Utilization of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash in ceramic brick: product characterization and environmental toxicity

In this study, municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash was used as a blending in making ceramic brick based on its characterization and an orthogonal test was performed to determine the optimal mixture ratio of the materials. Besides, the fired bricks made in accordance with the optimal mixture ratio were characterized for performance, phase transformation, microstructure, leaching toxicity of the heavy metals in accordance with GB/T 2542-92 (Detection methods for bricks analysis, China) and by means of XRD, SEM and leaching toxicity analysis. It was found that the optimal mixture ratio of materials (MSWI fly ash:red ceramic clay:feldspar:gang sand) was 20:60:10:10 by mass, and the optimal sintering temperature was 950 °C. Leaching results of heavy metals from sintered bricks were reduced considerably in comparison with those from green bricks prior to sintering process. The results as a whole suggested that utilization of MSWI fly ash in ceramic brick constituted a potential means of adding value.     

Effect of sintering temperature on the properties and leaching of incinerator bottom ash.

The fine particle size fraction of municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash is often problematic because reuse applications for this material are limited. In these experiments incinerator bottom ash with a particle size of less than 8 mm was processed using conventional ceramic production techniques involving wet milling, drying, compacting and sintering. The effect of sintering temperature on the sintered density, microstructure, acid neutralization capacity (ANC) and the release of metal ions as a function of leachate pH are reported. Sintering at 1080 degrees C produced samples with maximum density. This material contained diopside (CaMgSi2O6), clinoenstatite (Mg2Si2O6) and wollastonite (CaSiO3) as the major crystalline phases. The acid neutralization capacity of sintered samples is significantly lower than milled bottom ash, and further reduces as the sintering temperature increases. This is associated with reduced leaching of Ca from sintered ash samples under all leachate pH conditions. Heavy metals present in the incinerator bottom ash included Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn, Cd and Pb. Sintering under optimum conditions reduced the leachable fraction of these metals under aggressive acid conditions (leachate pH 3) by factors ranging from 90% for Ni to greater than 99% for Cr, Cd, Zn and Pb.     

Effects of the type of sintering atmosphere on the chromium leachability of thermal-treated municipal solid waste incinerator fly ash

The sintering process offers an opportunity to combine detoxification and resource recovery for the treatment of municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerator fly ash. However, the chromium (Cr) in the sintered fly ash becomes more readily leachable with increasing sintering time and temperature, thus posing severe threats to the environment and human health when the sintered ash is recycled or reused. This study investigated the enhanced leachability of fly ash containing Cr, by heating the chromium (III) oxide (Cr2O3)-spiked fly ash to 800 degrees C in atmospheres containing air, nitrogen gas (N2), and 5% H2 + 95% N2, respectively. The results indicated that trivalent chromium was converted to its soluble hexavalent form during sintering in the air atmosphere; whereas sintering in a nitrogen atmosphere significantly reduced the leachability of Cr due to lack of oxygen (O2) to oxidize. The effects of the sintering temperature on the total chromium content and the leaching concentration in the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) extract are also discussed.     

