EP0549789A1 - Method and apparatus for treatment of waste materials and/or nuclear contaminated materials - Google Patents

Abstract

Process by which the base material is ground until the grain size thereof does not exceed 50 mm, it is dried until its relative humidity is less than 30%, it is subjected to the distillation at a core temperature between 400 and 1200 ° C for a pressure of 200 to 900 kN / m2 in a reduction medium indirectly heated and free of oxygen, and the vapors released during drying are condensed. Then, the remaining solids are burned or exploited after distillation, the vapors released are directly burned or they are cooled to a temperature below 60 ° C, and / or they are washed and / or they are precipitated, then the remaining combustible gases are burned, the remaining ash being agglomerated or granulated under a pressure of between 50,000 and 300,000 kN / m2. A grinding device (1) is connected to the drying device (2) itself connected to the still (4) and to the condenser (3). The still (4) is also connected to the gas treatment unit (5) or to the gas burner (15), as well as to the solid matter burner or to the mineralizer and / or to the vitrification apparatus (9 ). The gas processing unit (5) is connected to the gas cooler (6), and the latter is connected to the liquid burner (13) and / or the gas burner (15). Said gas burner (15) is connected to the gas filter (10), the condenser (3) is connected to the device for treating the condensed liquid (14), and the devices of this assembly are connected to the ambient medium via the gas filter (10), the liquid processing unit (7), the solids processing unit (16 and 12) and the condensed liquid processing unit (14).

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TREATMENT OF WASTE MATERIALS AND/OR NUCLEAR CONTAMINATED MATERIALS

The method according to the invention relates to the treatment of waste material and/or nuclear contaminated material, and set out from ground base material purified from metal waste. The invention also relates to a scheme for the treatment of waste material and/or nuclear contaminated material.

Furthermore, the invention relates to apparatus provided with rotary, closed, horizontally arranged cylinder, with hollow axes placed on both ends of the cylinder, the axes are supported with roller bearings with the possibility of rotating movement, one of the axes is led into the input house while the other one into the output house, the axes are separated from output and input houses with seals, an input pulley is built- in into the hollow of the input house's sideways axis.

For environmental protection purposes there is a frequent need for the treatment of various waste materials and/or nuclear contaminated materials which treatment permits the elimination or decrease of the environment damaging effect of the waste material or decreases the quantity of environment damaging part of the waste material, respectively.

In the practice, industrialised methods without resulting some kind of environment pollutant material as final product are really very rare. Environment pollutant materials remaining in the course of the procedure are usually kept well isolated from the environment. It is obvious that this storing is the richer the less the quantity of the environment damaging material which is to be stored since the construction expenses of a storage construction of proper environmental isolation are extremely high, further the storage time period may sometimes be very long. Thus, for example nuclear environment pollutants should theoretically be kept in storage until the radiation intensity falls below the permitted limit.

The simplest procedure known so far is that one in the course of which the waste material and/or the contaminated material are compressed decreasing that way their volume and the volume to be stored. The disadvantage of this procedure is that the mass of the processed material is not decreased at all, thus resulting in a very low efficiency.

In the course of one another procedure the waste material and/or nuclear contaminated material are treated pyrolytically, that is the material is distilled fractionally in a partly reductive environment, with direct heat transfer at a relatively low temperature and is successively burnt. The disadvantage of this method relies in the fact that the quantity of contaminated corrosive gas and ash arising in the course of the procedure is superfluously high.

The known schemes are different combined connections of directly or indirectly heated drying equipments, directly heated distiller type equipments and gas treating equipments.

Therefore, the known schemes do not allow the production of remaining dangerous waste materials with an optimally possible smallest mass and volume, moreover the known schemes require the introduction of an unnecessary high volume of air getting contaminated during the procedure. The known schemes do not allow the continuous operation of the equipment, the controllability of the procedures and the production of materials with optimally smallest mass and volume to be brought to a final storage.

