Tarkett is a global leader in innovative flooring and sports surface solutions offering a range of products including vinyl, linoleum, carpet, rubber, wood, laminate, synthetic turf and athletic tracks. It is working with the Swedish environmental company Ragn-Sells to develop carbon negative mineral fillers for vinyl flooring by 2025.

Over the last 50 years, Estonia has incinerated oil shale rock to produce energy. This process has produced more than 600 million tons of oil shale ash, with a heavy impact on the environment. Ragn-Sells has developed a patented solution transforming this ash into useful mineral fillers using carbon capture technology. A carbon negative precipitated calcium carbonate is produced using carbon dioxide capture technology, meaning that the product consumes more carbon dioxide than it emits. Tarkett uses several hundred thousand tons of mineral fillers, most of them calcium carbonate, to produce vinyl flooring solutions every year.

Ragn-Sells’ production process is climate neutral and has positive outputs:

• Process with minimal emissions, operating within a closed loop system: the ash hills and the production plant will be located in close proximity to each other, minimising emissions from transportation.
• Re-use of water: water circulates in a closed zero liquid discharge system and is used over and over again.
• Residues: the production of ultra-pure calcium carbonate will result in residues that are rich in silicones and magnesium that can be used in other applications.