Natural Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) consists of materials enriched with radioactive elements that are found in the rock formations and brought to the surface through oil and gas exploration or mining activities. NORM requires strong expertise to ensure safe disposal and compliance with environmental regulations.
Since more than 20 years econ’s VacuDry® technology physically separates the different fractions of hazardous wastes through thermal separation, braking up a difficult to handle radioactive, oily sludge matrix into clean water, clean oil and dry mineral solids. The radioactivity remains in the solid residue. The extracted water and oil is free of any radioactivity and allowing it to be reused.
As a result, the mass and volume of the NORM waste is significantly reduced. Secondly, once the solids are oil-free, they can be immobilized using cement or geopolymer. The NORM material is now ready for safe long-term storage.