The dry distillery is the key unit of the apparatus realizing the processes. The distillery is exposed to very extreme complex load resulting partly from the weight of the materials to be condensed, partly from the high temperatures, further the enhanced corrosion effects at high temperatures to an increasing extent and the differential pressure existing between the equipment and the environment.

The technical realization of the known distillery and/or carbonisator apparatus which has a vertically mounted container, makes the loading of material to be distilled, closing and heating the distillator after loading, and performing the distillation process with intermittent running possible. On this known equipment some opening is set free after performing the distillation and then the retained solid material can be removed from the distillary in the course of which gases causing environmental pollution and harmful to health are emitted in an uncontrollable way to the open air.

Such an apparatus is also known which has a ratable horizontal cylinder, however due to the hard load, the leakage and the tar storage aren't at all or are only for a short time suitable for realizing an operation according to the invented method. Similarly, there is no any known equipment with a horizontal cylinder which under extreme use would permanently be suitable under such a high load for an operation with continuous direct heating and the necessary loading and unloading of the solid materials in a closed system.

Apparatus reviewed up to now are open, semi-open, not closed and the involved processes can not be controlled.

The method according to present invention is based on discovering that the contaminating, e.g. the nuclear contaminated organic materials as a consequence of the composition of the materials in most cases can be decomposed into components of different contamination grades and from these components an optimally possible lowest value af contaminated mass and volume of the materials can be reached by combining different chemical (mainly oxidation) and physical processes corresponding to the characteristics of the components involved. The mass and volume produced that way is smaller that any of the mass and volume produced as remaining contaminated material and the volume of dangerous gases issued during the procedure is also significantly less than that of the methods known so far.

The scheme according to the invention is based on discovering that if a solid material burner and through a gas state burner or a gas cooler a gas burner or a liquid burner is connected to the distillary, further the gas burner or liquid burner and solid material burner are connected by introducing an ash cooler with a pelletizer or a grainer, the waste material and/or the nuclear contaminated material can be concentrated in continuous mode of operation to the optimally smallest value of mass and volume of material for final storage.

The invented apparatus is based on discovering that if the indirect heated equipment's loading (input) house is provided with a loading opening and gas phase exit branch, the unloading (output) house with an unloading opening and gas phase exit branch, there are carrying-out shovels fixed to the inner casing of the cylinder on the side at the output house further the sealing has been made of sealing segments drawn together by cord pulled by weights and outer fitted sealing segments placed between the loading house wall and the unloading house wall while the sealing rings are secured by holders against radial displacement, while the sealing segments and the sealing rings are secured against axial displacement by a spring clamp unit, the equipment will be suitable for bearing the different loads and performing a continuous distillation procedure in a closed system without any higher demand for maintenance.

The task of the invented procedure is to handle waste materials in such a way that the contained hazardous materials, among others heavy metals, halogen's and/or radiating materials would be concentrated to a possible small mass and volume.

The task of the invented scheme and apparatus is the controllable, continuously operating, efficient realization of the method.

The essence of the invented method is to grind the base material until a maximum grain size of 50 mm is reached, to dry to a relative humidity below 30%, to distil it at a core temperature of 300-1200 C and 200-900 kN/m2 pressure in an oxygen- free reducing environment with indirect heating, the steam arising at the drying cycle are to be condensed; solid materials remaining after the distillation should be burnt and/or mineralised and/or vitrified over 1000 C in direct heated system and/or led to further utilization; vapours arising at the distillation should be directly burnt or tempered for a controlled period of time at high temperatures depending on the corresponding dangerous material content; or should be precipitated with cooling down those below 60 C, the resulting liquid is to be further utilized and the remaining combustible gases should be burnt and/or the vapours and/or flue gases should be precipitated and/or purified by washing them with the corresponding own liquid phase and/or several buffering and/or bubbling gases in liquids in order to decrease the energy content; the remained ash should be pelletized or granulated at a pressure of 50.000-300 kN/m2.

The remaining material arising at the distillation procedure will be cooled in oxygen-free environment to room temperature in the case of a suitable realization method of the procedure.

