Using Industrial Waste for Treatment of Urban Surface Runoff

A radical solution to modern environmental problems caused by the negative impact from human technological activity is possible through the use of zero-waste and low-waste technologies. In this case, industrial waste is used as valuable types of secondary material and energy resources that are generated in large industrial centers, where there are conceptual opportunities for their reuse. Agricultural waste is used as sorbents: corn husk, modified leaves near the cob after cleaning; foam blocks (building material made from a type of cellular concrete). The sorbate is surface wastewater from urban territories of the city of Chelyabinsk. The main pollutants of stormwater and snowmelt runoff in the city of Chelyabinsk, especially near surface sources, such as Smolino Lake and the Miass River (which are reservoirs for fishing purposes), have been identified. Under dynamic conditions, the use of crushed leaf corn husk is more effective for removing iron ions (76.5%); the removal of suspended solids by crushed foam concrete is 83.5%; and the combination of these sorption materials makes it possible to reduce the iron content by 70.6% and suspended solids by 95.7%. It makes it possible to propose a combined filter medium for treatment of urban surface runoff. The studied waste from the agro-industrial complex and construction production are environmentally friendly and effective sorption materials that allow purification from iron ions and suspended solids, which is necessary to protect surface sources from pollution by stormwater and snowmelt runoff.