It is more precisely the initiative to valorize aqua-catalyzed hydrated lime (CHAC) for sustainable agricultural use which earned the Australian multinational an award. Rio Tinto has in fact collaborated in recent months with Viridis Environnement, a Montérégie company, with the aim of recycling this by-product from its operations in Saguenay, in order to avoid its costly landfill and its environmental impacts.
The project consisted of humidifying CHAC for use as a liming agent in agriculture, thus reducing the purchase of natural lime by farmers. Since the process came into operation, 6,556 tonnes of by-products have been hydrated and 5,170 tonnes of CHAC have already been recycled by Viridis Environnement with 13 farmers in the region.
Écotech Québec estimates that 50% of lime residue has been saved from landfill since the launch of the project. The technology designed by Viridis Environnement has enabled Rio Tinto to expand its product portfolio and penetrate a new market, namely agricultural recycling.
Beyond the environmental benefits that the project brought, a full-time job was also created at Éco-Luzerne, a Jeanne company involved in the lime hydration process. Moreover, the Éco-Lucerne plant which only operated four months per year during the alfalfa harvest, now operates 12 months per year, we could learn on the project summary page provided by Écotech Québec .
Did you know? CHAC is high in sulfur, an important trace element for protein synthesis and alfalfa yield, and producers using CHAC do not need to add sulfur to their alfalfa fertilization.
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