1997–2004
Environmental Remediation Program
The metallurgical plant “Georgi Damyanov” operated as a state-owned company from 1957 to 1997. In this period, the state of Bulgaria made insufficient investments in environmental protection, resulting in significant impacts to the local environment. The plant was privatized in 1997 by the Belgian group Union Minière. The privatization contract included an Environmental Remediation Program with a budget of US$ 25 million. The program included demolition of abandoned industrial buildings and safe disposal of the generated debris, remediation of waste storage areas (the sludge pond known as “Blue Lagoon”, a fayalite storage area, a slag storage area) and remediation of contaminated soil throughout the plant.
2004
Belgian Prize for the Environment
Umicore was granted the Belgian Prize for the Environment 2003- 2004 in the category “Interna-
tional cooperation for sustainable development” for the successful completion of the Environmental Remediation Program.
2004
Construction of the second sludge landfill The second specialized landfill for calcium arsenate sludges was constructed and operates in full compliance with all environmental requirements, ensuring the high- est protection of soil and groundwater.
2005
First IPPC permit issued
In June 2005 Umicore’s environmental protection efforts were recognized with a permit under the European Inte- grated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (IPPC) as part of Bulgaria’s accession to the EU. The directive comprises the integrated avoidance and reduction of environmental pollution in specific industrial activities.
2005
Upgrade of the sulfuric acid plant
The gases rich in SO2 which are formed during the copper concentrate smelting process in the flash smelting furnace and the converter are cleaned, dried, converted into SO3 and then adsorbed in the sulfuric acid production plant. The plant consists of two identical systems which are fully automated and produce concentrated sulfuric acid, both for external clients and for internal needs.
2006
ISO 14001 certification of the Environmental Management System
In March 2006 the Pirdop site’s Environmental Management System was successfully certified in accordance with the ISO 14001 standard by an external auditor for the first time.
2002
2002
Construction of fayalite landfill
A specialized landfill for fayalite, the waste material from the operation of the flotation plant, was constructed and operated in full compliance with all environmental requirements. The second stage of the landfill was com- pleted in 2008 and the third stage is under construction and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2015.
2005
2005Opening of wastewater treatment plant In May 2005 a new wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) started operation. The WWTP employs a modern technology designed by a Canadian company for the treatment of industrial waste- water in a three-step process, which guarantees compliance with the water emission limits.
2012 – ongoing project
Utilization of waste materials and introduction of a new product in the product line
At the end of 2012, Aurubis Bulgaria AD was approved to receive European co-funding for a project for waste materials recycling and the introduction of a new prod- uct in the company’s product line. The project is being financed by the Operational Programme “Development of the Competitiveness of the Bulgarian Economy” 2007-2013, funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund and the national budget of the Republic of Bulgaria. The contract is for 50% grant assistance and is within the framework of the project “Investments in Green Industry”, which is part of the Operational Programme. The project covers several components connected with the purchase and commissioning of new scrap processing equipment, as well as implementation of a filter press for fayalite dry- ing, which will open up more possibilities for utilization of this by-product.
2008
Construction of the third sludge landfill
The third specialized landfill for calcium arsenate sludges was constructed and operates in full compliance with all environmental requirements, ensuring the highest protection of soil, surface water and groundwater. October 7, 2010
Re-opening of renovated slag flotation installation With the expansion of the slag flotation plant, the company reached a copper concentrate capacity of 800,000 t annually, which is an indicator of a significant increase of the previous capacities by 30 %. The latest technology is implemented in the new facility – a new autogenous mill with a length of 7.8 m and a width of 6.5 m, three additional flotation cells (with 70 m3 volume each) and fully automated flotation and milling processes. In addition to the increased capacity of copper slag processing, the copper recovery rate has also increased, further improving the site’s resource efficiency.
2008
2008
Construction of secondary gas cleaning system The secondary gas cleaning system employs the best available techniques (BAT) for emissions control of gases from copper smelters. Its operation significantly decreases the emissions of particulate matter and sulfur dioxide to the atmosphere. The installation was designed by the Canadian company WorleyParsons HG Engineering Ltd and the German company Lurgi Bischoff GmbH and consists of a wet scrubber, a dry scrubber and a baghouse filter, which operate continuously. The cleaned gases are emitted through the 325 m stack.
October 28, 2008 Opening of new refinery
The new refinery operates according to the latest technology in accordance with ISA 2000 (Australia). The process is managed and controlled by the auto- matic management system DCS 7. The construction of the new refinery was an € 82 million investment and was the largest industrial investment in Bulgaria for that period.
2011-2014
“Aurubis Bulgaria 2014” investment program This € 44.2 million project includes environmental measures amounting to € 26 million and aims to improve processes and optimize the environmental performance of the smelter. The project consists of expanding the concentrate dryer’s baghouse filters, replacing the concentrate burner, expanding the smelting furnace’s cooling system, as well as modifying and increasing
the heat exchange capacity of the boiler utilizer. The main environmental contribution of the project is the construction of a new secondary gas cleaning system. The new system will employ a modern sulfuric acid technology, Sulfacid, which will be unique for Bulgaria as well as for the global copper smelting industry. This new emissions control installation will further reduce the air emissions from the smelter.
November 18, 2014
Opening of rainwater treatment plant
The total amount of the environmental project was € 6.3 million and was funded by Aurubis. The activities were carried out in one year, covering the construction of a wastewater treatment plant with a capacity of 250 m3/h and buffer pools for incoming sewage. The new wastewater treatment plant treats rainwater and drainage water from the company premises, an area of 4 km², in order to reduce water emissions. The current technology is in full compliance with the best available techniques (BAT). Some of the purified water will be reused in the production process, thereby reducing the consumption of fresh water and protecting the environment.
2014
Festive kick-off (from left): Bulgaria’s Minister of Economy Bozhidar Lukarski, Deputy Minister of Environment and Water Krasimir Jivkov, former Aurubis Executive Board Member Dr. Frank Schneider, Aurubis Bulgaria Executive Director Tim Kurth and German Ambassador to Bulgaria Detlef Lingemann