Leaching toxicity and heavy metal bioavailability of medical waste incineration fly ash

The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive risk assessment for medical waste incineration fly ash from another aspect through various leaching methods. The differences and connections between leaching concentrations achieved via the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP), the physiologically based extraction test (PBET) and the sequential extraction procedure were also described. Heavy metal contents of the used medical waste incineration fly ash were 1.7–31 times higher than that from Japan, indicating poor medical waste management in China. The fly ash leaching concentration in the TCLP test exceeded the regulation value and can be characterized as hazardous waste under current regulations. However, the PBET concentrations were only 1/10 of the TCLP value or even lower, and the calculated ingested contents of all heavy metals were lower than tolerable daily intake, demonstrating that TCLP might have overestimated the environment risk to some degree. The leaching metal content of TCLP ranged from exchangeable to residual forms, and the leaching percentage varied from 7.75 to 92.55 %, while the content for PBET was equal to or lower than the exchangeable form.     

Leaching of heavy metals by citric acid from fly ash generated in municipal waste incineration plants

The leaching behavior of heavy metals from municipal waste incineration (MWI) fly ash was investigated in this study. The leaching process includes two steps, i.e., fly ash was firstly washed with water, and then subjected to citric acid leaching. The main parameters of the washing process such as liquid/solid ratio, washing time, and number of washing were tested. The optimum conditions for water washing were found as follows: washing time 5–10 min, liquid/solid ratio 10:1 (ml:g), and number of washing was twice; under these conditions, 86% Na, 70% K, 12% Ca, 1.2% Al, and 0.5% Pb were removed from the fly ash in the prewashing. From the results of screening tests of leaching lixiviants, citric acid was found to be the most effective leaching agent, taking account of its environmentally benign characteristics. Optimum metal extraction can be achieved with citric acid under the following conditions: pH 3.0, liquid/solid ratio 40 (ml:g), citric acid concentration 0.10 mol/dm³, contact time 20 min at room temperature.     

Leaching characteristics of residual lateritic soils stabilised with fly ash and lime for geotechnical applications

The effective use of residual lateritic soils as fill material for various construction activities is often limited by the difficulty in handling them. Attempt to improve their workability with fly ash and lime has shown promising results, although accompanied by risk of release of heavy metal leachates to the groundwater. In the present work, the leaching properties from residual lateritic soils from a part of Northeast India stabilised with fly ash and lime (CaO) was investigated with the help of single batch leaching test and column leaching test for different soil-fly ash-lime mixes. Test results show that the high pH induced by lime treatment of the mixes helps in keeping most of the metals within the stabilised soil matrix. Although the heavy metal concentrations in the leachates were generally within permissible limits, the release response for different metals was different suggesting implications for permeate solutions having metal pre-concentrations, such as those emanating from hazardous landfill sites. The observed characteristics provide insights towards the potential and realistic estimates of leaching of metals and its variation due to change in fly ash and lime content in the stabilised mix. Many of these constituents found in the stabilised soil had a first-flush phenomenon. But, as they occur only for short duration (about 5 pore volumes over 5 days) and at low concentration, dilution effect may eliminate them. The effect of continuous permeation on the flow parameters and the leaching pattern of the mixes have also been highlighted.     

Phosphorus recovery from municipal solid waste incineration fly ash

The potential of phosphorus (P) recycling from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) residue is investigated. Vast and ever increasing amounts of incineration residues are produced worldwide; these are an environmental burden, but also a resource, as they are a major sink for the material flows of society. Due to strict environmental regulations, in combination with decreasing landfilling space, the disposal of the MSWI residues is problematic. At the same time, resource scarcity is recognized as a global challenge for the modern world, and even more so for future generations.This paper reports on the methods and efficiency of P extraction from MSWI fly ash by acid and base leaching and precipitation procedures. Phosphorus extracted from the MSWI residues generated each year could meet 30% of the annual demand for mineral phosphorus fertiliser in Sweden, given a recovery rate of 70% achieved in this initial test.The phosphorus content of the obtained product is slightly higher than in sewage sludge, but due to the trace metal content it is not acceptable for application to agricultural land in Sweden, whereas application in the rest of the EU would be possible. However, it would be preferable to use the product as a raw material to replace rock phosphate in fertilizer production. Further development is currently underway in relation to procedure optimization, purification of the phosphorus product, and the simultaneous recovery of other resources.     