Such a realization of the method seems to be advantageous when vapours are burnt directly and the arising flue gases are treated. In the course of the method it is advantageous - if the solid material remaining after distillation is of carbon character - that solid material remained from the process is directly activated before cooling by adding carbon dioxide and/or nitrogen and/or steam and/or a noble gas and/or other chemical activating agent and/or a mixture of them.

In the course of the method it is advantageous - if the solid material remaining after distillation is of inorganic character - that solid material remained from the process is mineralised and/or vitrified at high temperature in direct heated system, to enclose and include the harmful components, and make the endproduct chemically stabilised and water/time resistant.

The pelletized or granulated ash, containing all of the material hazardously contaminating the environment, should be placed into water separated from the environment for a final storage.

All of the radiating materials and/or chemical produced and emitted to the environment in the course of a realization of the method should be removed from the flue gases/liquids produced and emitted to the environment.

In some cases it is advantageous to mix an amount of 25-125 mass% Ca and/or Na and/or other catalyser compound additives of the granulated base material to the base material in order to transform the instabile chemical contamination materials in the waste material to a stable chemical compound.

The invented method can be advantageously realized if the radiation and/or chemical parameters of all the flue gases and liquids produced during the process and emitted in the environment are continuously measured and the processes are controlled in such a manner that the radiation and/or chemical loading of the filters is as low as possible.

An essential feature of the scheme according to the invention is that the grinding machine is connected with the drying equipment, the drying equipment is connected with the distillery and the condenser, the distillery is further connected with the gas phase burner or gas treating unit and the solid material burner, the gas treating apparatus is also connected with the gas cooler, the gas cooler is connected with the liquid burner and the gas burner, the solid material burner and the liquid burner is connected with the gas filters, the condenser is connected to condense liquid treating unit, the equipments of the scheme are connected to the open environment through the gas filters, the liquid treating unit, the solid material treating unit and the condense liquid treating unit.

In an advantageous realization of the scheme according to the invention a cooler is built between the distillery and the solid material burner.

The invention can also be advantageously realized in that way that a liquid treating unit is inserted between the gas cooler and the liquid burner.

An essential feature of the invented apparatus is that the loading house is provided with a loading-in opening and gas exit branch, the unloading house with an unloading opening and gas exit branch, there are carrying-out showels fixed to the inner casing of the cylinder further the sealing has been made of sealing segments drawn together by a cord pulled by weights and outer fitted sealing segments placed between the loading house wall and the unloading wall house, further the sealing rings are secured by holders against radial displacement while the sealing segments and the sealing rings are secured against axial displacement by a spring clamp unit.

In the course of the procedure according to the invention mainly organic or dry distillable inorganic materials containing materials are used as starting basic materials. Such waste material can be produced by selective collection and/or previous selection of the waste material prior to the process according to the invention.

The dried material should be ground that way that he maximum grain size will be 50 mm. This maximum grain size of 50 mm guarantees possibility for a further effective accomplishment of the procedure's forthcoming steps. The granulated material should be dried to get a relative humidity of maximally 30%.

Steam leaving the material during drying are usually not environmental contaminators, however in case of treating nuclear and/or easily volatile materials this steam may contain radiating and/or other dangerous materials. If this is the case the radiating and/or other contaminations should be removed from the condensed water. As a result of drying, the mass of the waste material depending on the original humidity ratio, may be considerably reduced.

The dried waste material will be distilled at a core temperature of 300-1200 C and 200-900 kN/m2 pressure in an oxygen-free reducing inert environment with indirect heating. In the course of this all of the volatile and evaporable materials will be removed. Due to the high temperature of the distillation and on the effect of thermal shock the material decomposes during the distillation. Experiences show that depending on the composition of the starting material the significant part of the waste and nuclear materials will be concentrated either in the gas phase or separate in the remained solid phase.

Therefore, in a short time after a nuclear contamination most of the radiating materials - due to the large quantity of the radioactive iodine - concentrates first of all in the gas phase if, however, a longer time passed between the contamination and the treatment, the majority of the decomposed nuclear contamination concentrates in the remained solid phase.

