Technologies for handling and disposal methods of hazardous industrial and radioactive waste

Localization and burial of toxic and radioactive waste

The main direction in protecting the environment from hazardous industrial waste remains its return to the production cycle and the creation of low-waste technologies. When closing the cycle is impossible, neutralization is organized at special facilities directly on the enterprise premises or at centralized landfills. Continuous ecological monitoring of atmospheric air, surface water, and soil moisture is conducted at the sites themselves and in the surrounding zones.

For the neutralization of heterogeneous refuse, integrated landfills are divided into clear functional zones. Solid non-combustible materials, non-recyclable liquid chemical effluents, highly hazardous substances, and combustible fractions for incineration are directed to separate sectors. The burial of toxic industrial waste is carried out in isolated containers or reinforced concrete reservoirs placed in trenches within impermeable soil.

• Depth of burial trenches — up to 10-12 m
• Organic content in paper and refuse — 60–80 %

Radioactive waste (RAW) is collected separately from other fractions in special containers with a smooth, low-sorbing inner lining. Transportation to isolation sites is carried out using special vehicles, with machines and removable tanks being decontaminated after each trip. In the processing process, RAW is concentrated, compressed, and bound into cement, bitumen, or glass blocks, while exhaust gases from incineration plants are purified by adsorption and filtration.

The most active type of waste is formed by spent fuel elements (fuel rods) containing fission products, uranium, and plutonium. At nuclear power plants, they are stored in a water medium at a distance from each other to dissipate heat and prevent critical mass. In an alternative burial method, fuel rods are freed from inactive claddings, twisted into bundles, sealed in a copper container, and filled with lead. Such blocks are placed on the ocean floor, in deep geological formations, or in salt mines, where the salt fuses the container under the influence of the released heat.

Composting organic waste for fertilizer production

Municipal solid waste contains a significant proportion of organic matter suitable for reuse in agriculture. Natural biological decomposition of organics under aerobic conditions allows for the processing of refuse into a humus-like mass suitable for application to the soil as organic fertilizer.

Organic refuse processing is carried out at specialized plants or by field composting. In the field method, waste is kept in a moist but aerated state until the organic mass has completely decomposed. To accelerate mineralization and humification, rows of refuse are regularly loosened and turned using special machinery.

Industrial compost: production technology and fertilizer composition

Factory-based processing of urban waste makes it possible to obtain organic fertilizer suitable for use in agriculture. Due to the intense heat release during aerobic oxidation, the composting mass is completely sanitized. The output is a material enriched with essential nutrients and microelements necessary for top dressing of plants.

• Nitrogen content (on a dry matter basis) — about 1 %
• Phosphorus content (on a dry matter basis) — 0.3 %
• Potassium content (on a dry matter basis) — 0.3 %
• Compost particle size — up to 25 mm
• Glass particle size — up to 3 mm
• Processing time in the drum — 3 days

The technological processing cycle is based on a continuous scheme using equipment derived from cement kilns. During the oxidation of waste, gaseous decay products and foul-smelling substances are diverted into the boiler furnace. This allows for the utilization of gases without harm to the environment and the production of a safe soil conditioner.

1. Waste from the receiving hopper is fed by a dosing device in an even layer onto a conveyor, where scrap metal is extracted by a magnet and manually.
2. The cleaned mass enters a rotating inclined drum, filling 2/3 of its volume, where a fan continuously supplies air for aerobic oxidation (the drum makes up to 2000 revolutions over 3 days).
3. The mass undergoes secondary metal separation and moves to a screen, where non-compostable waste is separated: rubber, leather, textiles, non-ferrous metals, and polymers.
4. The compostable material is fed into a shredder, where it is brought to the final fraction ready for application.