Chapter 2987

And those waste residues contain heavy metals such as lead, zinc, copper, chromium, cadmium, and indium, and even gold and silver. If these things can be recycled and extracted, they are of course very valuable mineral resources with extremely high economic value.

Su Xinghui said, "Dr. Guan, do you have any way to recycle and use these tailings?"

Guan Tongfu nodded, "Of course, if you want to treat heavy metal pollution, recycling and using tailings is of course one of them, because if tailings are piled up too much and not treated for a long time, they will flow everywhere with rainwater when it rains, causing pollution to the environment, and may even trigger natural disasters such as mudslides. Regular recycling and use of tailings can cut off the source of these pollutions."

Xin Jing said happily, "That's great, Dr. Guan. If you have this technology, our Baozhou mine tailings can all be handed over to you for centralized treatment."

For Xin Jing, this is really a very good piece of news. For the municipal government, the mines they have recovered need huge funds to resume production, and one of the huge expenses is environmental protection facilities.

To treat these wastewaters and waste residues, of course, professional environmental protection facilities are needed. Not to mention whether these mines have such professional technology, just the funds needed for every mine to launch environmental protection facilities is an astronomical figure.

Therefore, Guan Tongfu's arrival is the best news. The company he founded can treat these tailings, so these mines can completely sell tailings to Guan Tongfu regularly and ask him to treat them.

This is a win-win for both sides. These state-owned mines can not only treat these tailings but also get an income, while Guan Tongfu buys these tailings at a very low price. His technology can allow him to recycle these tailings and extract those valuable resources from them, obtaining considerable profits.

Guan Tongfu asked, "Mayor Xin, do you know how many tailings are piled up in the whole of Baozhou?"

Xin Jing knew this like the back of her hand. After all, it was the work she was in charge of. She said, "We have done incomplete statistics. The tailings piled up in the mines of the whole Baozhou City should be no less than 10 million cubic meters."

This number is quite terrible. 10 million cubic meters of tailings, what a huge source of pollution? Such a huge amount of tailings may also cause serious accidents, such as mudslides and other disasters. Once a mudslide occurs, it will also cause a devastating disaster to the villages downstream.

Guan Tongfu nodded, "With such a large amount of tailings, it is quite economically valuable. I can extract and recycle valuable minerals from the recycled tailings, and the valueless parts can be made into building materials such as environmental protection bricks, which can still generate great economic benefits."

Xin Jing nodded, "That's great. Then Dr. Guan, what way do you have to treat the soil and groundwater that have been polluted by heavy metals? Many experts say that the soil and groundwater polluted by heavy metals are irreversible and cannot be treated."

Guan Tongfu said, "The soil and groundwater polluted by heavy metals are indeed difficult to treat, but it cannot be said that they are completely irreversible. There are still ways to treat them, but the process of this treatment takes a long time and the cost is relatively high."

Xin Jing said, "Dr. Guan, no matter how long it takes and how high the price is, we must treat it. Otherwise, wouldn't such a large area be ruined? So, just say how to treat it."

Guan Tongfu said, "For areas with lighter pollution, you can apply a soil conditioner we are researching. This soil conditioner can chemically react with heavy metals to combine into a compound that is insoluble in water. This can prevent crops from absorbing heavy metals and can also prevent heavy metals from seeping into groundwater."

Xin Jing said, "What about areas with heavy pollution?"

Guan Tongfu said, "If it is an area with heavy pollution, in addition to applying soil conditioner, the best way is to use biological methods to treat it."

Xin Jing said, "Biological treatment?"

Guan Tongfu nodded, "Yes, biological treatment has two methods: plants and animals. The plant method is to plant some plants that have a very good absorption effect on heavy metals, such as viola, pteris vittata, paper birch, mangrove, ramie, etc. These plants have a very large absorption of heavy metals and can effectively reduce the heavy metal content in the soil."

"And the animal method is to put a large number of earthworms into the polluted soil. Earthworms can also accumulate heavy metals and reduce the heavy metal content in the soil. If combined with plant prevention and soil conditioner methods, it is also very effective."

"Of course, if you want to restore the polluted soil to the level before pollution, you must start from now, cut off the source of pollution, and then use a variety of treatment methods to treat it. It will take at least ten years or more, and it is not necessarily possible to fully recover."

Guan Tongfu's words made everyone very excited because this kind of pollution is not completely irreversible, and there are still ways to treat it. However, everyone's mood was also very heavy because it takes too long to fully recover, and it is not necessarily possible to fully recover.

Su Xinghui could not help but hate those profit-seeking private mine owners. It was precisely because of their own interests that Baozhou's great rivers and mountains were polluted, causing such serious consequences. Now, wanting to treat it requires such a high price.

Su Xinghui asked, "Dr. Guan, have you calculated how much money it takes to treat one mu of polluted soil with your method?"

Guan Tongfu said, "This also depends on the degree of pollution. In areas with heavy pollution, comprehensive treatment using a variety of treatment methods per mu of land requires at least several hundred to even a thousand yuan per year. Especially the plants planted on these soils, because they have accumulated heavy metals, are basically difficult to use and must be incinerated through special incinerators to recycle heavy metals."

Su Xinghui understood Guan Tongfu's meaning. The harvest of those plants cannot be used, which means that planting these plants cannot generate much economic value. Although some heavy metals can still be recycled through special incinerators, such a little economic value is a drop in the bucket.

The land polluted in the whole of Baozhou is at least hundreds of thousands of mu. To treat and restore these lands, the funds needed every year are at least hundreds of millions. What a huge number this is? And such treatment and restoration need to last for more than ten years. The total amount is simply unimaginable.

However, no matter what, this matter must be started. If these lands polluted by heavy metals are not treated and restored, they will leave endless harm, and the people of Baozhou City will all scold people.

As the parents' officials of Baozhou City, they must do this well for the people of Baozhou, so that they can be considered to have fulfilled the responsibilities of the parents' officials.

Su Xinghui and Xin Jing looked at each other. They both felt the heavy responsibility on their shoulders, but they did not shrink back. Their eyes were full of determination. If they couldn't even do this kind of thing, then what face would they have to be this vice mayor?