"Electrozinc" rolls off the clinker. Allabergenov R.D., Akhmedov R.K., Mikhailov S.V. "Clinker of zinc production - a new industrial polymetallic mineral raw material for non-ferrous metallurgy and ways of its complex processing Clinker enrichment technology
After joining the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company in 2004, the topic of recycling old-fashioned clinkers smoothly flowed onto the shoulders of the new owner. Moreover, today it has become a weighty topic of environmental speculation about the harm we cause. om enterprise, despite the fact that since 2004 it was the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company that completely stopped storing current clinkers on the territory of the plant and began to send middlings to other plants of the holding in full.
There is no logic in this, but speculation only grows stronger year by year.
We wanted to look into this issue in more detail. Moreover, it has a history, both old and new. And there is also a significant amount of scientific research, both on the harmfulness of this industrial product for the ecology of the city of Vladikavkaz, and on the prospects for its disposal.
When the so-called "specialists" give examples of successful processing of clinkers by enterprises outside of Ossetia and even Russia, they forget one essential fact. Clinkers are both "rich" and "poor", which is due to the feedstock and the technological features of its processing. Clinker with a high content of copper (more than 1%), gold (more than 1 g/t) and silver (more than 120 g/t) is considered rich. The main method of processing "rich" commercial clinker is mine reduction smelting together with copper-bearing raw materials, in which all valuable components are converted into matte and recovered.
If the content of copper and precious metals is lower, then the clinker is considered "poor". And to date, it has not found industrial application for the extraction of its valuable components due to the low technical and economic efficiency of the process. In other words, its processing is unprofitable. Therefore, the poor clinker in the practice of all enterprises is sent to the dump farm.
This is exactly the fate of the “poor” clinker of the Electrozinc plant.
Soviet, and then Russian eResearch institutes have repeatedly tried to offer technologies for the processing of poor clinkers. In 1964, the technology of joint enrichment of clinker with the fiagdon ore was proposed by the SK GMI. In 1971, VNIITsvetmet developed a technology for clinker enrichment by flotation followed by magnetic separation of flotation tailings. In 1974, the Institute of Metallurgy of the Ural Scientific Center of the USSR Academy of Sciences designed specifically for Electrozinc a plant for the complex processing of clinker by magnetic separation and coal-sulfide flotation. In 1982, a pilot plant for clinker processing was designed at the Kavkaztsvetmetproekt Institute. For many years, the Gintsvetmet Institute has been conducting research on the chlorine sublimation roasting of clinker.
None of the projects was able to achieve a payback to be used in production.
The problem of clinkers processing has been studied by specialists of the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company since 2004. Since none of the clinker processing options proposed by the Research Institute was of industrial importance, it was proposed to utilize it as a material for paving, organizing a site on the territory of the plant, etc. However, another problem arose here.
The fact is that for all the "poverty" of the stale clinker "Electrozinc" it contains silver. According to various sources, from 100 to 200 grams per ton. This silver in clinkers is in a dispersed state, heterogeneous in content in dumps of different years, that is, it also has no industrial value. But, nevertheless, it is a precious metal. And the utilization of clinkers turned out to be impossible without special permission for this from the Gokhran of Russia.
Speaking to the Government and the Parliament of North Ossetia in February 2012, Andrey Kozitsyn, General Director of UMMC, touched on this topic separately.
- Given the presence of precious metals in the clinker, the situation has not yet been resolved, although at one time I even discussed this issue with Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin. Our position is simple: convert the clinker into an inert state, crush it and take it out for disposal. And we are ready to start this work even tomorrow. However, here we need the help of the republican authorities. It is necessary to somehow negotiate with the Ministry of Finance, - Andrey Kozitsyn explained.
