Rockflow

Climate adaptation in the urban

environment. Using 100% circular
stone wool solutions.
Our climate The climate is changing. The earth’s temperature is rising. Climate
change affects the quality of life in towns and cities. The effects of
climate change in the urban environment are obvious:

is changing 1 2 3

We can see
and feel it all
around us
Too much water Too little water Heat stress
Heavy downpours cause Long periods of drought Lack of vegetation and
local flooding and drainage mean urban greenery does shadow in cities causes heat
problems. not get enough water and islands with extremely high
wilts. temperatures.

60% x10
Increase in number of days with
extreme rainfall since the 1960s.
Due to climate change, the
risk of 70 mm of rain falling
within 60 minutes has increased
by a factor of 10.
(rainfall statistics STOWA KNMI)
 European regulations to combat the
effects of climate change
Climate adaptation
Climate change and its consequences make
urban climate adaptation essential to keep
our towns and cities liveable for the future.
in the urban
European regulations provide a framework
for modernisation of how cities deal with
rainwater. On the one hand we have the
challenge of processing large quantities
environment
of rainwater during heavy downpours. On
the other hand, water must be retained in
dry periods. The most significant European
regulations for combatting climate change in
urban areas are:
Water Framework Directive
Aims to safeguard the quality of groundwater
and surface water. National and local
authorities must limit and prevent pollution at
source.
Floods Directive
These procedures imposed on provinces and
local authorities are intended to prevent and
limit the negative consequences of flooding.
In addition, it stimulates measures for
retention of water.
Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive
Has the aim of reducing pollution due to
discharge of waste water. Government bodies
must maintain sewage systems and manage
rainwater runoff.
Climate change problems. Local solutions
To combat the effects of climate change at
local level, local situations are assessed and
modifications made where necessary.
In urban areas it is becoming more common
to install sustainable solutions for capture,
retention and infiltration of rainwater.
The high levels of hard surfacing present one
of the challenges in the urban environment.
Adding more greenspaces helps to counter
the effects of climate change in urban areas.
In places where vital functions such as living
and transport have to be maintained, local
capture and infiltration of rainwater is being
chosen more frequently, as opposed to
transporting rainwater in pipes for discharge
to surface water.
Capturing rainwater locally and allowing it to
infiltrate reduces the risk of flooding during
heavy showers and restores the natural water
balance.
 Climate adaptation
using stone wool
Rockflow builds towards urban climate
adaptation, making use of ingenious solutions
made of 100% circular stone wool.
Our underground system offers solutions for
collection, storage and infiltration of rainwater
in the same place it fell, leaving the space
aboveground available to be used for functions
such as urban infrastructure. The rainwater
is rapidly captured underground, preventing
possible flooding. Depending on the situation,
the water then infiltrates into the groundwater,
can be used for urban greenspaces or is
diverted to the existing sewer system with a
delay.

Rockflow for rainwater

infiltration
Heavy rainfall puts pressure on the existing sewer pipe infrastructure.
There is also a desire to infiltrate rainwater where it falls.

Rockflow creates a circular infrastructure of stone wool infiltration buffers

for capture and infiltration of rainwater into the soil.

This retains the natural water balance, there is less local flooding during
extreme downpours, it meets European regulations, as well as being a
sustainable investment in climate adaptation.
 This is how Rockflow works
High drainage and buffer capacity
Rockflow can absorb up to 95% of its own volume in
water. This provides sufficient capacity in areas where
space is limited. This also makes Rockflow ideal for places
with a high groundwater level.

High load-bearing capacity

An infiltration system under the ground needs to be
strong and capable of carrying loads, particularly in busy
cities with heavy daily traffic. The strong structure of
stone fibres provides high load-bearing capacity. This
makes Rockflow ideal for use under roads, public squares,
buildings and parks. 1 Modular Rockflow stone wool elements are in-
stalled below ground level.
2 A system of pipes rapidly transports the rainwater
to the Rockflow unit of stone wool elements.

Maximum flexibility
Underneath the ground there is a chaotic tangle of
cables, pipes and other obstacles to avoid when installing
rainwater solutions. The shape of the buffer and the
individual elements can easily be adapted without
reducing the system’s functionality or capacity.

3 When it rains, the water flows through the drains to

the lower part of the stone wool element.
4 The empty spaces between the stone wool fibres
then completely fill with water. The Rockflow ele-
ments can absorb up to 95% of their own volume in
Fully circular water.
Rockflow’s stone wool elements are largely composed
of recycled materials added to an inexhaustible natural
resource: basalt rock.
ROCKWOOL produces stone wool sustainably and
Rockflow is fully recyclable.

