Use Of Incinerator Bottom Ash Research Articles

A novel use of incineration bottom ash for H2 aeration in the production of artificial lightweight aggregates

Cold bonding is an energy-efficient method for producing artificial aggregate (AA). However, the relatively high density of AA restricts its use in lightweight concrete products. This study aims to fully upcycle aluminum (Al) content in municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash (IBA) for H2 aeration in the production of lightweight artificial aggregate through alkali activation. To achieve this, the glass particles (GP) in IBA were ground into powder and used as the precursor for NaOH, while the remaining IBA (RIBA), rich in Al, served as the foaming agent. The results showed that RIBA particles (<300 μm) can be used to produce lightweight AA with a loose bulk density ranging from 780 to 840 kg/m3, comparable to sintered fly ash aggregates, and a wide pore size distribution ranging from 0.02 mm to over 1 mm. The inclusion of finer RIBA particles (<75 μm) enhanced the homogeneity of the pore structure, resulting in aggregate strengths of 0.4–0.6 MPa. Moreover, increasing the GP content in IBA up to 40% further boosted the aggregate strength to 1.1 MPa by refining the pore structure and promoting more (C)-N-A-S-H gels with Q4 structures. To ensure sufficient geopolymerization reactions and achieve high strength in the AAs, the alkali concentration should be kept above 3 mol/L. The proposed strategy for lightweight AA production reduced the global warming potential by about 20% compared to the conventional sintered method, offering a more environmentally friendly approach.

Tensile and puncture behaviour of a woven geotextile submitted to laboratory mechanical damage tests with incinerator bottom ash

Incinerator bottom ash can be used as recycled aggregate in some engineering applications, where it may be in contact with geotextiles. In this work, a woven geotextile (made of high-density polyethylene filaments) was submitted to mechanical damage under repeated loading tests with different aggregates, namely: incinerator bottom ash, two aggregates of natural origin (tout-venant and gravel 4/8) and a synthetic aggregate (corundum). The damage suffered by the geotextile was assessed by monitoring changes on its tensile and puncture behaviour. The mechanical damage under repeated loading tests induced some reductions in the tensile and puncture properties of the geotextile. The impact of IBA was not exaggeratedly pronounced, and did not differ greatly from that of tout-venant, which was the least damaging aggregate. Gravel 4/8 had a slightly higher impact than incinerator bottom ash, with corundum being the aggregate that induced the most pronounced reductions in the tensile and puncture properties of the geotextile. The use of incinerator bottom ash as recycled aggregate in contact with geotextiles may be a viable option, promoting its valorisation and contributing to more sustainable geotechnical engineering.

Use of Incinerator Bottom Ash as a Recycled Aggregate in Contact with Nonwoven Geotextiles: Evaluation of Mechanical Damage Upon Installation

The recycling and reuse of materials is crucial to reducing the amount of generated waste and the exploitation of natural resources, contributing to achieving environmental sustainability. During the incineration process of municipal solid waste, a residue known as incinerator bottom ash is generated in considerable amounts, being important the development of solutions for its valorization. In this work, three nonwoven geotextiles were submitted to mechanical damage under repeated loading tests with incinerator bottom ash and, for comparison purposes, with three natural aggregates (sand 0/4, gravel 4/8 and tout-venant) and a standard aggregate (corundum). Damage assessment was carried out by monitoring the changes that occurred in the short-term tensile and puncture behaviors of the geotextiles. Results showed that the damage induced by incinerator bottom ash on the short-term mechanical behavior of the geotextiles tended to be lower than the damage induced by the natural aggregates or by the standard aggregate. Therefore, concerning the mechanical damage caused on geotextiles, there are good prospects for the use of incinerator bottom ash as a filling material in contact with those construction materials, thereby promoting its valorization.