Such a decision, according to specialists from the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company, would remove this issue from the agenda and would not affect the environmental situation in the republic. Studies conducted at the beginning of 2012 by the Ural GIProCentre (Chelyabinsk) showed that“... clinker is a chemically neutral, fire and explosion-proof substance that cannot decompose under atmospheric conditions with the release of fire and explosion hazardous products, form toxic compounds with water and cause corrosion of metals, and is not a dangerous cargo. It is assigned to the 4th sanitary class of waste for which hazardous properties have not been established. This type of waste cannot harm the environment and affect the properties of groundwater.”
It should be added that, for example, the clinkers of Ust-Kamenogorsk have been successfully used in road surfaces for several years.
The government of North Ossetia, having connected to this topic, proposed other options for solving the problem, incl. inclusion of the topic of Electrozinc clinkers in the federal program "Elimination of the accumulated environmental damage of past years for 2014-2025".
At the beginning of 2013, Electrozinc specialists prepared all the documents necessary for the decision of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation on the inclusion of Electrozinc clinkers in the federal target program and transferred to Moscow.
And the last.
Now that the problem of clinkers has been explained both in industrial and environmental terms, the question remains, what is the subject of speculation on this topic? It seems to us that this is a purely aesthetic aspect.
The fact is that the dump field of the Electrozinc plant was designed in such a way that it was located on the side opposite from the city of Vladikavkaz. But over the years of the expansion of the city, the clinkers towering over the perimeter of the plant actually ended up in the area of \u200b\u200blife and activity of the population.And the general landscape of the city is not decorated at all.
The purpose of the ongoing activities is to assess the qualitative and quantitative composition of the product in order to study the possibility of developing a project for the implementation of an effective, economically justified and environmentally safe technological scheme for its disposal.
Today, about 1.575 million tons of clinker is located on the industrial site of the enterprise, formed during the period of operation of the plant from 1935 to 1992. As the chief metallurgist of the enterprise Vladimir Podunov explained, clinker is a granular material with a complex mineralogical composition, obtained as a result of dezincification of various zinc-containing products by the Waelz process. According to its properties, clinker is inert, it does not pose a danger to the environment. Nevertheless, the problem of accumulated waste needs to be addressed, so today Electrozinc is studying possible options for it. The initial stage of work in this direction was the conclusion in 2015 of an agreement between Sevogeologorazvedka and Elektrozink, according to which Sevogeologorazvedka specialists conduct exploration work on Elektrozink’s waste clinker to determine the volume of zinc, copper and precious metals reserves in it.
To ensure optimal conditions for geological exploration work on clinker sampling, special preparatory work was carried out - access roads with a total length of about 2 km were built in the surveyed area, the organization's specialists developed a methodology for exploration and testing on clinker dumps, which included the construction of a dump plan with the systematization of sampling points samples
Clinker samples in 10-kilogram bags were received by the Product Quality Department (QP) of the Electrozinc plant. In order to prepare samples for chemical analysis at the site of sampling and sample preparation of the UKP, the clinker was brought to the state of a powder. According to GOST, the product has passed the stages of rolling, quartering, drying, three-level grinding, grinding and screening. The resulting powder sample was quartered in a checkerboard pattern with a metal grid and packed in a special paper envelope with all sample data: number, name, date and time. A total of 258 samples were taken. In the X-ray spectral department of the central laboratory of the Product Quality Department, the samples were subjected to express analysis, after which they were sent for spectral analysis. The study of the sample for the content of zinc and copper in it was carried out on an atomic absorption spectrometer by the method of comparative analysis. In parallel, the clinker was examined for the content of precious metals. According to the head of the central laboratory of the UKP Oleg Kisiev, based on the entries in the work log, a protocol was drawn up, which included the entire scope of the analytical work.
In accordance with the contract, the results of the research are expected at the end of May 2016. Based on the data received, the UMMC will make a decision on further work. Among the possible options is the reclamation or involvement of clinker dumps in processing at other enterprises. Separately, we note that since 2004, all of the current Electrozinc clinker from concentrates has been sent to UMMC enterprises for processing.
