Waste-free technologies: Formation of multilevel structures of environmental protection systems

Abstract

The technical and technological base of waste-free technologies is mainly represented by environmental protection systems (EPS), which allow to organize the recycling of waste into technosphere and not to pollute the environment with them. The article provides a brief overview of the works devoted to the methods and technologies of utilization of ferrous metallurgy waste. It is shown that simple schemes, in which the interrelationships between environmental protection devices from solid, liquid and gaseous waste are not organized, cannot provide the necessary degree of waste-free production. In general, a high degree of non-waste can be provided only by complex multistage, multilevel systems for processing raw materials and waste disposal, including devices and technologies for processing waste streams in various phase states. The design of such systems should begin with the stage of describing the output flows of substances and energy from technological installations and the formation of variants of structures, principles of operation (technologies) and equipment (devices) of system elements, from which the optimal option will be selected. The purpose of optimizing the protection system is to minimize the mass of waste sent to the environment, ensuring environmental and industrial safety, taking into account the technical and economic constraints on the possibility of implementing the selected EPS structure. The procedure for forming the structure of the system including: production, environmental protection devices, natural (environmental) environment, is proposed. The interconnections between the elements of the system are represented by flows of energy and masses of substances. An example of organization of the system structure including interrelated subsystems of treatment (purification, neutralization, etc.) of gases, wastewater and solid waste, is given. It was noted that, in general, output flows of substances can be formed at the output of EPS devices, which, depending on their properties (hazard, utility and phase state), can be directed: into the environment, into next-level protection devices (stages), into production to replace raw materials or produce products. The paper considers an example of organizing the structure of a complex multistage and multilevel system of environmental protection from emissions, including subsystems for processing secondary waste in gaseous, liquid and solid states. The proposed procedure for formation of structures of environmental protection systems can be applied to other industries.