Some materials which are recycled by BEI are listed in Table 1. One of many successful recycling applications was implemented in 1981, when the identification of the risk of silicosis from the use of sand in sandblasting operations created a requirement for an alternate abrasive. After being used in blasting the fate of the spent slag-abrasive is generally in the landfill site. With rising landfill costs, an alternative disposal method for the spent abrasive was appealing to the blasting industry. With some physical processing and cleaning, the used slag-abrasive found another use in the cement industry at a competitive price.
All incoming material is subjected to stringent quality control measures.
The material is characterized from on-site and outside laboratories to determine mineral composition, size distribution, and other physical and environmental parameters. Many of the minerals that BEI supplies are derived from a blending of the various 'used' materials with some virgin makeup. From BEI's database of available 'used' materials a 'recipe' or mixture is determined. A computer algorithm optimizes the amount of recycled material utilized in the outgoing product. Material is reprocessed as per specifications.