Capture, retention, infiltration and reuse of rainwater

The material properties of Rockflow stone wool make it a
versatile product with a wide range of applications.
5 As the Rockflow element is being filled with water
from below, the air is expelled from the top via air
6 The system can be designed to make full capacity
available again within 24 hours, either by infiltra-
ventilation channels, enabling the buffer to fill tion, overflow to the sewer or a combination of both.
rapidly enough.
Solutions using Rockflow
1 Line infiltration
For line infiltration, a system of Rockflow
stone wool elements are placed in parallel
underneath or next to a road. The infiltration
line captures rainwater from the street, the
pavement and the surrounding plots. In the
majority of situations, line infiltration replaces
the rainwater sewer. Waste water from toilets,
washing machines and showers is transported
for water treatment through a second adjacent
pipe.
2 Central buffer
In some cases, the existing system is inadequate to cope
with large volumes of rainwater. This may be due to housing
development, if several systems intersect or if rainwater
storage requirements cannot be met with the existing
solution. These are all examples of situations where the
installation of a central buffer is the perfect solution. Using a
central buffer, the water is drained from the surrounding area
towards a central place. This is often a car park, square or
park. The rainwater from the surrounding area is captured at
this central place and infiltrates either into the groundwater
or is gradually discharged into the sewer system.
4 Urban greenspaces
There is no need to waste rainwater. In addition
to the possibility of infiltration into the ground,
rainwater can be reused for urban greenspaces.
In this case, the water retained by the Rockflow
system is used to supply plants and trees with
their water needs, enabling urban greenery to
obtain sufficient water, even in dry spells. This
is how we contribute to a sustainable solution
both for capturing rainwater and preventing
local flooding.
3 Swales
Rockflow increases the buffering capacity of
swales. Capturing rainwater in urban areas is
important. A sustainable and green method
of doing this is to install a swale. As well as
being a sensible way of capturing water, it
also increases the green character of an area.
If there is limited space, as is often the case
in urban areas, swales may often need to be
relatively deep to meet high rainwater storage
requirements. This can create unsafe situations
and make maintenance difficult. Rockflow stone
wool elements can be used to make swales
shallower, without reducing capacity or the
5 Sport
green appearance of the area.
On sunny days, artificial grass sports fields can
become extremely hot. By installing Rockflow
stone wool underneath artificial grass, the
pitch and its surroundings can be cooled by
evaporating water. Far less watering is required
to keep pitches functional, even during hot
weather.
Current projects
Rockflow is providing the solution to climate adaptation in an increasing
number of places. Nevertheless, every project is unique and we collaborate
with the parties concerned to design a tailor-made solution.
Rockflow means tailor-made
solutions
Smart water management using
Rockflow is always a tailor-made
solution. In its simplest form, it
consists of stone wool elements that
are buried and covered over, allowing
the water that has been buffered to
infiltrate gradually into the soil.
In more complex situations, for
instance in heavily built-up areas,
or underneath roads or industrial
estates, the design, calculation
and sizing of the system is done in
collaboration with an engineering
firm. In this case, the stone wool
elements are connected to a carefully
designed system of pipes and drains.
Eindhoven
The city is heavily compacted. It is covered with increasing
amounts of hard surfacing and the number of inhabitants,
businesses and sewer connections is rapidly increasing. Due to
the changing climate, heavy downpours mean the sewer system is
able to drain less effectively - resulting in local flooding.
Advantages of Rockflow for this project: Sweden
■ Suitable for the many underground obstacles Denmark
■ Ideal for applications in narrow streets
United Kingdom The Netherlands
Belgium Germany
■ Water stays where it fell
France
Italy
Read the whole case on: rockwool.com/rockflow-eindhoven-en
China
Amsterdam Dubai
The ‘Amsterdam Rainproof’ platform has the goal of increasing the
resilience of Amsterdam to more frequent heavy rainfall.
Challenges of this project:
■ Rainwater cannot soak into the ground
■ Limited space
■ No time for intensive maintenance
Read the whole case on: rockwool.com/rockflow-amsterdam-en
Australia
Rockflow
Hedemora, Sweden
Increased building and hard surfacing resulting in an overloaded
rainwater system.
solutions are
Challenges facing this project: being used in
more and more
■ Heavy traffic on the route through the city
■ Collection point for water from the upstream area
■ Overloaded sewer system
places.
Read the whole case on: rockwool.com/rockflow-hedemora-en
Fully circular,
naturally
Circularity is the norm in the natural world. All living beings live,
die and return to life - sometimes in a new form - in a never-
ending circle. Our products are made of stone, meaning they
are naturally circular. At the end of their life cycle, we take our
products back and use them as a raw material for new Rockwool
stone wool products. The current Rockflow stone wool elements
consist largely of recycled materials from the building industry and
industrial waste flows.