Physical characteristics of sintered fly ash aggregate containing clay binders

A comprehensive research has been conducted to explore the influence of sintering on the properties of fly ash aggregate containing clay binders (bentonite and kaolinite). Fly ash aggregate containing clay binders, have been subjected to various sintering temperatures at different durations of 700?C1400?°C and 15?C120?min, respectively. The variation in aggregate properties, viz strength, water absorption, density and shrinkage during sintering, have been determined and discussed. In addition to these, the uniformity of sintering and rate of water absorption of sintered aggregate were also determined. No significant changes in aggregate properties were observed for aggregate sintered up to 900?°C, due to the insufficient sintering temperature range. However, the aggregate properties substantially enhanced for temperature above 1000?°C, which is attributed to the activation of liquid phase sintering. For temperatures between 1000 and 1300?°C, the aggregate with bentonite shows significant increase in shrinkage (30?%), density (density ratio 0.70), higher ten percent fines value (TPFV) (6.13?tonne), reduction in porosity (35?%), and water absorption of 4?%. However, at 1400?°C, the aggregate properties degraded due to the decomposition of mineral phases in bentonite. For aggregates with kaolinite, highest TPFV of 8.5?tonne with lowest water absorption of 2?% have been observed at 1400?°C. The presence of a higher amount of interconnected pores for aggregates sintered between 700 and 1000?°C leads to a higher rate of water absorption and then reduces to 30?% for temperatures between 1200 and 1300 and 1200 to 1400?°C for bentonite and kaolinite aggregates, respectively. This reduction is due to the reduced interconnected pores. Duration of sintering has no impact on the aggregate properties for temperatures up to 800 and 1000?°C for aggregates with bentonite and kaolinite, respectively. However, between 1000 and 1400?°C, there has been considerable improvement in the aggregate properties for increasing duration up to 60?min. In comparison, during sintering, aggregates with bentonite possessed better properties for temperature less than 1000?°C, whereas aggregates with kaolinite exhibited superior properties between 1100 and 1400?°C.     

Coal fly ash utilization: low temperature sintering of wall tiles

We present here a study of the sintering of fly ash and its mixture with low alkali pyrophyllite in the presence of sodium hexa meta phosphate (SHMP), a complex activator of sintering, for the purpose of wall tile manufacturing. The sintering of fly ash with SHMP in the temperature range 925-1050 degrees C produces tiles with low impact strength; however, the incremental addition of low alkali pyrophyllite improves impact strength. The impact strength of composites with 40% (w/w) pyrophyllite in the fly ash-pyrophyllite mix satisfies the acceptable limit (19.6J/m) set by the Indian Standards Institute for wall tiles. Increasing the pyrophyllite content results in an increase in the apparent density of tiles, while shrinkage and water absorption decrease. The strength of fly ash tiles is attributed to the formation of a silicophosphate phase; in pyrophyllite rich tiles, it is attributed to the formation of a tridymite-structured T-AlPO(4) phase. Scanning electron micrographs show that the reinforcing rod shaped T-AlPO(4) crystals become more prominent as the pyrophyllite content increases in the sintered tiles.     

Fly ash of mineral coal as ceramic tiles raw material

The aim of this work was to evaluate the use of mineral coal fly ash as a raw material in the production of ceramic tiles. The samples of fly ash came from Capivari de Baixo, a city situated in the Brazilian Federal State of Santa Catarina. The fly ash and the raw materials were characterized regarding their physical chemical properties, and, based on these results; batches containing fly ash and typical raw materials for ceramic tiles were prepared. The fly ash content in the batches varied between 20 and 80 wt%. Specimens were molded using a uniaxial hydraulic press and were fired. All batches containing ash up to 60 wt% present adequate properties to be classified as several kinds of products in the ISO 13006 standard () regarding its different absorption groups (pressed). The results obtained indicate that fly ash, when mixed with traditional raw materials, has the necessary requirements to be used as a raw material for production of ceramic tiles.     

Water washing effects on metals emission reduction during municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) fly ash melting process

This study investigated that water washing effects on the metals emission reduction in melting of municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) fly ash. Experimental conditions were conducted at liquid-to-solid (L/S) ratio 10, 20, and 100 for water-washing process and its subsequent melting treatment at 1450 °C for 2 h. The simple water-washing process as a pre-treatment for MSWI fly ash can remove most of the chlorides, leachable salts, and amphoteric heavy metals from the MSWI fly ash, resulting in the washed ash having lowered chlorine content. MSWI fly ashes washed by L/S ratio 10 and above that were melted at 1450 °C produced slag containing relatively high vitrificaton ratio of Cu and Pb. Besides, the vitrification ratios of Na, K, Ca, and Mg in washed MSWI fly ash were also higher than that of MSWI fly ash. The results indicated that washed MSWI fly ash can reduce the emission of metallic chlorides during its subsequent melting treatment.     

