Page 153 - CW E-Magazine (29-4-2025)

News from Abroad

VALUE CREATION FROM WASTE

SiTration opens facility to scale technology for critical

minerals recovery

MIT spinout, SiTration, which is The company’s solution lowers both
focussed on recovery of critical mine- the cost and the resource intensity of
rals in mining and metals industries, extracting and recycling materials,
has opened its new R&D and pilot faci- while also addressing localised pollu-
lity in Watertown, Massachusetts (US). tion from mining operations. The com-
pany’s work has attracted the attention
The company plans to develop and of industry, most notably through a
scale its pilot systems for critical mine- partnership with Rio Tinto to valorise
rals recovery at the new 11,000-square- and remediate mining waste streams.
foot facility. The company’s technology duction of pilot systems, expansion To date, SiTration has raised $14.4-mn
enables low cost, sustainable recovery of R&D efforts, and recent headcount in venture capital funding. The most
of metals including copper, cobalt, and growth,” the company said in a press recent Seed financing round was led
nickel which are key to the clean energy note. by 2150 with participation from BHP
transition. SiTration’s technical approach Ventures, Extantia, and Orion Industrial
enables profitable extraction even from SiTration said its patented silicon Ventures. Previous investors Azolla
waste streams. filtration and electro-extraction tech- Ventures and MIT-affiliated E14 Fund
nologies provide chemical-free, energy- also participated in the over subscribed
“This new facility will support pro- efficient extraction and recycling. round.

REDUCING PLASTIC PELLET LOSS

New rules in EU to tackle microplastic pollution

in supply chains

The European Council and Parlia- New rules these rules coming into force. Companies
ment have provisionally agreed to im- Under the new EU framework, re- handling fewer than 1,500-tonnes of such
plement new rules that should reduce ducing plastic pellet loss would become plastics will only need to issue a self-dec-
microplastic pollution on land and at a main objective for operators, as well as laration of conformity. Finally, obliga-
sea by placing stricter due diligence both EU- and non-EU carriers. The rules tions have been set out for the transport
requirements on logistics operators. set out enhanced obligations where loss of plastics by sea, including ensuring
occurs, including clean-up requirements. good quality packaging and providing
Specifically, the rules improve the Prevention measures are also included, information relating to transport and cargo
handling of plastic pellets used to make such as mandatory risk management under guidelines set by the International
plastic products at every stage of the plans created by each installation han- Maritime Organisation (IMO).
supply chain. The changes should en- dling pellets to set out clear measures
sure these products are lost less during for packaging, loading of pellets and The European Council and Parlia-
manufacturing and reduce their envi- staff training, among other things. Addi- ment must both endorse the agreement
ronmental impact on land and sea. Each tionally, operators handling more than before its formal adoption and publica-
year, the equivalent of 7,300 truckloads 1,500-tonnes of plastic pellets each year tion in the Official Journal of the EU.
of plastic pellets are lost to the environ- must obtain a certificate from an inde- Two years after publication, the regu-
ment, contaminating food systems and pendent third party. For smaller organisa- lation will then become applicable. To
natural environments on land and at tions, lighter obligations will be set out, comply with the maritime sector, appli-
sea. In 2019 alone, between 52-kt and including a one-off certification which cation of relevant sea rules has been
185-kt of pellets were lost in the EU. must be obtained within five years of further postponed by one year.

Chemical Weekly April 29, 2025 153

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