Through the QuantiROCK project, ITC is innovating in materials characterisation

Castellón, 26 July 2019: As is well known, European industrial sectors are evolving towards the implementation of strategy 4.0, which requires having an integrated system of resources, materials, raw materials, etc., This in turn leads to the need for an increased striving to recycle materials that could, for example, serve as raw materials for other sectors or the use of by-products or more sustainable raw materials. ITC is thus conducting the QuantiROCK project: Strategy for mineral speciation and quantification by advanced spectroscopic techniques, a study supported by the Valencian Institute for Business Competitiveness (IVACE) through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Raw materials must meet a growing number of technical specifications and administrative regulations, depending on the sector where the materials are going to be used. This entails a series of analytical challenges that, though partly solved according to ITC, still have a long way to go. ITC is therefore addressing the challenge of carrying out the QuantiROCK project in response to the needs of the ceramic sector and other subsidiary sectors, the main aim being to define new product quantification and specification strategies, in addition to creating specific procedures for thorough control and characterisation of rocks and materials, whether of a wholly or partly clayey nature. Some of the tasks being conducted in the QuantiROCK project also relate to occupational health, as they focus, for example, on detecting and quantifying certain types of minerals, such as asbestos or silica in their crystalline forms, which could lead to occupational diseases. QuantiROCK thus seeks to generate a series of protocols that specify and quantify a wide range of clayey, non-clayey, amorphous, and siliceous materials, some of which might be harmful to human health. From now till 2021, the QuantiROCK project will consequently be generating a series of innovative tools for characterising materials. These tools will moreover become public and thus be available for all businesses that need to use these types of services or work strategies to control their products. In the frame of the QuantiROCK project, ITC is championing the harmonisation and standardisation of analytical methods as an invaluable tool towards the competitiveness and sustainability of industry, not only in the Castellon ceramic sector, but in all the production sectors in the Valencia Region.