Being a consistent opponent of the location of the Electrozinc plant within the boundaries of Vladikavkaz, I gradually come to the conclusion that its preservation is beneficial not only to the owners of the production, but also to many other handicraft and semi-handicraft enterprises located in the industrial zone of the capital of the republic. Having huddled in the shadow of a metallurgical giant, it is easy to write off one's own sins as a sinner's note. And brandish this bogeyman in the face of the public. But if you sometimes look in the early morning from the height of the Sapitskaya booth in the direction of the Electrozinc, then it is far from always possible to guess its location from the columns of smoke tending to the sky. Smoke pipes around the entire perimeter of the plant. Go find out who they are.
It is clear that the “Electrozinc” “exhaust” pipes do not ozonize the air either, but if we know what can be expected from emergency emissions from this plant, then we do not even assume that they bring us fine, fine dust from other enterprises that cook asphalt or weld metal structures, chemicals with paints or storage of building materials ... But it is precisely fine, unhealthy dust that enters the blood through the lung tissue and spreads throughout the body, including the brain.
A group of scientists from the United Kingdom, the United States and Mexico have published the results of a study that indicates a possible link between ultrafine particles and the development of dementia. Nanoparticles of anthropogenic origin can penetrate the brain and accumulate there. Carried by blood throughout the body and cause diseases of vital organs. And we wonder why it is in the republic that the palette of oncological diseases, allergies, hypertension and many other diseases, derived from the harmful effects of fine dusts, is expanding. Add to this the exhaust fumes of private cars, with which all the streets and streets of Vladikavkaz are clogged from morning to evening. But for some reason we don't want to see this "log" in our own eyes...
People who have reliable information about environmental pollution in Vladikavkaz try to keep it to themselves, and distract the public consciousness with other irritants or mislead. Willingly or involuntarily, as happened now with the head of the republic Vyacheslav Bitarov.
Recently, an extensive interview of our leader, which he gave to TASS, was distributed in the Russian media. It was called "North Ossetia has every chance of becoming the Russian Silicon Valley." I will not argue about the legitimacy of this bold statement, I will dwell only on the passage of the interview dedicated to Electrozinc OJSC. We remember, of course, how resolutely Vyacheslav Bitarov declared a year or two ago about his attitude to the enterprise, which is shortening our lives. Then, obviously, economic challenges became more preferable than formal humanism, and the fate of the plant, unenviable yesterday, moved into a vague future. Probably, Bitarov has his own reasons, which he does not want to talk about yet, so I will not pedal this fact unnecessarily.
But such a quote from the interview of the Head makes me doubt either the competence of Vyacheslav Zelimkhanovich, or his sincerity. Judge for yourself:
“For us, the most important from an environmental point of view is not so much the emissions of Electrozinc, but the dump clinker that the enterprise has accumulated. Public organizations put the issue point-blank and demand that Electrozinc leave the region. But then what are we going to do with millions of tons of waste, which one way or another will remain after many years of operation of the enterprise? Nobody has an answer to this question. Now we have already reached an agreement with the management of the enterprise, and starting from 2016 they are exporting clinker, and every year in an increasing volume.”
That is, all the evil, it turns out, is in the clinker?! How then to understand
General Director of Electrozinc JSC Igor Khodyko, who recently told reporters that “the clinker itself is absolutely harmless. It does not dissolve in water, does not burn and belongs to hazard class 4 waste, and, most importantly, does not affect people”?
I agree, perhaps, with the head of the plant, since he has been in metallurgy for 27 years, where he started with working specialties and has grown to the captain's bridge. But I’ll add on my own behalf that the clinker with which they are now scaring us, probably, did not accidentally accumulate in approximately equal fractions of millions of tons not only on the territory of Electrozinc, but also outside it, on Promyshlennaya Street. And if UMMC exports factory dumps to its Ural factories, then it will not be so easy to withdraw the other part. It's not about transportation. The fact is that, according to some reports, millions of tons of clinker on the other side of the factory fence is nothing more than a collateral value for one of the state financial institutions. That is, for this clinker, someone once received a large cash loan for the republic. And it still hasn't paid off. And each ton of clinker is credited, I'm afraid to make a mistake, at a price of one hundred to three hundred dollars. Klondike, in a word!
