Modern industry is developing very dynamically. Unlike in previous years, this development is going intensively, with the involvement of the latest scientific developments. Resource-saving technology is of great importance. This term refers to a whole system of measures aimed at significantly reducing resource consumption, while maintaining a high level of product quality. In the ideal case, they try to achieve the lowest possible level of consumption of raw materials.
Prerequisites for the widest possible implementation
Despite the efforts of environmental organizations and lawmakers, there is no need to talk about any significant reduction in the damage caused to the environment by industrial enterprises. In Russia alone, the damage from industrial emissions is estimated at 150 billion rubles annually, and in the United States this figure does reach about 7% of domestic GDP!
World experience shows that the costs associated with resource-saving technology at the first stage of its implementation are not comparable with the costs of leveling the consequences of using outdated and dirty production methods. The full payback period for new technologies does not exceed five years.
A huge danger is the gradual depletion of minerals. So, just 50 years ago, iron ore deposits were not developed if the iron content in them was less than 50-60%. Today they are starting to mine even that ore in which no more than 30% of the metal.
Even the ash content of coal used at CHP plants today exceeds 30%, while in the 60s this figure did not exceed 20%. Some cities are forced to use raw materials for heating, the ash content of which exceeds 55%. Moreover, in some cases, active extraction of raw materials even from past dumps is already beginning. All this contributes to a sharp increase in the amount of waste. Thus, resource-saving technology is extremely important, as it allows industry and the national economy to consume less raw materials, producing more products.
How is resource conservation implemented?
In most cases, the reduction in the amount of resources consumed is carried out through the reuse of waste materials. So, when steelmaking, at least 30% of prefabricated scrap metal is currently used, up to 25% of waste paper is taken in paper production. Non-ferrous metal production uses at least 20% of secondary raw materials. It should be noted that the amount of investment for the widespread adoption of technologies for processing waste materials is exactly four times lower than when creating production complexes for mining.
Given the fact that it is not necessary to invest in steel smelting, these technologies can reduce thermal pollution of the environment by at least a third. Simply put, the greenhouse effect is reduced. In a word, investing in these developments is very profitable.
What do resource-saving technologies allow?
Firstly, any resource-saving technology can seriously reduce the amount of waste and emissions into the environment. For example, when chlorine-containing wastes from metallurgical titanium plants were involved in processing, the level of chlorine emissions into the environment was reduced by 50%!
The areas that were previously occupied by technological dumps or landfills, the latest technology can completely free from garbage and use for recreational purposes. By the way, sending for processing waste, which in many cases contains sulfur dioxide (in the same metallurgy, for example), not only significantly reduces environmental pollution, but also significantly reduces the amount of primary sulfur produced.
It is extremely important that new technologies develop the basis for processing polymer waste: for example, the specific heat of two tons of plastic bottles is equal to the same value for a ton of crude oil! Thus, having created filters of a new generation, we can heat large cities for years using only plastic trash from landfills ...
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Extremely high value that new industrial technologies in ferrous metallurgy have. If a ton of scrap metal is remelted, then environmental pollution (in comparison with steelmaking from ore) is immediately reduced by 86%, water is needed by 76% less, and the total amount of waste is reduced immediately by 57%! Approximately the same picture is obtained if we compare the production of paper from waste paper and primary pulp.
Do not forget about the environment!
In light of the fact that the current situation in the environmental sphere leaves much to be desired, all modern technologies must necessarily help reduce the amount of harmful substances released into the atmosphere. Given the current state of the same Norilsk and other metallurgical cities, not only in our country, but throughout the world, the latest industrial technologies should not only give jobs to thousands of people in heavy industry, but also protect their health.
What are the new production methods based on?
Firstly, the mass replacement of low-quality raw materials with more modern analogues, which allow to produce the same amount of products with better quality. For example, in paint and varnish production this approach led to the replacement of standard paints based on organic solvents with water-soluble products.
For end users, the continued functionality of the product is also important without impairing its actual technical characteristics. An excellent example is the replacement of a polymer film with paper in the case of adhesive tape. Its quality remained the same, but the amount of waste and air emissions dropped sharply. These are resource-saving technologies, examples of which we provide in our article.
Of course, it is extremely important to change the process itself, so that it corresponds to modern realities. So, today more and more importance is attached to the transfer of production to a continuous cycle of production. Such a solution is much more promising than periodic shutdown and start-up of equipment, which is accompanied by a sharp increase in the emission of harmful substances.
Closely connected with this is also the requirement to convert production to new equipment, which consumes less consumables, fuel and spare parts. Such resource-saving technologies in industry significantly increase the manufacturability of production. This not only helps reduce waste, but also contributes to a significant reduction in the cost of the final product.
Computers - to the masses!
