Nordic Bulk has delivered a new, fully automated washing plant to Ribe Betong AS and their resource park in Kristiansand. Equipped with advanced process technology from WIMA, the facility enables the recovery and reuse of valuable aggregate materials from concrete production while streamlining material handling and improving resource efficiency.
The plant will process returned materials from several of Ribe Betong’s concrete batching plants in the region, contributing to increased material recycling and resource recovery across the company’s operations.
The Challenge
After a concrete truck has delivered ready-mix concrete to a construction project, a small amount of concrete usually remains in the mixer drum. To prevent these residues from hardening, the trucks are washed out with water after each delivery. This process generates a slurry consisting of sand, aggregates, cement residues, and water.
Traditionally, these materials are collected for further handling and disposal. However, they also contain valuable raw materials that can be recovered and reused. Ribe Betong therefore sought a solution that would preserve these resources and make them available for future use.
The objective was to reduce material waste, improve the utilization of raw materials, and establish a more efficient and automated process for handling and recycling returned concrete materials.
The solution
Nordic Bulk delivered a complete, fully automated washing plant featuring process equipment from WIMA. The facility is designed with a capacity of up to 40 tonnes per hour and is engineered to recover reusable aggregates from returned concrete materials.
After the returned concrete material has been washed out of the trucks and collected, it is transported by wheel loader to the plant’s receiving hopper. From there, it is conveyed through a screw washer and onwards to a WIMA wash screen.
Inside the wash screen, the material is cleaned and separated into the fractions 0–2 mm, 2–4 mm, and 6–22 mm. The washed fractions are then transported on separate conveyors to dedicated storage areas, ready for reuse.
Fine particles are directed to a WIMA Desanding Unit, where reusable sand is recovered as a finished product. The remaining slurry is transferred to an existing sludge tank before being pumped to a filter press. Here, the sludge is dewatered and discharged as filter cakes, ensuring efficient handling of the remaining residual materials.
The Result
With the new washing plant, Ribe Betong has implemented a modern solution that enables the recovery and reuse of valuable aggregate materials at their resource park. The facility supports better utilization of raw materials, reduced material waste, and a more circular production process.
The automated system also provides greater process control and ensures efficient material handling from intake to finished product. The result is a more resource-efficient operation, where valuable sand and aggregate fractions can be recovered and reintroduced into the production process.
The resource park receives and processes returned materials from several of Ribe Betong’s concrete batching plants across the region. By centralizing the treatment process at a single location, larger material volumes can be recycled efficiently, strengthening both resource utilization and operational economics.