As for the clinker on the territory of Electrozinc, they learned how to extract rare earth metals, including gold, from it in the Urals. Therefore, its processing brings not only profit, but also provides new jobs. And we don’t need to rub thoughts about someone’s altruism: a greedy capitalist won’t let a fly fly by for free! Although, they say, our home-grown chemists have long figured out the tricky technologies themselves and trump in crowns made of gold “washed” in dumps.
Once again I will say that I support the closure and transfer of Electrozinc with both hands, although in childhood we inhaled thick clouds of its emissions every day. And there was also a bike that sulfur dioxide increases the sexual activity of a man. He breathed and - in bed! But then again, why don't we associate our illnesses, say, with tap water, believing in the well-established delusion about its crystal purity? City water supply networks are in such a state that it is better to boil the water beforehand. And that's putting it mildly. But changing pipes that have been in the ground for more than half a century at a time is more expensive than moving Electrozinc!
Actually, we are talking not only and not so much about "Electrozinc" and other pollutants of the atmosphere of Vladikavkaz, but about the right of the people to know the truth, no matter how bitter it may be. And the authorities should be interested in this themselves, so as not to multiply ridiculous rumors and speculation about themselves. People can be deceived once or twice, but it is impossible to deceive forever!
» Shipment of dump clinker began. The consumer of the middling product is the Russian Copper Company, with which the first contract for a trial batch of 10,000 tons has been concluded.
After confirming the efficiency of processing, it is expected to continue cooperation between the two metallurgical companies. Export of ancient products obtained in the process of zinc production " Electrozinc”, from the territory of the republic - another result of the implementation by the enterprise of agreements between the Acting Head of the North Ossetia-A Vyacheslav BITAROV and the leadership of the UMMC.
Today, about 1.8 million tons of clinker is located on the industrial site of the enterprise, formed during the period of operation of the plant from 1935 to 2003. Clinker is a product obtained as a result of the dezincification of various zinc-containing products by the Waelz process, it has a complex chemical and mineralogical composition and is a granular material. According to the studies of clinker dumps carried out in 2012, carried out by LLC " URALGIPROCENTER» from Chelyabinsk, clinker is a chemically neutral, fire and explosion-proof substance classified as 4th sanitary waste class, for which hazardous properties have not been established. This type of waste cannot harm the environment and affect the properties of groundwater. It is inert and does not pose a danger to the environment.
Nevertheless, the problem of accumulated clinkers needed to be addressed. In 2013, the plant received permission from the relevant authorities for the disposal, processing and conservation of waste clinker. In 2015 " Electrozinc» entered into an agreement with JSC « Sevogeological exploration» to carry out exploration work on waste clinker. A complex of special exploration works was carried out to assess the qualitative and quantitative composition of the middling product in order to develop a project for the implementation of an effective, economically justified and environmentally safe technological scheme for its disposal. According to the results of the research, reserves of copper, zinc, lead, iron, gold and silver were identified. After analyzing the research data, UMMC specialists made economically justified calculations for the processing of waste dumps and approached the Russian Copper Company with a proposal to accept for processing under the terms of the tolling scheme the first batch of clinker dumps in the volume of the company's needs (10 thousand tons) before the end of 2016. The fact is that RMK is the only steel company in Russia today equipped with advanced highly efficient technology. Ausmelt". This is a modern technology capable of processing most of the known materials, including dump clinker, with the extraction of precious metals, iron, copper, using oxygen blast due to reaching very high temperatures. After the conclusion of the contract for