ARTIFICIAL SANDSTONE

One of the most important problems in waste management is the disposal of fine-grained waste from all types of industrial/production activities, which contain easily leachable components (e.g. various types of salts). As a result of precipitation, the leached compounds enter the environment causing its contamination and degradation, therefore the need for safe storage of such waste. One of the methods is special consolidation of such waste in such a way that it does not leach easily soluble compounds, which is not an easy task. The Faculty of Chemistry has developed such a method, which has already been used in one of the waste incineration plants in the country (very dusty, difficult to manage and highly saline waste is then produced).  In general, the method is based on the use of a polysilicate acid network, starting from a very cheap and easily accessible substance, i.e. sodium silicate, or a polysulphur network formed from elemental sulphur or/and the so-called polymerised sulphur which is a product of the reaction of elemental sulphur with unsaturated hydrocarbons, e.g. styrene.

The patent itself particularly covers mixed waste materials from metallurgical processing, i.e. mainly iron oxides and iron carbonate, but also metallic iron itself in the form of scales, filings or powders. Thanks to this method it is possible to produce, for example, sand bricks, or other sand-based building products.