A fast and simple method to monitor carbonation of MSWI bottom ash under static and dynamic conditions

Continuous-feed carbonation of waste incinerator bottom ash in a rotating drum reactor

Carbonation is a key process in the aging of waste incinerator bottom ash (BA). The reaction with CO₂ decreases the BA alkalinity and lowers the leachability of amphoteric trace metals. Passive ageing over several months is usually performed in intermittently mixed BA heaps. Here we aimed at accelerating the process in a rotating drum reactor continuously fed with the BA and the reactant gas (10 vol-% CO₂, volumetric flow rate 60 L/min). In one test, the gas was heated and humidified. Since carbonation depends on the specific CO₂-supply, experiments were conducted at varied BA residence time (60, 80, and 100 min). Residence time was calculated by mass balancing and confirmed by the breakthrough time of two tracers. Leachates and solid phase properties of the treated BA served to evaluate the carbonation performance. The residence time of BA could be adequately controlled by the reactor loading and feed rate. A residence time of 80 min was sufficient to reduce the BA leachability such as to comply with the German regulatory standards for non-hazardous waste, whereas the untreated BA was hazardous waste. Decreased alkalinity was indicated by lower leachate pH and Ca(OH)₂ contents of the BA as compared to the input. Leachate concentrations of amphoteric trace metals (Pb, Zn, Cu) decreased by at least one order of magnitude while oxyanions became slightly more mobile upon carbonation. In view of relatively short residence times and stable process performance, the rotating drum reactor seems promising for a full-scale implementation of BA carbonation.

Metals Leaching in Permeable Asphalt Pavement with Municipal Solid Waste Ash Aggregate

The leaching behaviors of four heavy metals (Zn, Pb, Cu and Cr) from unbounded municipal solid waste incineration-bottom ash aggregate (MSWI-BAA) and permeable asphalt (PA) mixture containing MSWI-BAA were investigated in the laboratory. The horizontal vibration extraction procedure (HVEP) test and a simulated leaching experiment were conducted on MSWI-BAA with three particle sizes, but only the simulated leaching experiment was carried out on a type of PA specimen (PAC-13) with and without these MSWI-BAAs. Leaching data were analyzed to investigate the leaching characteristics, identify the factors affecting leaching and assess the impact on the surrounding environment. Results indicated that the leaching process was comprehensively influenced by contact time, leaching metal species and MSWI-BAA particle size, regardless of MSWI-BAA alone or used in PAC-13 mixture. The leaching concentrations of Cr, Zn and Pb from MSWI-BAA in HVEP testing was strongly related to MSWI-BAA particle size. The use of MSWI-BAA in PAC-13 mixture did not change the basic tendency of heavy metal leaching, but it led to an increase of Cr and Zn in leachate overall. The leachate from the MSWI-BAA and PAC-13 mixture with MSWI-BAA was shown to be safe for irrigation and would have very little negative impact on surrounding surface and underground water quality.

Geopolymers produced from drinking water treatment residue and bottom ash for the immobilization of heavy metals

Drinking water treatment residue (DWTR) and municipal waste incineration bottom ash (BA) have been traditionally considered as solid waste. With the development of urbanization, their subsequent treatment and resource regeneration need to be further researched. In this work, a composite geopolymer with BA and DWTR was successfully synthesized and applied in the immobilization of Cd, Pb and Zn. The analysis of the geopolymers with different ratios of BA and DWTR, curing times and heavy metals was performed through chemical analysis, SEM, FTIR, XRD, XPS, ICP-AES and compressive strength tests. The results show that the geopolymer samples based on BA and DWTR (BWG) presented higher compressive strength than the samples with single BA material. The sample with 20% DWTR and 80% BA (BWG20) possesses the highest compressive strength (24.10 MPa) among the materials ratios. Furthermore, the microstructure and characterization results indicate that the geopolymer matrix was successfully formed in BWG and was significantly changed by the ratio, curing time and addition of heavy metals. The immobilization efficiency for different categories and dosages of heavy metals by BWG20 were all higher than 99.43%. Moreover, the XPS results demonstrate that the heavy metals were immobilized in geopolymer mainly by divalent state forms.

Incinerator bottom ash derived from municipal solid waste as a potential catalytic support for biomass tar reforming

Environment-friendly and sustainable routes for municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration bottom ash (IBA) recycling and utilization is one of the major concerns for the urbanized countries like Singapore. In this research paper, the possibility of bulk utilization of MSW-IBA as a catalyst support material has been explored for sustainable syn-gas production. The change in the texture of the IBA with simple hydrothermal treatment using NaOH has also been investigated. Furthermore, with hydrothermal treatment for 24 h at 180 °C, the texture of raw IBA with respect to basicity, surface area, total pore volume and reducibility was greatly improved. These textural properties are highly significant for a material to be utilized as a catalyst or catalytic supports for reforming applications. Ni supported on hydrothermally treated IBA was tested for steam reforming of biomass tar reforming reaction between 700 °C and 800 °C at relatively low steam-to-carbon ratio of 2. Among all the catalysts, Ni supported on IBA hydrothermally treated for 24 h gave stable toluene conversion (of 40%) at 700 °C with reduced coke formation (of 7.5 mgC/g·h) than other catalysts. The superior catalytic performance of this catalyst is mainly due to the presence of high amounts of surface Ni° species and improved reducibility and basicity properties among all. The Raman, DT/TGA and XRD analyses on spent catalysts revealed the deposited carbon during steam reforming of tar reaction is majorly amorphous. Due to this, the deposition of carbon did not show any kind of deactivation within the catalyst testing period.