A rational use of natural resources, creation of wasteless technologies and productions are actual tasks of economic development of different countries of the world.
Kazakhstan has a practically unclaimed carbon-mineral raw material – shungit rocks called so by the name of the contained in them carbon mineral – shungit. Shungit rocks form natural dumps and seams after mining and dressing polymetallic ores, the resources of which are sufficient for using them in production quantities. The content of shungit in seams and dumps varies from a few percent up to 25-30 %, in some places it exceeds 30 %. Quartzite and aluminosilicates form its mineral part.
The presence of carbon in shungit rocks in an active amorphous form and in close surface contact with silica, the carried out preliminary investigations of shungit rocks as well as quantitative evaluation of the resources allow to consider them to be prospective carbon-mineral raw materials for a wide range of fields of practical (industrial) use.
The carried out investigations including those within the framework of ISTC K-1700 grant as well as quantitative estimation of the resources allow to consider them to be a perspective carbon-mineral raw material for a wide range of fields of practical (industrial) use.
This project proposes to carry out applied works with the aim to create a pilot-industrial production of carbon containing materials and research work on introduction of the material into production.
The aim of the project is:
1) to create a pilot-industrial production of carbon containing materials, introduction of them into production as a substituent of conventional carbon materials:
- an active filler of rubbers and polymer composition materials;
- sorbent of cations of noble metals and organic pollutants for purification of industrial, drinkable and technological water contaminated with radioactive isotopes.
2) to determine the possibility of using the mineral component of shungit rocks as:
- an inert filler of rubber stock and polymer composition materials;
- a sorbent for purification of air from gaseous impurities;
- a carrier for carbon-metal catalysts.
The category of development of technology in the project – applied and commercial investigations.
As a result of the project realization, samples of carbon (active) and mineral fillers of elastomers will be obtained, a pilot-industrial technological line on production of conductive rubber, carbon, mineral, carbon-mineral sorbents, catalysts on the basis of shungit rocks will be created, physicochemical indexes of the obtained materials will be studied, the methods of their production and modification will be proposed.
Realization of the project meets completely ISTC aims and tasks and will allow to:
- widen scientific notions on the origin and nature of shungits;
- widen scientific notions on the molecular mechanism of the strengthening action of fine disperse fillers on the strength of rubber vulcanizations;
- create possibilities for development of technologies for production of the products which are commercially profitable and meeting the demands of national priorities of the country;
- provide alternative employment of “weapon” scientists and engineers in research activity;
- solve partially the problem of rational use of natural resources by proposing to use a non-conventional source of carbon and silicate raw materials for production of fillers of elastomers, sorbents, catalysts and carriers of catalysts;
- normalize the ecological situation by solving the problem of utilization of shungit wastes.
The project will be realized by the workers of the Centre of Physico-chemical methods of investigation and analysis of al-Farabi Kazkah National University and SPC “Ulba”, an affiliated division of National joit-stock company “Kazatomprom”.
The project participants are doctors and candidates of chemical and technical sciences are higly qualified specialists in the field of technology of inorganic substances, chemical physics, chemistry of HMS and analytical chemistry, catalysis. They are involved in research activity within the framework of the program “Creation and pilot-industrial application of technologies for production of deficit chemical products and reagents from wastes of chemical and metallurgical productions”, “Theoretical grounds for creation of wasteless technologies and materials”. At the institute-participants they carry out investigations on local shungit rocks compared to fillers of compositions materials, sorbents, catalysts and catalyst carriers.
Role of Foreign Collaborators/Partners
In the course of the project realization the following points are stipulated:
- exchange of information;
- presentation of comments to technical reports;
- joint use of equipment, tests materials and specimens;
- cross check of the results obtained during the project realization;
- participation in visiting of the working places of the project realization organized via ISTC;
- consideration and rendering assistance in wording of the final report with the aim of the best presentation of the results of the investigations carried out.
