Arbeitspapiere der BAM
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- Environmental pollution (2) (entfernen)
Contaminated land, landfills and sediments pose a serious environmental threat by polluting groundwater in the surrounding area. In 14 European countries contamination caused by uranium represents a particularly serious danger where drinking water resources might be affected. Other heavy metals and organic pollutants can also have a strongly deleterious effect on groundwater. Available technologies (e.g. pump- and-treat) fall short of solving the problem because their performance is not yet adequate for effective remediation. The aim of the project is to elaborate the scientific basis for laboratory and pilot-scale testing of and the practical application of a considerably more efficient and cost-effective in-situ reactive barrier technology targeting the above contaminants. The primary model test site will be an area in Southern Hungary contaminated by uranium mining- thus including a region which is due to become part of the European Union.
The approach taken to meet the project objectives was the characterisation of different reactive materials and relevant attenuation processes in the reactive matrix of the permeable barrier with special respect to their long-term behaviour. The experimental work included laboratory experiments at different scales, going from bench-scale tests up to pilot-scale, and field-scale experiments. Experimental conditions were predetermined by the characteristics of the model site, such as geologic and hydrogeological settings, soil composition, and type, extent and spreading of the contamination. Technological methods to enhance the long-term efficacy and cost-effectiveness of permeable reactive barrier systems were developed and tested under realistic conditions.
The SUSAN-project aimed at developing a sustainable and safe strategy for nutrient recovery from sewage sludges using thermal treatment. Mono-incineration of the sludges completely destructs the organic pollutants in a first step. The incineration residues are ashes with a high phosphorus content that still contain heavy metal compounds above the limits for agricultural use. Furthermore, phosphorus in the ashes exhibits low bioavailability - a disadvantage in farming. Therefore, in a second thermochemical step heavy metals are removed and phosphorus transferred into mineral phases available for plants. The principle of the SUSAN-project is the separation of the small heavy metals fraction from the ashes to receive a phosphorus rich product suited as raw material for fertilisers that also contains SiO2, CaO, Al2O3, Fe2O3, MgO and K2O.
The thermochemical process is based on evaporation of volatile heavy metal chlorides at 850 - 1000 °C. The sewage sludge ashes are mixed with chlorine donors such as MgCl2 or KCl, grained and treated in a thermal aggregate e.g. a rotary furnace. At the same time a transfer of non soluble P-compounds into Mineral phases available for plants takes place.
Besides technological development of the thermochemical process, the products fertilisation performance, the product design, the market for the products and the sustainability of the whole process chain are emphasised in the SUSAN-project.