Heavy metal enrichment characteristics in ash of municipal solid waste combustion in CO2/O2 atmosphere

Transformation and environmental chemical characteristics of hazardous trace elements in an 800 t/d waste incineration thermal power plant

The hazardous trace elements (HTEs) emitted during the municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) process have been widely concerned. In this work, the bottom ash (BA), heat recovery boiler ash (HA), and ash after desulfurization (SA) were collected to explore the occurrence forms of HTEs in the three types of ash and their relationship with minerals and leaching characteristics. The results show that the volatility of the seven studied HTEs follows the order of Cd, As > Ni, Zn > Pb > Cr, Cu. In the process of BA → HA → SA, the content of Cd, As, Zn, and Pb shows an increasing trend. The seven HTEs are mainly in the forms of chlorides and oxides. There is an obvious relationship between the occurrence forms and simulated existence form of HTEs. SiO2 and CaCO3 are the major mineral components in the three ashes, while SA also contains chlorine-containing compounds which are easily leached out. The risk assessment code and soluble ratio show that HTEs in SA are more leachable than BA and HA, where Cd, Pb and Ni need to be addressed to reduce their impact on soil or water during subsequent landfill treatment of SA.

Response of trace elements in urban deposition to emissions in a northwestern river valley type city: 2010-2021

Anthropogenic activities release significant quantities of trace elements into the atmosphere, which can infiltrate ecosystems through both wet and dry deposition, resulting in ecological harm. Although the current study focuses on the emission inventory and deposition of trace elements, their complex interactions remain insufficiently explored. In this study, we employ emission inventories and deposition data for eight TEs (Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Pb) in Lanzhou City to unveil the relationship between these two aspects. Emissions in Lanzhou can be roughly divided into two periods centered around 2017. Preceding 2017, industrial production constituted the primary source of TEs emissions except for As; coal combustion was the primary contributor to Cr, Mn, and As emissions; waste incineration played a significant role in As, Zn, and Cd emissions; biomass combustion influenced Cr and Cd emissions; and transportation sources were the predominant contributors to Pb and Cu emissions. With the establishment of waste-to-energy plants and the implementation of ultra-low emission retrofits, emissions from these sources decreased substantially after 2017. Consequently, emissions from industrial production emerged as the main source of TEs. The deposition concentrations of Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, and Pb followed a similar trend to the emissions. However, Cd and As exhibited lower emissions and a less pronounced response relationship. Moreover, Zn concentrations fluctuated within a narrow range and showed a weaker response to emissions. The consistent changes in emissions and TEs deposition concentrations signify a shift in deposition pollution in Lanzhou city from Coal-fired pollution to that driven by transportation and industrial activities. Within this transition, the industrial production process offers significant potential for emission reduction. This insight provides a crucial foundation for managing TEs pollution and implementing strategies to prevent ecological risks.

Oxy-fuel co-combustion dynamics of phytoremediation biomass and textile dyeing sludge: Gas-to-ash pollution abatement

The environmental pressures of major wastes in the circular economies can be abated leveraging the complementarity and optimal conditions of their co-combustion. The oxy-fuel co-combustion of phytoremediation biomass of Sedum alfredii Hance (SAH) and textile dyeing sludge (TDS) may be a promising choice for sustainable CO₂ capture and a waste-to-energy conversion. This study characterized and quantified their co-combustion performances, kinetics, and interactions as a function of blend ratio, atmosphere type, and temperature. With a focus on the characteristic elements of SAH (Ca, K, Zn, and Cd) and TDS (Al and S), changes in the mineral phases and ash melting and slagging trends of K₂O-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ and CaO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ systems were quantified. The Zn and Cd residual rates of the co-combustion of 75% SAH and 25% TDS rose by 58.52% and 5.93%, respectively, in the oxy-fuel atmosphere at the 30% oxygen concentration, relative to the mono-combustion of SAH in the air atmosphere. The co-combustion in the oxy-fuel atmosphere at the 20% oxygen concentration delayed the release peaks of SO₂, C₂S, and H₂S, while the Ca-rich SAH captured S in TDS through the formation of CaSO₄. Our findings provide new and practical insights into the oxy-fuel co-combustion toward the enhanced co-circularity.

