E.S.Kostenko

Scientific supervisor: senior teacher L.V. Rassolova

Donetsk National University of Economics and Trade

named after M. Tugan-Baranovsky

profit of waste

Some scientists estimate that only 50% of natural materials extracted in the whole world are applied in industrial production. The rest turns wastes. Question arises: how to use the volume which was not used?

Up to early 1990s, there was not a word said about utilization and using of coal waste piles in Lugansk region. Even though the first scientific projects upon this topic appeared in the USSR, nobody was in a hurry to implement them. With cheap raw stock and energy carriers, processing of industrial wastes was more expensive and therefore unprofitable. Having strengthened over a decade, this bias seemed to be enduring.

This is why nobody paid a special attention to the piles in the first years of national independence. Even when liquidating unprofitable mines, they only spoke about waste reclamation.

- Meanwhile, waste piles are not just millions of tons of rock, - says

Yuriy Zhukov, chief specialist of natural resource department under property and land resource directorate of executive body of the regional council.

- Research of Eastern Ukrainian university scientists showed that concentration of germanium, gallium, and bismuth in most of them is equal to industrial indicators. The same applies to content of perit, which is a key raw stock for sulfur acid production. Apparently, coal production wastes should be considered as by-product mineral deposits - and the deposits absolutely suitable for industrial scale development.

The first successful attempt to turn wastes into revenues was made by Domostroitel (House Constructor) Production Union. The project was rather challenging for those times and foresaw active application of the region's industrial wastes, in particular, of coal and soda production outlays. Having commissioned the first silica brick production line in Lisichansk in 1997, the enterprises demonstrated all investment prospects of such a "wasteful" business.

Unique technology of burnt rock processing applied by Domostroitel Company was developed yet long ago by specialists of Lugansk branch of scientific research institute of construction materials. By and large, wastes may exhibit half of Mendeleyev periodical table. But the company was the most interested in lime stone since burnt rock of waste piles consists of natural cement, which is produced of lime stone and clay roasting during coal burning. Lime stone producers traditionally use roasting technology: rotating furnaces work in open air (in winter too - at -20°C temperature), and this means huge gas consumption and large energy losses. Such technologies get outdated. Naturally, other technologies should be applied, perhaps, other energy carriers, including coal. At the same time, humankind has to stick to lime stone application - it is all-purpose and environmentally safe material. And its application, besides to manufacturing of construction materials, ranges wide - from metallurgy to pharmaceutical industry.

Construction materials received with this rusty know-how technology have a number of advantages: sulfate resistance, partial water resistance, and resistance to particular corrosive media. Yet, the main one is that application of burnt rock reduces the volume of expensive lime stone to be used.

Today Domostroitel is successfully manufacturing single and thickened brick of grade 200 available in four colors: white, gray, pink, and yellow. The products have high quality and are well sold from warehouse.

Although the first attempt was rather successful, and the example of Lisichansk company was followed by some other construction enterprises of Lugansk region, still not much work has been done at the waste piles. Uncertainty is the problem.

- This is all about legal status of waste piles, which has not been yet defined precisely, - says Yuriy Degtyarev, head of natural resource department under property and land resource directorate of executive body of the regional council. – If these are industrial wastes, they are subject to the Law “On wastes”; if they are considered by-product mineral deposits, then we work with the Law “On subsoil”. Each of them spells procedure of transferring piles into property for further use. For instance, the Law “On subsoil” says the pile should first be explored. Then entrepreneur would have to get a license for the deposit development. At once uncertainly arises: can local council or enterprise owning the pile sell it or transfer it to other entities or companies? And what is transfer procedure?

According to Mr. Degtyarev, this legal uncertainty is the stumbling block for pile utilization to start developing in the region. It is up to valid argument by the government and law makers.

Literature

1. The independent, Monday, 22 December 2008

2. Ковальчук Г.О., Мельничук В.Г. Экономика.-К.:2003.-352 с.