Air
Following our guiding principles, we set ourselves annual targets for environmental protection and pollution prevention by applying the best techniques and practices. The low level of pollution in the Pirdop region where the plant is located is a result of the continuing additional development and modernization of the production process and the stable functioning of the gas cleaning system.
Throughout the recent years numerous technical and organizational measures have been taken to diminish the high level of emission control and minimize all releases of harmful substances into the air and water.
Aurubis Bulgaria has an Air Quality Monitoring System in operation since 1999 and includes four monitoring points. In all four points continuous monitoring of sulfur dioxide is carried out, as in one of them fine particles are monitored.
The specific emissions of SO2 (Kg/t), dust and heavy metals have been reduced by 96 % from the year 2000 until now.
The specific dust emissions (g/t) per ton of copper output have decreased by 99,6% since the year 2000.
The main steps were as follows:
- numerous modernizations of both sulfuric acid plant lines (2001 – 2014)
- replacement of the heavy fuel dryers with steam dryers (2001 – 2002)
- first (conventional) gas cleaning system (2007)
- second (sulfacid) gas cleaning system (2016).
