Finnish materials technology company Betolar is accelerating the circular economy with its artificial intelligence-assisted sidestream analysis method.
Sidestreams refer to all materials and energy generates as various wastes in industrial processes, in addition to the end product itself, and which are not used in the production of the main product.
“The circular economy is a key means of achieving sustainable development goals in terms of production and consumption, while it can also serve as the foundation for a new economy. However, the realisation of the circular economy requires extensive societal changes as well as new, carefully analysed methods for recycling sidestreams and waste into raw materials for new products. Additionally, different construction standards and waste regulations represent concrete challenges, acting as bottlenecks in the utilisation of recycled materials,” says Kannonkoski-based Betolar’s president and CEO Tuija Kalpala.
The utilisation of sidestreams has been discussed for decades, but the materials are still not being optimally utilised. The SidePrime analysis method developed by Betolar represents a significant step forward in the broader local utilisation of sidestreams.
Various industries produce billions of tons of sidestreams that end up in landfills around the world. These sidestreams are often hazardous and pose a significant risk if they leak into the environment. By developing local solutions for waste management and material recycling, companies can drastically reduce their environmental impact and create new revenue streams from what was previously considered waste.
“Often, things either happen or don’t happen due to a lack of the right information. This is particularly true for the utilisation of sidestreams, as if the right analysed information were available quickly and cost-effectively, the utilisation of sidestreams could be significantly expanded. Sidestreams can be put to greater use than they are today through cooperation and open-mindedness,” reflects Kalpala.
Key to the successful utilisation of sidestreams are knowing the technical properties of the sidestreams, investigating their safety and environmental impacts, creating a functioning cooperation network and strong commercial expertise.
“For example, with Betolar’s cloud-based AI platform, we have analysed and modelled data from over 250 different industrial sidestreams, which allows us to optimise concrete and geopolymer recipes in terms of strength and other properties,” says Olli Kilpeläinen (VP Data Platform and Ecosystem) about the company’s work to replace cement in concrete production with binders made from sidestreams from the steel, mining, forestry and energy industries.
“We also need to break industry boundaries in order to find new solutions. This requires an open operating culture, research and development, and cooperation between large and small companies, the public sector and research institutions,” Kalpala states.
Betolar is the first Finnish company to harness AI in a big way as a driver of the circular economy. It enables the sharing of accurate information about available sidestream materials and their movements. Digitalisation also enables the creation of new types of partnerships and collaboration platforms across geographical boundaries.
“Our advanced analysis service is like glue between the present and the future,” describes Kalpala.
Betolar’s sidestream analysis is based on a continuously developing database containing over 100,000 recorded laboratory tests and combines the expertise of physicists, chemists and data analysts in a multidisciplinary manner. The AI-enhanced service enables very rapid analysis compared to traditional methods, and in addition, guarantees the customer access to Betolar’s extensive business ecosystem.
The goal is to find a new place for waste and sidestreams as raw materials for another product or as construction materials, replacing some virgin material with waste materials or sidestreams. For example, industrial ash or green liquor sludge from the forest industry can be used for soil construction and to replace aggregates.
The demand for sidestreams far exceeds the supply. For instance, at the current level of concrete production, replacing cement entirely with sidestream materials, such as fly ash and blast furnace slag, would require four billion tons of sidestream materials per year. Such quantities of sidestreams are not available on the market, but they can be processed from other sidestreams in many times the amount needed. The Betolar platform enhances the utilisation of unutilised sidestreams to make them suitable for binder use.
“There is a need to identify and introduce new sidestream materials that can be obtained from different industries, such as the steel, energy and mining industries,” says Kalpala.