Ash-to-emission pollution controls on co-combustion of textile dyeing sludge and waste tea

Given the globally increased waste stream of textile dyeing sludge (TDS), its co-combustion with agricultural residues appears as an environmentally and economically viable solution in a circular economy. This study aimed to quantify the migrations and chemical speciations of heavy metals in the bottom ashes and gas emissions of the co-combustion of TDS and waste tea (WT). The addition of WT increased the fixation rate of As from 66.70 to 83.33% and promoted the chemical speciation of As and Cd from the acid extractable state to the residue one. With the temperature rise to 1000 °C, the fixation rates of As, Cd, and Pb in the bottom ashes fell to 27.73, 8.38, and 15.40%, respectively. The chemical speciation perniciousness of Zn, Cu, Ni, Mn, Cr, Cd, and Pb declined with the increased temperature. The ash composition changed with the new appearances of NaAlSi₃O₈, CaFe₂O₄, NaFe(SO₄)₂, and MgCrO₄ at 1000 °C. The addition of WT increased CO₂ and NO_x but decreased SO₂ emissions in the range of 680-1000 °C. ANN-based joint optimization indicated that the co-combustion emitted SO₂ slightly less than did the TDS combustion. These results contribute to a better understanding of ash-to-emission pollution control for the co-combustion of TDS and WT.

Process simulation and comprehensive evaluation of a system of coal power plant coupled with waste incineration

The technology of coal power plant coupled with waste incineration is considered as a promising technology for fossil fuel conservation and waste disposal. In this paper, a system of coal power plant coupled with waste incineration is simulated by Aspen Plus software, and a conventional coal power plant is also simulated for comparison. Comprehensive evaluation including thermodynamic, economic and environmental impact performances are analysed and compared. Evaluation results indicate that the thermodynamic performance and environmental impact of the system of coal power plant coupled with waste incineration are worse, but the economic performance of the system is obviously better than the coal power plant. When the replacement ratio of waste is 20%, the energy and exergy efficiencies of the system are 38.54% and 37.27%, the internal rate of return and discounted payback period of the system are 21.83% and 9.14 years, and the environmental cost of the system is $3597.73 h^-1. Therefore, the technology of coal power plant coupled with waste incineration has technical feasibility and economic advantages, and the environmental impacts need to be considered in the application of the technology.

The application of hierarchical clustering to analyzing ashes from the combustion of wood pellets mixed with waste materials

Air pollution constitutes the greatest environmental threat to human health in the European Union. In Poland, the emission of particulate matter and harmful gases originating from local coal based boiler plants and the combustion of fuels in residential heating appliances is a considerable source of air pollution. The combustion of fuel in home furnaces is inefficient due to the use of cheap fuels of low heating parameters and the frequent addition of waste. For the purpose of the research, deciduous tree wood pellets were selected as the basic fuel with the admixture of plastic waste, rubber, waste paper, wood residues, diapers, textile waste, multi-material packaging, construction waste, biomass and alternative fuel (RDF). Examining ash samples to confirm the practices of combusting or co-combusting waste materials in heating appliances is considered to be one of the most reliable detection methods; however, the results of direct research require further data processing. The application of hierarchical clustering analysis to the obtained results arranged into a matrix enabled in a simple way to demonstrate the similarities between the examined samples of fuel and the samples of fuel mixed with waste materials in the parameters space as well as to analyze the similarities among the measured parameters (the content of particular elements in ash) in the space of the examined samples. The application of chemometric methods for the purpose of identifying the combusted fuels, and, in particular the co-combusted waste complements the currently used monitoring tools which control the use of low quality fuels or the combustion of waste of different origin.

Volatilization characteristics and risk evaluation of heavy metals during the pyrolysis and combustion of rubber waste without or with molecular sieves

The volatilization characteristics and risk evaluation of heavy metals (As, Cd, Co ,Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, and Ti) during pyrolysis and combustion of rubber waste with or without molecular sieves (MS) were studied. The addition of MS during pyrolysis inhibited the volatilization of As and promoted the volatilization of Ni and Co, while during combustion it inhibited the volatilization of Pb, Zn and promoted the volatilization of Cu. For Cd, Cr, Ni, Zn and Ti, their volatilization rates during pyrolysis were significantly higher than those during combustion, whereas for As and Cu, the volatilization rates during pyrolysis were lower than those during combustion. Risk evaluation of gaseous heavy metals was exhibited based on the Potential Ecological Risk Index (RI) method. The potential ecological risk during combustion was generally lower than that during pyrolysis. The research results provide important information of heavy metals control during waste thermal treatment.

