers by recycled rubber, and through weight reduction compared with traditional concrete barriers.
Specifically, the EKOPAN project is setting out to fill the gap between the development of the acoustic panel and the mass production and marketing phase. Thus, it is focussing on optimizing the manufacturing process on an industrial scale, validating the mechanical and acoustic properties, and conducting a market study that will facilitate the penetration of the new product
This Project is supported by the European Commission’s Competitiveness and Innovation Programme
Grant Agreement nº 277227
Call CIP-Ecoinnovation-2010