For example, these include CNC machines and fully computerized production lines that, with maximum precision and economy, can cut the required parts from whole pieces of metal. Such machines (in comparison with conventional ones) provide a reduction in the amount of waste by 50-80%. In addition, there is no need to worry about the level of training of workers.
Note that the use of modern technologies must necessarily imply not only the maximum reduction in the amount of waste, but also their safe storage. The last item includes the following requirements:
- The place of formation of hazardous waste materials must in no way come in contact with the environment.
- All waste should be packaged so that later it is easier to send for recycling.
- If waste processing at the existing technical and technological level is not possible, they should be transferred to a state in which they would have the least possible negative effect (melting into the glassy state of spent nuclear fuel).
- Accordingly, containers for long-term storage should be minimally susceptible to corrosion and other negative environmental factors.
Key examples of using resource-saving technologies
A classic example is pyrolysis enrichment of coal, chemical methods of ore dressing, methods of alkaline peat processing, through which not only fuel is obtained, but also humic fertilizers, plant growth stimulants. All these technological “delights” not only drastically reduce the amount of raw materials required for the production of products, but also give a lot of useful by-products. This is especially true for the processing of peat, when when using chemicals from ordinary raw materials for CHP even drugs are obtained!
Examples of biological and chemical processing of raw materials
If you think that the introduction of resource-saving technologies in biological production is exhausted only by new methods for producing biologically active additives and drugs, then you are deeply mistaken. The current level of technology development involves their use even in metallurgy.
So, bacterial leaching of metals is increasingly being used today, when it is possible to extract a lot of high-quality raw materials from ores with a minimum substance content (old dumps) without polluting the entire district with dumps from mining. Bacterial extraction of valuable metals ... from wastewater is even more attractive! And we are talking not only about metallurgical industries, but also about the stocks of large megacities.
Thus, the introduction of resource-saving technologies characterizes the degree of development not only of industry, but of society as a whole. Preserving the environment around us, we pass it on to our descendants.
In addition, using leaching, you can get a huge amount of sulfur from low-quality high-ash coal, which is not particularly suitable for anything else. By the way, in our country in recent years, the technology of biological treatment of low-quality brown coal has been actively introduced, from which good artificial soil is obtained.
Construction
The most common materials for construction in our time are concrete and reinforced concrete. In our country alone, over 250 million tons of them are produced per year. That is why modern building technologies to a large extent focus on saving resources when they are released.
Conservation of resources in the production of reinforced concrete
The problem is that reinforced concrete is a very energy-intensive material, the production of which requires a huge amount of electricity. 470 thousand kcal is spent on producing just one cubic meter! If the technological processes are imperfect, or in the case when it is required to pour concrete structures somewhere at the landfill, then the costs can even exceed 1 million kcal!
Considering that the national economy needs at least 12 million tons of concrete per year, energy and resource-saving technologies make it possible to save a huge amount of money.
The most significant problem is the large overspending of cement by builders. There are several real ways to correct this omission. Firstly, the greatest cost overrun is observed when builders use low-quality aggregates that do not meet a specific purpose. So, most often this is manifested when instead of normal sand, ASG is used.
To a large extent, costs can be reduced by using plasticizer additives, which are today widely represented on the international construction scene. High-quality plasticizer allows you to reduce cement consumption by 20% immediately, and the strength characteristics of the structure being built will not be affected. Considering that the latest technologies in industry allow hundreds of their items to be produced, plasticizing additives must be used in any suitable case.
Other energy costs
With isothermal aging in steel form, one cubic meter of concrete “eats” at least 60 thousand kcal. If the equipment is faulty, then the heat loss increases exponentially. So, in some plants, this figure exceeds 200 thousand kcal per cubic meter of concrete. Thus, it is possible to reduce excess resource consumption by more than three times by simply repairing equipment used in concrete production on time.
A very promising method is heating the plasticized mixture with electricity (in winter). In this case, it is possible to significantly reduce the amount of not only cement, but also the plasticizer in the mixture.
Other ways to save cement
It should be noted that a huge negative role is played by the huge losses of cement during its transportation. In no case should this material be loaded in an open way; transportation with frequent transhipments is not allowed. The loss of cement becomes simply gigantic, if it is first transported by sea, then loaded onto railway platforms from which it can be transported by automobiles.
These losses can be avoided if cement clinker is brought to distant areas. It can be unloaded an unlimited number of times. When the material is delivered to the place of work, the clinker is simply milled, receiving high-quality cement in the required quantity.
The correct selection of concrete grades, which would really correspond to a specific task, is also extremely important. Practice shows that more than 30% of the total loss of cement occurs when builders use the wrong type of concrete. As a result, there are frequent cases when the work has to be redone completely.
Thus, the development of modern technology should help conserve resources used in all branches of science and industry. By introducing new production methods, we can reduce the amount of harmful emissions into the air and water, save the environment for all subsequent generations.