<p>There has been a great limitation to the use of incinerator bottom ash (IBA) residue in the construction and manufacturing industries due to the high contents of heavy metals, which poses great threat to the environment and human health. This study was carried out to evaluate the efficiency of heavy metals (Fe, Zn, Cd and Pb) removal from domestic IBA filtrate using a biological material coconut (<em>Cocos nucifera</em>) husk as adsorbent and to remove the metals from the ash residue using the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP). The mean percentage removal of the heavy metals for the incinerator bottom ash (IBA) filtrate varied from 75.84 - 99.42% for the two ash types. Similarly, the percentage removal of metals from the ash residues was between 92.34 and 99.97%. The data from this study showed that after the treatment, the heavy metals in the ash filtrate and residue were significantly reduced. Thus, it would be feasible to use the IBA residue as a partial replacement of cement in the construction and manufacturing industries for making monolithic blocks, interlocking bricks, concretes and road construction materials. This would help improve and provide good and effective waste management practice that would reduce the huge volume of ash residue from incineration combustion processes.</p>
Removal of Some Heavy Metals from Incinerator Bottom Ash Using Coconut (Cocos Nucifera) Husk
