Task 1. In pairs answer the following questions:

Waste recycling plant

Unit 6

Task 1. In pairs answer the following questions:

- What are the main components of refuse?

- How one of the following components could be recovered from refuse: ferrous metals, glass, plastics, paper, organic materials, non-ferrous metals?

- What use could be made of the materials recovered?

Task 2. Pay attention to the correct pronunciation of the following words.

refuse
component
mixture
process

Task 3. Learn new words and phrases.

to recover	утилизировать отходы, восстанавливать
to recycle	утилизировать, использовать вторично
to reject	отклонять, отсортировывать, отбрасывать, браковать
hammer mill	молотковая дробилка, молотковая мельница
pulp mill	целлюлозный завод
to shred	кромсать, резать, измельчать
froth flotation	пенная флотация

Task 4. Translate the following words and phrases.

consumer society	eddy current mechanism	insulating material	residue
non-ferrous metals	manageable size	rotating steel arms	ferrous

Task 5. Make up your own sentences using words and phrases from the tasks 2,3,4.

Task 6. Skim the text and tell what the general idea of the text is.

Recycling domestic refuse

The consumer society produces more and more refuse. A number of solutions to this problem have been proposed. In some countries refuse is burnt to generate electric power. In Germany, producers must take back unwanted packaging for recycling. In other countries, householders are asked to separate out refuse so that it can be recycled more easily. This text describes an experimental plant in Holland designed to recycle domestic refuse.

The rubbish collected from households consists of a mixture of organic materials such as kitchen waste, and inorganic materials such as glass and plastic bottles, tin cans, and packaging.

The rubbish is first passed through a hammer mill to shred it. The mill consists of rotating steel arms which break up any large items to reduce them to a more manageable size. Any items which may cause damage later in the process are rejected at this stage.

The shredded mixture passes under an electromagnet which removes ferrous metals. Much of this is tin cans. Almost all ferrous metals are recovered in this way.

After that, the residue is carried by conveyor belt to an air classifier. A stream of air is blown through the classifier, which has a zig-zag shape. Low density materials such as plastic, paper, and some organic substances rise to the top of the classifier. Higher density materials such as glass and non-ferrous metals fall to the bottom and are discarded. These could be further separated out using a range of processes. For example, an eddy current mechanism could screen out aluminium waste. Froth flotation techniques could recover glass.

The low density portion is carried to a rotating drum where it is screened. Fine organic materials pass through the screen leaving a mixture which consists mainly of plastic and paper. The organic residue can be used for compost or to make bricks.

The next stage is to separate the plastic from the paper. This was initially a problem as both are similar in density. The solution is to wet the mixture. The paper absorbs water and as a result becomes denser than the plastic.

In the final stage, the wetted mixture is passed through a second air-classifier where the lighter plastic leaves from the top and the denser wet paper from the bottom. The recovered paper could be fed to pulp mills for further recycling.

The remaining plastic is a mixture of thermosets and thermoplastics. It is not easy to separate these out but the mixture can be melted and formed into insulating materials for building.

Task 7. Read and translate the text using a dictionary.

Task 8. Find Russian equivalents for the following words and phrases in the text: classifier, electric power, hammer mill, low density, recycling, shredded mixture, solution, to burn, to generate, to propose, to separate out, to shred, to wet the mixture.

Task 9. Find English equivalents for the following words and phrases in the text: извлекать, добывать, утилизировать; измельчать, кромсать; изоляционный материал; молотковая дробилка; отходы; пенная флотация; просеивать, отсеивать, сортировать; термореактивные смолы, классификатор.

Task 5. Study these notes on the first stage of the recycling process. They contain information on location (Where?), action (What happens?), reason (Why?), and method (How?). Read the text again to complete the notes for the other stages.

Stage 1

Where? What happens? Why? How?

- hammer mill - the waste is shredded - to reduce it to a manageable size - using rotating steel arms to break up any large items

Stage 2

Where? What happens? How?

- - - by magnetism

Stage 3

Where? What happens? How?

- - high and low density materials are separated - by a current of air which carries low density materials to the top while high density materials fall to the bottom

Stage 4

Where? What happens? Why?

- - the low density portion is screened -

Stage 5

What happens? Why?

- - to give the paper and plastic different densities

Stage 6

Where? What happens? How?

- - - by a current of air which carries low density plastic to the top while wet paper falls to the bottom

Task 7. Combine information on the other stages in the same way to make a full description of the recycling process. Note that you can help your reader understand the sequence by carrying information from one stage to the next, For example:

Stage 1 The waste is shredded.

Stage 2 The shredded waste...

Stage 5 The mixture is wetted.

Stage 6 The wetted mixture..

Task 13. Complete the following sentences:

- The consumer society produces more and more ….

- In some countries refuse is burnt to … electric power.

- In some countries, householders are asked to … refuse so that it can be recycled more easily.

-The … collected from households consists of a mixture of … … such as kitchen waste, and … … such as glass and plastic bottles, tin cans, and packaging.

- The rubbish is first passed through a hammer mill to … it.

- The shredded mixture passes under an electromagnet which removes … ….

- After that, the residue is carried by … … to an … ….

- … … materials such as plastic, paper, and some organic substances … to the top of the classifier.

- … … materials such as glass and non-ferrous metals fall to the bottom and are discarded.

- The low density portion is carried to a rotating drum where it is ….

- The … … can be used for compost or to make bricks.

- To separate the plastic from the paper the mixture should be ….

Task 14. Find in the text answers to the following questions. Work in pairs.