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.     

Recovery of municipal waste incineration bottom ash and water treatment sludge to water permeable pavement materials

Water treatment plant sludge and municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash are non-hazardous residues, and they can be reprocessed to produce useful materials for city public works. In this study, an effort was endeavored to investigate the properties of water permeable bricks made of water treatment sludge and bottom ash without involving an artificial aggregate step. The water treatment plant sludge was dried and ground, and the bottom ash was subjected to magnetic separation to remove ferrous metals. Both sludge and bottom ash were ground and sieved to a size of <2mm. Different contents of water treatment sludge (70-95% by weight) were mixed with bottom ash and the blocks were molded under a pressure of 110 kg/cm2. Thereafter, the molded blocks were sintered at temperatures of 900-1200 degrees C for 60-360 min. The compressive strength, permeability and water absorption rate of the sintered brick were examined and compared to relevant standards. The amount of bottom ash added in the mixture with water treatment sludge affects both the compressive strength and the permeability of the sintered bricks. The two effects are antonymous as higher bottom ash content will develop a beehive configuration and have more voids in the brick. It is concluded that a 20% weight content of bottom ash under a sintering condition of 1150 degrees C for 360 min can generate a brick with a compressive strength of 256 kg/cm2, a water absorption ratio of 2.78% and a permeability of 0.016 cm/s.     

Ceramic processing of incinerator bottom ash

The <8 mm fraction of aged incinerator bottom ash from a commercial incinerator (energy from waste) plant has been collected at regular intervals, characterised and processed to form ceramic materials. Ashes were sieved, wet ball milled, dried, compacted and sintered at temperatures between 1080 and 1115 degrees C. Variations in the chemical composition and mineralogy of the milled ash, and the mineralogy, physical properties and leaching of sintered products have been assessed. Milling produces a raw material with consistent chemical and mineralogical composition with quartz (SiO(2)), calcite (CaCO(3)), gehlenite (Ca(2)Al(AlSi)O(7)) and hematite (Fe(2)O(3)) being the major crystalline phases present. Different batches also milled to give consistent particle size distributions. Sintering milled incinerator bottom ash at 1110 degrees C produced ceramics with densities between 2.43 and 2.64 g/cm(-3) and major crystalline phases of wollastonite (CaSiO(3)) and diopside (CaMgSi(2)O(6)). The sintered ceramics had reduced acid neutralisation capacity compared to the as-received ash and exhibited reduced leaching of Ca, Mg, Na and K under all pH conditions. The leaching of heavy metals was also significantly reduced due to encapsulation and incorporation into glassy and crystalline phases, with Cu and Al showing greatly reduced leaching under alkali conditions.     

The effects of the mechanical–chemical stabilization process for municipal solid waste incinerator fly ash on the chemical reactions in cement paste

A water extraction process can remove the soluble salts present in municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) fly ash, which will help to increase the stability of the synthetic materials produced from the MSWI fly ash. A milling process can be used to stabilize the heavy metals found in the extracted MSWI fly ash (EA) leading to the formation of a non-hazardous material. This milled extracted MSWI fly ash (MEA) was added to an ordinary Portland cement (OPC) paste to induce pozzolanic reactions. The experimental parameters included the milling time (96 h), water to binder ratios (0.38, 0.45, and 0.55), and curing time (1, 3, 7 and 28 days). The analysis procedures included inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP/AES), BET, mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging. The results of the analyses indicate that the milling process helped to stabilize the heavy metals in the MEA, with an increase in the specific surface area of about 50 times over that of OPC. The addition of the MEA to the OPC paste decreased the amount of Ca(OH)₂ and led to the generation of calcium–silicate–hydrates (C–S–H) which in turned increased the amount of gel pores and middle sized pores in the cement. Furthermore, a comparison shows an increase in the early and later strength over that of OPC paste without the addition of the milled extracted ash. In other words, the milling process could stabilize the heavy metals in the MEA and had an activating effect on the MEA, allowing it to partly substitute OPC in OPC paste.     