As in the course of the method the radiation load will be concentrated either in the solid phase or in the liquid phase, if the gas phase is not burnt just after coming into existence, therefore the further treatment will become simpler and more efficient.

The gas arising at distillation will be burnt directly or in case the chemical composition of the basic material requires will be condensed; the remained gases will be washed and the energy of them will be reduced by mechanical collisions. As a result of these procedures either flue gas will arise from the gas phase or will be decomposed to condensed complex tar(s) or pyrolytic oil(s) (hereinafter equivocally called as tar and non condensable gases).

During this process step the flue gases or non condensable gases are generally hardly contaminating the environment, therefore it is advantageous to burn them. In case of nuclear contaminates the radiating materials should be removed from the combustion products by known methods.

Tar and the solid materials remained in the course of distillation should be burnt and/or vitrified for the sake of a reduced mass and volume. At burning for the sake of environmental protection one should strive for perfect burning. The purified separated materials resulting perfect burning and treatment, the arised gases contain a relatively small amount of contaminating materials, but in case of treating nuclear materials the arising flue gases should be decontaminated by known method.

For the purpose of increasing the efficiency of the treatment it is advisable to activate the carboniferouses solid materials remaining in the course of distillation immediately prior to cooling.

Most of the hazardous materials in the starting material of the procedure, thus the nuclear contaminated materials, heavy metals, etc. are concentrated in the ash or in the mineralised/vitrified endproduct after the treatment. The remained is of much smaller mass than the starting waste material but is of relatively large volume; this volume, however can be decreased by pelleting or granulation to a significant extent.

When realizing the process we strive for concentrating dangerous, such as radiating materials and heavy metals, in the ash and/or in the mineralised/vitrified endproduct and out of the ash/endproduct for final storage the possible minimum extent of dangerous material will be emitted. For this purpose the hazardous content of the arising gases are continuously measured and the process is controlled so that a minimum extent of dangerous materials goes into the outcoming gases.

As the combustible materials originating during the procedure will be burnt, the procedure is very economical from the viewpoint of energetics.

The effects of the procedure according the invention are illustrated by examples 1-5.

Example No.1

Basic material: nuclear contaminated waste of oak and acacia

wood.

Date of the experiment: February, 1991

Place of the living tree: at a distance of approx.1000 km from Chernobil

Starting quantity: 1 ton

Starting volume: 3.4 m3

Basic material, moisture content: 42 mass%

Basic material background radiation: 37 kiloBecquerel (1 microCurie)

The basic material was cut to grain sizes of 0.1-6 mm. Previous indirect drying was performed with 400 C flue gas; down to 8 mass% humidity. Distillation was processed with a duration time of 16 minutes on 600 C, with 50.000 kN/m2 depressive pression.

Measured results:

Complex mass after drying: 660 kg

Mass of solid material after distillation: 197 kg

Mass of complex tar phase: 463 kg

The radioactivity analysis of samples was done with neutron activation analysis and the following results were obtained: measurements were made with three different samples of tars and with carbon sample originating from two different series.

The solid material and tar remained after condensation were burnt with oxygen-air mixture. After combustion 13.79 kg of ash remained from the solid material, 18.52 kg of ash from the tar. To the rest of ash 5 mass % proportion wet concrete was mixed as binding material and the mixture thus originated was pelleted. After pelleting the volume of the material was 0.016 m3 which means that the volume of the dangerous waste for final storage is only 0.47% of the volume of the starting wood waste. Example No.2:

The experiment was made with a mixed waste material containing heavy metals (mercury luminescent lamp tubes, light sources, plastic waste materials containing heavy metals) at 600 and 800 C nucleus temperature with 1 t/h capacity. The experiment was made for the investigation of the final temperature of pyrolysis and to state how different heavy metal containing materials in what form can be made treatable with a proper concentration in a suitable phase and test the mineralisation/vitrification process.

