As part of a project by the Thuringian Innovation Centre for Recyclable Materials (ThIWert), project staff recently visited companies in Freiberg and Großpösna to discuss the future of gypsum recycling. The aim of the visits was to get to know each other, gain insights into the work of the companies and find common interfaces for future co-operation.

On 15 January, the team from the HSN research group "InnoWert "*, Dr Volker Asemann, Dr Simon Eichhorn and Dipl.-Ing. Katrin Schmidt, visited the Geokompetenzzentrum Freiberg e. V. and presented, among other things, the WIR! initiative "Gypsum recycling as an opportunity for the southern Harz region", which is part of the federal programme WIR! change through innovation in the region is being implemented at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences. They also discussed the current raw material situation and future raw material shortages as well as possible cooperation between the Geobiotechnology department at the Freiberg GKZ and the Biological Process Engineering department at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences.

Together with Dr Wolfgang Reimer, Managing Director of the Geokompetenzzentrum Freiberg e. V., and Andreas Schaubs from JENA-GEOS-Ingenieurbüro GmbH, starting points for research topics were discussed and an initial project idea for alternative building materials was considered: the use of wood in traditional clay construction in southern Africa.

The day in Freiberg was rounded off with a visit to the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, where the Nordhausen research group met with staff from various institutes to familiarise themselves with their areas of focus and explore common interfaces.

The second visit of the week was to Mitteldeutsche Umwelt- und Entsorgung GmbH (MUEG) in Großpösna. In addition to a tour of the gypsum processing plant, the focus here was also on maintaining contacts and discussing the current status of gypsum recycling in Germany and the political and legal obstacles.

In addition to the team from the "InnoWert" research group, Prof. Ariane Ruff, coordinator of the WIR! alliance "Gypsum recycling as an opportunity for the southern Harz region", and Mark Gaßmann, Technical Director of ThIWert, were present to discuss points of contact for more intensive future cooperation with Dipl.-Ing. Jörg-Michael Bunzel, Head of the TED business unit, and Dr Sascha Füchsel, Head of Technology at the MUEG site in Großpösna.

* Supported by the Free State of Thuringia with funds from the European Social Fund.

PM 0/2020