Group of scientists from Chemical Institute of the Academy of sciences of Turkmenistan (led by Candidate of Chemical Sciences K. Moviyev) invented the method of production of sulphur and polymeric concrete from gas sulphur and industrial sulphuric wastes on the base of chemistry and natural and hydro mineral material laboratory (headed by Candidate of Chemical Sciences L. Atamalova).
New road construction material is a sulphur and mineral composition, which together with the fillers like quartz sand, gravel, dolomite and other, has no the cement as a binding component but sulphuric bonding material made under 145 147 digress temperature, which composition includes modified elementary sulphur and waste of industrial production of sulphuric acid, known as cake.
Patented method used to produce the composition supposes the addition of small portions of cake to the received co-polymer, which is sulphuric bonding or ordinary sulphuric cement, and further gradual adding of fine- and coarse-grained fillers like quartz sand and other.
Application of this method will allow accelerating technological process of making and formation of sulphuric concrete, sulphuric polymeric concrete and samples of industrial and road construction items.
Modified sulphur in concrete gives high exploitation characteristics to the materials. Received composite is highly durable, water- and cold-proof, thermoplastic and adhesive in road pavements. Polymeric structures serves to aesthetic purposes as well as they improve the flexibility of materials and make colour gamma more expressive.
Sulphuric concrete made by Turkmen scientists in the laboratory has also antibacterial features, resistant to radiation exposure and meet sanitary and technical standards.
Industrial application of sulphur by our scientists is obvious.It serves as the material for production of sulphuric acid at the chemical plant in Turkmenabat and the issue of disposal and rational use of entire volume of sulphuric wastes of the facility is very vital.
In addition, recently, number of big deposits of hydrocarbon materials has been discovered and put into operation in the country.the material contains 5 7 percent of sulphur extracted during industrial production of oil products and sales gas.
These days, thousands tons of gas sulphur is generated at the gas fields.
Modern petrochemical complexes are to be put into operation in Kiyanly and Ovadan-depe this year.The facilities will separate sulphuric additives from natural gas.Other facilities using sulphur extraction during gas processing will appear.
The volumes of extracted gas sulphur will increase after the growth of total volumes of oil, gas and their derivatives production.The problem of processing of non- disposable wastes of sulphuric acid production in Turkmenabad also remains very topical.
Today, the world produces 10 percent of this material than it uses. Therefore, this is priority method of industrial application of sulphur in all sulphur generating facilities and its development is treated with great attention.
Ways of rational use of gas sulphur are searched intensively in technical production spheres.For example, developments of multi-tonnage production of sulphur containing composite materials are carried out in construction material industry.
It is explained by the fact that sulphur has number of unique physical and mechanical properties making unlimited opportunities for its technical application in combination with other natural components, industrial wastes, oil and gas materials in the construction.
Bonding ability allows using it instead of cement in road construction compositions. Important advantage of the technology of sulphuric polymeric concrete is absence of water in technological process what allows to do the work in minus degrees.
Such called “sulphuric cements” have advantages comparing with Portland cement, regular bonding and composite substances, first of all in strength and adhesive ability as well as in durability. Sulphuric acid reaches necessary strength for few hours. Its production cost is 1.2 1.5 times lower that regular analog.
Cement composition, which are unique by technical characteristics, have already been made in different countries.The Russian Federation made the State Standards for modified sulphur the product of chemical reactions of the substance with rich hydrocarbons of oil and gas processing with sulphur content of 94.5 percent.
The product is designated for production of sulphuric asphalt, where expensive bitumen was replaced with sulphuric bonding components.At the same time, the placeability of asphalt and concrete mixture, its heat- and wear- resistance is increased.
Sulphuric concretes are successfully used for deep foundations with high level of ground waters as well as for making of sewage and water wells and pipes, covers of central heating lines, waste (acids, heavy metals solutions and nuclear wastes with low level of radiation) disposal tanks, hydro technical facilities, irrigation channels, etc.
Spectrum of application of sulphuric concrete is quite wide ferro concrete piles, foundation slabs and solid foundations, railway cross-ties, road and walkway slabs, road and industrial pavement.
According to the scientists of the Chemical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan, the subject of disposal and implementation of sulphur in the country is very perspective especially for road construction industry, which are the main consumers of mineral and material production.
It is not occasionally that Turkmen chemists worked over technological solutions under the agreement with the State Concern Turkmenawtoyollary.Unfortunately, the partnership is ceased at the moment, although the application of sulphur for production of sulphuric and sulphuric polymeric bonding preservative composite solutions and additives to asphalts and concretes are more than urgent.
For example, 40 percent of expensive road bitumen can be replaced with modified sulphur during production of sulphuric asphalt.
Recently, road traffic is getting more intensive in the country, therefore the requirements to road conditions are getting more strict and requirements in asphalt concretes with improved exploitation features is growing.
Scientists of the Chemical Institute continue studying the characteristics of new materials with application of sulphur. Using of this bonding and modifying component in sulphuric bitumen compositions is considered as the most perspective direction, which would allow not only increasing total content of bonding component but also improving the quality of the mixture.
Use of modifiers in production of sulphuric concretes will be supported by the availability of various petrochemical materials in the country including the fractions of unsaturated hydrocarbons of the cracking, semi-coking and pyrolysis.
Using this materials, it is planned to make products from polystyrene extracted from ethylene and benzene, which in their turn received in big volumes from straight-run gasolines at Seydi Refinery and Turkmenbashy Refinery Complex.
Installation of the units for testing of the conditions of industrial production of materials with application gas sulphur and sulphuric wastes is required ford successful introduction of new technology to production. Economic reasonability of using of such materials in different spheres including in construction material industry is obvious.