During the experiment it was stated that increasing the temperature the amount of remaining solid material decreases. The volume of liquid products depends on the composition and the character of the basic material but it can be generally stated that it reaches a maximum value at about 600 C. It has been stated that the majority of the heavy metal content concentrated in the remained solid materials which result was expected according to our original calculations, however mercury and cadmium due to their character appeared first of all in the gas phase which has been purified. The further treatment of the remained organic solid material was done with the combustion of the material, the final product being unsuitable for further treatment was set after briquetting for final storage. The carbon content of the remaining waste material pyrolysed at 800 C was 15.4%. In the final stage the solid left over material have been vitrified at 1400 C , which resulted that the heavy metals have been included the molten material and the water cooled solid endproduct.

Comparison of heavy metal content of the starting base material and the remaining solid material in mass%: starting base material remaining solid material

Cadmium 0.007 0.003

Chrome 0.56 0.65

Barium 16.5 21.1

Lead 0.27 0.33

Mercury 0.5 0.005

Zinc 5.1 6.4

Example No.3:

The experiment related to treatment of an unsorted mixture of PVC, polyethilene, polyurethane plastic material and rubber wastes with additives, which changed the organic chemical bonds of the basic material to inorganic chemical bonds through mineralisation processes.

This procedure in our equipment resulted in neutralization of the hazardous character of our waste material. Laboratory analyses have been proved that cadmium was applied as pigment and stabilizer material for the plastic waste material, while the basic material was contaminated with chrome at the same time. Starting basic material masses:

PVC 260 kg Polyurethane 35 kg

Polyethilene 205 kg Additives 500 kg

Totally 1000 kgs

Fine ground, 0-3 mm grain structured CaO additive was mixed into complex, unclassified, 0-3 mm ground plastic waste material in equal quantities and heated evenly to a core temperature of 780 C for 35 minutes and kept on 780 C for 15 minutes, meanwhile the additive and the waste material volatile chemically reacted under mechanical stirring and as the solid phase separated from the gaseous phase a cooling was performed for further purification and final utilization. The mixture of the material started to decompose immediately over 200 C temperature and as a result of the increased temperature the following final product was received:

Mineralized CaC12, CaCrO4 (calcium-chloride, calcium-chromate) 440 kg

Pyrolysis gas 270 kg

CaO carbon settling 290 kg

Characteristic of all the three final products was that cadmium contamination was present to a different extent while chrome appeared in the solid phase. Due to the character of the cadmium at this pyrolysis temperature primarily concentrated in the gaseous phase but remained in traces in the solid phase, too. (After burning the combustible gas phase cadmium concentrated in the remained ash and on the filter.)

The carbon settling on CaO was burnt thus the settled 180 kg carbon quantity appearing in form of ash was in excess 110 kg CaO.

With the combustion of pyrolysis gas significant amount of energy was received as the energy content exceeded 5500 kcal/Nm3. Gaseous materials received from the combustion of both solid and gaseous phases materials were purified and filtered by known methods which procedures yielded materials corresponding to the environmental prescriptions for permitted emission in the open air and/or other inorganic materials to be combined with other compounds.

Example No.4:

The aim of the experiment: closed system treatment of low fuel value lignite with a high sulphurs/phosphorous content and contaminated with hazardous materials for environment friendly economical utilizationn

Basic material: lignite

Date of the experiment: June, 1991

Quarry of the base material: Germany

Initial quantity: 1 ton Moisture content after pre-drying: 8.5 mass% Calorimetric value of the basic material: 12100 kJ/kg Max.temperature of the treatment: 695 C Dry distillation time period: 40 min

1) Analysis of the initial material %/kg: mass% weight kg

Humidity 8.5 85

Carbon 43.7 437.5

Ash 18.8 188.5

Volatile 24.4 244

Total sulphurs 3.4 34

Phosphorous 0.8 8

Other 0.3 3

Total 100 1000

Heavy metal content in ppm:

Cd 142

Ni 56

Pb 18

Average radioactivity concentration in Bq/kg: 19

2) Analysis of the solid phase after pyrolysis, %/kg:

