The Disposal of Transuranic Waste: Dolomite - Assignment Example

The Disposal of Transuranic Waste: Dolomite Introduction Dolomite is a mineral mined in Lumberville and Chesapeake areas in Delaware and it is made up of calcium and magnesium. It is used in the production of magnesium metal and magnesia which is used as refractory and ramming material in the melting of steel. It is also used as a fluxing material in the operation of blast furnace during the manufacturing of ferromanganese. In agriculture, dolomitic limestone is added to the soil to lower their acidity and as a source of magnesium. The mineral contains impurities such as chiefly silica, alumina and iron oxide. The percentage of lime and magnesia in the mineral varies. When the amount of CACO3 increases by over 10 percent, the mineral is called lime dolomite and a reduction in the percentage of MgCO3 is called dolomitic limestone. Dolomites are mined from the quarries through drilling and blast techniques. Quarrying is done selectively at several distinct levels called benches, this assist in managing the quality of the stone that may be varying due to hardness and chemistry composition. After extraction, secondary processing is carried out, that is simply crushing, grading and storing before being transported to the factories. At the factory, they are but in a kiln and burned at temperatures of up to 2000ºC hence changing the dolomite to double carbonate (Wolf, 2009). Waste resulting from the manufacturing and mining There are several wastes that result in the production of magnesium and magnesia. The first waste results from the mining. This is as a result of dolomites which are of low quality and they are not processed hence being left as waste in the quarry. Each quarry is approximated to produce up to 1.2 million tones of waste rocks every year, these large amounts of waste calls for a measure for minimizing it since it will end up being disastrous to the environment (Wolf, 2009). During the processing, less than 50 percent of dolomite is used while the rest is released as waste rocks. Project description The project will involve collecting dolomite waste materials from the quarry and factory, crushing into the sizes required for sand and aglime products and selling to the customers. Collecting the waste materials Lorries will be used to transport the waste materials from quarry and factory to the waste management plant. Crushing the waste The waste materials left in the quarry together with those released as wastes in the factory are taken to the crushing plant. A machine with two grinding parts and a series of sieves is used. The wastes are taken into the first grinding machine by use of a vibrating feeder. Once the materials are crushed, a vibrating machine is used to separate the one’s going to be the sand and the one that are going for further crushing. After the first crash, the remains are taken by the conveyer belt to another crushing machine for further crushing; here the remains are grinded into very fine materials called aglime (National Research Council U.S. 1996). This is achieved through crashing the waste materials and sieving them through a series of sieving materials until the right size is attained. The result required is normally a mixture of fine to very fine particles with sizes normally ranging form 0.01 to 0.05 inches (National Research Council U.S. 1996). This will produce a rapid reaction with the soil for the very fine particles and a sustained reaction with the soil for the fine articles. Aglum are used for agricultural purposes to treat soil. Soils become more acidic as a result of heavy use of fertilizers containing nitrogen. When aglime are applied in acidic soil, it neutralizes its acidity to nearly neutral level. This will benefit the crops by making the availability of nutrients to maximum and at the same time reducing aluminum toxicity and improving the texture of the soil. The aglime are put in sack and sold to farmers and the sand is used as building materials; they are then sold for construction of roads and houses. Advantages and disadvantages of using other minerals similar to dolomite The alternative materials that can be used instead of dolomite include limestone and olivine. Both lime stone and dolomite minerals can be used to neutralize the acidity of the soil, the disadvantage of using limestone is that it will not correct the deficiencies of magnesium in the soil; dolomite corrects the deficiency in the soil. When used as flux in steel industry in the production of steel, dolomite contributes magnesia and this is an additional benefit, these include the protection of steel vessel linings from chemical wear, this is not provided by the limestone and this is another disadvantage of limestone, the last disadvantage is that limestone is expensive as compared to dolomite (National Research Council U.S. 1996). In the manufacture of iron, the use of olivine is advantageous as compared to dolomite since olivine is lime free source of magnesia to be used as a slag and flux conditioner. The disadvantage of olivine is that it is very expensive as compared to dolomite. Conclusion In conclusion, the dolomite waste can be reduced through converting them into other useful use. The waste materials from quarry and factory are collected and grinded by the grinding machine to produce other products that can be useful. The products that results from the dolomite wastes include aglime and sand. Sand are used in the building of roads and houses while aglime is used in agricultural practices, it neutralizes soil acidity to almost neutral. There are other minerals similar to the dolomite and they can be used instead of dolomite, the minerals include olivine and limestone. These minerals have advantages and disadvantages when used instead of dolomite. References National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. (1996).The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant: a potential solution for the disposal of transuranic waste. New York: National Academies Press. Mark Wolf. (2009). Aglime: Agricultural limestone and dolomite in Ohio. GeoFacts. 26. Accessed on 3/8/12 at http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Portals/10/pdf/GeoFacts/geof26.pdf Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (U.S.). (2006). Industrial minerals & rocks: commodities, markets, and uses. Georgetown: SME. Read More