Leaching behaviour of bottom ash from RDF high-temperature gasification plants

This study investigated the physical properties, the chemical composition and the leaching behaviour of two bottom ash (BA) samples from two different refuse derived fuel high-temperature gasification plants, as a function of particle size. The X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the materials contained large amounts of glass. This aspect was also confirmed by the results of availability and ANC leaching tests. Chemical composition indicated that Fe, Mn, Cu and Cr were the most abundant metals, with a slight enrichment in the finest fractions.Suitability of samples for inert waste landfilling and reuse was evaluated through the leaching test EN 12457-2. In one sample the concentration of all metals was below the limit set by law, while limits were exceeded for Cu, Cr and Ni in the other sample, where the finest fraction showed to give the main contribution to leaching of Cu and Ni.Preliminary results of physical and geotechnical characterisation indicated the suitability of vitrified BA for reuse in the field of civil engineering. The possible application of a size separation pre-treatment in order to improve the chemical characteristics of the materials was also discussed.     

Water extraction with CO2 bubbling as pretreatment of melting-furnace fly ash for metal recovery

In Japan, melting-furnace fly ash (MFA) generated from ash melting and gasification/melting plants is considered an “urban mine” due to its high metal content. This study aimed to develop a novel approach to pretreating MFA for metal recovery. Water extraction with CO₂ bubbling was investigated because MFA mainly consists of water-soluble salts containing elements such as Cl, Ca, Na, and K. Instead of acid addition, CO₂ bubbling was applied to maintain the optimal pH for minimizing the release of target metal elements and maximizing the removal of undesirable elements during water extraction. The results revealed that CO₂ bubbling effectively decreased the release of Pb, Zn, and Cd into the treatment water. This was mainly due to coprecipitation with CaCO₃, which was primarily formed by the reaction of Ca²⁺ from the MFA with CO₃ ²⁻ from the CO₂ gas. The bubbling process also helped accelerate the removal of Cl from MFA. Furthermore, the study showed that it is possible to lower the water-to-solid ratio to 5 with only a slight reduction in water extraction effect. Finally, approximately four times the concentration of target metals (rare metals and Cu, Pb, and Zn) was achieved by removing 90% of Cl, 70%–90% of Na and K, and 30%–40% of Ca through water extraction with CO₂ bubbling, resulting in a concentration of target metals that was nearly equal to that of ore.     

Melting characteristics during the vitrification of MSW incinerator fly ash by swirling melting treatment

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Pilot tests of fly ash were investigated in a 0.2 MW swirling melting furnace at 1250–1400 °C. The properties of raw...     

Investigation of MSWI fly ash melting characteristic by DSC-DTA

The melting process of MSWI (Municipal Solid Waste Incineration) fly ash has been studied by high-temperature DSC-DTA experiments. The experiments were performed at a temperature range of 20-1450 degrees C, and the considerable variables included atmosphere (O(2) and N(2)), heating rates (5 degrees C/min, 10 degrees C/min, 20 degrees C/min) and CaO addition. Three main transitions were observed during the melting process of fly ash: dehydration, polymorphic transition and fusion, occurring in the temperature range of 100-200 degrees C, 480-670 degrees C and 1101-1244 degrees C, respectively. The apparent heat capacity and heat requirement for melting of MSWI fly ash were obtained by DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimeter). A thermodynamic modeling to predict the heat requirements for melting process has been presented, and it agrees well with the experimental data. Finally, a zero-order kinetic model of fly ash melting transition was established. The apparent activation energy of MSWI fly ash melting transition was obtained.     

Scenario analysis for recovery of rare earth elements from end-of-life vehicles

End-of-life vehicles (ELVs) are increasingly being recognized as a possible future resource pool for rare earth elements (REEs). This study provides the amount of REEs that can be recovered from ELVs in Japan based on dismantling survey, chemical identification and substance flow analysis. The REEs were quantified from common passenger vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles. We targeted 17 REEs in estimation of REE contents in ELVs. Four scenarios were developed to explore the recovery of REEs from ELVs. In these scenarios, NiMH batteries and motors containing NdFeB magnets were identified as target components due to they are main REEs carriers; we focused on interpretation of neodymium (Nd) and dysprosium (Dy) owing to they are two of the most critical REEs. The results suggest that 2700 (±500) tons of REEs can be recovered, of which 520 (±100) tons and 31 (±7) tons will be contributed by Nd and Dy in 2030. Meanwhile, the Dy recovered from ELVs can satisfy 23 % (±6 %) of the demand for NdFeB magnets and NiMH battery cells in automobile production of Japan; the Nd recovered from ELVs can satisfy 49 % (±9 %) of the production demands.     