Carbon 65 411.5

Slag 35 215.5

Analysis of the solid phase after combustion, %/kg:

Rest slag/ash/flue ash 58.5 303.5

Radioactivity concentration analysis in Bq/kg:

K-40; 415 Pb-212; 82 Cs-137; 53 Pb-210; 220 Cs-134; 22

Pb-212; 195 Ac-228; 96 Be-7; 7

Calorimetric value of the carbon end product: 28800 kJ/kg

3) Pyrolysis gas phase analysis %/kg:

Complex pyrolysis gas phase 65 257

Total water 25 100

Sulphur 8 32.5

Phosphorous 2 8

After the combustion of pyrolysis gas rest material analysis kg:

Calcium base added material 60

Rest ash/fly ash 3

After total solid rest gaseous phase 63

Radioactivity concentration analysis in Bq/Nm3:

K-40; 1 Pb-212; 0.5 Cs-137; 2 Pb-210; 0.8 Cs-134; 1.5

Pb-212; 1 Ac-228; 6 Be-7; 0.5 Concerning the combustion of the pyrolysis oil the treatment of flue gas was necessary as Sulphurs and Phosphorous was concentrated in this phase. Binding of Sulphurs and Phosphorous was reached by injection of lime into the combustion zone at calcination temperature over 1000 C and thereafter bound, stabilised calcinated gypsum was obtained, which after mixing with water was bound as gypsum concrete and this state was a long-term water insoluble one. The remained gases were purified with an already known method.

Example No.5:

The aim of the experiment: treatment of rest oil sludge or recovery of the oil condensate, respectively and purification of the contaminated soil in an economic manner.

Basic material: oil sludge

Date of the experiment: December, 1991

Quarry of the base material: Singapore

Starting quantity: 500 kg

Humidity content of the base material: 3.5 mass%

Sand content of the base material: 57 mass %

Oil content of the base material: 39.5 mass %

Maximum temperature of the treatment: 425 C

Dry distillation period: 30 min

The oil sludge waste material was condensed with indirect heat treatment. Thus the solid rest, the sand was purified from the oil and volatile contamination, vitrified by direct high temperature heat treatment and recovered for utilisation, while the valuable oil recovered in its liquid form after condensation.

It has been stated that the multi-phase treatment method is more advantageous in case of hazardous waste materials, since less gaseous and solid material are to be treated and these are chemically decomposed; homogeneous; treatable, further the purification and treatment of rest materials are simpler. Treatment with other additives, such as CaCo3 (calcium-carbonate) is also advantageous.

A solution of the scheme of the invention is presented in Figure 1. In Figure 1 the scheme of apparatus providing the treatment of nuclear and/or chemical waste material management is shown. Grinding device 1 is connected with drying equipment 2, drying unit 2 is connected with the distillery 4 and the condenser 3; distillery 4is also connected to the gas treating unit 5 or gas combustor 15 and the solid material combustor or mineralisator and/or vitrificator 9; the gas treating unit 5 is connected with the gas cooler 6; gas cooler 6 is connected with liquid combustor 13 and/or gas combustor 15; solid material combustor or mineralisator and/or vitrificator 9 and the liquid combustor 13 through solid material cooler 11 is connected with the pelletizer and/or utilisation unit 12; gas combustor 15 is connected to gas filter 10; condenser 3 is connected to the condensed-liquid treating device 14. the equipments of the scheme are connected through gas filter 10, liquid treating unit 7, solid material treating unit 16 and 12 and condensed-liquid treating unit 14 to the open environment.

The equipments of the scheme are connected with the open environment through gas filter 10, liquid treating device 7 and condensed-liquid treating device 14, solid material treatment device 16 and 12.

An advantageous scheme provides that the pyrolysis gaseous phase can be burnt directly without cooling getting gas burner 15 and through filter 10 the flue gas can be emitted to the open air. If this is the case gas treatment device 5, gas cooler 6, liquid treatment device 7, liquid burner 13 and condensing gas filter 10 can be omitted. In one another advantageous scheme cooler 8 and/or liquid treatment device 7 can be left out.

