The focus of the professorship is on chemical engineering, filling a void in the research world. Possible development areas include recycling of rare metals and recycling metals and plastics from waste that now ends up incinerated or in landfills.

“We have extensive experience with research and development projects together with various partners, including Chalmers. The professorship is a new step in ours efforts to develop resource-efficient recycling processes that make us less dependent on energy prices and strengthen our contribution to a sustainable society,” says Christer Forsgren, Head of Technology and Environmental Science at Stena Metall. “Stena is a family-owned company with the strategy and capital to focus long-term. With rising energy prices, tighter environmental regulations and a growing realization that waste is a resource, sophisticated recycling has a bright future.”

Another factor is the changing content of the products used in society. New materials and mixtures create challenges for the recycling industry. With its investments in research and development projects, Stena hopes to play a role in resolving future waste problems.

Long-term focus on sustainable society

Recruitment is under way, and it is hoped that the inaugural holder will begin working in autumn 2006. The professorship will be funded for at least ten years. It will be the only professorship in the world devoted entirely to this type of recycling.

“We are very pleased to have the opportunity to find concrete solutions in this important area, which fits perfectly with Chalmers’ work on technology for sustainable development,” says Krister Holmberg, Dean of the School of Chemical and Biological Engineering. “Recycling offers great potential both in terms of research and financially. Developing new industrially viable methods to recycle metals from catalytic converters and electronic scrap, for example, is of great concern. This is a major challenge, but absolutely necessary for society from an environmental and sustainability perspective.”

About recycling

Recycling converts waste into a resource that can be reused time and again in the ecocycle instead or incinerated or disposed in landfills. Recycling results in significant environmental benefits.

About the Stena Metall Group

Stena Metall is the leading recycling company in the Nordic region. With sophisticated processes and logistics solutions, Group companies are able to process ferrous and non-ferrous metals, recovered paper, plastics, WEEE, hazardous waste and other production waste. Operations span more than 230 locations in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Poland, Germany, Austria and Russia.

www.stenametall.com

About Chalmers

Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden is strongly rooted in the natural sciences. Many research projects are at the cutting edge of international research. The goal is to actively contribute to sustainable development nationally and internationally. Chalmers has a reputation for entrepreneurship and closely cooperates with industry and the rest of society.
www.chalmers.se

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