Evaporation of Metals during the Thermal Treatment of Oxide Nanomaterials in Cellulose-Based Matrices

Like conventional material products, waste is the last stage of the life cycle of engineered nanomaterials, which are then incinerated or stabilized before disposal. However, because of their special physical characteristics, the fate of the thermally treated nanomaterials may differ or not from the conventional ones. In this study the thermal release of metals from three nanomaterials, namely CuO, ZnO, and TiO₂, embedded in matrices containing organic and inorganic compounds was investigated by using an in-house developed setup. The latter, which combines a TGA (Thermogravimetric Analyzer) and an ICP-OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer), offers the possibility to gain simultaneously thermogravimetric and elemental information. It is shown that the matrix composition, such as chlorine and silicon, plays a key role in the evaporation of Cu and Zn at temperatures above 700 °C, while at relatively low temperatures (250 to 450 °C) the nanomaterials are most probably entrained in the flue gas independently of their chemical properties. Incineration experiments using a tubular furnace and subsequent ICP-MS (ICP Mass Spectrometry) analysis of the obtained residues allowed for quantification of the metal evaporation from the three nanomaterials.

Heavy metals volatilization characteristics and risk evaluation of co-combusted municipal solid wastes and sewage sludge without and with calcium-based sorbents

Heavy metals, especially gaseous heavy metals, have high toxicity and do harm to human. Heavy metal volatilization characteristics of co-combusted municipal solid wastes (MSW) and sewage sludge (SS) from different mass fraction of MSW and SS, different temperature and different O₂ concentration atmosphere was investigated. Performance of calcium-based sorbents was also studied. Volatilization efficiency of As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn in MSW was 100%, 45.89%-66.58%, 75.62%-92.45%, 42.33%-65.70%, 39.25%-68.76% and 53.57%-84.62%, and that in SS was 28.37%-40.75%, 33.78%-43.42%, 46.08%-56.69%, 35.04%-51.52%, 18.54%-44.99% and 14.72%-48.88%. Volatilization efficiency of heavy metals increased as mass fraction of SS in a blend decreased and as temperature increased. Volatilization efficiency of all heavy metals examined decreased as O₂ concentration increased at high temperature and that of Cu, Pb and Zn increased as O₂ concentration increased at low temperature. CaO, Ca(OH)₂ and CaCO₃ declined the volatilization of As, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn, while enhanced that of Pb. With calcium-based sorbents, volatilization efficiency of As, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn decreased from 70.06%, 39.91%, 75.52%, 44.08% and 40.10% to 54.24%, 33.73%, 39.98%, 20.56% and 32.06%, while that of Pb increased from 47.23% to 100%. Fitting formula was set to predict the heavy metals volatilization, and risk evaluation of gaseous heavy metals was exhibited.

Composition of ashes from the combustion of solid fuels and municipal waste in households

In this study, 73 ash samples (comprising 49 ash samples from combustion tests performed in 2017, and 24 ash samples from combustion tests performed during 2014-2016 at the Energy Research Center, Ostrava, Czech Republic) were analysed. Ash samples were obtained via the combustion of various solid fuels, their mixtures with municipal waste (floor coverings, paper, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) briquettes, plastics, and textiles), and municipal wood waste (furniture chipboard, window frames) in household combustion units, such as an overfire boiler, boiler with downdraft combustion, gasification boiler, automatic boiler, and stove. The aim of this study was to determine the composition of representative ash samples from solid fuels and municipal waste and to determine which parameters (metals and halides) were present in the ash analysis after waste incineration. Statistical evaluation of box plots with the determination of the boundaries for outliers and extreme values was performed. Finally, six metals (Sb, Cu, Pb, Sn, Ti, and Zn), together with chlorides, were taken as the indicators of municipal waste incineration in households. The highest value of Sb was 344 mg/kg in plastics + dry beech; the highest value of Cu was 30,500 mg/kg in textiles + black coal (B1); the highest concentration of Pb was 1,360 mg/kg in floor coverings + dry beech; the highest value of Sn was 108 mg/kg in textiles + dry beech; the highest concentration of Ti was 38,200 mg/kg in window frames; the highest value of Zn was 215,000 mg/kg in window frames; and the highest concentration of chlorides was 191,000 mg/kg in floor coverings + dry beech.