Treatment and recycling of incinerated ash using thermal plasma technology

To treat incinerated ash is an important issue in Taiwan. Incinerated ashes contain a considerable amount of hazardous materials such as dioxins and heavy metals. If these hazardous materials are improperly treated or disposed of, they shall cause detrimental secondary contamination. Thermal plasma vitrification is a robust technology to treat and recycle the ash residues. Under the high temperature plasma environment, incinerated ashes are vitrified into benign slag with large volume reduction and extreme detoxification. Several one-step heat treatment processes are carried out at four temperatures (i.e. 850, 950, 1,050 and 1,150 degrees C) to obtain various "microstructure materials". The major phase to form these materials is a solid solution of gehlenite (Ca2Al2SiO7) and ?kermanite (Ca2MgSi2O7) belonging to the melilite group. The physical and mechanical properties of the microstructure materials are improved by using one-step post-heat treatment process after plasma vitrification. These microstructure materials with good quality have great potential to serve as a viable alternative for construction applications.     

New technology and application of brick making with coal fly ash

China has ranked first in the coal fly ash emission in the world. The multipurpose use of the fly ash from power plant waste is always an important topic for the Chinese environmental protection, which has drawn the concern of the government, scientific research departments, manufacturing enterprises and industry experts. This paper introduces an experimental research on how to recycle fly ash effectively, a kind of new technology of making bricks by which fly ash content could be amounted to 50–80 %. The article introduces raw materials of fly ash brick, production process and key control points. It introduces how to change the technical parameters of the existing brick-making mechanical device, optimize the parameters combination and improve the device performance. High-content fly ash bricks are manufactured, which selects wet fly ash from power plants, adding aggregate with reasonable ratio and additives with reasonable dosage, and do the experimental research on manufactured products for properties, production technology and selection about technology parameters of production equipment. All indexes of strength grade, freezing-thawing resisting, and other standards of the studied bricks reached the national standards for building materials industry.     

PREPARATION OF CERAMIC MEMBRANE FILTERS,FROM WASTE FLY ASH,SUITABLE FOR HOT GAS CLEANING

The preparation and performance of ceramic membrane filters made from fly ash from coal-fired power stations were investigated. The porous and crack-free ceramic composite membrane was prepared by dip-coating a stainless steel mesh in a slurry of fly ash. Membrane properties investigated included pore structure, permeability and mechanical strength. The ash membrane filter shows great potential for the filtration and microfiltration of high-temperature gas-particulate streams, and re-uses waste fly ash composed of multiple oxides with a wide size distribution. The median pore size of the tested membrane was 2.3μm and the differential pressure gradient was 0.9 kPa l⁻¹min⁻¹, which is comparable to fabric filters currently in use in some New South Wales power stations. The high mechanical strength of the membrane was caused by fusion of the glassy material in the fly ash. Since the membrane consists of metal and ceramic composities, it also shows good flexibility.     

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.     

Glass–ceramic from mixtures of bottom ash and fly ash

Along with the gradually increasing yield of the residues, appropriate management and treatment of the residues have become an urgent environmental protection problem. This work investigated the preparation of a glass–ceramic from a mixture of bottom ash and fly ash by petrurgic method. The nucleation and crystallization kinetics of the new glass–ceramic can be obtained by melting the mixture of 80% bottom ash and 20% fly ash at 950 °C, which was then cooled in the furnace for 1 h. Major minerals forming in the glass–ceramics mainly are gehlenite (Ca₂Al₂SiO₇) & akermanite (Ca₂MgSiO₇) and wollastonite (CaSiO₃). In addition, regarding chemical/mechanical properties, the chemical resistance showing durability, and the leaching concentration of heavy metals confirmed the possibility of engineering and construction applications of the most superior glass–ceramic product. Finally, petrurgic method of a mixture of bottom ash and fly ash at 950 °C represents a simple, inexpensive, and energy saving method compared with the conventional heat treatment.     

