A new resource recycling hub has been established in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, aimed at utilizing byproducts from the petrochemical, steel, and secondary battery industries as new industrial resources.
This facility is designed to support the recovery and materialization of waste generated in industrial settings, linking technology development, quality certification, and commercialization for local industries, which is expected to contribute to their transition toward carbon neutrality.
On October 27, the Gwangyang branch of the Korea Testing Laboratory (KTL) held its opening ceremony at the Ikshin Industrial Complex, marking the official launch of the resource recycling support system for industrial byproducts.
The ceremony was attended by over 100 participants, including Lee Gil-yong, Director of the Advanced Materials Bureau of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Integrated Special City, Gwangyang Deputy Mayor Lee Sang-yong, and KTL President Kim Sun-ki.
The Gwangyang branch was established through a project funded by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's 'Carbon Neutral Transition Resource Recycling Demonstration Support Center' initiative.
From 2022 to this year, a total investment of 24.7 billion won has been allocated, comprising 10 billion won from the national budget, 5 billion won from the Gwangju-Jeonnam Integrated Special City, 7.5 billion won from Gwangyang City, and 2.2 billion won from private capital.
The facility spans 9,917 square meters within the Ikshin Industrial Complex, with a total floor area of 2,490 square meters across two buildings.
Its core function is to technically verify the recyclability of byproducts generated from industrial processes and connect them to usable industrial materials and products.
Key demonstration targets include waste catalysts from petrochemical processes, steel slag from the steel industry, and black powder from secondary battery processes.
Waste catalysts may contain recoverable metal components, while steel slag and black powder also have potential for recycling as industrial raw materials, depending on their composition and processing methods.
The Gwangyang branch will extract and refine economically valuable substances from these byproducts and verify the materialization and reuse potential of the recovered resources.
To achieve this, the facility is equipped with specialized testing and demonstration equipment, including extraction and refining systems for valuable materials, performance evaluation equipment for remanufactured catalysts, and high-purity material analysis tools.
Additionally, it plans to utilize digital twin-based process simulation technology to assess technical feasibility and operational conditions before applying it to actual production processes.
Support for businesses will extend beyond simple testing and analysis. The focus will be on linking prototype production, performance evaluation, and quality certification to enhance the commercialization potential of developed resource recycling technologies.
Given that Gwangyang is a hub for the steel industry and that the eastern Jeolla region has a foundation for petrochemical and secondary battery-related industries, the facility is expected to aid in technology demonstration and the development of a resource recycling industry.
However, for resource recycling technologies to take root in actual industrial settings, it is essential to secure the quality and economic viability of recovered materials and to identify stable demand sources.
The future success of the Gwangyang branch will likely be assessed through the utilization records of businesses, technology commercialization, product certification, and commercialization cases.
Lee Gil-yong, Director of the Advanced Materials Bureau of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Integrated Special City, stated, "An important foundation has been established to utilize waste generated by petrochemical and steel companies as new industrial resources. We will actively support the Gwangyang branch in recycling process byproducts to benefit local businesses."
Meanwhile, the Korea Testing Laboratory is a specialized institution providing testing, evaluation, and certification services for products and industrial technologies. With the opening of the Gwangyang branch, businesses in the eastern Jeolla region will have a local hub for testing, analysis, and performance verification of resource recycling technologies.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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