20 May is celebrated in Russia as Volga River Day.
The Volga River is the country's main waterway and one of the largest rivers on the planet! More than 70 million people live along its banks, making it essential to prevent pollutants from filtering into groundwater and the rivers that feed the Volga.
For example, as part of the national Ecology project, the TechPolymer group of companies is implementing measures in several regions across the country.
Remediation of the site of the former Srednevolzhsky Chemical Plant in Chapayevsk:
- isolating the source of chemical hazard in Chapayevsk involves creating a soil-cement sarcophagus and installing an upper protective screen consisting of layers of TechPolymer geosynthetic materials and fertile soil. This will eliminate the threat of Class II toxic substances entering the Chapayevka River from sludge pond Sh2 and subsequently the Volga River basin.
Remediation of land degraded by distillery stillage in the village of Rozhdestveno, Samara Region:
- to remediate more than 42 ha of contaminated land, tent hangars have been built and a composting method is being used. This method uses thermophilic bacteria that destroy pathogens in contaminated soil. This technology is being used in Russia for the first time to restore land degraded by distillery stillage. Once remediation is complete, pollutant filtration into the soil will be stopped, the hangars will be dismantled, and Biomats will be laid across the entire site to restore vegetation.
Remediation of the landfill on Bezhetskoye Highway in Tver:
- polymer BlokTech tanks have been installed at the landfill to collect and discharge water. To create an active landfill gas removal system, gas collection pipes were laid, horizontal and vertical drains were installed, and a gas drainage layer made of Gidromat 3D was laid between the horizontal drains to ensure the collection and discharge of biogas.
Reconstruction of the Shchyolkovо wastewater treatment facilities in Moscow Region:
- these are the largest wastewater treatment facilities in Moscow Region, serving around 900,000 people. To protect the reinforced concrete tanks from aggressive environments, the V–LOCK reinforced concrete lining technology was used. Products lined with anchor sheet by TechPolymer combine the advantages of reinforced concrete — high strength and rigidity — with the properties of polyethylene (HDPE), including resistance to aggressive environments and high elongation at break.
Remediation of sludge beds in Kazan:
- to carry out the work, the sludge beds are cleared of sludge deposits. Then, to protect groundwater, a screen is formed along the bottom of the sludge bed from layers of reinforcing RD Geogrid, the “self-healing” bentonite mat Bentotech ASL, the anti-filtration Geomembrane, and the drainage geocomposite mat Gidromat 3D. Geotubes are then installed on the prepared base to dewater the sludge deposits. As a result, the Geotubes will contain “dewatered” technogenic soil, which serves as the remediation material.
Thanks to the Volga Rehabilitation project under the national Ecology project, the number of pollutant discharges into the river is planned to be reduced threefold this year!
