From black sand back to white

Green sand is expensive to buy and costly to dump. Rhino’s reclamation range recovers silica sand from used moulds and puts it back into the mould and the core.

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Sand reclamation plant with silos and conveyors inside a foundry

plants built, 9 for customers and 2 Rhino demonstration plants

75–85%

of sand recovered by mechanical S1

90%

replacement possible with thermal S4

0.65%

binder in cold box cores from 100% reclaimed sand

Rhino research puts the sand foundries dispose of in India at about 12 million tonnes a year. Cold box cores made from 100% reclaimed sand have run at 0.65% binder with an ADV below 3.

The range

Four ways to reclaim sand

Model	Method	Result
S1	Mechanical	75 to 85% of the sand recovered; models from 0.8 to 10 t/hr
S2 (S2C-Acidic, S2C-Basic)	Thermal, at 550 °C for chemically bonded and up to 750 °C for green sand. S2C-Acidic suits furan and phenolic binders; S2C-Basic suits alkaline binders, with research continuing	Uses 20 to 30% less gas
S3	Mechanical, thermal, then mechanical	80 to 85% recovered, for cold box, hot box and shell core sand; demonstrated in 2018
S4	Thermal after mechanical	Up to 90% of new sand replaced

The older CO₂ sand reclamation range (RSM-50, RSM-150C continuous and RG-200 dry attrition) continues to serve silicate and CO₂ foundries.

Proven in foundries

Reference plants

Reference plants include Aqua Sub (2015 and 2020), CRI Pump (2016), Brakes India and its group companies (Flometallics 2017–18, Dunes in Oman 2023 and Sholingur 2025, a repeat customer in India and Oman), Magna Electrocasting (2020) and PSG Sons (2022). See the full list.

Rhino holds a patent for CO₂ sand reclamation (2000) and has worked with FATA, Italy, on green and thermal reclamation since 2013.

Hands holding used black sand and reclaimed light sand — Used sand, left, and reclaimed sand, right.

Sand cores made from reclaimed sand — Cores made from reclaimed sand.

Pilot plant, Anand

A demonstration centre for foundry clusters

Rhino’s pilot plant at Anand is a demonstration centre for a common facility serving a cluster of foundries. It handles 1,000 kg an hour of green sand for moulding, 2,500 kg an hour of thermal regeneration and 2,000 kg an hour of green sand to core sand, on 540 m² of floor and 300 m² under cover with 350 HP installed. The first sand was reclaimed there on 20 December 2017, and pilots have run in three foundries.

Pilot results so far: about half the new sand bought, better surface finish with fewer rejections, and lower emissions. Rhino reports sand cost reductions of up to 70%. The next step is a cluster or common facility model.

Sustainable Development Goals