Visit to VITO Recycling AG and the Vigier Ciment cement factory
This question arises every day in the working lives of many geologists and environmental experts. Mineral construction waste contaminated with pollutants is one of the biggest challenges facing the construction industry, both ecologically and logistically.
Sorted metallic and organic fractions of building materials.
This makes modern solutions that enable sustainable disposal and recycling even more important. One example of this is the new soil washing plant at VITO Recycling AG in the Bernese Jura.
Contaminated mineral construction waste is delivered via this conveyor belt.
The plant, which began operations in 2023, is the result of a partnership between Vigier AG and Toggenburger AG. It specialises in processing contaminated mineral construction waste – such as excavated materials and contaminated rail track ballast – and returning its components to the material cycle wherever possible. In this hall, the contaminated material undergoes up to eight treatment processes.
In this hall, the contaminated material undergoes up to eight treatment processes.
As part of a training day, ten specialists from GEOTEST AG’s mineral raw materials + landfills business field visited the soil washing plant to gain an on-site impression of the technologies and processes used.
GEOTEST employees tour the soil washing plant.
The aim of the visit was to learn more about the potential of such plants for the circular economy and to discuss how these technologies can be applied in their own working environment.
In this special washing drum, materials containing loam and clay are ground under pressure and washed out.
These centrifuges separate and classify ores and minerals.
During this training day, another stop was made at the neighbouring Vigier Ciment plant. This cement plant is another link in the raw materials industry.
GEOTEST employees visit the Vigier Ciment cement plant.
Some of the contaminated products from the VITO Recycling soil washing plant can be used in cement production, among other applications. Vigier replaces up to 100 percent of the fossil energy used in cement production with secondary fuels (e.g. waste wood or waste oil).
In this rotary kiln, the material is sintered to produce clinker.
The GEOTEST employees take a look at the kiln.
The material in the kiln reaches temperatures up to 1450 °C.
The reuse of contaminated materials is crucial. After all, the more contaminated materials that can be reprocessed and returned to the construction cycle, the lower the impact on the environment and the strain on the capacity of existing landfills.
The training day provided valuable insights into current approaches for decontaminating and recovering mineral materials, such as crushing processes, separation methods and incineration techniques.
GEOTEST employees regularly encounter contaminated soil or polluted demolition materials in their projects, whether in the remediation of contaminated sites, tunnel construction projects, or the planning of landfill sites. Exchanging ideas with other experts and plant operators is therefore an important part of professional development and an essential contribution to promoting sustainable waste disposal solutions.
GEOTEST employees regularly exchange ideas and information with other specialists.
