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CEO Alessandro Dazza Inaugurated the First Imerys Synthetic Minerals Pilot Plant
Wednesday, June 08, 2022
Imerys/FR inaugurated on 24 May 2022 a new pilot unit project that enables the molding of very high-performance minerals. The unit is located in its Lyon Technology Center/FR, which specializes, amongst other things, in high-temperature materials and has benefited from an investment of EUR 1 million. This process, unique in the world, was developed thanks to scientific and technical partnerships with the universities of Bordeaux and Toulouse and has generated twenty patents.
The process is able to reproduce in a few seconds the action of nature over a period of several million years. This therefore enables Imerys to create minerals with high technology properties complementary to its existing product offering. The process, called "hydrothermal synthesis in continuous process", plays on the pressure (150–300 bar) and the temperature (100–600 °C) in order to create "customized" minerals, by determining upstream their size, structure, morphology, purity, composition, color, or any other property. These minerals with variable characteristics have higher levels of performance and can be used in high technology and niche applications compared to their naturally-occurring counterparts.
The development of this process complements Imerys' offer with materials with very high added value, which will initially focus on alumina, zircon and silicate (talc, mica). These synthetic minerals will make it possible, for example, to improve the absorption of pollutants into the air and water thanks to a dedicated functionality, or to improve the quality and resistance of glass for computer screens and smartphones. In terms of industrial variants, this pilot also offers the possibility of producing other prototypes and developing high-end applications jointly with certain Imerys customers, therefore allowing access to new and fast-growing markets.
This synthesis process is also of great environmental interest and is part of a sustainable approach: all the atoms used are converted, without loss, and water serves as a solvent and as a substitute for chemicals. Finally, and more broadly, synthetic minerals pave the way for a wide range of possibilities in many products and uses of everyday life, from plastic chemistry to inert, recyclable and environmentally friendly minerals.
