Anyone who uses, processes or extracts raw materials has now and again practical questions. They may concern quality, optimum use or re-use of raw materials, or even the ground itself. VITO is able to provide specialised advice.
Evaluating the quality of your raw materials
Do you use raw materials and do you notice that the quality does not always fulfil the requirements of your production process or activity? VITO is able to identify the cause. Based on this, we will optimise your material use or look for a suitable alternative. We, for example, investigate the discoloration of natural stone and the efficiency of treatments or replacement. To realise this, we have extensive infrastructure for material characterisation and quality control.
Optimum valorisation of your residues
At almost all phases of production you will be left with some residues. These can often earn you money if you valorise them correctly. VITO is able to advise you in this matter. We search for useful applications and know exactly which requirements have been set by legislative bodies and the end user. You thus get the most out of your residues.
Getting more from the soil
If you regularly work with minerals or carry out earthworks, then geoscientific knowledge about the ground can be useful. VITO has extensive geological expertise. We carry out digital analyses of the soil and inform you about the correct structure of the ground.
This soil knowledge leads to more innovative applications, such as the use of underground spaces and geologic reservoirs for, for example, CO2 storage or gas storage.
How sustainable is your product and/or production process?
Using sustainability evaluations, VITO determines the integral environmental, energy and raw material impacts of products and processes. These evaluations give companies a better insight into the impact of various links in their production process or in the life cycle of their products. This insight also helps to improve the environmental and energy performance. In many cases, a sustainability evaluation also leads to economic benefits: less material and energy consumption or less waste production. It can also contribute to improving your image, providing information for process management and the development of a more environmentally friendly range of products (ecodesign). Finally, sustainability evaluations offer a useful tool to put corporate responsibility into practice.
Sustainability evaluations come in various forms: from ‘company gate to company gate’ (Best Available Techniques or BAT approach), and ‘cradle-to-grave’ (life cycle analysis or LCA approach) to ‘cradle-to-cradle’. VITO has also accumulated considerable expertise in national and international projects in the field of sustainable industrial cooperation. This type of networking creates environmental, economic and social opportunities by way of exchanging by products (energy, water, waste,…) between companies and by sharing common infrastructure and facilities. This also results in a significant reduction of the environmental impact, a reduction in resource consumption and the realisation of economic benefits.