ROCKWOOL has had a stone wool recycling factory since 1992.

This is where used stone wool elements and other building
industry waste flows are processed to become the raw material
for new stone wool products. Half of the raw materials used in
Rockflow’s stone wool elements are recycled materials. The other
half is made from a naturally occurring materials in the earth:
basalt. In nature, stone wool is often found close to volcanoes
where the melted rocks (basalt) are thrown about during an
eruption and then deposited in a thin fibrous structure. We imitate
this process for the production of Rockflow, using recycled basalt
rock as one of the raw materials. This is an inexhaustible resource
as the earth more than replaces stocks every year.

Rockcycle
ROCKWOOL strives for a fully circular economy.
ROCKCYCLE
®

ROCKWOOL fulfils the UN’s Sustainable Development

Goal 12 with its Rockcycle programme.

‘Waste no more’
ROCKWOOL’s Rockcycle programme provides
professional support in 14 places for collection and
processing of stone wool waste. In 2020 we processed
a total of 163,000 tonnes of stone wool to make new,
sustainable products.
 of the world’s
population
will need
17%
more water
by 50% in 2050

population will live

in cities

more food

To address our global challenges, the UN has defined

5 In addition to energy, to live 6 and building 7 and waste:
comfortably we need to More17
thansustainable development goals:
safety:
consider noise pollution Buildings in EU
As part of the ROCKWOOL Group, we make an active account for

contribution to achieving 10 of the 17 goals. As a group, we are

doing sleep
of Europeans' our utmost to meet theseofsustainable goals
Europeans who lose their for 2030.
is currently disturbed lives in fires die from the impacts of
smoke and toxic gases

To address these challenges

the UN has identified
17 Sustainable Development
Goals: The ROCKW
contribute

9 of
We are committed to these goals by 2030: Additionally we contribute t
We are proud that S&P Global Trucost has once again classified
Health, Safety and Wellbeing:our products
Water Energy and CO2 savings
as Management:
SDG positive. This means that they have a positive
Driving a zero accident culture Reduce water consumption in factories ROCKWOOL products save
impact on the achievement of the UN’s sustainable development
(m3/t Wool)
goals. Sustainability is at the heart of our company andCO
80-1,500
weemissions
aim for
times

10% reduction in LTI

0 fatalities 2
throughout their

Sustainability
per year aperfact-based
year lifespan
and verifiable approach, maximising the sustainability
of our products and minimising
20% the impact of our activities.”
10% by 2030 Durability and consistent
by 2022
CO2 Emissions and Energy: lifetime performance
Reduce CO2 from factories Thermal resistance, dimension
(t CO2/t Wool) and form stability
Circular Economy:
Sustainability is an integral part of our business strategy.
ROCKWOOL contributes to tackling climate challenges,
10% 20%
by 2022 by 2030
Increase the number of countries where
we offer reclaiming of products from
the market
Fire resilience
Non-combustible and
creating new opportunities to enrich modern life and to making
30
withstands temperatures

safe, healthy and climate-proof cities. Improve energy efficiency in own

(non-renovated) building stock kWh/m2
15
countries by 2022 countries by 2030
of at least
1,000°C
Health, safety and wellbeing
Reduce landfill waste Noise reduction achieved
ROCKWOOL has signed the Science Based Targets initiative from ROCKWOOL insulation and
(SBTi) and committed itself to an ambitious, monitored and ROCKFON ceilings improves
35% 75% 40% 85% V sleep, learning
approved plan. Savings Savings by 2022 by 2030 and work efficiency
by 2022 by 2030

Core elements of this plan are:

■ A 38% reduction of the absolute emissions from our factories

by 2034 (compared to 2019)