1. Does this plant screen out aluminium waste?

2. Does it recover glass?

3. Is recovered paper fed to pulp mills?

4. Is recovered plastic melted and formed into insulating blocks?

5. Is organic residue used for compost and bricks?

Task 15. Match the following definitions with their terms:

1. … is the only feasible landfill type in many areas of Germany, due to topographic and hydrogeologic conditions. Proper maintenance of the base, control of the landfill gas, safe operation, and long-term monitoring have led to the general acceptance of this type of landfill.	a. open pit landfill
2. … is often located in ravines and is thus open to at least one side. The bottom of the pit is sloped toward the open end and gravity drainage of leachate occurs.	b. valley or ravine landfill
3. … means a complete change of the landscape. Regarding development, operation, and leachate control, these types of land­fills have considerable advantages over closed pit landfills.	c. closed pit landfill
4. … is characterized by a base that is below the sur­rounding terrain. Steep embankments, which are generally difficult to seal, are the rule. The disadvantages of the pit landfill lie in the fact that the leachate must constantly be pumped from the bottom of the pit, and that landfill gas can migrate easily into the side slopes and escape uncontrolled.	d. area landfill

Task 16. Explain in your own words following words and phrases:

Disposable, rubbish tip

Task 17. Guess the term:

- … accommodate only one type of waste and often contain wastes such as rubble, C & D waste, discarded tires, and plastics. They are also used for sewage or industrial sludges which are generated in large quantities and for which presently no economical and/or safe means of reuse exists.

- … are characterized by the quality of the waste. For example, the incineration of different wastes leads to a volume reduction and to a con­siderable mineralization of the residues, which in turn results in less decom­position and leaching. Only those wastes that have few, if any, mobile contaminants are disposed in inert landfills.

- … are characterized by the toxicity of the materials to be disposed of. There are both intermediate storage facilities and final disposal sites for dealing with hazardous waste. An intermediate storage site is a structure on stilts, with containers or with a substructure, and accommodates primarily mixed wastes with undetermined and undesirable properties for final disposal. These wastes must remain in this controlled environment until proper treatment or safe disposal can be guaranteed. After the hazardous waste has been solidified and immobilized, underground mines, caverns or above-ground landfills can be used for final disposal.

Task 18. Find in the text and put down key words to speak about integrated solid waste management.

Task 19. Speak on the following topics:

Task 20. Translate the following sentences.

1. Проблема переработки и утилизации промышленных отходов является основной задачей инженеров по защите окружающей среды.

8. Утилизация мусора постепенно становится глобальной проблемой.

3. Из соображений здравоохранения, учёные стали разрабатывать новые технологии переработки мусора.

4. В последнее время технологии использования отходов, в качестве источника тепла, находит всё более широкое распространение.

Task 21. Write the abstract of the сhapter 5, i.e. express the idea of the chapter in some sentences.

Task 22. Render the text using vocabulary understudy.

Мегаватты из отходов

В экономически развитых странах все меньше бытовых отходов вывозится на свалки и все больше перерабатывается промышленными способами. Самый эффективный из них - термический. Он позволяет почти в 10 раз снизить объем отходов, вывозимых на свалки, причем несгоревший остаток уже не содержит органических веществ, вызывающих гниение, самопроизвольное возгорание и опасность эпидемий. Сейчас зарубежные специалисты делают ставку на мусоросжигательные установки, которые не только сжигают отходы, но и перерабатывают выделяемое при этом тепло в энергию. Тем не менее в большинстве стран выработка и утилизация тепловой и электрической энергии рассматриваются всего лишь как дополнение к обезвреживанию отходов. В этой связи особое внимание привлекает концепция "энергетического баланса", предложенная рабочей группой Всемирного энергетического совета: полученная энергия должна покрывать энергетические затраты на саму переработку мусора. Поэтому выбор технологии чаще всего определяется балансом производимой и потребляемой энергии. Наибольший эффект дают комплексные технологии (утилизация материалов и сжигание) или непосредственное сжигание неподготовленных отходов, а наименьший - компостирование отходов с захоронением неорганических остатков. Специалисты считают, что уже в ближайшее время сжигание с выработкой электрической и тепловой энергии будет основным способом переработки отходов. В будущем мусоросжигательные энергетические установки, скорее всего, войдут в интегрированную систему управления отходами вместе с предприятиями по утилизации и вторичному использованию некоторых материалов (стекла, металла, бумаги и т. д.). В этой области первыми добиваются успехов те страны, где остро ощущается "дефицит территории" и введены ограничения на захоронение определенных видов отходов. Еще в 1990 году в Японии сжигалось 74% отходов, в Швейцарии - 77%, в Дании - 54%. В прошлом году в Германии работало 57 мусоросжигательных заводов, в Великобритании - 23, а к концу века планируется ввести в строй еще 22. В США количество отходов, сжигаемых в установках с выработкой энергии, должно увеличиться с 30 миллионов тонн в 1990 году до 70 миллионов тонн в 2000-м.

Task 24. Render the text using vocabulary understudy.

Мазут из мусора

В поселке Ларьяк, расположенном в 200 километ­рах от Нижневартовска, топливо будут добывать на свалке. Районные власти приняли решение при­обрести комплекс термического обезвреживания твердых бытовых отходов, который предназначен для переработки мусора в газообразные и жидкие виды топлива. Приобретение комплекса вызвано двумя причинами. Во-первых, в этот поселок, хоть и расположенный на нефтедобывающей тер­ритории, но оторванный бездорожьем от Большой земли, топливо для котельных приходится заво­зить издалека. А во-вторых, населенный пункт на­ходится на острове, в водоохранных зонах рек Вах и Малый Сабун, и свалка становится здесь причи­ной загрязнения окружающей среды, поскольку вымывается грунтовыми водами во время половодья.

Вечерний Мурманск – 08.02.06

Дата добавления: 2015-11-04