Project

Hot-dip galvanised steel is durable, repairable, recyclable and therefore, in the spirit of the circular economy, a perfect multi-recycling material. When crash barriers made of galvanised steel have to be replaced, the path of the „old“ ones is often clearly defined: they end up as scrap steel in an electric arc furnace (EAF) for melting down. This steel cycle is well established and already utilises the resource of steel in the spirit of the circular economy. But do you always have to take the full recycling route? In the present project, the client was looking for a cost-effective, material-saving and at the same time continuously sustainable alternative. With „ReUse“, ZINQ offered the solution: the 2,000 safety barriers were transported to ZINQ after dismantling, stripped of their zinc coating, subsequently re-galvanised and then put back into service with a new lease of life.

Realisation

During the dezincification process at the ZINQ site in Gelsenkirchen, any „residual zinc“ still remaining on the components is removed by a chemical process at room temperature. Inhibitors ensure that the acid does not „attack“ the iron, but rather that the dezincified components can be returned undamaged to the actual galvanising process after passing through a corresponding pre-treatment. The zinc stripping solution is then reused to recycle the valuable resource of zinc.