The 2018 Veolia Sarpi Trophy was awarded on June 8 to Jacques Poirier, Professor at the University of Orléans. It recognises research carried out in the field of innovative refractory ceramics used for the incineration of industrial waste, in collaboration with the Veolia Group, the Saint-Étienne-based SME Bony, and Mines Saint-Étienne, as part of Adrian Villalba’s PhD thesis.
This award fittingly recognises the scientific collaboration established with Véolia SARPI for several years as part of Adrian Villalba’s CIFRE PhD thesis, defended in 2017 (SMS Centre), together with the company Bony SA in Saint-Étienne, a manufacturer of refractory products.
This research and the work of Adrian Villalba (*) led to the publication of four articles, the filing of two patents, the presentation of three international conference papers, and two scientific awards, including the Gustav Eirich Award in November 2017 (photo).
Presentation of the award to Jacques Poirier, coordinator of the “Refractory Materials” theme at CEMHTI UPR3079 CNRS in Orléans, by Mr Cédric L’Elchat, Chief Executive Officer of Véolia Sarpi, in the presence of all 400 managers of the Group
This work made it possible to:
– For Veolia, increase the service life of the refractory linings used in incinerators (from 15 to 21 months, with a target of 36 months).
– For Bony, produce 800 tonnes of refractories per year, increase its turnover, expand into an international market (China, Singapore), and recruit three people, including Adrian.
– For Mines Saint-Étienne, confirm the excellence of its research with an industrial focus.
(*) His CIFRE PhD thesis was co-supervised by Dominique Gœuriot, Professor at the SMS Centre, and J. Poirier, Professor at the University of Orléans, the leading French specialist in refractory materials.
The Saint-Étienne-based SME BONY SA had chosen our School to intensify its R&D and thereby target a new market linked to sustainable development concerns: the incineration of industrial waste.
