REACH Regulation
The ZERO BRINE project aims to facilitate the implementation of the Circular Economy package and the SPIRE Roadmap in various process industries by developing the necessary concepts, technological solutions and business models to redesign the value and supply chains of minerals (including magnesium) and water, while dealing with present organic compounds in a way that allows their subsequent recovery.
The legislation framework for the recovery of different minerals and their exploitation in the industry is considered necessary for an entity that performs a recovery process and also for an end-user of the recovered substances.
Framework for recovered substances (under REACH Regulation)
REACH refers to the recovered substances and points out the following in the Guidance on waste and recovered substances (ECHA, 2010):
“As soon as a material ‘ceases to be waste’, REACH requirements apply in principle in the same way as to any other material, with a number of exceptions granted conditionally. The point at which waste ‘ceases to be waste’ has been the subject of long debates. According to Article 6 (1) and (2) of the new Waste Framework Directive, certain specified waste shall cease to be waste when it has undergone a recovery operation and complies with specific criteria to be developed in line with certain legal conditions, in particular:
(a) the substance or object is commonly used for specific purposes;
(b) a market or demand exists for such a substance or object;
(c) the substance or object fulfils the technical requirements for the specific purposes and meets the existing legislation and standards applicable to products; and
(d) the use of the substance or object will not lead to overall adverse environmental or human health impacts.”
For more information you can visit:
ECHA
Guidance on waste and recovered substances
EC
REGULATION (EC) No 1907/2006 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), establishing a European Chemicals Agency, amending Directive 1999/45/EC and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/94 as well as Council Directive 76/769/EEC and Commission Directives 91/155/EEC, 93/67/EEC, 93/105/EC and 2000/21/EC
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32006R1907&from=EN
Framework for all substances (under REACH Regulation)
Each chemical substance used in industries has certain technical specifications according to its use taking into consideration the recipe of the process, environmental parameters etc.
Under REACH (EC1907/2006)[1] regulation, “each manufacturer and importer of a substance is obliged to provide a brief general description of the identified uses in his registration dossier. A use in this context means any utilisation of a substance as such or in a mixture. Article 3(24) of the REACH legal text includes a definition of use: “ use: means any processing, formulation, consumption, storage, keeping, treatment, filling into containers, transfer from one container to another, mixing, production of an article or any other utilisation”. This includes for example: formulation of mixtures, or production of an article”.
REACH uses seven descriptors to describe identified uses (see table below).
Use descriptor category-related key elements according to REACH
|
Use descriptor category |
Related key element(s) |
|
Life cycle stage (LCS) |
Life cycle stage |
|
Sector of use (SU) |
Market description (sector of economy where the use takes place) |
|
Product category (PC) |
Market description (type of product), Contributing activities (consumers) |
|
Product category (PROC) |
Contributing activities (workers) |
|
Environmental release category (ERC) |
Contributing activities (environment) |
|
Article category (AC) |
Market description (type of article), Contributing activities (service life) |
|
Technical function (TF) |
Technical function of the substance |
For more information you can visit:
ECHA
Guidance on Information Requirements and Chemical Safety Assessment, Chapter R.12: Use description
https://echa.europa.eu/documents/10162/13632/information_requirements_r12_en.pdf