Research on leakage environmental risk assessment and risk prevention and control measures in the long-term landfill process of ultra-alkaline fly ash

Abstract

In this study, we simulated the actual landfill disposal process using accelerated carbonization experiments, based on the leaching characteristics of heavy metals from “alkaline” fly ash, and used the LandSim–HELP coupling model to assess the environmental risk of the leaching. The results showed that the leaching data of “alkaline” fly ash before carbonization showed the illusion of admission to landfill with only a small amount of chemical addition or even without curing/stabilization. The leached concentrations of Zn and Cd from “alkaline” fly ash after carbonation were significantly higher. The risk assessment of the leakage of heavy metals in the case of a single artificial composite liner system showed that the exposure concentrations of Pb, Zn, and Cd in samples exceeded Standard for groundwater quality (GB/T 14848–2017) the Class III permissible limits after carbonation; exposure risk for Cd was exceeded in all samples. However, although the use of a double-layer artificial composite liner to improve the level of impermeability effectively reduced the risk of Cd leaching, so that none of the non-carcinogenic risks exceeded the standard, the carcinogenic risk of Cd in the carbonized samples exceeded the factor of 1.1–4.5 of the acceptable hazard quotient, and the contamination characteristics of the alkaline fly ash still need to be kept in view.