Natural Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) consists of materials enriched with radioactive elements found in the environment. Usually, they are brought to the surface by oil and gas exploration or mining and its downstream activities.
The VacuDry® technology utilizes thermal separation to effectively process waste by breaking down complex radioactive, oil-laden sludge into distinct fractions. This process isolates non-NORM-contaminated water and oil from NORM-contaminated solids, ensuring that radioactive materials remain confined to the solid fraction. The extracted water and oil are free of radioactivity, with condensate and activated carbon filter measurements for all radionuclides registering well below 1 Bq/g.
By employing VacuDry® technology, water, oil, and mercury according to the composition can be efficiently removed from NORM waste, rendering these extracted components free of radioactivity. Meanwhile, the remaining solids, now more concentrated in radioactive material due to volume reduction, can be safely disposed of in dedicated landfills or long-term storages. There is no longer any danger from rusting or leaking drums or storage containers.
Benefits of VacuDry® for NORM waste plants:
- Mass & volume reduction of NORM waste
- Separating non-NORM contaminated water, oil and mercury
- Closed system & dust-free operations
- Input flexibility: liquid, pasty, solid – no limitations
- Simplified feeding and discharge system – minimizes residues inside the plant
- Trough chain conveyor or mobile feeding hoppers for feeding of solids and sludges
- Highest safety level – due to vacuum process
- Lowest emissions and carbon footprint
| Key Facts | |
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Sources: |
Contaminated sludge from natural gas drilling; oil and gas NORM waste from decontamination of pipes, tools and equipment; NORM containing oil lagoons |
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Input material: |
NORM sludge, NORM drill cuttings, other NORM waste |
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Output material: |
Water, oil, mercury, dried solid residue > 99 % pure minerals (containing 100 % of the NORM) |
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Plant design: |
Fixed or mobile execution 0.5 … > 5 t/h throughput capacity |
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Heating system fired by: |
Electricity, biofuels, hydrogen, recovered oil, diesel, natural gas, as well as hybrid systems are available |
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Optional: |
Remoistening, cooling and stabilisation of cleaned solid output |