GAIKER Foundation / GAIKER Technological Centre services

We carry out the determination of molecules of interest (APIs, contaminants, metabolites…) using different techniques and equipment: Liquid chromatography coupled to various detectors (HPLC/PDA/MS-MS), PDA Photodiode Array, Fluorescence FL, Triple Quadrupole (MS-MS).

Waste analysis is a tool used to obtain useful information on the nature of a certain waste stream and optimise its management. However, a key aspect for the proper result of such analysis is the application of appropriate sampling procedures to ensure that representative samples of the waste under study are obtained in terms of composition and proportionality. GAIKER offers an advanced technological service for the sampling and characterisation of solid urban waste from municipal mass and selective collection (organic matter, light packaging, paper/cardboard, glass, bulky waste, others), waste assimilable to urban waste (catering, offices, commerce, etc.) or different fractions derived from industrial end-of-life treatment and recovery processes.

Grinding is a basic operation in any waste recycling and recovery process which, in addition to reducing the size of the waste so that it meets the requirements of subsequent treatment stages, promotes the release of different materials that remained united in the same particle or element. This also helps to improve the efficiency of the subsequent separation and concentration of materials of interest. Application of crushing and grinding operations in one or several successive stages until the ground material has a medium particle sizein accordance with customer requirements.

Analysis of the potential end-of-life alternatives for a certain product once it has been turned into waste. Taking into account physical characteristics, components, materials and substances, existing treatment possibilities for recovering recycled materials for the secondary raw materials market are assessed, along with alternatives for energy recovery and controlled landfill. Through the development of theoretical and practical work, potential recycling and recovery ratios are obtained. End-of-life product review and treatment of complex mixtures covers the following aspects: analysis of key product parameters from the point of view of recycling and recovery, assessment of existing treatment alternatives, characterisation of complex mixtures of materials, exploration of existing conditioning and mechanical separation technologies applied to complex mixtures, assessment of the quality of recovered materials and potential market options.

A key aspect to facilitate the reintroduction of recycled plastic on the market is to have a technical data sheet reflecting the main properties of the material obtained from standardised characterisation tests carried out under quality standards.