Potential Use of Incineration Bottom Ash in Construction: Evaluation of the Environmental Impact

Knowledge of the long-term leaching behavior of potentially harmful substances is crucial for the assessment of the environmental compatibility of reusing municipal solid-waste incineration bottom ash (MSWI BA) in construction, i.e., as a road base layer. BA fractions obtained from wet-processing aiming at the improvement of environmental quality were used to investigate the mobility of relevant substances. Eluates from laboratory-scaled leaching procedures (column percolation and lysimeters) were analyzed to learn about the long-term release of substances. Unsaturated conditions and artificial rainwater (AR) were used in the lysimeter tests to simulate field conditions. In addition, batch test eluates were generated at usual liquid-to-solid ratios (L/S) for compliance testing purposes. A variety of cations and anions was measured in the eluates. The wet treatment reduces the leaching of chloride and particularly sulfate by more than 60%. The release of typical contaminants for the treated MSWI BA such as the heavy metals Cu and Cr was well below 1% in the conducted leaching tests. An increase in the Sb concentration observed in the lysimeter experiments starting at L/S 0.75 L/kg and in the column experiment at L/S 4 L/kg is assumed to be related to decreasing concentrations of Ca and thus to the dissolution of sparingly soluble calcium antimonate. The same leaching mechanism applies with V, but the concentration levels observed are less critical regarding relevant limit values. However, on the long term the behavior of Sb could be problematic for the application of MSWI BA in construction.Graphic

Use of incinerator bottom ash in open-graded asphalt concrete

To observe the effects of the use of incinerator bottom ash (IBA) on open-graded asphalt concrete (OGAC), natural fine aggregates are partially replaced by IBA in OGAC. The results indicate that the use of IBA helps improve the adhesive force between asphalt and aggregates. The stability and indirect tensile strength of OGAC are effectively improved by the use of IBA as a replacement material. The natural fine aggregate content in the OGAC is 25%. The results indicate that 80% of natural fine aggregates could be replaced by IBA and demonstrate the feasibility of using IBA in OGAC in engineering applications.

Removal of Some Heavy Metals from Incinerator Bottom Ash Using Coconut (Cocos Nucifera) Husk

&lt;p&gt;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 (&lt;em&gt;Cocos nucifera&lt;/em&gt;) 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.&lt;/p&gt;

Heavy Metal Removal from Incineration Bottom Ash through Washing with Rainwater and Seawater

The use of incineration bottom ash (IBA) for practical applications requires overcoming the environmental impacts from its use. As IBA contains numerous potential pollutants, especially heavy metals, the use of IBA for practical applications would expose the surrounding environment to risks of heavy metal pollution. One possible, practical way to overcome the problem is pre-treat IBA through washing with naturally collected waters like rain and seawater. Repeated washing with fresh batches of rain or seawater each week over fifteen weeks could reduce heavy metal content by 6-7%. The final concentrations of heavy metals in the wash water were reduced to 27-57% of the initial concentration. However, the reductions varied greatly among the different heavy metals. Only half of the heavy metals analyzed showed a decreasing trend with increasing number of washings for both rain and seawater. Specifically, the final concentrations of all heavy metals in rain water were below the National Environment Agency’s watercourse discharge limits, except for copper, while washing with seawater could reduce all heavy metals below the discharge limits. Antimony and arsenic concentrations did not show decreasing trend with increasing washings with both rain and seawater.

Acid neutralisation capacity and hydration behaviour of incineration bottom ash–Portland cement mixtures

The present paper deals with the use of incineration bottom ash in cementitious systems. The results of the physical–mechanical characterisation of the solidified products were discussed elsewhere, while the present work focuses on the acid neutralisation capacity (ANC) of the investigated mixtures as a means to evaluate the type of hydration products and their relative amounts in the solid matrix. The approach consists of differential acid neutralisation analysis, which was validated using traditional X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods.

Incinerator Bottom Ash: Engineering and Environmental Properties as a Cement Bound Paving Material

This paper reports a laboratory study investigating the use of incinerator bottom ash (IBA) as cement bound material (CBM) for use in sub-base and roadbase layers. Engineering properties associated with its use are determined and practical limits on IBA content discussed. It was found that IBA could be practically used in proportions of 40% or more by mass for all CBM categories defined in the UK Highway specification. However, the use of IBA as aggregate in CBM required higher cement contents to achieve the same compressive and tensile strength. Tests carried out to confirm that leachable constituents were bound in the mixture and raised no environmental concern were carried out by comparing the results of tank leach tests with a one-dimensional model. It was observed that despite the tests and models being designed to maximise release of species, that leachates were well within typical regulatory drinking limits.