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Applied Sciences’ hidden helium recovery system

Suppose you are researching quantum mechanics and you need helium to cool particles. At some point you will have to knock on Remco Roeleveld’s door. He is responsible for maintaining the helium recovery system in the Applied Sciences building.

From green slime to aircraft interior

Slimy green stuff. That is a pretty accurate description of the product that is left over after sewage water has been purified using the Nereda method, the aerobic granular sludge technology developed at TU Delft.

Pulverising, baking and dissolving

It was only supposed to be a temporary solution. Twenty years ago, a German company unloaded 5,000 tonnes of waste containing zinc ferrite - a compound of zinc and iron - at the port of Rotterdam. The company went bankrupt and the mountain of waste is still there. Zinc is a valuable substance; separate the zinc atoms from the iron atoms and you are onto a winner. Unfortunately, a standard procedure using acids did not really work on this specific molecule.

‘There’s a lot of money in reusing materials’

Having previously worked in the waste sector, assistant professor Jan-Henk Welink (3mE) knows how to translate the sustainable management of raw materials into business concepts. He organises courses, seminars and workshops to teach senior managers about the opportunities that are available in a circular economy.

Hotspot in the circular economy

Dr David Peck (Architecture and the Built Environment, Climate Design and Sustainability) anticipates that TU Delft and the Netherlands will play a pivotal role in the circular economy.

Buildings as sources of materials

A switch to circular construction? In collaboration with graduate Eline Leising, Dr Jaco Quist has developed a road map, including guidelines, in which he champions buildings as sources of reusable materials.

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