Use of Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Bottom Ash in Adsorption of Heavy Metals

Bottom ash from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) has been previously suggested as an adsorbent for removing heavy metals from wastewater due to its high porosity and large surface area. In this study the adsorption characteristics of heavy metals were investigated using various particle sizes of MSWI bottom ash. The adsorption experiment was conducted using synthetic wastewater containing Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd as a function of residence time, initial pH, ash dosage and particle size, respectively. The adsorption rate increased with decreasing particle size and with increasing residence time. Through the above analysis, this work proved that bottom ash was effective in adsorbing the four heavy metals.