The rising price of rare earth metals prompted the idea of recycled magnets

Can side-branches contribute to business growth?

The industry’s demand for recycled products is tough: the qualities must be almost as good as in the mainstream products. Prizztech Oy and LUT and Wimao Oy are boldly testing something new.

Text Anna Kuronen

Recycled magnets increase the security of supply.

Most magnets are currently recycled among scrap metal, which means that only the iron contained in the magnets is recovered. Rare earth metals end up mainly as impurities in recycled iron.

The idea for recycled magnets came about some 10 years ago when the prices of rare earth metals rose drastically. In Europe, ecological thinking is on the rise and companies are interested in buying recycled materials. They are also willing to compromise a bit on their power requirements. – Studies in the US have shown that recycling strong magnets is possible by pulverization. We tested it with the help of the Circwaste project, Minna Haavisto, project manager at Prizztech Oy, explains.

Demo beyond expectations

Pulverization of permanent magnets is New technology makes it possible to utilize difficult waste fractions.

Professor Timo Kärki of LUT University develops composite fiber products from recycled materials in the Circwaste project. Product development is carried out in cooperation with LUT University and Wimao Oy, a provider of plastic recycling technology. – Industrial, household and construction waste are all recyclable, but waste generated from industry is relatively clean and therefore clear in terms of processes, Professor Kärki describes.

The handling of waste raw material processes is straightforward, and both product safety and quality control are closely linked to them. – From the quality point of view, the the most ecological, cost–effective and energy–efficient way to produce recycled magnets. In theory, in an optimal manufacturing process, the maximum field strength produced by a recycled magnet is two percent lower than that of a virgin magnet. – In the demo, we tested magnets with 75 percent recycled raw material and proved that it is possible to achieve theoretically defined qualities. So the most promising result came true, Haavisto says happily.

Huge potential

Outside China, magnets are manufactured by only a handful of companies, but in Europe there is a great need for them. In Germany and Sweden, a large number of wind turbines will be dismantled in the near future, and their generators with magnets could be recycled in Finland, which means a new kind of business. most important thing is to keep the physical, mechanical and chemical qualities of recycled materials good and to ensure that possible contaminants do not affect the end–products, Kärki says.

Composite fiber is versatile

Legislation strongly advocates extending the life cycles of materials. For example, the recycling of construction waste in the EU countries varies between 30 and 60 percent, but Finland aims at increasing its recycling rate to 70 per cent. – Composite fiber products can be used in construction as sheets and profiles. In addition, they are used as packaging materials and transport boxes in logistics, Kärki says.

Concrete lightened with composite fib

The most profitable way to go is to recycle the magnets of large industrial motors and generators.

– The most profitable way to go is to recycle the magnets of large industrial motors and generators. They produce a lot of homogeneous raw materials at once. We are happy to help companies to bring infrastructure and know–how together here in the Pori region. Neorem Magnets Oy, one of the most significant magnet manufacturers in Europe, is

already here, Haavisto says.

This concept is easy to scale.

er is suitable for noise barriers and traffic barriers. In consumer products, it can be found in cell phone cases and cars. – The economic potential becomes apparent especially with large volumes, for example, in infrastructure construction. This concept is easy to scale, because the infrastructure for waste collection already exists and the materials circulate well, Kärki sums up.

Other sub-projects for the utilization of industrial byproducts in the Circwaste project:

• The Pielinen-Karelia Development Center, together with North Karelia’s industrial companies and municipalities, model and test sustainable utilization methods for byproducts and waste. In addition, the project will carry out four practical experiments using companies’ by-products. The aim of the project is to improve the cost efficiency of biogas plants and increase the number of plants in Finland. Further information: Jukka Nevalainen, Development Manager, Pikes Oy, firstname. surname@pikes.fi • Business Joensuu is looking for sites in the developing urban area of Joensuu where new circular economy businesses can be created. The development company has organized several successful business idea competitions. In addition, the project will conduct material flow studies, with geopolymers as one potential material flow. Further information: Terttu Kinnunen, Development Specialist, Business Joensuu, firstname.surname@ businessjoensuu.fi

CleverBin huolehtii täydennystilauksista – ihminen voi keskittyä omaan työhönsä

Ferrometalin CleverBin on älykäs vastaus teollisuuden pientarvikkeiden varastoinnin optimointiin.

CleverBin ottolaatikossa on kyse optisella anturilla varustetusta pientarvikelaatikosta, joka hyvissä ajoin havaitsee kiinnitysosien tai pienkomponenttien vähenemisen ja osaa ennalta asetetun tilauspisteen alittuessa tehdä ostotilauksen ERP-järjestelmään mobiiliyhteyden kautta. – Meillä toimitusaika kaikkialle Suomeen on vain yksi vuorokausi. Joskus sekin voi kuitenkin olla tuotannon kannalta liikaa, jos täydennystilausta ei ole saatu ajoissa, Ferrometalin toimitusjohtaja Mika Brandt perustelee.

CleverBin-laatikko on suunniteltu pientarvikelogistiikan hoitamiseen erilaisissa tuotanto- ja huoltoympäristöissä. Monikäyttöisyytensä ansiosta laatikko soveltuu käytettäväksi niin teollisuudessa, varastoissa, huoltoautoissa kuin sairaaloissa.

Uuden teknologian säästöt ja hyödyt alkavat heti

Uusi teknologia mahdollistaa Brandtin mukaan ennakoivat täydennystilaukset ilman ihmisen tekemää erillistä tilausta. – Asiakas voi keskittyä omaan työhönsä laatikon huolehtiessa, että komponenttien täydennykset tulevat ajallaan. Samalla tekniikalla voimme toteuttaa myös kappaletavaroiden seurantaa sekä täydennystilauksia esimerkiksi hyllypaikoille.

Järjestelmän avulla CleverBinin ekosysteemikokonaisuudesta pientarvikkeiden hallintaan voidaan asiakkaan niin halutessa rakentaa varsin laaja – ja erittäin kustannustehokkaasti. – CleverBin soveltuu lähes kaikille asiakkaille, ovat asiakkaan volyymit sitten isot tai pienet. Ennakoivan järjestelmän häiriöttömyys ja tehokkuus tuottavat lisäarvoa. CleverBin-järjestelmän käyttöönotto on helppoa sekä edullista, ja säästöt ja hyödyt alkavat heti.

Ferrometal Oy on alan johtava kiinnitystarvikkeiden ja asiakkaiden lopputuotteen kokoonpanoon sekä asentamiseen käytettävien pientarvikkeiden toimittaja. Yritys tunnetaan Rfid-Kanban ratkaisuista sekä kyvystä virtaviivaistaa asiakkaiden pientarvikelogistiikkaa.