粉煤灰-粉煤灰合成沸石对Cs~+的固化

以电厂废弃物粉煤灰为原料、采用碱熔-水热法制备了粉煤灰合成A型沸石(以下简称沸石),再以沸石对溶液中的Cs+进行分离富集,最后在碱激发剂的作用下以粉煤灰和吸附后的沸石制得地聚合物固化体。对固化体的性能进行了评价,并探讨了固化机理。实验结果表明:在吸附温度25℃、初始Cs+质量浓度100 mg/L、固液比10.0 g/L的条件下,沸石对的Cs+的吸附率达98%,比粉煤灰提高了2倍以上;沸石掺量为20%~30%(w)时,固化体的抗压强度符合GB 14569.1—2011要求,固化体中Cs+的42 d浸出率和累计浸出分数均远优于GB 14569.1—2011限值,表现出优异的抗浸出性能。     

Leaching behavior of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans from the fly ash and bottom ash of a municipal solid waste incinerator

The leaching behavior of dioxins from landfill containing bottom ash and fly ash from municipal solid waste incineration has been investigated by leaching tests with pure water, non-ionic surfactant solutions, ethanol solutions, or acetic acid solutions as elution solvents for a large-scale cylindrical column packed with ash. Larger amounts of dioxins were eluted from both bottom ash and fly ash with ethanol solution and acetic acid solution than with pure water. Large quantities of dioxins were leached from fly ash but not bottom ash by non-ionic surfactant solutions. The patterns of distribution of the dioxin congeners in the leachates were very similar to those in the bottom ash or fly ash from which they were derived.     

Thermal and hydrometallurgical recovery methods of heavy metals from municipal solid waste fly ash

Heavy metals in fly ash from municipal solid waste incinerators are present in high concentrations. Therefore fly ash must be treated as a hazardous material. On the other hand, it may be a potential source of heavy metals. Zinc, lead, cadmium, and copper can be relatively easily removed during the thermal treatment of fly ash, e.g. in the form of chlorides. In return, wet extraction methods could provide promising results for these elements including chromium and nickel. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare thermal and hydrometallurgical treatment of municipal solid waste fly ash. Thermal treatment of fly ash was performed in a rotary reactor at temperatures between 950 and 1050 °C and in a muffle oven at temperatures from 500 to 1200 °C. The removal more than 90% was reached by easy volatile heavy metals such as cadmium and lead and also by copper, however at higher temperature in the muffle oven. The alkaline (sodium hydroxide) and acid (sulphuric acid) leaching of the fly ash was carried out while the influence of temperature, time, concentration, and liquid/solid ratio were investigated. The combination of alkaline-acidic leaching enhanced the removal of, namely, zinc, chromium and nickel.     

Comparative study on the characteristics of fly ash and bottom ash geopolymers

This research was conducted to compare geopolymers made from fly ash and ground bottom ash. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium silicate (Na(2)SiO(3)) solutions were used as activators. A mass ratio of 1.5 Na(2)SiO(3)/NaOH and three concentrations of NaOH (5, 10, and 15M) were used; the geopolymers were cured at 65 degrees C for 48 h. A Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used on the geopolymer pastes. Geopolymer mortars were also prepared in order to investigate compressive strength. The results show that both fly ash and bottom ash can be utilized as source materials for the production of geopolymers. The properties of the geopolymers are dependent on source materials and the NaOH concentration. Fly ash is more reactive and produces a higher degree of geopolymerization in comparison with bottom ash. The moderate NaOH concentration of 10 M is found to be suitable and gives fly ash and bottom ash geopolymer mortars with compressive strengths of 35 and 18 MPa.     

Diopside-based glass-ceramics from MSW fly ash and bottom ash

By utilising MSW fly ash from the Shanghai Yuqiao municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration plant as the main raw material, diopside-based glass-ceramics were successfully synthesized in the laboratory by combining SiO(2), MgO and Al(2)O(3) or bottom ash as conditioner of the chemical compositions and TiO(2) as the nucleation agent. The optimum procedure for the glass-ceramics is as follows: melting at 1500 degrees C for 30 min, nucleating at 730 degrees C for 90 min, and crystallization at 880 degrees C for 10h. It has been shown that the diopside-based glass-ceramics made from MSW fly ash have a strong fixing capacity for heavy metals such as lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd) etc.     

