The invention ensures economically efficient obtaining of construction material, which is be chemically neutral, inert and acceptable for the environment and human health, by using the soil, in which the concentration of water soluble compounds of heavy metals, in particular those on the basis of arsenic, cadmium, lead and zinc, essentially exceeds the values, which should be still acceptable for environment and/or not harmful for human health, so that the content of said contaminants in such obtained material should be below each pre-determined values.
F.32 International patent
COBISS.SI-ID: 2341991According to the invention there is provided a remediation device for water remediation that is connected to the outlet pipe of a small biological treatment plant and with a feedback loop is connected to the secondary water supply to consumers consisting of a nanoremediation unit, oxidation units, and ion exchange and filtration units. The process of water remediation is also envisaged, which leads to the purification of water to the quality of drinking water, the process comprising the steps of nanoremediation with nanoparticles of zero-valent iron nZVI, purification with oxidizing agents, ion exchange purification and filtration.
F.33 Slovenian patent
COBISS.SI-ID: 2386791Contamination of soils with toxic metals is a major problem worldwide and is the subject of extensive research. Toxic metals are a group of inorganic elements, of which lead, chromium, arsenic, zinc, cadmium, copper, mercury and nickel are most commonly found in contaminated sites. The type of pollutant is directly related to the activities that took place at the pollution site. The lecture addressed the most important aspects of this issue, including the basics of contamination and immobilization of the soil, and the most common approaches to remediation. In the main part of the lecture, examples of in-situ remediation of the polluted soil from ashes originating in the paper industry were presented. The topic of the last part of the lecture was the environmental aspects of rehabilitation, especially in the light of the effective long-term immobilization of toxic metals and the presentation of the life cycle of two scenarios for dealing with contaminated soil.
B.04 Guest lecture
COBISS.SI-ID: 2346343The Old Zincworks, located in the city of Celje, is one of the most contaminated sites in Slovenia. The area of 17 ha is covered by approx. 1.5 M m3 of contaminated soil, classified as hazardous waste due to the high measured concentrations of different PTE (As, Zn, Pb, Cd, Cu, Mo), as well as SO42- and tar. A remediation method was developed for the treatment of this contaminated soil, which has been validated in the real case treatment which was performed at the old zincworks area. An immobilization approach was used, where the bioavailable and mobile species of PTE are chemically and physically incorporated into a newly formed geotechnical composite. Different recycled materials were experimentally tested as possible immobilization additives, e.g. two ashes from coal combustion, ash from the incineration of paper mill residues (PA), red mud, and two ladle slags from steelmaking. Their immobilization capabilities and technical characteristics were evaluated and compared in the contaminated soil/additive composites. There were substantial differences between the composites made using different immobilization additives, especially with regard to compressive strength and water permeability, and affinity for chemical immobilization of different PTE. Due to the fact that its characteristics were the most optimal, paper ash was utilized for the final application. This is because, at the maximum degree of compaction of the soil/PA composite, pozzolanic-hydraulic activity of the ash was induced. Thus a stable matrix was formed, in which the contaminants are physically microencapsulated, or chemically adsorbed onto the surface and/or incorporated into the crystalline lattice of newly formed mineral phases. The hydration products are similar to those of Portland cement. The alkaline pH values of the pore solution favour the formation of low soluble hydroxides of most of the PTE. The hydraulic conductivity of the composites, too, is very low, which means that very little water is percolated, and that the mass flow of the PTE is very slow.
B.04 Guest lecture
COBISS.SI-ID: 2369895Low environmental standards and improper handling of industrial waste have in the past caused contamination of soil in the area of the Old Zincworks in Celje The inhabitants of Celje and the environment are exposed to the dangers posed by pollutants in the soil through various transfer pathways, for example, emission of dust particles and leakage into water sources. It is therefore necessary to cut the transfer pathways by remediation of the contaminated soil. Various methods of remediation are known worldwide, for example extraction, physical separation, isolation, chemical and biological methods for reducing toxicity, and immobilization. Immobilization as the best available technology for the management of contaminated soil is recognized by the European Commission. The implementation of immobilization is based on the mixing of contaminated soil with a suitable additive, whereby potentially toxic elements (PTE) are transformed into poorly mobile, non-bioavailable and non-toxic chemical species by means of chemical and physical mechanisms. For effective immobilization, the choice of a suitable additive is crucial. Practical experience and scientific research and development at the Slovenian Civil Engineering Institute have shown that the calcareus paper ash produced by the process of combustion of waste sludge from the paper industry is a very promising immobilizer additive. This is demonstrated by the example of successful remediation of contaminated soil in the area of the Old Zincworks, which was carried out by STONEX geotechnology d.o.o. by the use of paper ash from VIPAP VIDEM KRŠKO dd. Paper ash consists of mineral components that, when contacted with water, form new mineral phases, as a product of the hydration reactions and hydrolysis of the Pucolic phases. We have shown that the real use of immobilization with calcium paper ash is feasible. Its goal is to obtain an inert geotechnical composite suitable for installation in geotechnical sink or embankment.
F.18 Transfer of new know-how to direct users (seminars, fora, conferences)
COBISS.SI-ID: 2427239