The Geodesign project aims at developing new products and architectural solutions, with a strong design component, to be used in architecture (particularly, for hotel and street furniture), using innovative materials. Another aim of Geodesign is to develop the technological process for manufacturing, pre-treatment of industrial waste and the processes of molding, forming and finishing, as well as to test production on a pilot scale. The economic and environmental impact of these processes will also be evaluated when applied to a wide range of industrial waste.
“Our goal is to collect waste from industry and transform it into products for construction, hotel, street furniture, among others. In order to do so, materials need to acquire binding characteristics, we could use a binding material such as concrete. However, we intend to avoid it, as it is a highly polluting material and consumes many resources”, Tiago Miranda, project’s head researcher at UMinho and researcher at Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering (ISISE) of the EEUM, explains.
Therefore, the solution is to develop waste mixtures with lime based binders, a less polluting material, or to resort to the alkaline activation of waste, which turns it into a binding material itself. “At a later stage, we will choose the most promising set of mixtures of compositions, considering their mechanical behaviour and durability”, the researcher adds. “At a later stage, we will choose a set of mixtures of compositions that are most promising from a mechanical behaviour point of view. We will consider 10 formulations with different types of wastes and binders, to later develop the products for wall covering, acoustic barriers, street furniture, among others”, the researcher clarified.
Using of industrial waste allows replacing rare or expensive raw materials, as well as to take advantage of waste which otherwise would go to landfills. A portfolio of innovative eco-products prototypes will also be developed, with the main objective of disseminating the obtained results.
The Geodesign project results from a consortium between UMinho and the University of Trás os Montes and Alto Douro, in a joint work that will be tested by the CVR and with design developed by the company Francisco M. Providência Design Lda. Later on, Waste 2 Value S.A., the project promoter, will be in charge of product manufacturing. With a duration of three years – 2016 to 2019 –, Geodesign counts on a funding of around 630 thousand euros, and is financed by the national operational programme Norte 2020.