The connection arrangement grants the following material flows: the starting solid-state material is fed to distillery 4 through grinder 1 and dryer 2. In dryer 2 the most significant part of steam leaves the solid material. In distillery 4 gases and the remained steam leave the solid material. The remaining solid material enters solid material combustor or minerahsator/vitrificator 9, either through cooler 8 or directly; and utilised through cooler 11 and/or solid material treating device 12 or 16.

If the contamination character of the material permits the solid material, following the treatment in 16 treating device, can be released to the open environment. Steams from dehydrator 2 flow to condenser 3 where they are condensed, the condense-water enters the condense-water treating device 14 and from there after purification into the open environment.

The pyrolysis gaseous phase can be combusted immediately in gas burner 15 without cooling and the nascent flue gases through gas filter 10 can be released to the open air and/or utilized. According to another advantageous connection arrangement gas treatment unit 5 and gas cooler 6 form a multi-connected unit in which tar and pyrolysis oils and vapours precipitate. The tarry with a relative high steam content from gas cooler 6 gets to liquid treating device 7 while non-condensable gases enter the gas burner 15 from where they get into the gas filter 10 following the combustion and after purification to the open environment.

The water containing tar gets from liquid treating device 7 to liquid-burner 13 where it burns and the remaining ash is passed to ash cooler 11. From distiller 4 through cooler 8 the solid phase will be led to solid material combustor 9 where is combusted by adding air and/or oxygen. Combustion gases from solid material burner 9 and liquid combustor 13 get to gas filters 10 and from there to the open.

In solid material burner 9 the ash after combustion gets to ash cooler 11 and the cooled ash is to be led to pelleting 12. In pelleting 12 the ash mixed with additive will be formed to pellet or granulate and this pellet or granulate will be finally stored as dangerous material. If the character of the material's contamination permits the purified material in liquid treating device 7 can be released immediately to the open air. From condense water treating device 14 and liquid treating device 7 the purified water will enter the receiver.

An advantageous realization variant of the invented equipment providing treatment of nuclear and/or chemical waste materials is presented in Figures 2-5, where side view of the apparatus in Fig 2; front view of the apparatus in Fig. 3.

section of the apparatus in Fig. 4; section showing the sealings of the

apparatus in Fig. 5.

The apparatus 4 is rotating, permanently fed, closed, horizontally arranged and consisting of 401 cylinders and hollow axes 403 at the end of cylinder 401. Axes 403 are supported with ball bearing 402. One of the axes 403 is led into the loading house 404 while the other axis 403 is led into the unloading house 405. Axes 403 are separated with sealing 406 from loading house 404 and unloading house 405. Loading house 404 is provided with a loading opening 407 and gas exit branch 409. Into the hollow of axis 403 at the side of loading house 403 there is a built-in loading pulley 410. To the inner case of cylinder 401 at the side of unloading house 405 unloading paddles 411 are fixed.

The seal 406 with weights 4061 pulled cord 4062 of sealing segments 4063 and outer sealing rings 4065 placed between the walls 4064 of unloading house 405 and loading house 404 and sealing segments 4063 is made. Sealing rings 4065 are secured by holders 4066 fastened to the wall 4064 against radial displacement. The axial displacements of sealing segments 4063 and sealing rings 4065 is hindered by clamp unit 4067.

Claims

1. Method for the treatment of waste materials and/or nuclear contaminated materials characterised by that a starting basic material separated from metal wastes is used, the base material is ground, until a maximal grain size of 50 mm is reached, is dried below a relative humidity content of 30%, distilled on a core temperature of 400-1200 C under a pressure of 200-900 kN/m2 in oxygen-free reducing environment, vapours appearing at the dehydration will be condensed; solid material remained after distillation is combusted and/or mineralised and/or vitrified and/or utilized; vapours arising at distillation are burnt directly without cooling or cooled below 60 C and utilized; remaining ash is pelletized or granulated under a pressure of 50.000-300.000 kN/m2 and/or utilised.

