Ten-year chemical evolution of leachate and municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash used in a test road site

Abstract

The use of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom ash for road and car-park construction is an appropriate solution to reduce their disposal and the consumption of natural materials. In addition to leaching tests, the environmental impact assessment of such a waste recycling scenario critically needs for reliable long-term field data. This paper addresses a 10-year pilot site where MSWI bottom ashes have been used as road aggregates in Northern France (oceanic temperate climate). The paper focuses on the long-term evolution of leachate chemistry and the mineralogical transformations of MSWI bottom ash over 10 years. Data interpretation is supported by geochemical modeling in terms of main pH-buffering processes. The leachate pH and concentrations in major elements (Ca, Na and Cl) as well as in Al and heavy metals (Cu, Pb and Zn) quickly drop during the first 2 years to asymptotically reach a set of minimum values over 10 years; similar to those of a reference road built with natural calcareous aggregates. SO 4 release makes exception with a slightly increasing trend over time. Carbonation induced by CO 2 inputs, which leads to the successive dissolution of portlandite, CSH and ettringite, is one of the main phenomenon responsible for the geochemical evolution of leachate. On the other hand, mineralogical observations and batch tests demonstrate a relative stability of the MSWI bottom ash inside the subbase layer. In particular, carbonation may be far to be completed and still in progress after 10 years. This is consistent with preferential rainwater flow and dilution at the road edges combined to diffusion inside the subbase layer.