Municipal waste combustion typically involves both energy recovery as well as volume reduction of municipal solid waste prior to landfilling. However, due to environmental concerns, municipal waste combustion (MWC) has not been a widely accepted practice. A primary concern is the leaching behavior of MWC ash when it is stored in a landfill. The ash consists of a finely divided fly ash fraction (10% by volume) and a coarser bottom ash (90% by volume). Typically, MWC fly ash fails tests used to evaluate leaching behavior due to high amounts of soluble lead and cadmium species. The focus of this study was to identify specific lead bearing phases in MWC fly ash. Detailed information regarding lead speciation is necessary to completely understand the leaching behavior of MWC ash.
Detoxifying PCDD/Fs and heavy metals in fly ash from medical waste incinerators with a DC double arc plasma torch