Heavy metal speciation in various types of fly ash from municipal solid waste incinerator

Fly ash (FA) from municipal solid waste incinerators has been known as hazardous waste, which is mostly because of the high content of heavy metal and dioxins. Besides the content, the form of the heavy metals in fly ash is also very important, because it is tightly related with the leaching behavior of fly ash in diverse circumstances. To evaluate the environment potential risk of fly ash, the Tessier chemical extraction method was adopted. In this study, four kinds of fly ash were examined, one sample from China (CFA) and the other three from Japan (RFA, CaFA and NaFA). Five metal elements were detected and they were Ni, Cr, Cd, Pb, and Cu. The result of total heavy metals’ concentration showed CFA has the lowest content. As to the Tessier chemical extraction experiments, the results show that Cd, Pb, and Cu have higher leaching risk in the environment than other heavy metals. The result of leaching test experiment showed that the more exchangeable speciation of Cd, Cr and Pb in FA, the more it could leach out in natural environment.     

Vanadium recovery from oil fly ash by leaching, precipitation and solvent extraction processes

In order to reduce the environmental impact due to land disposal of oil fly ash from power plants and to valorize this waste material, the removal of vanadium was investigated using leaching processes (acidic and alkaline treatments), followed by a second step of metal recovery from leachates involving either solvent extraction or selective precipitation. Despite a lower leaching efficiency (compared to sulfuric acid), sodium hydroxide was selected for vanadium leaching since it is more selective for vanadium (versus other transition metals). Precipitation was preferred to solvent extraction for the second step in the treatment since: (a) it is more selective; enabling complete recovery of vanadate from the leachate in the form of pure ammonium vanadate; and (b) stripping of the loaded organic phase (in the solvent extraction process) was not efficient. Precipitation was performed in a two-step procedure: (a) aluminum was first precipitated at pH 8; (b) then ammonium chloride was added at pH 5 to bring about vanadium precipitation.     

Leaching behavior and mineral speciation of cement-solidified boiler fly ash from industrial waste incineration containing waste tires

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - This study characterizes the leaching behavior of fuel raw boiler fly ash (BFA) and cement-solidified/stabilized raw boiler fly ash (SBFA). X-ray...     

Removal techniques for heavy metals from fly ash

This study reviews different technologies for extraction of heavy metals from fly ash. With this perspective processes like bioleaching using microbes, carrier in pulp method, chemical extraction via acids, alkaline leachates and chelating agents, chloride evaporation process, electrodialytic and thermal treatments were studied thoroughly. A comprehensive comparison of all the techniques is also done by studying in detail their reaction conditions, metals leached and percentage extraction achieved. The study concluded that depending on the type of fly ash and metal under consideration determines the suitability of the process adopted for detoxification of fly ash. In addition to these, factors like cost, time and energy also define the final selection process.     

Quantifying the availability and the stability of trace cationic elements in fly ash

For adsorption-desorption controlled leaching processes, the total leachable mass and the adsorption constant are parameters representing the availability and the stability of trace elements in solid media. With these parameters, one can predict the leaching behavior of trace elements from solids under various pH and solid-to-liquid ratio conditions. An approach was developed in this paper to determine these parameters for model elements Cu(II), Cd(II), and Ni(II) in fly ash. This approach consists of a batch equilibrium titration, a batch equilibrium leaching with and without target element addition, and mathematical modeling. Results indicated that the adsorption constant of a trace element can be determined by modeling the adsorption ratio of the added element to the system as a function of pH. Results also indicated that the trace element originally present in fly ash had similar adsorption-desorption behavior as that added externally. By modeling the batch leaching data with and without external element addition, the total leachable mass and adsorption constant of the target element can be determined simultaneously. The total leachable mass is in agreement with experimental data from 50mM EDTA extraction.     

Leaching characteristics of woody biomass ash after low-temperature combustion

The leaching properties of trace elements in wood ash were examined to evaluate the safety of using woody biomass ash. Boron and selenium were detected in high concentrations not only in ash collected from an electric furnace but also in combustion ash from a small wood stove. As for the leaching of trace elements, the influence of calcium compounds on boron and selenium in wood ash is proposed. The leaching of trace elements is enhanced when calcium carbonate is the calcium compound in ash, although it is inhibited in the case of portlandite. There is little information in the literature that can be used to determine the effective use of wood biomass ash, thus limiting the development of woody biomass for applications such as thermal power generation.