title: Chemical elimination of the harmful properties of asbestos from military facilities.
abstract: This work presents research on the neutralization of asbestos banned from military use and its conversion to usable products. The studies showed that asbestos can be decomposed by the use of phosphoric acid. The process proved very effective when the phosphoric acid concentration was 30%, the temperature was 90°C and the reaction time 60min. Contrary to the common asbestos treatment method that consists of landfilling, the proposed process ensures elimination of the harmful properties of this waste material and its transformation into inert substances. The obtained products include calcium phosphate, magnesium phosphate and silica. Chemical, microscopic and X-ray analyses proved that the products are free of harmful fibers and can be, in particular, utilized for fertilizers production. The obtained results may contribute to development of an asbestos utilization technique that fits well into the European waste policy, regulated by the EU waste management law.
authors.affiliation: Wroclaw University of Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland. Electronic address: adam.pawelczyk@pwr.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pawełczyk
authors.affiliation: University of Defense, Kounicova 65, 662 10 Brno, Czech Republic. Electronic address: frantisek.bozek@unob.cz.
authors.forename: František
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Božek
authors.affiliation: Wroclaw University of Technology, Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland. Electronic address: kazimierz.grabas@pwr.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Kazimierz
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Grabas
authors.affiliation: Wroclaw University of Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland. Electronic address: jacek.checmanowski@pwr.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Jacek
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chęcmanowski
mesh_terms: D001194:Asbestos / Q000737:chemistry*; D058749:Military Facilities; D010756:Phosphoric Acids; D011044:Poland; D013696:Temperature; D018505:Waste Management / Q000379:methods*; D014866:Waste Products / Q000032:analysis; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D010756:Phosphoric Acids; D014866:Waste Products; D001194:Asbestos; C030242:phosphoric acid
keywords: Asbestos; Health hazard; Military waste disposal; X-ray analysis