2. Advantageous implementation of Claim lcharacterized by that material remained after distillation is cooled in oxygen free environment to room temperature.

3. Advantageous implementation of Claims 1 through 2 is characterised by that the liquid arising at the precipitation of gaseous phase will be treated.

4. Method according Claims 1 through 3 is characterised by that solid material remained after distillation will be activated prior to cooling with adding carbon dioxide and/or nitrogen and/or steam and/or noble gas and/or vapour and/or other chemical reagent and/or their mixture.

5. Method according Claims 1 through 4 characterizedby that all flue gases and/or liquid arising during the process and finally emitted will be purified from radiating and other environmentally hazardous materials.

6. Method according Claims 1 through 5. characterized by that to an extent of 15-125 mass% of the basic material Ca compounds are mixed to the ground basic material.

7. Method according Claims 1 through 6 characterizedby that the concentration parameters of all radiation and/or hazardous materials of flue gases and liquid will continuously be measured and the processes are controlled such a way, that radiation and/or hazardous material loading on the filters will be minimal.

8. Scheme for treatment of waste materials and/or nuclear contaminated materials characterized by that grinding equipment (1) is connected with drying equipment (2), drying unit (2) is connected with the distillery (4) and the condenser (3); distillery (4) is also connected to the gas treating unit (5) or gas combustor (15) and the solid material combustor or mineralisator and/or vitrificator (9); the gas treating unit (5) is connected with the gas cooler (6); gas cooler (6) is connected with liquid combustor (13) and/or gas combustor (15); solid material combustor or mineralisator and/or vitrificator (9) and the liquid combustor (13) through solid material cooler (11) is connected with the pelletizer and/or utilisation unit (12); gas combustor (15) is connected to gas filter (10); condenser (3) is connected to the condensed-liquid treating device (14), the equipments of the scheme are connected through gas filter (10), liquid treating unit (7), solid material treating unit (16 and 12) and condensed-liquid treating unit (14) to the open environment.

9. Advantageous realization variant of scheme according Claim 8

c h a r a c t e r i z e d by that there is a built-in cooler (8) between the distillery (4) and the solid material combustor (9).

10. Advantageous realization variant of the according to Claims 8 and 11

c h a r a c t e r i s e d by that distillery (4) is directly connected to the solid material mineralisator and/or vitrificator (9).

11. Advantageous realization variant of the according to Claims 8 and 9

c h a r a c t e r i s e d by that distillery (4) is directly connected through gas combustor (15) with gas filter (10).

12. Advantageous formation of scheme according Claims 8 through 9

c h a r a c t e r i z e d by that liquid treating unit (7) is built between gas cooler (6) and liquid combustor (13).

13. Apparatus for treatment of nuclear and/or chemical waste materials provided with rotary, closed, horizontally arranged cylinder (401) with hollow axes (403) placed on both ends of the cylinder (401), the axes (403) are supported by roller bearings (402) with the possibility of rotating movement, one of the axes (403) is led to the input house (404), while the other axis(403) is led into the output house (405), the axes (403) are separated from input house (404) and output house (405) with seals (406), an input pulley (410) is built-in into the hollow of the input house's (404) sideways axis (40) characterized as the input house (404) is provided with a loading opening (407) and gas exit branch (409), the output house (405) with an unloading opening (408) and gas leading stud (409), there are carrying-out shovels (411) fixed to the inner casing of the cylinder (401) at the side of the output house (405) and the sealing (406) is done by sealing segments (4063) drawn together by weights (4061) pulled cord (4062) and outer fitted sealing ring(s) (4065) placed between the input house (404) and output house (405) walls (4064) and the sealing segments (4063) further the sealing rings (4065) are secured by holders (4066) fixed to the walls (4064) against radial displacement, while the sealing segments (4063) and the sealing rings (4065) are secured against axial displacement by spring clamp unit (4067).