Thorcem Srl was incorporated on September 10th, 2008 as a joint venture between Buzzi Unicem SpA (50%) and Assing SpA (50%). The new company’s purpose is to develop the THOR (Total HOusewaste Recycling) system for industrial application to Italian and foreign cement plants.
The innovation on which the partners are working consists of rendering Urban Solid Wastes (RSU) into a new industrial fuel available to the industry, as well as getting it legislatively approved. RSU in fact contain a great deal of energy, with the potential to meet approximately 10% of the Italian power demand, however today it remains largely unused.
About 5 years ago the CNR (National Research Council) began a program to develop a system that allows the recovery and the refinement of all house wastes and their transformation into a fuel with high calorific value, while bypassing the waste sorting chain. The project deals with a technology conceived and entirely developed in Italy, that is based on a process of mechanical refinement of the waste material. The development of an industrial version of the pulverizer mill was made possible thanks to the commitment of Assing, a company working in connection with the CNR. The THOR equipment has the advantage of working at ambient temperatures, therefore avoiding emissions problems. The grinding of the wastes takes place through friction with high pressure: the result of the process is a very fine dust (20-40 microns), with effects of delamination and crystalline and molecular restructuring; with this method there is a complete change of the waste material's structure and a partial change of its nature. The result of the entire process is a homogeneous blend, with its harmful properties neutralized, that is usable as fuel and comparable to a coal of good quality.
Thorcem aims therefore at achieving an important social goal, the disposal of the urban waste, together with a significant industrial goal, the substitution of coal with a new fuel.