SludgeX; A Research Initiative to Overcome a Sustainability Challenge in Bearing Industry

We’re excited to share that SludgeX has officially joined the portfolio of THExOR’s research initiatives. This isn’t just another project — it’s a bold step toward closing the loop in heavy manufacturing.

What is SludgeX?

In bearing production, grinding sludge—especially from 100Cr6 steel—is often treated as hazardous waste. SludgeX challenges that view. The project recovers, reuses, and reduces this sludge, transforming it into secondary raw material. That reclaimed material can feed back into steelmaking, construction, or even additive manufacturing.

By combining advanced recovery methods and briquetting techniques, SludgeX lowers emissions, cuts waste‐management costs, and supports a circular manufacturing model.

Why it matters for THExOR

This research aligns perfectly with THExOR’s mission: to blend scientific rigor with tangible industrial impact. SludgeX is rooted in deep experimentation, partnerships with industry, and an eye toward scalability.

Also, it tightens the link between waste, resource efficiency, and sustainable engineering—topics we already explore in our group. It gives us a real-world testbed to validate models, methods, and new materials in collaboration with industrial partners.

Who’s behind it

SludgeX grew out of a PhD project involving Politecnico di Torino, SKF, Tsubaki Nakashima (TN), and additional academic and industrial collaborators.

The project’s ecosystem includes:

• 5 university professors guiding different subfields.

• 1 PhD , 7 master’s students, and multiple laboratories.

• Industrial partners who ensure that lab work connects to real constraints and markets.
  

What comes next

Over the coming months, we’ll publish results, prototypes, and metrics. You’ll see:

• Mass balances and material recovery rates

• Performance of reclaimed sludge in downstream applications

• Lifecycle and economic assessments

• Insights into scaling the process industrially
  

Stay tuned. We’ll post updates here, in our News section, and through SludgeX’s dedicated site. Together, we’re pushing the boundary of sustainable manufacturing.