Underground reutilisation

utv transport

What happens in underground reutilisation?

Underground reutilisation uses the material characteristics of the wastes by using them as backfill material for long-term-safe support of underground caverns.
Some of the older mining fields no longer comply with today’s strict safety standards. Back-filling them with waste material serves to support the pillars.
In addition to this benefit, this method also guarantees safe disposal.
Pneumatically transportable and only marginally contaminated wastes are particularly suited.

Waste types, such as

filter dusts and solid flue gas treatment residues from waste incineration plants
contaminated soils, and construction and demolition wastes
incinerated clearing sludges and fly ashes
contaminated drilling, lime or galvanic sludges

Backfilling methods

Depending on the properties of both caverns and wastes a variety of reutilisation methods is used.

Tipping backfill
(UTV Bernburg and UTV Zielitz):
Marginally contaminated wastes are deposited in the caverns as mining backfill mixtures or in sacks.

Stacking backfill
(UTV Hattorf- Wintershall):
More strongly contaminated wastes are conditioned, and are stacked in the mining caverns as big bags. Remaining gaps are then filled with salt.

Slurry backfill
(UTV Unterbreizbach):
Pneumatically transportable wastes are processed into high consistency slurry, which then hardens in the caverns.