CAPABILITY OF AKURA MeeTC IN GENERAL

AKURA MeeTC, is providing consultancy on all aspects of industrial production and reuse of mining and industrial waste to create commodity in the new circular economy and eco-friendlyindustry. AKURA is capable of - Conducting research & development work for proof of concept at laboratory scale.
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- Conducting market search and market analysis considering regional, national and global market dynamics and business environment.
- Conducting feasibility analysis based on detailed technical, economic, cultural, political, environmental and market data.
- Designing and implementing pilot projects to supply accurate knowledge on economically feasible investment decision making for industrial realization works.

PROJ 1.1: MARBLE SECTOR AND MARKET ANALYSIS
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Identifying the Challenge & Requirements:
Having nearly 5 billion cubic meters of marble and holding 35 % of the World marble reserves, Turkey is the third country after China and India in the world in the natural stone production. Turkey’s yearly natural stone production is almost 6.5 million m3 of which 5.3 million m3 is marble. Turkey’s export revenue from marble is about 2 billion USD that is almost half of the export of mining commodities and products. The waste in marble quarrying is important for both environmental and economic aspects. The efforts for controlling and managing the waste aims at preventing environmental damage. Globally, the amount of wastes reaches around 50 million m3 (about 130 million tons) per year and will be rising with increasing marble production. Marble waste is also economical loss for the natural stone industry. The low efficient quarrying methods and the pressure of the market demand for larger and pure marble surfaces, force the marble sector to produce large size material while separating majority –about 80%- valuable side-product as waste.
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The Approach, Conducted Work:
This study, initially, analyzed the global and national marble production, marble trade, exports and market and predicted the future trends based on economical, statistical and sector level data. Then, the SWOT analysis of the national marble sector is outlined at regional and national level. Eventually, the opportunities and bottlenecks of the marble sector is identified to support business decisions.
The Output:
A report is prepared which figures out the sector, business, market and investment ecosystem as well as recommendations at company scale. The report gives a clear understanding of the marble sector from strategic and market perspectives.
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Partners, Alliance:
The project is conducted with the support of academicians from Ataturk University (ATAUNI) and Middle East Technical University (METU).  

PROJ 1.2: PCC(Precipitated Calcium Carbonate) SECTOR AND MARKET ANALYSIS

Identifying the Challenge & Requirements:
Marble waste is recognized as an economic, operational and environmental problem in marble sector since1990s. There are some efforts to reuse the marble waste in multiple applications such as in the construction, agriculture among others. Identifying the productive and profitable methods which considers environmental protection is the main challenge.

The Approach, Conducted Work:  
The current precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) production uses mined, crushed limestone (calcium carbonate) as raw materials. This study proposes a methodology running at laboratory level to produce Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC) from marble waste. This approach suggests adapting a waste-free production flow into the business process which improves circular economy. Among the identified methods, this study particularly handles PCC production from marble waste to reuse the marble waste by converting it into a valuable commodity in the world market. The findings of laboratory work are examined, evaluated and compared with custom industry applications.
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Output:
A report is prepared which figures out the sector, business, market and investment ecosystem as well as recommendations at company scale. As a result of this study, a preliminary cost analysis of investment and operation (CAPEX, OPEX) and, comparison of the production costs by comparing the regional markets such as EU are given in this report.
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Partners, Alliance:
The project is conducted with the support of academicians from Ataturk University (ATAUNI) and Middle East Technical University (METU).   

PROJ 1.3: ALUMINIUM SECTOR ANALYSIS, AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FOR REUSE OF SECONDARY ALUMINIUM SMELTING DROSS WASTE
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Identifying the Challenge & Requirements:
The recycling process of the waste of primary and also secondary aluminium production are environmentally harmful. The waste management for metal industry has strict rules.

The Approach, Conducted Work:  
In this study, non-metallic residue (NMR) of aluminium white dross(AWD) and limestone are calcined in a rotary furnace in order to produce calcium aluminate (CA). White dross (AWD) is waste from primary aluminium production and laboratory scale experiments are done regarding to pyrometallurgical beneficiation of white dross in order to be consumed in iron and steel industry as synthetic slag. The formation ofnitrogen-induced reactions during storage and direct use of NMR of AWD released in Efe Alüminyum restricts the usage. Experimental studies on laboratory and pilot scale have been provided to overcome these problems and it has been shown that it is possible to produce required quality CA from this raw material for the market.
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Output:
A report is prepared which figures out the sector, business, market and investment ecosystem as well as recommendations at company scale. As a result of this study, the analysis of investment and operation (CAPEX, OPEX) are given which states the necessary quality CA measures are being satisfied required by the market.
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Partners, Alliance:
The project is conducted with the support of academicians from Istanbul Technical University (ITU).  

PROJ 1.4: TRAVERTINE SECTOR AND REUSE OPPORTUNITIES OF WASTE

Identifying the Challenge & Requirements:
In the last decade, Turkey’s yearly natural stone production reached almost 6.5million m3 of which 1.2 million m3 is travertine. Turkey’s export revenue from marble is about 0.5 billion USD with a growth rate of 16% (CAGR). Half of the extracted travertine blocks are directly exported to the countries having stone processing industry such as China and India. The export destinations of processed travertine products which is almost 60% of the capacity, are EU, North America and Middle East countries. The productivity at excavation is around 20-25% whereas in the processing, the efficiency is 65-70%. The overall productivity through the travertine value chain is 14-19%. The waste is stored in the field near the mine sites. There are very seldom efforts to use or reuse the travertine waste.

The Approach, Conducted Work:
Within this study, possible application fields and opportunities for the use of travertine waste are identified. The application fields comprise agriculture, urban infrastructure work, street furnishing, art among others. One of the most economically valuable use of natural stone waste is in agriculture where the natural stone could be a secondary product to be used instead of agro-lime. The research group had already conducted a research on increasing the yield productivity of nuts trees in the northeastern Turkey where rains showers the soil throughout the year.
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Output:
A report is prepared which figures out the sector, business, market and opportunities for the use cases of travertine waste. The report gives a clear understanding of the travertine sector from strategic and market perspectives.
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Partners, Alliance:
The project is conducted with the support of academicians from Ataturk University (ATAUNI) and Middle East Technical University (METU).  

PROJ 1.5: SEMI-VALUABLE STONE AND OLTU TASI SECTOR AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

Identifying the Challenge & Requirements:
Oltu Taşı (black amber, jetstone, gagat)  has an important place in the economy of Erzurum with various aspects such as stone extraction, stone processing, handcraft ateliers as well as sales and commerce. The small semi-valuable stone sector formed around Oltu Taşı comprising small processing ateliers, shops and activities at small home, make it the main attraction point of the economy at the sub-district Oltu.
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The Approach, Conducted Work:
In this project, firstly, the sector is analyzed, secondly, technology developed to produce a new product from the waste. Initially, The progress in Oltu Taşı processing to create diverse product set including jewelry, worry beads and other type of souvenirs, is identified. The established conventional trade methods and varying new commerce channels are determined in the sector. Then, the waste cleaning and reconstruction technology is designed, developed for a pilot application. Eventually, two new types of products are created by using the Oltu Taşı waste. Eventually, the reconstructed waste products are compared with pure material and the jewelry produced from pure Oltu Taşı. Besides, an industrial production plant designed to be realized which is planned to produce high value final or semi-final jewelry products.
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Output:
A report is prepared which figures out the sector, business, market and opportunities for Oltu Taşı. The report gives the methodology of creating the newly developed products to implement it at industry scale.
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Partners, Alliance:
The project is conducted with the support of academicians from Ataturk University (ATAUNI) and Middle East Technical University (METU).