The Challenge: The government of a marble producing country wanted help generating value from the enormous quantities of marble waste produced by their marble industry – a challenge facing the marble industry globally
Our Approach: We first outlined the many potential uses of this waste calcium carbonate material, by reviewing literature and case studies from world global industry leaders. It was clear that whilst theoretical uses were plentiful, there were few examples of successful applications at scale. Interviews with a range of global stakeholders quickly helped identify lessons from previous success and failures. Financial viability of applications in the context of local markets was critical. These insights helped rapidly filtering a wide range of options to those most likely to succeed in the market place.
The Outcome: Several applications were prioritised for development and commercialisation with business plans submitted for investment. One significant value added application involved a low cost ceramic process to transform waste into high performance artificial marble tiles. Another included conversion into value added mortars for the countries growing construction sector. Identification of technology partners enabled opportunities to move forward quickly.