Inertization of hazardous dredging spoils

Vitrification and production of ceramics materials starting from sediment excavated from Venice lagoon is described. This sediment is classified as toxic waste because contains several heavy metal ions and organic pollutants and was successfully vitrified at 1200-1350 degrees C. Twenty weight percentage of glass cullet, coming from a community glass recycling program, was added to the raw materials, previously calcined at 900 degrees C, as a way of adjusting the variations of composition of the individual sediment batches. Chemical durability (leaching) tests showed that the optimized glass compositions are inert, and thus not only volume reduction but also inertization of the waste was obtained by this process. Moreover, the economics of the entire process was analysed. The valorization of the waste was accomplished by the subsequent processing of the glass derived from the inertization. Glass ceramic materials were produced by viscous phase sintering of pressed glass powders which crystallized during the densification process. Sintered glass ceramic products had good mechanical characteristics (HV = 7.5 GPa, bending strength 150 +/- 8 MPa), making them suitable for applications in the building industry.     

Corrosion behavior of glass and glass-ceramics made of municipal solid waste incinerator fly ash

Glasses and glass-ceramics were prepared by melting municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerator fly ash and their corrosion properties were evaluated. Corrosion of both materials proceeded in two different steps. At the initial stage, the corrosion process is a diffusion-controlled process. After approximately 10 h at the initial stage, weight losses increased linearly with time due to the total dissolution of glasses or glass-ceramics. Leaching of heavy metals from glasses and glass-ceramics were well within international environmental regulations. Corrosion proceeded uniformly in fly ash glass while Na2CaSiO4 crystalline phase was preferentially dissolved in the glass-ceramics.     

Effects of fly ash addition on physical properties of porous clay-fly ash composites via polymeric replica technique

The porous composites of clay and fly ash have the potential to be used in many fields, such as catalyst support and gas adsorbents. In this study, various ratios of fly ash (1–2) with different percentage of suspension (50–70 wt%) were applied to produce porous clay-fly ash composites via polymeric replica technique. Fabrication process starts by mixing clay and fly ash in distilled water to form slurry. The process is followed by fully immersing polymer sponge in slurry. The excess slurry is then removed through squeezing. Finally, the sponge coated with slurry is sintered at 500 and 1250 °C for 1 h. It is found that the compressive strength of porous composites improves significantly (0.178–1.28 MPa) when the amount of clay-fly ash suspension mixture (50–70 wt%) increases. The compressive strength of porous composites is mainly attributed to the mullite, quartz and amorphous phase formations. These results are supported by X-ray diffraction analysis. On the other hand, increase in the amount of suspension reduces the apparent density (from 2.44 to 2.32 g/cm³) and porosity (from 97 to 85 %). The reduction in apparent density is believed to be caused by the presence of high fly ash content in porous composites. The melted fly ash cenospheres have closed the internal pores and increased density of samples. Higher suspension level not only reduces porosity, but also increases close pores of the porous composites. The results are justified through the observation from the structures of porous clay-fly ash composites.     

Recycling MSWI bottom and fly ash as raw materials for Portland cement

Municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) ash is rich in heavy metals and salts. The disposal of MSWI ash without proper treatment may cause serious environmental problems. Recently, the local cement industry in Taiwan has played an important role in the management of solid wastes because it can utilize various kinds of wastes as either fuels or raw materials. The objective of this study is to assess the possibility of MSWI ash reuse as a raw material for cement production. The ash was first washed with water and acid to remove the chlorides, which could cause serious corrosion in the cement kiln. Various amounts of pre-washed ash were added to replace the clay component of the raw materials for cement production. The allowable limits of chloride in the fly ash and bottom ash were found to be 1.75% and 3.50% respectively. The results indicate that cement production can be a feasible alternative for MSWI ash management. It is also evident that the addition of either fly ash or bottom ash did not have any effect on the compressive strength of the clinker. Cement products conformed to the Chinese National Standard (CNS) of Type II Portland cement with one exception, the setting time of the clinker was much longer.