High-temperature chlorination of PbO and CdO induced by interaction with NaCl and Si/Al matrix

Municipal solid-waste incineration leads to emission of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd), which vaporize in furnace and condense in flue. NaCl in waste has been proven to enhance volatilization of Pb and Cd at high temperatures via chlorination of oxides to chlorides; however, this process was not well-understood so far due to its complexity. This study decoupled the indirect chlorination process and direct chlorination process so that these two processes were investigated separately. A horizontal tube furnace was used to heat the mixtures of NaCl and Si/Al matrix for indirect chlorination and the mixtures of NaCl, PbO/CdO and Si/Al matrix for direct chlorination. A set of dynamic sampling devices was designed and used to obtain dynamic data during temperature rising. The indirect chlorination process was initiated above 800 °C in O₂ + H₂O atmosphere and O₂ atmosphere and above 1000 °C in N₂ atmosphere. Al₂O₃ exhibited higher activity than SiO₂ to react with NaCl, releasing HCl or Cl₂. In the Cl release reaction, NaCl was in the gas phase. The direct chlorination process was initiated at 650–700 °C when the Si/Al matrix contained SiO₂ only and at around 800 °C when the Si/Al matrix contained Al₂O₃ only or both SiO₂ and Al₂O₃. SiO₂ exhibited higher activity than Al₂O₃ in direct chlorination. The pre-reaction between PbO/CdO and Si/Al matrices was considered as the necessary condition for direct chlorination. During chlorination in O₂ + H₂O atmosphere, indirect chlorination and direct chlorination occurred simultaneously, and the latter dominated the volatilization of Pb and Cd.

The chlorination process by NaCl was decoupled as indirect chlorination and direct chlorination, which were investigated separately.

The volatilization of heavy metals during co-combustion of food waste and polyvinyl chloride in air and carbon dioxide/oxygen atmosphere

The volatilization of three heavy metals (Cd, Cr and Zn) during food waste and PVC and their blending combustion in N₂/O₂ or CO₂/O₂ atmosphere in a lab-scale tubular furnace was investigated. The concentration of heavy metals in combustion ash was decreased with the increment of furnace temperature in most cases. The replacement of 80N₂/20O₂ by 80CO₂/20O₂ decreased the volatilization rate of Cd and Cr, but increased Zn. The increased amount of PVC added into food waste led to less content of Zn in combustion ash, 5% PVC added into food waste decreased the volatilization rate of Cr but 15% PVC added led to the higher volatilization. The volatilization rate of Zn in 70CO₂/30O₂ was significantly lower than in 85CO₂/15O₂ or 80CO₂/20O₂. The result contributes to the understanding of heavy metal volatilization during incineration and emission control of MSW oxy-fuel combustion.

Disposal options for polluted plants grown on heavy metal contaminated brownfield lands - A review

Reducing or preventing damage caused by environmental pollution is a significant goal nowadays. Phytoextraction, as remediation technique is widely used, but during the process, the heavy metal content of the biomass grown on these sites special treatment and disposal techniques are required, for example liquid extraction, direct disposal, composting, and combustion. These processes are discussed in this review in economical and environmental aspects. The following main properties are analyzed: form and harmful element content of remains, utilization of the main and byproducts, affect to the environment during the treatment and disposal. The thermal treatment (combustion, gasification) of contaminated biomass provides a promising alternative disposal option, because the energy production affects the rate of return, and the harmful elements are riched in a small amount of solid remains depending on the ash content of the plant (1-2%). The biomass combustion technology is a wildely used energy production process in residential and industrial scale, but the ordinary biomass firing systems are not suited to burn this type of fuel without environmental risk.