■ A 20% reduction of all remaining greenhouse gas emissions

by 2034 (compared to 2019) We release the natural power of stone to enrich mod
In 2020, ROCKWOOL achieved two of its six interim
sustainability targets, two years earlier than planned. These two
targets are a 40% reduction of production waste being sent to
landfill - ROCKWOOL achieved 50% - and a 10% improvement
in water efficiency in its factories.
Case Study > Project in Groessen

Rainwater infiltration: The project in Groessen is a major undertaking. To

start with, the waste water sewer will be replaced,

the threefold challenge

then the Rockflow elements will be installed and
the rainwater drainage from the houses and the
street drains will be connected to the buffer. The

in Groessen
Rockflow system will be laid at the same level as the
cables and pipes. In places where these are ‘in the
way’, the Rockflow buffers will be interrupted and
connected to each other using pipes. This will create
How do you infiltrate rainwater with the threefold challenge of a high
a connection and allow it to function as a system.
groundwater level, torrential showers and extended dry periods?
Groessen is tackling these issues and finds a flexible, natural and
The Rockflow system provides a solution for
sustainable solution in Rockflow.
these major challenges

1. Too much water

The current situation
■ Groessen, close to Arnhem, is searching for a solution for rainwater
capture and infiltration.
■ Groessen’s groundwater level is high so that low-lying solutions would be
underwater for large portions of the year.
■ Existing underground cables and pipelines also have to be taken into
account. With a solution using a rainwater drainage system, existing
cables and pipes would have to be diverted or the pipe would have to be
laid deep underground, in the groundwater.
The solution: stone wool
The team in Groessen has found an infiltration
solution that meets all their specific needs: stone
wool. The existing rainwater drainage system will be
replaced by Rockflow line infiltration underneath the
road for a distance of 800 metres. Rainwater will be
effectively captured below the street by Rockflow. It
will be infiltrated into the ground in a natural way in
the same place it falls.
The Rockflow buffer is made of a naturally occurring
material: stone wool. This material can rapidly
absorb up to 95% of its own volume in water, then
gradually infiltrate it into the ground. Infiltration is
thus significantly different from the original solution
using pipes in which the water is transported away.
Project details
Rockflow causes less pressure on the sewer network
Project location Groessen
and contributes to restoring the natural water
Client Municipality of
balance.
Duiven
Partners NTP Infra, Zevenaar
Solution Line infiltration
2. Too little water
3. Heat stress
The result
The result of this project is in line with all the
challenges Groessen has to face:
A system above the high groundwater level
Groessen has a high groundwater level. In the rainy
period the groundwater level reaches to just below
the Rockflow system. Other forms of water retention
were limited or impossible.
One solution for all the different K values
There is strong variation in the K values, or the
infiltration values of the soil, varying from 0.4 metres
to 2.5 metres per day. Since Rockflow has a large
infiltration surface area, it can also infiltrate soil
areas in Groessen which have a relatively low K
value.
Large-scale, cheap water retention
Rockflow creates no less than 30 mm of water
storage. In the traditional set up, a large pipe would
be required to create this capacity. That would have
made the project many times more expensive.
Together with the contractors, the Rockflow team
ensures correct and rapid installation of the system.
This means that they give clear instructions
beforehand and that Rockflow shares its knowledge
and experience from previous projects. Before,
during and after the installation, the Rockflow
experts remain closely involved

Watch the video:

At the ROCKWOOL Group, we’re committed to enriching
the lives of everyone who experiences our solutions. Our
expertise is perfectly suited to tackle many of today’s
biggest sustainability and development challenges, from
energy consumption and noise pollution, to fire-resilience,
water scarcity and flooding. Our range of products reflect
the diverse needs of the world, while supporting our
stakeholders in reducing their own carbon footprint.

Stone wool is a versatile material and forms the basis of all

our businesses. With over 11,500 passionate colleagues in
39 countries, we’re the world leader in stone wool solutions,
from building insulation to acoustic ceilings; external
cladding systems to horticultural solutions; engineered fibres
for industrial use to insulation for the process industry –
as well as marine and offshore.

Rockflow is a registered trademark of ROCKWOOL

INTERNATIONAL A/S. © ROCKWOOL B.V. 2021.
All rights reserved.

Visiting address
Rockflow (ROCKWOOL B.V.)
Delfstoffenweg 2
6045 JH Roermond
The Netherlands

Postal address
Rockflow (ROCKWOOL B.V.)
P.O. Box 1160
6040 KD Roermond
The Netherlands

Tel: +31 4 75 35 35 55
Email: rockflow@rockwool.com
www.rockwool.com/rockflow